Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Do only what is necessary, not a bit more. Don't let the results exceed expectations.

This is the motto of the Harpists. They are representatives of the forces of good, always hidden in the shadows, disappearing into the crowd as soon as their tasks are completed. Although their conduct is varied, the simplest point is enough for the Toril people to trust them a little: only those who are not in the Evil Faction can become a Harpist.

So, although these Harpists revealed their long-hidden identities and mentioned personal matters they didn't want to discuss, when they received a request from a colleague to help the refugees, they agreed without hesitation.

Ivar Gremms' cheerful smile initially confused these ill-fated self-exposed Harpists... they didn't blame this Bard for not stopping them from entering the refugee camp.

It's not something a manager of a refugee town could have a say in anyway.

So the Harpists' hearts, painfully trampled, found some solace in their colleague's cheerful laughter... Many Harpists still had their ambitions and hadn't planned on retiring by exposing their identities so soon.

Unfortunately, the Undead Tribe never considered the privacy needs of NPCs, and there was no way they could keep a secret environment... having disclosed their identities in front of tens of thousands of refugees, they could only choose public work environments in the future.

Then the Harpists, united by a common belief... According to Ivar Gremms' account, the Teraxil Elves had done their best, not only ensuring the refugees had no worries about survival, but also providing them with very decent accommodations... Even the Amanata Believers who came to rescue them only offered a large hall that allowed a few hundred people to shelter from the elements together.

But that was already a place many Kalinsanians could only dream of living in... If Manshaka hadn't already been surrounded by Divine Beasts, most people here would have chosen to go there.

The Harpists looked a bit regretfully at the small town before them. It was quite suitable for those who liked seclusion like them, but for the Kalinsanians, steeped in power struggles for years, even the commoners would surely choose to go to Manshaka over a forest town with sufficient food and clothing, even if they could only sleep on withered grass there.

If the city, housing the descendants of the Great Pasha, opened a road to the Mil Forest, the majority of people here would choose to leave.

No matter how good the terms the Teraxil Elves offered, they couldn't retain many people, for power was the eternal fire in the hearts of the Kalinsanians.

The Harpists pitied the well-intentioned Teraxil Elves and decided to take on these troublesome affairs... Just like Ivar Gremms said, knowing these Kalinsanians wouldn't stay on the elves' land, the elves shouldn't waste their efforts gratifying nobody.

Besides, they couldn't have a group of otherworldly elves managing ordinary civilians. How could they possibly understand the living conditions of Toril's underclass?

If that weren't the case, they wouldn't have provided such good living conditions... This is already decent for middle-class families in Toril.

But they also couldn't let the original Kalinsanian nobles manage things... Honestly, most Kalinsanian nobles couldn't even find their way out of that externally shabby but quite capacious Strange Objects town. Nobles, right! Having a few emerge from a non-evil alignment is a miracle in itself.

The Teraxil Elves were willing to give them a place to survive, but definitely not within the Mil Forest... Their only option would be to stay in the refugee camp until everything ends or to find their way to Manshaka.

Even if those people could come out, the Harpists understood they were a group of unusable individuals, even if they had a bit of ability.

Everyone has been through the rounds in Toril, and none would want to be left with nothing more than an unworthy reputation in front of visitors from another world.

But after really taking on the various tasks of the town, the Harpists only wanted to kill Ivar Gremms before they kill themselves... The refugee town had plenty of food and no gangs causing trouble!

Their most frequent task was to drag out clueless idiots from the hands of female Professionals before their deaths.

If it weren't for the Undead Tribe's White Dragon flying around in the sky, providing some restraint for the women, perhaps some idiot would have been killed... instead of now, merely left with mutilated lower bodies... Although the Undead Tribe had many Priests, who would be shameless enough to directly request their aid?

They could only give these fools the most trivial Healing Spells from the Bard.

Even though they didn't want to spend mana on such fools, in this current elusive Weave, even a level 0 spell is quite precious, you know?

Yet... they really didn't know how to explain the causes of these people's deaths to the Teraxil Elves, so they could only help these guys hang on to life.

Anyway, even if they remained alive, under the precise strikes of the female Professionals, these people would only be able to work in the Pasha's harem for the rest of their lives.

Who knows where so many idiots came from... Indeed, Kalinsan women are famous for their frailty, but those who've truly struggled out of such a terrifyingly patriarchal society generally come equipped with a stone-cold heart and ruthless hand!

Have they completely forgotten the legend of the ageless one from the Ancient Night Temple?

Before gaining Shaer's favor, she had caused six Pashas to end their bloodlines... There's even a legend that those Pashas who once pushed her to a dead end are now serving as eunuchs in the underground palace, attending to her and her three loyal male priests' daily lives!

Where did a group of guys who aren't even official professionals get the courage to covet a professional above level 8?

The harpers really can't understand what these people are thinking... Most importantly, all these people came from the refugee camps, so why do they think attacking women is allowed?

Don't they even know whose jurisdiction they are under?

Ah, no, they understand a bit, at least no Kalinsanian would show an ugly face to those elves dressed more scantily... But that makes it even more unbearable.

The harpers feel they can understand why those female professionals are getting more and more ruthless. Being seen as easy prey is an insult to any professional.

Even if these people didn't succeed and were seriously injured, they still caused quite a stir. The Undead Tribe is aware of this unpleasant issue... But since they have already handed over the management of the town to these locals, they have no intention to intervene directly.

There are always bad people among NPCs, which is normal for them... Anyway, it's not a big deal to directly kill those who break the law.

The Undead Tribe couldn't care less about any nonsense Kalinsanian law that allows a man to declare ownership over a woman.

Of course, the harpers realize that getting elves, who have always been liberal, to understand such disgusting laws is just a pipe dream.

Moreover, a young Teraxil female elf with a white dragon mount has already issued a warning. If she finds anyone attacking women under her watch, she'll have the white dragon half-kill them and throw them out of the city wall.

The harpers never thought that one of their most important tasks would be to teach these addle-headed men what control means... The Kalinsanian tradition of claiming a woman as your own by taking her home does not apply within the control of the elves.

Moreover, can they even take them back home?

Why are there so many people who can't see themselves clearly!

But they understand that these Kalinsanians are just ignorant... The fact that they managed to walk out of that camp proves they haven't done anything bad. Even though the harpers are very angry, they still hope to save these brainless poor souls.

Ivar Gremms completely disregards the angry looks from his former colleagues... As long as someone can share the workload, he fears nothing!

He throws himself into the busy allocation work... The basic maintenance of the town has mostly been handed over to them. That Teraxil elf's leader... oh no, those elves call them commanders, just delivers each day's food to the town square every morning... three multigrain buns per person... even the distribution authority is given to them.

The fountain in the center of the square provides them with enough fresh water, and there are large expanses of berry bushes growing at the back of the town... which means they need to schedule collecting times every day, at least ensuring that everyone has a chance to enter the thicket.

As for how much they can gather, it depends on how hard they work... It might be because of the little fairies' blessing, these bushes regenerate almost every six hours.

Even if the number of refugees doubles, it shouldn't be a problem.

There's water, multigrain buns... shockingly, many people can't even afford black bread, and now they're actually giving refugees multigrain bread with the aroma of wheat... plus berries, something many might not have enjoyed before entering the Mil Forest Refugee Town.

Adding to the troublesome issues in that refugee camp... many small groups that appeared united eventually fell apart... without killing some of their so-called past companions, only their reasoning kept it together.

Even though the harpers are all kind people... everyone has some dark emotions. If accidentally expressed, they'd feel too ashamed to face others, especially people they used to know, so they understand why there aren't throngs of people in the town.

Except for those hot-headed guys, the refugee town is now quite easy to manage.

Ivar Gremms believes that their management work will face true challenges in the future... there will always be people who think they are naturally talented and can rule in the worst environments.

That's why he's frantically pulling his harper colleagues into this... although the reasoning may seem absurd, at least it won't arouse suspicion from those with ambitions.

With such good management conditions, if anyone can still form cliques to cause trouble under the harpers' watchful eyes, they'd be truly embarrassed.