''I’ve survived in the village for a year now, and that’s the word to describe how people live there. Conditions back then were... okay when Branka’s authority as a leader held some sway with those managing us. The communal sleeping areas were clean, people could cook for the community, we had gardens, and meats could be shared instead of reserved for the Monsters needing them to stay healthy. A few folks could be intimate in functioning houses. A handful of church people came with alms and medicine regularly; there was talk of opening a clinic and a shrine.''

''Baron Bram took a strong managing stance for his city once he was given administrative authority, and that included them. I didn’t stop the people of my flock from helping them; I put a stop to their independence because the young heir told me to.''
Odd. Throughout the Allied Kingdoms, the duty of managing the labor of Mamonos is overwhelmingly left to the city Bishop’s discretion. Kreszenz is the only place outside that norm, and the queen there has made Monsters outright citizens if they willingly join her army.

''Shigeko, continue.'' You choose to ignore the man’s interruption.

''Starving made it pretty hard for me to pay attention, but things have gotten much, much worse with the mercs becoming the... managers? Rulers?'' She shrugs, crosses her arms, and glares at Belmont. ''They only allow a few deliveries of barrels of filth and garbage out of the village, so things have... accumulated. The mercs believe themselves kings.''

Belmont grows increasingly uncomfortable under the glacial glare of the two-meter-tall blue woman. ''Women are being used in ways that would make our gods weep during the night.'' Seyraphal’s voice is glacial as she finds the strength to stand beside her blue friend; her bandaged face looks genuinely frightening as she, too, glares at the man sitting behind his desk. ''I might have been too sick to take care of myself, but I could still see what was going on.''
Cool head, Rey. Cool head.

''I hold no authority over these... miscreants; they are the purview of Thibault, heir to our baron-''
''Need I remind you of what the Survivor King said about ‘callous disregard,’ Belmont? Why have you been so neglectful of the Mamonos? And the people, now, for a year?!'' When you slam your hand on his desk, Belmont jumps to his feet.

''Because I had to!'' He wipes his sweat with his heavy sleeve. ''My duties are to administer the city’s larger communities, arbitrate conflicts, and investigate the surreal. It took a long time to find proper delegates to start the smooth wheel of a new bureaucracy here in Eichenwald. I founded our new labor guild! Baron Bram insisted on handling the Monsters, and I was glad not to worry about that workload.'' He hisses, rubbing his eyes, pacing the small space available to him back and forth. Workload? An entire race is just a workload?