It was a meeting. Not a small one at that. Almost the whole village had gathered—one or two people from each house.
There was a big, old banyan tree north of the village, near the river where a large open square lay. A round stone platform was built around the tree. Auren had seen it once or twice when Sable and grandma carried him while coming into the village. But he had never come near it—it was much bigger than he had thought, or maybe he was just too small.
Many villagers, quite a lot of women included, were sitting on the ground before the round stone platform. Mostly men, though. On the stone platform, about five men were seated, while a single old wooden chair in the middle remained empty. The five men looked like elders of the village. A couple of them were still in their fifties but somehow looked more important compared to the others.
All eyes turned to them as Dante and Hanzo walked up to the stone platform. Auren realized he was the one being stared at more than the two men. Sable had dressed him in one of his nicer outfits. He too looked at all the villagers' faces, turning his big head around curiously while holding onto Dante's hand. Hanzo remained standing beside the five seated elders as Dante lifted him and placed him on the stone platform, then climbed up himself. The elders called Dante by name and exchanged greetings and other such things, welcoming him.
Dante sat down on the chair and asked Auren if he wanted to sit with him—He was never comfortable with such closeness, so he refused and sat down on the clean stone platform beside the five men. He remained closer to Hanzo, though. Many villagers were still looking at him as the discussion—or whatever it was called—began.
The five men talked about the important things related to the village, fields and the forest around them and once they finished, they asked if anyone had any issues. One by one, many men and women stood up and talked about the problems they were facing.
Some had family problems that were getting close to physical confrontation. A group of farmers were worried about wild boars ruining their fields. Some just had complaints about others—especially the people whose job it was to build houses. The clients wanted repairs and after-service, even though the agreement did not mention those things for the amount they had paid. They claimed the construction wasn't good to begin with.
The five men discussed possible solutions to each and every problem, while Dante chose the best option and told the relevant person to follow it. The couple fighting was banned from raising hands—on either side. Dante told their neighbors to keep an eye on them. Then he assigned a group of teenagers and young men to patrol the fields for a few days and find these wild boars so they could put an end to them.
The people responsible for building houses answered when questioned and revealed the limited budget and materials they were working with—doing more would cost more. Dante asked a few of the wealthier folks if they could loan money to the people in need, with the condition that it would be returned once they got paid for their crops.
Auren sat there quietly, swinging his legs in amusement as he watched it all. When it ended, many women came and pulled his cheeks unnecessarily. The men complimented him, saying how calm he had been through all of it. He met numerous people, names of many of whom he even forgot. He had seen some of them around before and recognized some faces.
All had the summoning crests. Some black, some blue. None—orange.
Dante bought him some sweet dumpling-like thing. He started eating it as they walked back home. It was quiet, with the two men only exchanging a few words once in a while, so he asked,
"How many people do we have here?"
The two men were surprised but didn't let it show much. Dante was more or less used to it. His reason for surprise was different from the uncle's; Auren never asked such things in front of other people. He rarely even spoke in front of other people.
Dante answered,
"Some 200–250. Why did you ask?"
"The forest provides plenty of food, the fields are green too.." Auren said. He knew it wasn't quite fitting for his age, but he was curious. "Then why do people look so.. thin? Why were so many of them complaining about food?"
Now the surprise wasn't so well hidden. The two men exchanged looks. Auren acted nonchalant though—he didn't look at them and kept eating the dumpling-thingy.
"The land the crops grow on isn't theirs, Auren," Dante said in a calm, unhurried voice. "It all belongs to our lord. We have to give a part of it to him. Sometimes it doesn't grow enough for people to share.
Hunting is not easy. Everyone has their own skills and jobs. And there are many dangerous animals in the forest. Some of us have good object summons, though, and some also share other things with the village. Trading those things with the city helps us get more resources. Everyone helps one another in the village."
"I think those are not easy words for a five-year-old to understand," said Hanzo.
Dante stopped. Auren didn't say anything either. Dante didn't clarify that it wasn't his first time asking such questions. His whole family treated that as normal five-year-old behavior. His grandma sometimes looked at him with suspicion but never voiced it.
So it was feudalism through and through. People couldn't own land—only rent it or work it on behalf of their lord. Not such a nice living condition. Technically, this whole village belonged to Dante, but he wasn't the owner. He was just in charge of running it—managing it so the Baron could collect his yearly tax. It was an official position, no doubt, but financially they were even poorer than most of the villagers.
It wasn't entirely by luck, though—Dante often hunted rare and valuable animals, for food and also for the materials they could get out of it. But he always gave most of it away instead of making money off it. As he just said, everyone helps one another in the village; some more than others.