"Industry-wide trade unions? What are those?"

In response to the questions raised by the maritime refugees, Rita said, "Before explaining this concept, I first need to reach some consensus with everyone."

"consensus?"

"First, within the Dragon Kingdom, we, a race from the sea, are outsiders, are aliens. Only by uniting can we take care of each other, so we must unconditionally trust each other."

"Yes, that's natural."

"Secondly, if we are to unite, adopting a military alliance or setting up camp will inevitably arouse the dissatisfaction of the Dragon Kingdom, and may even trigger a war."

“That’s right. This sea area originally belongs to the Dragon Kingdom. If we make a big show of preparing our troops, it will definitely have a negative impact.”

"Third, the biggest problem for us is food. As far as I know, many tribes did not store much food during their long journeys. After arriving here, they could only give food to the young and strong, leaving the elderly and children to go hungry."

Rita nodded: "So, we need to build a trading post to trade goods. This will not cause too much resentment from the Dragon Kingdom, and we can trade for urgently needed supplies."

She continued to explain, "In other words, by engaging in trade with the Dragon Kingdom and developing Waiheke Island and the surrounding waters into a special trading zone, we can not only exchange the abundant resources of the ocean for the materials we need, but also legitimately build our nests and live here."

Grey Swan understood somewhat: "So, that industry union is actually a large tribe operating under the banner of trade."

Rita smiled and said, "That's not wrong either."

After careful consideration, the other representatives of the maritime refugees felt that this industry union was indeed the best option at the moment.

Rita cleared her throat: "Next, I'm going to talk about the internal structure and operation of this union."

"First, the industry union needs a leader..."

Grey Swan said, "Like the leader of a large tribe."

Rita nodded first, then shook her head: "There are some differences."

"Large tribes are formed by a powerful tribe annexing many smaller tribes, and the leaders of large tribes have absolute power. Guild leaders, on the other hand, are only responsible for the internal management of the guild and external liaison, but have no right to interfere in the internal affairs of individual small tribes."

Rita said as she thought, "For example, in a large tribe, if someone disobeys the chief's orders, the chief can execute that person without the consent of the small tribe chief. But in a trade guild, the guild leader cannot do that; punishment can only be carried out by the small tribe chief himself."

Grey Swan: "So that's how it is."

Rita continued, “In large tribes, all wealth and harvests belong to the chief, while in trade guilds, wealth is pooled together and belongs to all tribes, and harvests are distributed proportionally based on everyone’s input and contribution.”

Grey Swan: "That sounds fair."

Rita: "This form of cooperation has never existed in our original marine life. The relationship between tribes is either fighting or annexing. I understand that you may need some time to adapt, but this is the best option for us to survive now."

Grey Swan straightened up, nodded, and said, "I have no objection. Kinlaska will join this union."

"We'll participate too!"

"Me too!"

Rita: "Since everyone agrees, there's one last thing—who will be the leader of the union?"

Grey Swan said, "The Salamanders paid a high price to get the Dragon Kingdom to accept us, and they arrived here earlier and are more familiar with everything. Therefore, I suggest that the chieftain of Salamanders be appointed as the leader of the United Guild."

I agree!

"I agree!"

Hearing these words of approval, Rita smiled and patted her fishtail in a gesture of respect to the crowd.

In the western capital city, in the king's audience chamber.

"An invitation to the Kalibav Theatre Competition... Hmm? This invitation is from last month!"

Todd stared at the letter in his hand with a dark expression, and asked Evie, "Why did I only see it today? And why did I find it in the crack of the table?"

Lying on the sofa, Ivy stretched lazily: "I don't know either. Maybe it was some unimportant letters that I just casually put away."

Todd looked helplessly at the tall, former Valkyrie: "So, what kind of letter is important to you?"

"Let me think... battle reports, enemy intelligence, ordnance preparation, troop movements..."

Todd said with a headache, "To put it simply, you only care about things on the battlefield."

Ivy retorted, "I'm concerned about things that happen in the bedroom, not just on the battlefield. But thinking about it, it seems like those things that happen in the bedroom can also be done in a spare moment on the battlefield."

Todd said in a deep voice, "The king's responsibilities are not limited to fighting wars and having children. People's livelihood, science and technology, commerce, culture, diplomacy... all of these are the king's duties. I always thought that those things were handled by the cabinet, but now I understand that I haven't received the reports submitted to me at all."

Ivy sat up, her face full of confusion: "Besides fighting, how am I supposed to know which things are important and which are secondary? Take this drama competition for example, if it were held in Beidao, nobody would even bother to watch it!"

Todd sighed, deciding not to blame Evie anymore.

The other party used to be a Valkyrie, a master of warfare, but she was completely unreasonable when it came to handling political affairs.

It's time to find myself a more reliable secretary.

Thinking of this, Todd pictured Huggins.

However, Todd found Tokins's level of knowledge about the Black Plague during their last conversation somewhat strange.

Todd wanted to use the Soul Space to find out who had obtained the information about the Black Plague from, but ultimately gave up on the idea.

Perhaps it would be better to ask in person.

Thinking of this, Todd asked Evie, "Where are Hudgens now?"

“I’ve had someone keep an eye on him at a hotel in the south of the city for several days now, and nothing seems amiss,” Evie said to Todd. “Do you think he’s hiding something from you?”

Todd tapped his finger on the table: "It's time to bring him back."

“Thank God! I finally don’t have to deal with these reports anymore!” Evie paused for a moment, then said, “But can he be trusted?”

“I trust him.” Todd shook his head. “But the frustrating thing is that trust shouldn’t be a concept associated with a king. I can’t bear the risks involved, much less pay the price it might cause.”