"I can see why that would take time. Keep working on it and studying. I think you can do it, you seem smart."

"Sure. 'S not like I'm going to get free by crossing my arms and pouting. I'll read the state laws too."

"Good. You do that. ...When it's time to sell it I'm not sure if you should meet our buyer. Do you care if you meet them?"

Just keep telling me things to do, it's not like you don't know I hate hate hate this by now. If you don't keep your promise...

"Not really."

"Okay. I have more market research to do. Need anything before I go?"

"We'll be out of food soon. Nothing else." Leave already, Valanda would hear if he could read minds.

Off he goes!

Mahan is still talking.

The state laws are longer and have a lot more references to other documents. There was less of an attempt to make them the bare minimum and understandable by all.

She's not a law student. And her mood swings have evaporated the fervor of studying she had earlier to nothing. But she can probably make a bullet-pointed list of what to avoid doing and what she needs look up more laws about if she decides to do.

She should avoid doing void magic. She should not make any false statements while advertising any product. She should use the toilet or the woods but never a city street. She should look up more laws if she wants to build any buildings. She should learn more words and look up more laws and obey the relevant authorities if she wants to use a forest.

Well. Studying and designing in a cramped drab room, on caffeine withdrawal, depressed and hungry, she still makes nonzero progress.

Another day and night passes, and when Valanda gets back on the next day, she has a calculator.

It can parse and return Hari numerals, add, subtract, multiply, divide (producing wholes-and-remainders), and exponentiate. It has a memory feature for up to 5 different numbers. It can't parse or return decimals or fractions. It can't accept numbers bigger than a few thousand, or return numbers bigger than a few million. (It will say 'TOO BIG' if you ask it 999 to the power of 999 or something). It can be pushed around and resized, though these features are a bit finicky.

"Maybe there's people who do math for fun. There's a prize for finding new numbers that only have one and themselves as factors at home. I can find new ones of those with a construct probably."

"This is really good! I think I know who to sell this one to. Do you understand the state laws yet?"

"I think I understand them enough to know when I need to look up more details. I should read some of the other documents they reference soon. I don't have them memorized."

"You can find all of those in the same place as you can find the laws. You can go down there now if you want, while I take your calculator to our buyer. It'll be convenient if I can meet you back here eventually. Or you can come with me or stay here."

"You said you were going to free me when you made your money back. I'll go read for a little while and then come back here. I don't want to wait any longer than that."

Off he goes with the calculator!

The government building is right where it was last time they were there.

She would like to - she still has the bracelets. She was told to read the addendum documents to imperial and state law, where can she do that?

Take-home copies are in those big bins over there. Or as long as it doesn't get too crowded in here she can stand around reading the copies projected on the walls.

(So weird seeing a tiger-thing as a receptionist.) She reads the big projected copies.

A pair of pointy-eared almost-but-not-quite-human people interrupt her to offer her a ring if she'll settle their bet. They'd like to know if she finds their species attractive.

Caralendri, huh. (Mahan talked about the kinds of people in the world.)

"-Sure, if you're offering." She looks them over. "...Hm, yes, mostly. You're a little thin and some people like thin more or less, but yes."

They pay her a ring and one of them pays the other several rings. They walk away without another word.

Real friendly types. Well, a ring's a ring and she'll need some soon, hopefully. She pockets it and goes back to reading. She goes back to Valanda's place before she manages to read all the ancillary documents, and grabs takeaway copies on the way out for reference.

Valanda comes home without the calculator, draped in lots of rings. "Do you understand the state laws yet? Do you understand what taxes you'll have to pay? Can you follow the law?"

"Mostly, mostly, and yes." She raises her arms forward, trembling slightly.

"If you go off and immediately get the government angry with me I will hunt you down and hurt you." He takes her bracelets off. "Don't leave just yet, I have something for you."