Carlos led the Popess and Francisco, along with her guards, to see his Mocambo. Both looked around with wide eyes, absorbing every detail: the tree-lined sidewalks, the efficient wheelbarrows, the clean and organized shops, the children leaving a school building.

  "You know, I find this idea of public schools quite interesting," commented the Popess, watching the children carrying backpacks and books. "In fact, it's an interesting complement to our system of parochial schools. Perhaps we could adopt some of these practices - after all, we need more literate people not just for divine offices, but also to help with my experiments.“

  “I just don't know how you managed to get so many books for all these children. In our schools, students still copy everything by hand from a single copy, or we use books copied by monks. Which makes them quite expensive."

  Francisco, in turn, shook his head in disapproval.

  "With all due respect, Your Holiness, the Church's schools already train good scribes and clerics. Teaching reading and arithmetic to everyone... it's much harder to make a good deal with someone who's too studious."

  "In your case, you mean it's much harder to deceive a well-educated person," the Popess corrected, with a mischievous smile. "Besides, Francisco, a more educated population can generate more wealth for the entire community... including for astute merchants."

  Carlos, hearing the normally so serious and reserved Popess make a joke, couldn't contain a genuine laugh. But he soon regained his seriousness and turned to them with a smile on his lips.

  "We have so many books thanks to the movable type press," he explained. "We can print dozens of identical books in just a few hours. And soon it will be even more efficient," he added, with a gleam in his eyes. "I'm adapting one of the steam engines to power a special mill. This will allow us to produce paper on a large scale, further reducing costs."

  The Popess's eyes widened, clearly impressed.

  "Produce paper on a large scale?" she repeated, almost breathless. "This would revolutionize not only education but the entire administration of the Church! Currently we depend on parchment or paper imported from Portugal, which arrives here at exorbitant prices."

  Francisco, ever the merchant, didn't miss the opportunity.

  "And this paper... would it be available for sale?" he asked, his mind already calculating potential profits. "Imagine being able to supply paper to all the Holy Cities..."

  She then turned to Carlos, her tone becoming more serious. "When this paper production begins, I would like to discuss an agreement. The Church could be your first and largest client."

  Carlos stopped abruptly, turning to face them. The evening light gilded his silhouette while he extended his arm in a broad, theatrical gesture.

  "Don't worry," he said, his smile encompassing both the Popess and Francisco, "you will always be my first clients. The Quilombo owes much to the Church... and to your talent for commerce, Francisco." His gaze became more introspective. "Without your support, none of this would be possible."

  He paused, letting the words hang in the air heavy with dust and promises, before lightening his tone.

  "But let's leave commercial discussions for tomorrow," he continued, with a casual wave of his hand. "I imagine you're exhausted after the long meeting and this walk. I've prepared accommodations for you here."

  His hand described an arc in the air, pointing to the imposing apartment complex rising before them. The concrete structure, still imbued with the sweet smell of new wood and fresh cement, stood out against the darkening sky. Its empty windows seemed like blind eyes watching the arrival of the illustrious visitors.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "It's the first building of its kind in the Quilombo," Carlos explained, a mixture of pride and weariness in his voice. "The units are still empty; I haven't had time to organize an opening ceremony." He cast a meaningful look in the direction they had come from. "The preparations for our meeting and the... recent incidents consumed all my time."

  The building remained in solemn silence, a mute witness to the progress that stubbornly advanced, defying all the obstacles the colony imposed on it. Each empty floor, each untrodden corridor represented not just a promise of the future, but a silent victory against all odds.

  Carlos guided the group through the tree-lined courtyard to the main entrance of the apartment building. Upon opening the heavy wooden door, a cool, well-lit corridor was revealed, with several side doors and a concrete staircase leading to the upper floors.

  "Your Holiness's apartment is down this hallway," Carlos explained, leading them through the ground floor.

  He walked down the corridor until he stopped before the third door on the right. Turning a solid brass doorknob, he announced:

  "This will be your apartment, Your Holiness. Mr. Francisco will be staying right across here," he said, pointing to the door directly opposite across the corridor. "And the guards may occupy the apartments adjacent to Your Holiness's, on both sides. This way, everyone will be close by, but with the necessary privacy."

  Francisco, who had followed them, rubbed his hands with interest as he peered into his own lodging through the open door.

  As Carlos opened the door to the Popess's apartment, he revealed an airy space where the evening light streamed through large windows, illuminating polished wood floors and plastered walls.

  "We made sure to include some innovations that I believe you will appreciate," he said, guiding her to a room adjoining the main bedroom. "And here, Your Holiness, I believe you will find one of the most appreciated comforts of the Mocambo."

  Francisco, close behind, whistled softly as he observed the space.

  "It looks better furnished than my own house in the city!" he commented, his eyes scanning every detail with the sharp curiosity of a merchant.

  Carlos opened the bathroom door, revealing an environment that was simple but revolutionary for the standards of the colony. In the center stood a glazed ceramic toilet mounted on a concrete base. A wooden reservoir with a simple lever mechanism was fixed to the wall, connected by soldered copper pipes—a direct application of his steel metallurgy.

  He pointed to the wooden reservoir above the toilet.

  "The water comes from a tank on the roof, by gravity. When you pull the lever, the water flows down with force and carries everything through the copper pipes that lead to the septic tanks we built behind the building. It's much more hygienic than common privies."

  Paula watched everything with wide eyes, touching the smooth surface of the toilet and the metal lever.

  Francisco, was already calculating the cost-benefit.

  "And this... bathroom system..." Francisco asked, hesitantly, his eyes shining with the prospect of new business. "Is it very expensive to install? I imagine the plantation owners would pay fortunes for such comfort."

  Francisco wasn't the only interested one; Paula also showed interest.

  "If waste is immediately carried away from dwellings, it could prevent countless illnesses. Fevers, dysentery..." She looked directly at Carlos, her interest completely transcending commerce. "Carlos, this sanitation is a weapon against death as powerful as any antibiotic. We need to talk about implementing this at the Holy House in Santa Maria."

  Carlos smiled, the corner of his lips rising slightly as he exchanged a meaningful look with the merchant. His expression conveyed a calm confidence of someone who knew they were ahead of their time.

  "Francisco, Paula..." he began, in an almost complicit tone. "All knowledge has its price, and all progress, its value." He made a deliberate pause, letting the curiosity of both grow. "Tomorrow, when daylight better illuminates our ideas, we can sit and discuss what would be fair to share these... knowledges. But for today, you can rest easy."

  The response was both a promise and a tactical delay. Carlos knew that keeping his clients in anticipation would only increase the perceived value of the technology - and his own advantageous position in the negotiation that would certainly happen the next day, after they had used the bathroom.

  "For the bath," he continued, indicating the shower, "we have a practical system. One of our Fire Gem practitioners heats the main reservoir at five in the afternoon and seven in the morning. Just turn the golden tap for hot water."

  "Hot baths and flush toilets in the heat of the Northeast..." commented Francisco, already examining the installation with a mischievous smile. "Now that's luxury even the plantation owners would envy!"

  The Popess, however, wasn't as interested in this hot bath - after all, it was already hot outside, and in her mind there was no reason to take a bath with hot water.

  After talking a bit more, Carlos left and bid farewell to his guests, who went to their respective rooms.