With the festivities over on the 2nd, Carlos returned to work, already paying the salaries of all the mocambo's employees. This time, the payment was being made at the town hall by staff now working under Aqua's command. But, as there were few people, he was helping with the payments himself.

  Today, especially, some workers were much more excited because Carlos had decided to pay a hazard pay bonus for guards and those working in the gunpowder workshop. And, if someone used magic gems in their work, there would be an additional bonus too.

  Amid the line of workers was a man who looked unusual by the mocambo's standards: he was white. As he approached his turn to receive the bag of coins, he trembled with excitement. Carlos was the one handling payments in his line, following the long list of names of commerce employees, until he reached his name.

  "Jorginho, the base salary is two hundred réis, but since you use the ice and iron gems at work, it comes to three hundred réis."

  Picking up the bag of coins, Carlos smiled before handing it to Jorginho, who was somewhat incredulous about receiving a salary even as a prisoner of war. As Carlos handed him the coins, he said:

  "You know, your coworker, Nala, informed me that you've been helping at the cash register and that you know how to read and write. That kind of thing is very important for us here in the quilombo. You could get a two hundred réis raise next month and take care of the shop's cash register and expenses. What do you say?"

  Jorginho, with the coins in his hands, was happy to hear that. Of course, it didn't compare to the money he earned in the captaincy's capital, but considering the mocambo's cost of living, he could buy more things.

  "Sir, I'm happy to hear that, but, if it's not too rude of me… Can I continue living here in the mocambo, without it being to serve my sentence?"

  Carlos was excited to hear the request because, at the moment, what the mocambo lacked most were people who knew how to read and write. Currently, he was asking anyone in the quilombo with these essential skills to come live here. Luckily, his contributions were making the other mocambo chiefs more predisposed to help—one of them being Maria, whose son was gradually regaining his lost limbs at the church. The healing couldn't be done all at once, as Ant?nio didn't have the abundant mana the Papess possessed.

  "But of course you can!"

  Jorginho smiled slightly upon hearing the answer, but with a slightly choked voice, he said:

  "I also have a wife and a daughter… Sir, would it be possible for me to send a letter asking them to come live here? My wife always helped me with my shop; she also knows how to read and write."

  Carlos's smile widened even further.

  "But of course! Just give me the letter later."

  Jorginho also broke into a wide smile.

  "Thank you very much, sir!"

  After taking the coins, he left the line, and Carlos resumed his work.

  I only asked him to live here because of the gems he could use. But, thinking about it, having more literate people is always useful. I'll check with Specter if he can send more prisoners of war who know how to read and write here, and if they agree to move with their families, that would help me immensely!

  Jorginho, with his newly earned salary, was already on his way to buy paper and ink to write the letter. In the mocambo's center, these products were sold at absurd prices since they were imported. Luckily, he could pay in installments.

  However, on the way, he was intercepted by Nala.

  "Hey, Jorginho, what's the rush?"

  The scrawny man stopped walking and turned to see his coworker.

  "Nala, I just wanted to buy something quickly. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Jorginho tried to continue on his way, but Nala stepped in front of him.

  "Aren't you forgetting something?" she said, with an angry look.

  Finally, Jorginho remembered: she was the one who paid for his meals at the restaurant.

  Just got the money and it's already slipping through my fingers.

  Reluctantly, he paid her.

  Later, at the town hall, Carlos was talking with Aqua about the month's earnings.

  "We surpassed the one million réis mark!" he said, excited.

  And Aqua immediately crushed his excitement.

  "Just as the expenses passed one million," she said, looking at the papers, "especially with the steel imports."

  The smile quickly vanished from his face.

  "Saying we spent over a million is wrong, since 444,677 réis, which is half of our export earnings, go to Zala. Luckily, the mocambo's people now have more money to spend buying things within the mocambo itself, and that money goes directly into our pocket."

  Aqua, shuffling the papers, said:

  "Which, in the end, goes to pay more salaries and expenses. Speaking of which, Quixotina is already training the staff who will work at the schools, right? I can already imagine that the more people know how to read and write, the more expenses we'll have… It's better if some of your ideas bear fruit soon, otherwise we'll spend more than we earn."

  Carlos tried to force a smile.

  "Don't worry, it will work out. That's why we're importing so much steel: to have steam engines capable of working for us… I just hope the Papess can get the ores so we can produce more steel. If clothes are already bringing in almost a million réis in profit, imagine what steel would give us!"

  Aqua shook her head.

  "And imagine if she can't?"

  Hmm… I don't even want to think about that… The expenses are increasing a lot. If only I could keep all the export money for myself…

  With a thoughtful expression, Carlos said:

  "Aqua, do you think you could talk to your son to stop stealing our money from the exports?"

  Complex emotions showed on Aqua's face.

  "I would like to, Carlos, but let's just say I'm not that close to him anymore. He was always closer to his father, who died defending the quilombo."

  "Was that enough for you to drift apart?"

  Aqua sighed and said calmly:

  "The quilombo was attacked in retaliation for an attack we launched on a prosperous mill in the region, and he blames me, saying I was responsible for his father's death. Since you're new here, you probably don't know, but under my leadership, we attacked many more mills. Now… these expeditions are much rarer; we just stay holed up here in our forest, like cornered animals. Losing my husband made me rethink that too, which is why I passed the leadership of the quilombo to my son."

  It seems it won't be that easy… But I better stop being passive. I think I'll bring this issue up with Zala at the next meeting.

  "I see…"

  All the excitement Carlos had felt upon seeing the profit report vanished, replaced by worries about his mocambo's future.

  After finishing the paperwork at the town hall, Aqua returned home, and Carlos went to his newly built laboratory, which he was using to try to produce the chemicals necessary for making smokeless gunpowder—which could be used in future repeating firearms. It would be dangerous to leave this research only for when the quilombo urgently needed these weapons; so, for now, he was focusing on these processes.

  In the laboratory, saltpeter and sulfur were burning, mixed in a glass vessel that had cost the mocambo a fortune. Beneath the glass were fire gems, heating it without flames to avoid accidents.

  "Will this help make more powerful weapons for the quilombo?" asked Davi, his lab assistant, a twenty-year-old black man who could use fire, ice, and wind gems—a temperature control that proved very useful.

  "Yes, Davi. The ultimate goal is to make smokeless gunpowder for new weapons. But for that, we first have to make sulfuric acid."

  "That would be perfect! I've fought with flintlock muskets, and the smoke they released made it impossible to see anything! I couldn't even see the enemies I shot down."

  Carlos smiled.

  "You haven't seen anything… With smokeless gunpowder, we can use it in weapons without needing to reload after every shot."

  Davi's mouth fell open in disbelief.

  "That's amazing, chief. I'd love to see those weapons."

  As they talked, the gases from burning the materials were carried through a tube into water, where they mixed. Underneath the water, there were also fire gems, which, after the water was sufficiently acidified, heated it, leaving behind crystals. Hot air was blown onto the crystals, giving them oxygen while heating them. The magical tool being used was called a "hair dryer" by Carlos, as there was no better word to describe it. After all, it had been taken from a mill; its original owner used it to dry her hair, and the shape was similar. The best part was that mana could be embedded in it, making it last a good while—and that was one of Davi's jobs, who seemed very enthusiastic about the role.

  Carlos pointed to the crystals and explained:

  "With heat and air, these crystals will release the sulfuric acid we need. The solid that remains, we can reuse in the process."