As they were approaching the office, they were surprised to see people rushing in the direction of the office.
Lorian had expected a queue and not a crowd gathered around.
Something did not feel normal.
There was noise of a quarrel coming from the office.
Two guards at the gate were trying their best to stop the crowd from peeking inside.
Suddenly one of the guards noticed Lorin and shouted at the crowd to make way for the Lord.
He intentionally used a loud voice, most probably so that both the people inside and outside the office would know of the arrival of the prince.
And it worked.
Soon the buzzing and hustle and bustle stopped.
The crowd promptly made a path for Lorian towards the office.
Earlier, what was surprise and exclamation in his face had shifted to irritation, annoyance, and anger, as he had a hunch what might have happened.
As Lorian made entry inside, he looked back to the crowd and ordered them to make a proper queue and wait for half an hour for him to sort things out and start the process.
As he and Kaelan entered inside, Zara approached him and bowed, begging for forgiveness.
"Were you the reason?" Lorian asked in a cold voice.
"No, my liege!" she replied in the negative, "but I could not calm the situation down either!"
"Well, that was not your duty anyway!" he replied and approached the two people who had created the ruckus—Eldred Alsnow and Rylan Fartom.
Lorian gritted his teeth and ordered both of them to speak their version of what had happened, without anyone else interjecting—first Eldred, then Rylan, and then only he would decide.
Lorian, with great patience, maintaining his composure, heard both of their sides, and it was clear to him that this was more of an ego issue between the two—especially from Alsnow's side.
Lorian had set a range of compensation, broadly dividing it into three tiers—
Tier 1: Loss of Life: Families who lost a loved one will receive a significant lump sum of 500-1,000 Shines (Silver Coin) per person lost. After all, this was a life-changing amount for a commoner, enough to support a family for a year or two and start a new business.Tier 2: Serious Injury: Individuals with life-altering injuries would receive 200-500 Shines (SC) to cover medical expenses, lost wages, and rehabilitation.Tier 3: Property Damage: Funds will be allocated based on the extent of the damage, with a goal of fully restoring the property. For a completely destroyed home, this could be 100-200 Shines (SC) to hire a builder and acquire materials.
Lorian did not define the exact amount but set a variable between a limit and left it up to the team to decide who would be eligible for how much compensation.
And it created the issue.
According to Rylan, Eldred was handing out compensation completely arbitrarily, or based on the face value of the person coming to collect the compensation.
And Rylan was completely against it.
When Lorian asked Eldred how he was deciding how one should get compensated, Eldred fumbled and said his experience and gut feelings were the deciding factors.
The Lorian asked Rylan what alternative Rylan had in mind.
Rylan nodded and handed Lorian over a sheet where he made a complete calculation, which made Lorian speechless.
For example, for Tier 1—Loss of Life, which was eligible for compensation between 500 and 1000 Shines, he made the following calculation:
Every family that had lost a loved one would be granted a base compensation of 500 Shines.
This amount was non-negotiable and applied to every single casualty, regardless of their role or status in life.
On top of the base compensation, an additional amount would be allocated based on objective criteria that measure the immediate hardship caused to the surviving family.
An additional 100 Shines would be added for each dependent under the age of 18 or over the age of 65 who relied on the deceased.
This was to ensure their continued care and well-being.
If the deceased was the family's sole or primary breadwinner, an additional 200 Shines would be provided to account for the total loss of income and to aid in establishing a new livelihood.
In cases of documented, unique hardship, such as the deceased being a sole caregiver for a family member with a long-term illness or disability, an additional amount, up to 200 Shines, might be approved on a case-by-case basis.
This was to be determined by Rylan, Eldred, and Zara—the three officials who were supposed to head the entire operation.
Lorian was deeply impressed by this judgement and attempt to create a fair and just and well-defined formula for compensation disbursal.
Rylan was going to establish a well-defined system that was built on the principle that while all lives hold equal worth, the hardships left behind were not always equal.
The base compensation honored every individual, while the adjustments provided critical support to the most vulnerable.
This ensured that the fund would act not as a payment, but as a righteous safety net, restoring what was lost in the most meaningful way possible.
Lorian could hug Rylan, but the Adrian in him stopped him from doing that, as it would create further unnecessary conflict in the team.
So Lorian nodded and decided to scold both for creating a ruckus and thereby damaging their reputation in front of people.
He rebuked both for giving in to ego and not trying to understand each other's point.
But he did not forget to praise Rylan for coming up with such a system and approved it then and there.
Eldred was a bit hurt for having Rylan's idea get approved ultimately.
Lorian was also getting more and more disappointed and irritated with Eldred.
Anyway, he decided to oversee the whole process for the rest of the day, sitting in his office, and it appeared it went well.
After the first day was over, with 30 claims settled, Lorian decided to throw the whole team a party in the Gilded Gryphon—one of the top-class inns in Veridia Market.
The treat was on him.
When all were enjoying themselves, he got a notification—
< Congratulations! You have earned your first Mystic Coin >