Without a doubt, the Realm-Keeping Commission is the one department that outworlders get to interact with the most.
Checking resident cards on the streets? That's the Realm-Keeping Commission's job. Doing surveys for census records? That's the Realm-Keeping Commission's job. What about maintaining order for major festivals and ceremonies, arresting thieves, and inspecting the ecosystem of the Ever-Hunt Plains? These are once again within the purview of the Realm-Keeping Commission. Finally, which department is in charge of issuing the updated star-time standard when the Xianzhou is passing through the strong gravitational pull of a celestial body? You guessed it, it's the Realm-Keeping Commission...
Outworlders interact with the Realm-Keeping Commission so frequently that there was a time when I couldn't help but wonder if these notes about the commission were superfluous. Anyone who stayed on the Xianzhou long enough would naturally become familiar with the functions of the Realm-Keeping Commission.
But when I sat down and examined the Realm-Keeping Commission in detail, I discovered that it turned out to be a highly unusual organization.
If you were to flip through some of their publicly released official materials — such as "A Collection of Interesting Outworlder Laws," which every outworlder would get upon arrival, and "Protecting Starskiff Haven," the commission's self-celebratory propagandist documentary, which only went viral due to its absurdity — you might think, or rather the commission wants you to think, that they are just a typical law enforcement agency.
However, when you take a closer look at what they actually do, you'll find that the scope of their work is mind-boggling.
Public security, firefighting, population statistics, calendar system... Even a fully staffed government department would be hard-pressed to take on all these duties.
Another thing that I found to be particularly unusual. The Realm-Keeping Commission is nominally in charge of handling misdemeanor cases in Xianzhou (felony cases seem to fall under the jurisdiction of the Ten-Lords Commission). But in the vast majority of misdemeanor cases, arrests are actually made by the Cloud Knights. Likewise, the Realm-Keeping Commission is the one department nominally responsible for releasing the calendar system, yet the data collection work is actually done by the Sky-Faring Commission and the data extrapolation is handled by the Divination Commission.
Based on the documents that I've sourced, the Realm-Keeping Commission presents itself to the public as a body that does odd jobs and offers support for all other departments. To put it bluntly, it functions like a sewer into which all the work flows, always working hard so that everyone else on the Xianzhou may continue their peaceful way of life...
Is that actually the case, though? Is there a group of individuals who are prepared to endure everything for the happiness of others? In my opinion, it can't possibly be this simple.
Based on my basic understanding of how human society operates, I'm of the opinion that people have in fact misconstrued the relationship between the Realm-Keeping Commission and all other departments. The Realm-Keeping Commission must have been superior to all other departments, contrary to what most people would have you believe.
Members of this commission can be found in every corner of society, from rundown ports to the ivory tower. They are the executive branch of the law, they are the hard-working scholars, and they are the scheming masterminds behind the scenes. On Xianzhou, no one can evade the watchful eye of the Realm-Keeping Commission as they are the officially licensed spies. We just can't spot them, even if they are standing right before us in plain sight.
When I start to think about all this, I can't help but feel a chill running down my spine.