The two of them took off at their top speeds as the guards tried to run after them. The lead was gone, but they would regain it soon enough. The guards were still slower. Vanessa looked behind her, curling her hand as she folded space into the shape of a barrier.

The guards ran right into it, not detecting the hurdle as she continued on. The lead was re-established as the guards were turned around by her space fold. The idiots then went on to try to force themselves through it. Avoiding it would have been much easier, but whatever, this was good for her.

The two of them reached the place the horses were kept, and then kept on going forward. Vanessa didn't even know how to ride horses, and they were already faster than these horses in this kind of environment.

"The next street is where the rest of the guards should be looking for Nathan." Isa warned. Vanessa looked closely, and indeed, they had nearly reached that point.

"What do you want to do?" she asked.

"If we encounter them, then we might have to fight the guards." Isa warned. That would be bad, running away from the guards was something they could sweep under the rug, but if they fought, there might be a diplomatic issue. This noble society was just that stupid.

"Run in another direction?" she asked.

"The gates should have guards too." Isa stated. Vanessa swore under her breath. The market was still an enclosed place, it wouldn't be easy to escape without a fight. But then she noticed something near them.

"What if we try to pull off an illusion?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Isa asked. "Nathan is the only one that can do that, and he ran somewhere else."

Vanessa smiled. Isa had a far too straightforward way of thinking. Just because they didn't have the illusion element didn't mean that they couldn't pull one off.

"Just follow me." she said, and then ran towards a stall at her top speed. Isa understood what she wanted to and ran towards a different wall.

"Now, jump."

The two of them pulled the same trick as before, using the stall to propel themselves into the air. The stalls in the area were still quite sturdy, even though they collapsed under her force, they were strong around to propel her upward.

Isa met her in the air, and Vanessa slowed them in the air using her magic as she smirked at her friend.

"Now, we cause an explosion." Vanessa said, answering Isa's inquiring gaze.

"A little fire please." she asked as Isa called on her mana. Fire shot toward the stall, but Vanessa interrupted it, splitting it into several parts as she directed them down towards the stalls. And right into the several barrels of oil they used for cooking. The barrels exploded as expected, and Isa covered them by channelling fire around them.

And then they jumped forward towards the burning stalls. Space and sword mana protected them as they rolled through it, emerging into one of the surrounding stalls as they watched the guards running around trying to stave the spreading fire. Vanessa felt a little guilty, but figured that the guards would keep the fire from spreading too far.

"Now, let's run." she said as they ran towards the gate.

"How exactly are we going to cross the gate?" Isa asked.

"I can help with that." A voice said from beside them, the figure of her friend appearing. Vanessa hadn't even noticed his mana reach, even though he was probably using an illusion, she should have still sensed something. And then she noticed the people laying on the ground.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I lost control of my sleep spell." he said, taking out a pouch of gold and keeping it on the ground.

Vanessa narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. Well, they had destroyed a lot of stuff…but would this compensation really reach the guard? But whatever, they didn't have a lot of time.

"Come on," she said as they ran again. Nathan called on mana, letting it revolve around them. An illusion was hard to keep while they were moving, but he had been practicing for over a month.

The three of them reached the gate, but there was one problem.

"Was that there when we came in?" she asked as they ran.

"I don't think so, no." Nathan replied.

"How about I drop it?" Isa suggested as they looked at the large sheet of metal that blocked the gate.

"I can maintain the illusion." Nathan assured them. Isa drew her sword and pointed it at the gate and let her mana flow into the wind. The sheet fell down as they passed the gate. To the guards, it had to look like the sheet had just fallen down due to the wind. The three of them jumped over it to prevent any noises or footprints, and landed on the other side.

The guards bought it, closing the gate again. The three of them quickly got their horses from the stables and headed out. The rest of the city was having a normal day, and the guards clearly hadn't caught their descriptions enough to spread it.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The lack of things stolen should also make sure that the report didn't reach the Marquis. The market had such disturbances from time to time, there were just too many people with magic and ideas about how they should be treated.

This wasn't very new. Vanessa wondered if the rest of the market had even stopped. There had certainly been people while they were running away, just the place where the initial event had happened had been shut down.

Hmm, whatever, they were almost at the Marquis mansion. The result would be out soon enough. And she’d had fun. And with Isa to boot!

sc

Nestor

Nestor looked at the documents in front of him in irritation.

"Tell me again, why the city port cannot except mercantile ships?" he asked.

"I already told you, advisor, the port must be ready to receive and deploy the Garron navy at any time." the envoy said, looking irritated at his repeated questions. Well, he was irritated, too. The Garron family's hard-headed obstinacy was one of the most irritating things he had encountered in his life. And he was nearly a hundred years old.

"Take me to your council," he ordered.

"The council is busy, if you want to meet them then you will need an appointment-" the assistant began.

Nestor glared at him, giving him his best old man glare.

"Listen here, you idiot. I am eighty-nine years old and a Journeyman. This might be the last job I take before I die. I don't care whose son you are, or how much you dislike me, you will take me to your council, or I will tell the Countess that we cannot take on your debt. Then let's see how your council likes paying ten million gold back." he said.

The assistant actually looked a bit scared as he stared at him and then led him down the winding fortress that was Garron city.

Nestor walked at his own pace, looking through the papers as he floated a bunch of them around him. The paper element was useful for things like that.

The accountant led him to one of the large port-side buildings, one with a lot of activity.

The council was discussing something in a large room with a lot of activity. The accountant had clearly not sent a runner to warn them, but that was good too.

Nestor walked into the center of the room and cleared his throat. The council was a large circular room with an image projection array at the center. Nestor was currently standing in the middle of the array, disrupting the operations.

The Vice-Admiral looked up from his conversation with Lord Garron and asked.

"What is it, Mr. Nestor? Have you found something?" he asked.

"Yes." Nestor said, stepping away from the array center.

"I have found that you are financial imbeciles and your financial department does not know basic mathematics."

The atmosphere in the room immediately turned heavy as the various powerhouses looked at him in anger.

Nestor simply smiled slightly.

"What? Are you angry? So am I." he said.

"And what exactly is it that makes the esteemed financial advisor from the Diery family so aggrieved that he must insult us?" the Vice-Admiral asked, his voice mocking.

"The fact that you are spending ten times more than you earn each year." Nestor stated. "This isn't simply incompetence anymore, but foolishness instead. And there is still the fact that you want to borrow a million more gold and research. Did you really think that I would approve this?"

The Vice-Admiral scowled. "There have been several policies that will increase the family's income-"

Nestor waved his excuses away. "That is presuming that the trade situation remains exactly the same over the years. A foolish presumption. There is a trade war in progress, if you are somehow unaware. The Countess is moving operations from the Reh Duchy to the Eastern Isles. The trade routes that you based your presumptions upon will not exist anymore."

"The merchants will not store herbs in the Garron warehouses, the Empire's local herb market has far more supply than demand. There is no need to save at Garron when the Eastern Isles will serve as the largest trader.

The Zerolian merchants will struggle to trade now that their source has dried up, the Zerolian Duke has announced that he will not trade this year to rebuild his gardens. "

"The city expansion may help, but I suspect it will barely account for its costs in total. Perhaps the property will sell well, but the current city does not have jobs for the incoming population. In addition to the benefits you are offering, you will have to deal with the welfare requirements, and a higher rate of crime in the city.

That will nullify whatever profit you make from the property sales. And destroy your reputation, which will make sure that new companies do not move in. Not to mention, the absence of a thriving local market will serve as a barrier, despite your lowering the operational tax.

The companies will still have to pay the corporate tax to the Empire, and an operational tax to each territory they operate in, opening up Garron city will provide them too little profit."

Nestor looked at the grumpy faces of the people before him, quite a few looked like they wanted to protest, but waited for the Vice Admiral to speak up. That silly military discipline of theirs.

"Do you have some suggestions then?" the Vice-Admiral asked. Nestor raised his eyebrows in surprise, this was a more accepting attitude than he had expected. Perhaps he was more aware of the problems they had than he had expected. That would help in the next step.

"Yes, I do." Nestor said. "Accept the suggestions of your subordinates. Use the Garron navy as a security force for merchant fleets, open up the port, allow for people to invest in and benefit from your research.

I cannot speak for the Countess, but I am sure she will be willing to invest in your research. And seek your ships and personnel for protection. That will allow us to take our plans forward very quickly. And benefit you immensely."

The Vice Admiral just looked at him." Do you know why we have not allowed this to happen till now?"

"I frankly cannot imagine." Nestor replied.

"The Garron family has been protecting the Empire for centuries, we have not failed our task, not even once. The sea is our way, our very own territory, and to do as you speak would weaken us.

A commercial port is far more likely to be sabotaged than a military port. If we lease out ships and personnel, it would leave fewer defenses for the Empire. If we let people invest in our research, that means that less scrupulous nobles can have access to powerful weapons and ships, and could trade that technology to other countries.

Even a treaty has its limits, and a powerful enough noble could circumvent it. The Garron family cannot, and will not weaken the Empire like this, even if it means that we fall. Thank you, advisor, for your suggestions. But we will not be able to help you at this time. Please send my regards to the Countess, and my apologies that we will not be able to cooperate.