Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Chapter 78

"I know," he replied, his smile growing. "And I won."

Urgak pushed through the crowd, his single eye examining Kelvin with a mixture of pride and concern. "The boy speaks truth? He defeated an entire pack alone?"

"He did," Satou confirmed. "Fought with discipline, strategy, and more courage than most warriors twice his age. He’s earned his place as a true fighter."

Urgak’s face split into a wide grin. "Then tonight, we feast in honor of Kelvin the Wolf-Slayer! A goblin who defeated twenty Dire Wolves deserves to have songs sung about him!"

The crowd cheered, but Satou raised his hand for silence. "Tonight, we celebrate Kelvin’s victory. But tomorrow, we have serious matters to discuss. For now, everyone return to your homes. Jessica, take Kelvin to the healing hall and make sure he’s properly treated. I need to speak with Lyra immediately."

The crowd dispersed, still buzzing with excitement about Kelvin’s achievement. Jessica led her brother away, supporting him as his adrenaline finally wore off completely.

Satou found Lyra in her office, a small building near the village center where she coordinated daily operations. She looked up from a ledger as he entered, her expression shifting from mild curiosity to concern as she saw his face.

"What happened?" she asked immediately. "You have your ’I just killed someone’ expression."

"Multiple someones," Satou replied, closing the door behind him. "And we need to talk. About new laws, new rules, and how we’re going to prevent our settlement from repeating the mistakes of others."

Lyra set down her quill and gave him her full attention. "Tell me everything."

Satou recounted the events at the cave settlement—discovering the imprisoned women, the elders’ refusal to change, his execution of four elders, and the decision to integrate the remaining goblins into their own settlement.

By the time he finished, Lyra’s expression was grim. "Thirty-five women. Kept as breeding slaves. And the elders actually defended the practice as tradition."

"Until they couldn’t defend anything anymore because they were dead," Satou said flatly. "But it made me realize something, Lyra. We can’t just assume that goblins in our settlement understand that these practices are wrong. We need explicit laws. Clear rules that everyone knows and understands. And consequences that are severe enough to prevent anyone from even considering breaking them."

"You want me to draft a legal code," Lyra realized.

"I want us to draft it together," Satou corrected. "You’re better at organizing and implementing systems than I am. But these laws need to come from both of us, need to represent the values we want this settlement to embody."

Lyra pulled out fresh parchment and began taking notes. "What laws specifically?"

Satou began pacing, organizing his thoughts. "First and most important—slavery is forbidden in all forms. No goblin, orc, human, elf, dwarf, or any other intelligent being may be kept as property. The penalty for enslaving another is death, no exceptions, no trial necessary. Anyone found keeping slaves will be executed immediately."

Lyra’s quill scratched across the parchment. "Agreed. What else?"

"Second—kidnapping for any purpose, but especially for breeding or forced labor, is punishable by death. We will not tolerate any individual or group abducting members of other races or settlements."

"Third—assault of a sexual nature against any individual is punishable by death. Consent is absolute. Anything less is a capital crime."

"Fourth—all races within our settlement have equal rights and protections under our laws. A goblin’s crime against an orc is treated the same as an orc’s crime against a goblin. We don’t have second-class citizens."

Lyra nodded, writing quickly. "These are good foundations. We should also address property rights, dispute resolution, how we handle inter-settlement conflicts—"

"Yes, all of that," Satou agreed. "But those four laws are non-negotiable and take priority over everything else. They’re the foundation of what we’re building here. A place where people can live without fear of being victimized by those stronger than them."

"What about enforcement?" Lyra asked. "We need people who can investigate crimes, make arrests, serve as a judicial system."

"I’m appointing you as Chief Administrator," Satou decided. "You’ll oversee the civilian government, including law enforcement and judicial matters. Work with Urgak to establish a guard force—mixed goblins and orcs—whose job is to maintain order and enforce our laws. Grimnir can help with training."

"What authority will they have?"

"Authority to arrest, to investigate, to detain suspects until judgment can be rendered. But for the four capital crimes I just listed, if they catch someone in the act, they have authority to execute on the spot. We can’t afford to give slavers or kidnappers time to escape justice."

Lyra was quiet for a moment, her quill paused over the parchment. "Satou, this is a lot of power you’re putting in place. Summary execution, capital punishment for multiple crimes, authority to kill without trial in certain situations. Are you sure this is the right path? It’s... severe."

"It has to be," Satou said firmly. "We’re trying to change a culture that has practiced slavery and kidnapping for centuries. Half-measures won’t work. People need to understand that these behaviors will result in immediate death, not imprisonment, not fines, not second chances. Death."

He sat down across from her. "I know it seems harsh. But I saw those women today, Lyra. I saw what generations of ’tradition’ had done to them. I can’t let that happen here. I won’t let it happen here. If being severe is what it takes to prevent that kind of suffering, then that’s what I’ll be."

Lyra studied his face for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "You’re right. Sometimes kindness isn’t the answer. Sometimes you need to be brutal to protect the innocent." She returned to her notes. "I’ll draft the complete legal code based on these foundations and have it ready for your review by tomorrow evening. We’ll need to announce it publicly, make sure everyone in the settlement understands the new laws."

"We’ll do it the day after tomorrow," Satou said. "Give people time to digest Kelvin’s victory celebration, then hit them with the serious business. And make sure to include provisions for educating new arrivals—like the goblins from Zik’s settlement—about our laws immediately upon joining us."