Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

"You are finally here," Makary raised his eyes up to the two of us as we entered the room already filled with all sorts of figures.

The crowd inside was actually much bigger than I expected.

Instead of just me, Fay, Makary, Etaria, and maybe the two of Makary's aides slash lieutenants, there was a total of around forty people gathered inside and seated along all the sides of a massive, square table.

With a glance, I counted up to a total of twelve people of imperial affiliation with Etaria at their head. When it came to the earth's side, there was Makary along with a total of nine of his men, with me, Fay, and Kash filling up the count of twelve.

Lastly, for the third side in what should be a two-sided discussion, a group of six managers and six most heavily prompted imperial workers were present to represent the interest of all the fifty thousand workers within the camp and the further twenty-five thousand that would join it before the month's end.

"What a huge crowd," I spoke out before heading to the only part of the table, right by Makary's side, where there were still two seats left.

"It's a matter that we cannot deal with at our own discretion, after all," Makary was quick to counter while giving Etaria a short glance. "It wouldn't be much of a cooperation otherwise, would it?"

The princess noted Makary's annoyed stare but opted not to comment on it or challenge it with a stare of her own.

"Right on the money," I smiled while pulling the seat for Fay and helping her get seated.

It's not like she needed my help. She was perfectly capable of pulling the chair for herself… but would that still be the case a few months down the line, once her belly would start visibly bulging out?

And if it was only a matter of time before all sorts of discomforts would come to appear in Fay's life, I decided it was best for me to already get used to performing all sorts of small acts of loving care, even if it was something as simple as helping her get seated.

Nearly forty people watched in silence as I helped Fay sit down and then pushed her chair in as she lowered herself over it before finally taking down my own seat and leaning over the table.

"I know we are the ones that are late, but can you guys fill us in on the exact details of what happened, what's the issue and why is it so important to drag everyone here?"

I wasn't here to question the judgment of whoever was behind this meeting. How could I do so, if all I knew about the topic was some hearsay from Kash's mouth?

"There was an… altercation between two imperial workers during their trip to the town," Ziggy, one of Makary's lesser aides, revealed.

I only managed to bring my eyebrows together, forming a look of confusion before the man caught on.

"They received personal commendation twice, allowing them to move to an advanced division. And once that division received a commendation as a whole unit, we lifted them to the third and second class worker status."

According to the tone of the man's voice, that alone should serve as an explanation.

But being away from the camp for the last week, I apparently missed an establishment of some sort of a class system, rendering me unable to see through the point Makary's aide was trying to make.

"It's a translated employment scheme from back home," Makary hurried with yet another explanation, only serving to let me understand the explanation his aide just offered.

"All the imperials start as a fifth class with basic food and lodging. First commendation lifts them to fourth class with better food and less cramped housing. The third class is something like being an agency worker. The second class turns them from a part of the crowd into acknowledged workers while reaching first-class gives them the right to become a trainee for a higher-end job."

The explanation was fairly simple, just like this entire scheme.

Yet, as reasonable as it was to give all the imperials a clear and simple path to lift their status from mere tools to move stuff around or complete most basic jobs to proper members of the new camp's workforce…

I still couldn't see how advancing thrice, from fifth-class worker to second-class worker would give anyone the right to visit the the town.

'Having a day off is one thing, but to let them go to an Imperial city… Isn't it too early? What are the chances any of those allowed in the city will actually return, rather than just casting their clothes aside and merging into the crowd of locals?'

"It's because of their whole division receiving commendation from their overseer, lifting everyone's status to third class or above. Being able to visit the town comes with the punishment for the group as a whole if their numbers dwindle by the time they are to return."

Makary came in with the last part of the explanation that I needed to finally grasp the situation… and unknowingly, he allowed me to already figure out how everything played out.

If those men were to be allowed into town one by one, there would hardly be any chance for the conflict to arise. But as they were only allowed to leave for the town as a whole division, their number alone made all sorts of altercations all the more likely.

"Honestly, I don't really get what's all the issue," Etaria spoke out, forcing me out of the bubble where only Makary and his aides existed, pulling me back to the reality where there were two entire factions that could have an entirely different understanding of what happened in that frontier town.

"Two men had a disagreement and ended up resorting to violence to solve it. That's literally it," Etaria continued while slightly leaning over the table's edge. "What's the issue? And why was it so important for us to gather here and discuss it?"

'It's not like you have anything better to do, isn't it? I thought but wisely kept my tongue locked behind my teeth. Stay updated through empire

"It's not about those two guys having a fight," Makary pointed out while shaking his head. "It's about deciding what would be an appropriate response to such events, a response that would fit both our understanding of order and the imperial approach to customs and laws."

'He is missing the point,' I thought, leaning over the table myself to indicate I was about to speak out.

"It's not about how we should respond to this particular case, but about the system of rewards and punishments that we need to establish. A system that won't, due to our ignorance of your culture, be taken as a great offense."

Etaria squinted her eyes… but ultimately leaned back in her chair as if to imply she finally got our point.

"Then, there is the issue that their fight brought up to everyone's attention. And it's an issue of all those workers either missing their families or just the company of a woman."

According to what I knew, the armies of a period back on earth would often be accompanied by a second army of civilians, following the soldiers with the intent of making money off dealing with whatever the soldiers out in the field would be missing out on.

Just like that, people made fortunes serving alcohol, creating mobile gambling dens or outright brothels on carriages.

Historians called this process the scourge of armies, as it only served to demoralize the soldiers and slow the march of an army down.

'But life is never as simple as historians make it to be,' I thought, wholeheartedly disagreeing with such arrogant sentiment.

Out in the field, men still needed something to take their minds off the dangers of their work and the daily toil of serving in a low-tech army. And what else were they supposed to spend their time, energy, and money on if there were no bars, gambling dens, or brothels to serve as a sink for all three of the things that all soldiers had in overabundance?

'In a sense, failing to address this point is what brought all of us here in the first place,' I thought, leaning back in my chair with a heavy sigh.

"In the imperial army, how would you guys deal with the issue of soldiers…" Makary hesitated for a second, "soldiers having more energy than they can burn through?"

Etaria cast a furious, insulted glance at the man.

"The imperial army never faced such issues! We first enforce great discipline in our legions and then simply give them enough work not to let them think about useless things," Etaria announced in a prideful if not outright boasting voice.

Yet, rather than showering her with praise and applause… Everyone either gave her an exasperated look reserved for the naive ones or outright avoided looking her way in the first place.

"And what's the stance of the imperial workers on the issue?" I asked, turning my head over to where the six most acclaimed imperials were to represent all of their colleagues along with six of their direct superiors.

There, I was allowed to observe quite a meaningful change.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Instead of stealing glances at the princess to gauge how far they could go with their words, those imperials…

They looked over to their superiors instead!

'They fear their boss more than the princess,' I took a mental note while hiding a small smile. 'It seems those guys trained them well.'

Still, contrary to the princess, the six supervisors of the construction team didn't bother to give the workers any looks. And the only one who actually bothered to speak out…

"Speak your mind. You are not here to sign praises or fall in line, but to give us accurate feedback. Also, keep in mind, we are not asking about your preferences and opinions alone, but the sentiments that prevail amidst all the other workers."

The man who spoke had no elegant uniform on. In fact, despite the early hour, a single look was enough to start spotting the signs of hard work all over the man's attire, from spots where paint splashed over his shirt or the dirt sticking to the bottom of the man's pants.

There was nothing about the construction officer that would reveal his status… Nothing, beyond the casual expression on his face and extreme, near endless load of stoicism bursting out of the man's eyes.

That, and the way how Kash, despite sitting at the direct end of the table to the man, instinctively lowered her head the very moment she looked at the man.

"If you ask about our companions in general…"

The first of the acclaimed, imperial workers finally gathered enough courage to speak out at the table filled with all sorts of extremely important figures.

Still, despite facing Makary and me, the two bosses of the entire operation, despite facing the very princess that he used to serve through a proxy just a few weeks ago… The man simply gulped his saliva down and chased all the fears away, raising his eyes and facing both his task and fate head-on.

"I believe the third and second-class workers have it the worst. Advancing to the fourth class gives us better food. Reaching third class puts us on the waiting list for better lodging. Reaching second class, though, only brings us more money… Money that we can't really spend."

The imperial worker cast a sweeping glance across the table, most likely expecting all those important people to jump up and tear him a new one…

Only to see people taking their time to process what he just said instead. And that had to be one hell of a boost to the man's confidence at the moment.

"Third-class workers still have to wait to get any real benefit while second class gets a benefit they cannot use," the man repeated the last of what he said before shrugging his shoulders. "With that in mind, it's no wonder they would be desperate to reward themselves once the opportunity arises.

And with a whole division's worth of men rushing to the city to find something to drink, some cards to gamble, or a woman to bed for the night…"

The man put a stop to his words, the look of anxiety returning to his face.

"With a whole division rushing to get those things, it's only natural there won't be enough bars, gambling dens, or whorehouses in the small, frontier town to accommodate everyone. And thus, they are forced to wait for their turn again," I pointed out, drawing parallel to the problem of the third-class workers having to wait to actually get the reward of a better lodging.

"Good," Makary spoke out in a voice just serious enough to command everyone to look over at his face. "That means, we now know what the issue is," he mentioned in an already softer voice only to cup his hands right before his face as he leaned over the table and cast a sweeping glance across all those seated around its edges.

"Now, the question is, how do we deal with those issues?"