The Countess Lives Twice in the Apocalypse-Chapter 92: Ninety-one
Just like Jannah and Merlot discussed, Jeriel, Princess Huenazia and Duke Eulicies had people lining up in front of them to fill up the paper with information Jannah asked for.
Marco and Lucienta who had their duty going during the day were instructed to oversee the three lines of people to ensure that no one will be seeking out physical or verbal confrontation just in case.
Clara, on the other hand, had led the ten women from Rye to go to the mansion while letting them carry the paper that had their information.
At this point, Jannah had woken up, freshen up, and had her breakfast before she made her way down the stairs to go to the dining hall where she asked Merlot to bring the women.
"Countess." The ten women simultaneously greeted, lowering their heads and showing their respects.
"Please, don’t bow to me." Jannah said, taking a seat at the end of the dining table, "Have a seat, this will be a little long and I don’t want all of you tiring yourself out."
They did as they were told, each of them picking a chair to sit in and taking a seat.
"I asked Count Nige to assist with the things he brought the other day, Jannah." Clara informed her friend, smiling cheerfully as she observed the way her friend carried herself with grace and confidence.
"Did he say something?" Jannah asked, raising an eyebrow.
"When I said that you were the one who asked for his help, he immediately shut his mouth and got to work so no." Clara said, a giggle escaping her lips as she recalled what happened by the front gate.
"That’s good. Good job, Clara." Jannah praised her, a small, grateful smile creeping into her lips as she nodded her head towards her friend.
"It’s my pleasure!"
Clara said, her voice high-pitched with glee and delight, then she exited the dining hall, waving at Jannah to help Marco and Lucienta outside.
"Alright, now that’s out of the way." Jannah turned to the women before her, "I called for all of you to come here because I would like to ask for your permission to be registered in my social bonds."
She knows that they are currently unfamiliar with the social bond, but she needed to ask questions. She paused for a moment, eyeing the crowd and waiting for someone to raise a hand.
The hunter of the group raised her hand and Jannah nodded her head as she said, "If you have questions, raise a hand then ask, no need to wait for my permission to speak."
"Thank you, my lady." The female hunter said and smiled, "May I ask what is this social bond you speak of?"
"Social bonds refers to the relationship between me and the person I’ll put in the bond, you will gain a skill from me and you will be able to use it as your own." Jannah explained briefly.
"What would happen to me if I asked you to put me in the bond, my lady?" The hunter asked further, a look of pure curiosity can be seen in her dark eyes.
"Your location will always be shown to me and you will be able to communicate with me through your mind." Jannah answered almost immediately which caused the women to gasp in awe, "It’s because of the bond between me and you."
"Then, allow me to be the first to be put in that social bond, my lady." The hunter perked up, a hopeful and delighted expression settling on her face, "This is my paper, everything that the Princess asked for is written in there."
Jannah watched as the hunter passed her paper to the woman next to her, then that woman passed the paper to the woman next to her— this process was repeated three times before the paper reached her.
"Okay, are you sure that you want to be put in the social bond, Liria?" Jannah asked, her eyes shifting from the paper to the hunter.
"Yes, my lady." Liria answered, her voice dripping with confidence and excitement.
"Sit down." Jannah hummed out and raised a hand, her finger touching the surface of the key as she put Liria’s name on the ally bond, "If you feel sick, tell me and I’ll heal you."
"Yes, my lady." Liria said, the smile on her getting wider due to Jannah showing concern.
That was the start of her putting the women’s name in the social bonds of ally and confidant. She had completely forgotten to tell them that there are two social bonds they could choose from so the first three ladies didn’t get to choose.
However, they expressed that they didn’t mind if they didn’t mind where she put them, as long as they can be useful to her.
She found the last bit of wanting to be useful to her strange because she saved them so they can live their life without others expecting something from them, but they went and told her that they want to work for her.
To each their own though, right?
Out of the ten women inside the room, eight of them wanted to be put in the ally bond and get what they wanted while the other two were placed in confidant bond.
Jannah also found out that most of them have practiced skills that she found incredibly useful.
Out of the ten women, she has someone who’s an expert in the field of herbs and someone who is very knowledgeable on treating a particular type of mental illness. Though, she was more of a listener and would give advice if the person they listen to asked for it.
Out of the ten women, there are four hunters who are very knowledgeable and who had experience with handling weapons— bow and arrows, axe, sword, daggers, and anything they yield that can be turned into a weapon.
It doesn’t help the fact that one of the women is tall, muscular, and strong. The veins in her hands can be seen through her calloused hands, but Jannah could only guess that her husband was into something like that.
Out of the ten women, there are two women who are experienced in the field of vegetables and fruits— they told her that they once experimented on mixing two kinds of fruits that bore a strange looking fruit.
They continued their story by saying that they planted the two seeds together at the back of their house and waited for the seed to sprout. Since they were planted next to each other, their seeds crossed and it resulted in a new fruit.
They immediately took down the fruit and burned it when winter came due to their fear of being singled out by the men in Rye.
One of the hunters proved their story true because she was the one who took down the tree, cutting it down with her axe and burying it on the snow overnight then helped the two ladies burn it when the men went out to hunt.
Jannah admired the friendship of the three, making her smile softly at how they told the story that shines a bright spotlight on the other women.
Last, but not least, the remaining two women are experienced when it comes down to cleaning a dead body.
They went ahead and told everyone around the table how they would submerge the body in alcohol and insert some preservative herbs into the fleshy parts of the body before wrapping the body in clean cottons that they weave using leaves.
Jannah and Kirie had to share a glance to see if they are not the only ones who found the process of cleaning the body fascinating.
Well, at least Jannah doesn’t have to worry about her people getting thrown outside the town and getting buried ten feet below, right? They have two women who’s knowledgeable and expert in that field after all.
After that, Kirie had led the women out of the mansion, Jannah had told them that they would be given their roles the next day which earned her a collective murmur of excitement and happiness.
Sighing in satisfaction, Jannah glanced at the social bond window of ally.
[Ally bond:
Liria
Bond level: 1
Skills:
Elemental Wall
Jacqueline
Bond level: 1
Skills:
Petrify
Mandy
Bond level: 1
Skills:
Rebellion
Panther
Bond level: 1
Skills:
Salvation
Sasha
Bond level: 1
Skills:
Concealment
Maria
Bond level: 1
Skills:
Punisher
Rose
Bond level: 1
Skills:
Salvation
Diana
Bond level: 1
Skills:
Elemental Wall ]
She was glad to see that most of them wanted to be put in the category of ally, gaining the skill, Elemental Wall, which will give them the advantage of building houses and expanding the community faster.
[Confidant bond:
Alisha
Bond level: 1
Skills:
Regeneration
Riley
Bond level: 1
Skills:
Endure ]
Jannah couldn’t stop the sense of pride and joy swirling in her chest, looking at the skills of each person in the social bonds made her feel like she will create a greater community compared to the one she tried to create in her first life.
She thought, since she got betrayed by Baron Pangasikan and turned the people against her, she wouldn’t be able to trust anyone else except her people and her little sister.
Yet, here she is, putting the women’s name in the category they wanted all because she felt like she could trust them.
Please don’t let me regret my decision.
