Marah walked onto the stage and the audience grew quieter. Nobody clapped.

That meant almost no one. One person was clapping as if he was already completely blown away. Reyji also knew who it was. It was obvious.

"Awesome! Bravo! Fabulous! (You look great.) Indescribable! Breathtaking!"

Reyji left her seat and positioned herself behind the curtain so that she could see the stage and the audience. By the time she got there, the man was no longer visible. In the meantime, he had suddenly fallen silent. His colleague with the lightning was nowhere to be found either. In all likelihood, he had removed him because he would disrupt the speech.

Meanwhile, Marah had picked up the apple from the table and was back in the middle. She had not said a word yet. She and the audience were silent. However, she did not let this bother her and took a bite of the apple. She chewed with relish, looking at the apple in her hand, then threw it into the dirt in front of the stage.

Reyji could hear it hit the pavement. Reyji could also hear it getting even quieter.

Low murmurs came from many parts of the audience. Most of the people who lived here could barely afford their food and rent.

"Does that bother you all?" Marah asked the crowd provocatively. "It's just an apple." Marah went back to the table. "I don't know what this is about either. I didn't order it."

She picked up the plate with one hand and tipped the sandwiches into the garbage can. Then she picked up the teapot and spilled it out, so that the tea formed a puddle on the wooden boards and splashed in drops on the bottom of her dress. She tipped out the entire pot while the audience watched in silence.

"So, now that that's done, let's talk about the Black Mark." As she spoke, Marah came back to the center and clapped her hands as if she had done some work.

"As you probably remember, the Black Mark had recently fallen sharply. But now it is at the top again. How can this happen? Businesses were running as usual. Wages were paid as usual. The goods arrived in the stores as usual. Everything was exactly as usual, but there were nevertheless fluctuations. Where did these fluctuations come from? Many companies lost their capital. Many companies had to close. Many lost their jobs. Many lost their assets. Many lost their homes. Many have lost their lives. ... How could something like this happen? Why did the value of the Black Mark suddenly disappear, only to reappear? The truth is simple. You were lied to. The value was never gone. The value was always there. I was asked about it again and again and each time I assured them that there was nothing to worry about, because the Black Mark has a value, because the Black Mark has a people who give it a value. As long as the people exist, there is value. I have explained that, but many have instead believed a lie and have been deceived. They exchanged all their money for other money and lost part of it, then they exchanged their money back and lost part of it again. Don't you wonder where the part you lost is? Where did you exchange your money? ... "The end of Baele?" The headline of a well-known magazine. Not a headline of concern, but a deliberate manipulation. The publishers of many such magazines are financial traders, in other words people who make profits from their losses, the same people who own the private banks. The financial experts explain to the laymen what the laymen will do, and the laymen do it to be as smart as the experts, and in the end the laymen are amazed that the experts were right once again. That's how it usually goes. But not in this case. The S-Mark is back. After all, the experts are not real experts. Everyone brings their S-Mark to the exchange because they are panicking. They have earned money on every exchange. Everyone brings their Fee to the exchange because the panic is over. They have earned money on every exchange. Suddenly the fees are increased. Suddenly the rate is worse than at the state bank. Did you not find that unusual? The private banks stole from you, but because it didn't happen as expected, they wanted to steal even more. It's obvious. I know that there are also citizens who listened to me and were able to multiply their wealth. But I can't protect anyone who doesn't trust me. That is why I am disappointed. I am disappointed that so many did not trust me."

Marah took a short pause and walked slowly up and down the stage. The eyes followed her every step and every gesture.

"People are working their fingers to the bone. They produce goods. The costs for the company are rising, they are told. Wages have to be cut. Some have to be made redundant. Working hours have to be increased. Overtime and even more overtime is imposed on you. More and more goods are produced. At lunchtime, you sit down exhausted at the table in the break room. In the newspaper, next to the cheap coffee, it says that the economy has grown by 5%. When you read that, are you happy? Do you jump up from your chair and cheer? After all, the economy has grown. That's a good thing. It was your performance that made it possible. Give yourself a big pat on the back and rejoice, but then you'd better work hard again so that growth doesn't collapse. That would be bad, because then they would have to cut your wages again and increase your working hours, because you can't go back, because there has to be more and more. Tell me, when you go home in the evening and lie down in your pressed-wood bed, don't you sometimes ask yourself where this growth is that you're always being told about? Where is all the stuff? Where is all the money? Why can't I afford a decent bed even though I work all day? Why is my wage cut when we sell more goods than we used to? Why am I making things all day that I can't afford? Who are we producing these things for? Where do they all go? Have you never asked yourself all this? Because it all goes into the FUCKING TRASH! We live in a world where everyone has to produce endless amounts of garbage so that a few bigwigs can live in excess! The sweater you knit, which costs more than your entire closet, is worn once by some wanker, then it goes in the trash. The money you're looking for all goes into the same pockets so that the same wankers can keep buying more garbage, which you have to keep producing, so that they can keep throwing it away, so that the economy grows, so that the bigwigs can buy more fucking sweaters. That apple down there is just one of thousands, because that's how many were in the dumpster I took it from. 40% of all food is thrown away. The only thing that really grows with the economy is the mountain of garbage. Maybe the rest of the world is full of wankers, but not BAELE! Baele will be a country where all citizens have more when the economy grows. If you don't feel fairly paid, demand a fair wage. If you want them to work less, demand shorter hours. If they refuse, quit. Your country will never let you down. If you can't find a fair job, you will find a fair job with a state company. We know what you are really worth. Don't trust the bigwigs." Marah thoughtfully placed a hand flat against her chest, "Trust me."

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The audience was silent. Everyone was waiting for Marah to continue. She had completely captivated the people.

"I'll tell you now how valuable the S-Mark is. A can of pea stew from Ebensbach will from tomorrow onwards cost exactly one S-Mark!"

At that moment, Reyji laughed out loud backstage. "Why so specific?" There were also scattered laughs from the audience.

Reyji did not know the prices exactly, but she estimated that such a can currently cost perhaps twice as much. So it was a really competitive price.

"That's a price guarantee. That is the value of the S-Mark. We are giving this price guarantee for 10 years from next week. The price of the can will not go up. We control the production chain right up to the shelves. If the production becomes more difficult, we will reduce the profit. If the production of cans becomes easier, then we increase wages or reduce working hours. The state companies are not there to make profits, but to ensure the supply of the population, because that is my responsibility. We will promise such price guarantees for all state goods domestically. Some of these will be absolute price guarantees or maximum price guarantees, but they will apply to all state goods. The prices of these goods will not increase beyond that. Wages will not fall below the minimum wage. If you are poor, you can only get richer in the future. At this point, I would also like to make a small recommendation. Many people have their account with a private bank that charges high fees, that takes a custody fee from them, that charges them high interest rates, that may not even give them a loan if they don't beg for one, that doesn't offer any additional security, that only wants to earn money from them, that offers them unnecessary financial products to pull the last bit of money out of their pockets. If you are looking for a reliable bank that is completely free of charge and where all this is not the case, the state bank of Baele will gladly accept you as a customer. There are no fees. There is no deposit fee. There are no horrendous interest surcharges. The state bank earns nothing from you. It is there solely to keep your money ready for you. From tomorrow, the deposit guarantee will increase to 1,000,000 S-Mark. No matter what happens in the world, these 1,000,000 S-Mark and their value are safe. I guarantee you that." Marah nodded affirmatively and paused briefly before continuing. "The national holiday is coming soon. The citizens will be celebrating their country, but what are they actually celebrating? What is Baele? The landscape? The government? Me? The landscape is just the homeland. The government is just the representation. And I am just a citizen. Baele, however, is the sum of all its citizens. Every citizen is a piece of this country. Every citizen is a piece of Baele. No matter how you celebrate, you should get an account at the state bank beforehand and register as a citizen, because every citizen who does so will receive 500 S-Mark in their account on the national holiday. Nothing is needed in return. It is a gift from the country to its citizens for living here. This gift will not only be given on this one national holiday and not only on the next two, but on every single one for all eternity."

The cheering was extremely loud. Marah had to wait quite a long time before it quietened down again.

"In the end, I would like to say one more thing. No matter what lies you are told, the Black Mark can never be broken as long as the people of Baele exist. Thank you very much."

It immediately got loud again. People were clapping. They clinked their glasses. They threw up their hats. Four banners of the Von Rosenberg family unfurled from two rooftops just in time for the end. Reyji concluded that it was the youths from earlier who had prepared this. Such actions were not unusual. Marah was most popular among young people with a high level of education. In some cases, there were fanatical admirers among this demographic, such as the young head of the SSW's Sword Division.

While Marah let herself be applauded, Reyji sat back down at the counter and had a smoke before she would return backstage.

.../ End Part