“The goods are only an hour away, My Lord,” informed Mage York. “They are coming at the right time,” I said, looking at the clock, while they looked at me.
All of them are thinking it is not wise to bring the goods from the Navr at prime night time. Either I should have waited for a few more days or I would have brought it late at night when everyone is sleeping.
“If things go wrong, you can say goodbye to your job, Remus,” threatened Lancel.
He is angry and jealous. The new skill provides me with quite an insight into his mood. To be honest, it is not a difficult task; unlike his father, he could not guard his emotions well.
“I am aware of the gravity of this task and its repercussions, my lord,” I replied and felt his mood easing a little.
The skill is helpful, as now I could be very sure of what he is thinking and choose the right words to reply.
“Be careful, Remus. The trade with Navr is very important. I don’t want you to spoil it in your hurry,” Count cautioned.
“I understand, my lord,” I replied.
In the week since I had got the skill, I had only been able to sense his mood once. It is not only because of the difference in level and power of class, but also because he is very good at guarding his emotions.
The skill will only work if they could guard their emotions. If Lancel guards his emotions well, I wouldn’t be able to get anything from him.
Still, this skill is very rare; I am quite surprised I got it.
Those who get it are mostly at Level 20 and above and have years of experience working for their lord.
“Go, then, and come back with good news,” he said after a few seconds of silence. “You will not be disappointed, my lord,” I said and bowed before walking out of the office.
Soon, I am sitting in an unmarked carriage moving toward the port.
I didn’t hide the news of goods coming from Navr and even told the time it would come in the newspapers. Though I have omitted the information on the goods that are coming; I had only mentioned the essential goods.
Even associated them with the goods we regularly brought from the merchant cities, which also come from Navr.
I have been doing that for weeks and while everything was not perfect. I was able to get more successes than failures, including two levels and one skill, which I think is pretty good.
My adviser's class is advancing fast and now it is only two levels away from reaching the first capstone.
I pushed those thoughts of levels away and turned to Zela for the reports.
Till now, there is no change, except for one.
People are gathering at the port; we have not stopped them and have even been given the area to protest, which will be closer to where the boats carrying the goods from the other side of the river.
Soon, I reached the gate, and the carriage stopped for a moment and the door opened.
A man in his late fifties, with a mix of grey hair, along with a man in his early forties, stepped inside the carriage and sat down.
A moment later, the carriage begins to move again.
“Adviser Silver,” said the man gruffly, as he looked at me with his piercing blue eyes. “Port master Black,” I greeted back with a smile, seeing the man was not happy with me.
“I am not liking what you are doing at my port, Adviser,” said the man directly. “My apologies, port master, but it is necessary,” I replied, and he shook his head while looking out of the window.
“You should have let me put them in jail,” he said. Looking at protesting people who are coming into view.
“If we let them protest now, they will protest again tomorrow and the day after that, till they started to protest at every little thing they didn’t like,”
“I understand your worries, port master, but it is important, and it will be for the night only. After that, you continue reinforcing your rules,” I said, and the man’s expression turned a little better.
Will this going to be a one-off event or regular occurrence will depend on the reaction of the people?
They need to accept the trade from Navr and once they do; they will rain the money on the city and also me.
Since coming back, I have got inquiries from hundreds of businesses. Not only from the city, but also from the other cities around. They were waiting for the reaction of people.
Once they are sure, it will be bees on the honey.
It will take some time. A single day's result will not create a flurry, but it will be the first step. If everything goes well, the next batch of goods will be even bigger and the one after that would be even greater.
The carriage stopped a little distance from the protest.
We didn’t get out; showing our faces would be like lighting matches to the fire. Watching from a distance is more than enough.
“How many people have been gathered there?” I asked the port master, who looked at the mage in front of him. “Currently four hundred and fifty-eight, but there numbers are increasing,” he replied.
Their numbers are less than I had thought; I thought more than a thousand would gather, but that didn’t seem like the case.
Though I didn’t celebrate the fact, I know how quickly things could change.
A few minutes later, a big group of twenty people joined the protests, along with lone people, who are coming, every few minutes.
Time passed as we watched when, finally, the port master turned to me. “The goods have reached the other side. They are now loading the carriages into the boats,” he informed, and a faint nervous smile appeared on my face.
While the things we have brought are nothing compared to what comes from merchant cities every day.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
It is still a huge quantity.
The stuff we brought needed thirty-nine carriages to transfer. Now, all of them are coming to the city.
A few minutes passed, and finally, the first group of boats could be seen coming from the river. Each boat had a big enough space to hold the four cargo carriages and there were five such boats coming.
“No goods from the undead. No goods from…”
The moment the first boat docked; six hundred protestors begin to shout loudly. Attracting the attention of everyone around, most people just glanced and continued with their business, while some just stopped.
People worry about the undead but don’t care much unless they are at their door.
Finally, the first carriage rolled down the ramp and begin to move toward the gate; people shouted loudly but didn’t cross the barricade of the guards. They just kept shouting, till all carriages came down.
The boats returned to bring another batch of carriages, and some people.
Ina had also returned, and I had asked her to stay in the carriage. She didn’t need to show her face, it will put her in unnecessary danger. If I had not needed her, I wouldn’t have called her back to the city.
Soon, the boats returned, and bridging the remaining carriages and protests started to shout again.
Some also started to follow the carriages, and we let them.
A few minutes later, the carriages passed through the gates of the port and entered the city. I remained in the carriages, watching the remaining protestors, who are dispersing fast.
Finally, the last of the protestors had disappeared, and port master Black turned to me.
“I am impressed, Adviser. I thought the chaos will reign in my port today, but it was surprisingly calm,” he said.
“Thank you for your kind words, port master,” I replied. He smiled and got out of the carriage with his mage, while my carriage moved toward the gate.
He is not the only one who is surprised. I am surprised too; I thought there would be a far greater reaction, but it was not. Still, my job isn’t done yet. There are a few more things I have to do.
The carriage moved, and half an hour later, it stopped in front of the mansion of Count Darrow.
“My lord,” I greeted and bowed faintly as I entered the office. “Remus, you have done a great job,” said Count, with a big smile across his face.
“Thank you, my lord,” I replied.
He had been very fearful about this. He thought thousands will protest since I plastered the news in all newspapers and removed the restriction on protests in the port.
Nothing of that sort happened; there were only a few hundred protestors, and they behaved.
Not a single arrest had been made.
While the challenges are not over, and there are many things that could go wrong. It could be said, we have dealt with one of the biggest challenges today and will deal with the rest of them in the same way.
I stayed in the mansion for an hour before getting out.
I did not immediately go back home, instead went to the warehouses where the goods were being kept and looked at heavy security. Including hidden guards, I had posted.
I could not look away from any aspect of it, and warehouses are an important thing. People love to burn them.
90% of the goods that came were kept here; their owners will take them out slowly when things calmed down. 10% had already been taken and one of the people who have taken them is me.
I looked at all the preparations before moving toward the home.
“Take the back entrance,” I said to the driver as we reached the establishment.
During business hours, I used the back entrance. Though I will not be staying in the establishment; I will go back to a rented house.
As the carriage walked inside, I saw another carriage there and a few people beside it.
Soon my carriage stopped, and the door opened, and it was not the guard who opened the door, but Ina.
“Master Silver,” she greeted.
“How was the Mirador Hold, Ina?” I asked her as I got out. “Good. Master Silver,” she said with a genuine smile on her face.
I knew she had faced some trouble and dealt with her own. I had a few people to keep an eye on her and knew how difficult things had been for her, especially the first few days.
“You have done a really good job,” I said to her, before turning to the carriage.
People are taking out the crates under Cresa’s eyes. The bartender is busy serving the drinks. So, it is Cresa’s responsibility to deal with the new wine and take it to the cellar.
It is not just the wine we have brought from Navr, but a few other things, but wine is most important.
“Will you be staying here or at the place in the city?” I asked her. I had rented a place for her. She had new responsibilities and will be better if she stays in the city whenever she is here.
“I will be staying here for today,” she said. “But stay in your place from tomorrow,” I said, and she nodded, with a mix of sadness, trepidation, and joy.
It will be a big step for her; after two decades of living in a brothel. She will live in her own place.
I talked to her for a few minutes and made a round of establishment, which is going strong.
The absence of Eudo could be felt, but it hadn’t affected the earnings. It had been only one day. The clear result will appear in the next few days.
Even if there are effects of his absence, they won’t be big. The others are doing a good job; he had trained them well.
After I finished with the round; I sat back in the carriage. Soon, I reached my place, and slept, without even changing the clothes.
Souteneur Merchant Lv. 15
Adviser Lv. 9