More than a hundred people waited for the event to start, but despite being crowded, the dilapidated warehouse was filled with silence. The people present weren't anyone special, they were just normal people forced into desperation by the same circumstances. Some of them were bakers, some were construction workers, some were street sweepers, and some were launderers. Most of them had varying professions, but they all had one thing in common: they were part of the downtrodden in the city.
More people trickled inside the warehouse, but the silence remained, only broken from time to time with hushed whispers and murmurs. None of them knew how things would go after they arrived in the warehouse. All they knew was what the flyers said: the offer of freedom.
Soon, three-quarters of the warehouse was filled with people, while the remaining space was occupied by dozens of unlabeled crates. The people eyed the crates curiously, wondering what they contained.
Esta watched the crowd from her hidden position within the beams that supported the warehouse's roof. Her mind wandered to the events following her defeat by the Blackhoods.
After the Blackhoods thwarted her first attempt to eradicate the Hoods from the city, she sent the rest of her troops out of the city to keep them safe from the Blackhoods' wrath. A lot of valuable men had already died due to her failure, and she didn't want to risk the rest. Her troops were currently camped within the Wild Woods, away from any of the major roads to avoid detection, with Jet keeping the native beasts away.
As for her, she had stayed inside the city despite the Blackhoods' threats about bringing ruin upon the King. Esta knew their threats weren't empty, but the Blackhoods had severely underestimated the King if they thought they could kill him whenever they wanted. Unlike his younger brother, King Odis knew how to protect himself.
With her previous operation to eradicate the Hoods failing, Esta came up with another plan: to start a rebellion that would target the gangs of the city. With the current state of the city, it was almost too easy to stir up the people into an uprising. Esta knew the rebellion wouldn't be enough to fully eradicate the Hoods, but she only intended to use it as a distraction while she assassinated the key figures.
Her new plan was simple, but Esta knew there were hundreds of ways it could go wrong. After all, her plan was born out of desperation. With her previous operation a failure and the war looming just behind the horizon, Esta had to finish her mission as soon as possible at any cost. Esta just couldn't help but mourn for what the cost would be, not to mention the irony of the King's own spymaster igniting a rebellion. I just hope the mission would be a success so the sacrifices wouldn't be in vain, Esta thought.
When the trickle of people finally stopped, Esta decided it was time and dropped from the ceiling joists, shocking everyone from her arrival. Her black and mysterious ensemble scared some of them and sent them running, afraid that the invitation to this warehouse was a ploy to force them into cheap labor. To some degree, they were right.
The people looked on with trepidation as Esta assessed them, but she didn't let the silence go on for any longer than it should. She drew back her cowl, revealing her beautiful and innocent face to the crowd.
“Greetings, people of Halros,” she began, immediately catching everyone's rapt attention. “I'm sure most of you have already heard of me from your friends and acquaintances. But for those who don't know me yet, my name is Tesa, and my purpose in holding this meeting today is to gather the people who will soon inherit the new Halros!”
A nervous susurrous went over the crowd as they looked at each other. Esta's words weren't outright treasonous, but only a bumbling fool wouldn't realize the implications of her statement. She wanted a revolution, and if a Royal Constable happened to find out about the meeting, all of them would be hanged for treason, regardless if they were just listening.
“For years, all of you have toiled and sweat blood to earn a meager amount of money just to feed your family, only to have it robbed by the bastards from the gangs,” Esta shouted, her voice echoing on the walls of the warehouse. “For years, the gangs have tormented you and your kin, kidnapped your wives and daughters, and spat on your hard work while they lived like kings in their mansions. They blatantly disregard the laws in broad daylight, and the guards don't do shit! Instead, they hold hands with them and sleep in the same bed as the criminals!”
The crowd started murmuring darkly. Their earlier nervousness dissipated as years of pent-up rage were brought to the surface by Esta's words.
“For how long are we going to allow them to trample over you? Are you just going to stay still when they steal the money that was supposed to feed your children? Are you going to just stand aside when they forcefully take your daughters and wives to be used as comfort women in the brothels? Tell me, people of Halros!” Esta shouted with fervor. “Tell me! How long are we going to allow this vile system to keep on running?!”
The low murmurs of the crowd turned into a full roar filled with the rage and grief of the downtrodden. Any fear of being accused of treason disappeared from the hearts of the people present. Why did they have to fear the law when it did nothing to protect their loved ones from those who would abuse it?
A person in the crowd suddenly started chanting, his voice heard even through the din of the angry crowd.
“Down with the tyrants! Down with the tyrants! Down with the tyrants!”
More people started taking on the chants, raising their fists to signify their defiance of their oppressors. Their furious chants melded into a single voice that spoke the will of the downtrodden of Halros.
“““DOWN WITH THE TYRANTS! DOWN WITH THE TYRANTS! DOWN WITH THE TYRANTS!”””
Esta could feel the windows rattle as the noise reverberated inside the warehouse. Even though she could only understand the people's suffering at the hands of the Hoods from an outsider's perspective, Esta felt her heart ache as she felt the pure rage and grief that the people exposed in their shouts. These people really had suffered for too long.
The chanting died down after a few minutes, but the air was still rife with a murderous aura. The people wanted blood.
“In case it wasn't clear yet, I am beseeching all of you to join the revolution to free Halros!” Esta said. “The tyrants have ruled for too long, and it is time for the people to take their due! Soon, there will be a signal that will echo throughout the city. I cannot say what the signal will be to keep our operations secret from the tyrants, but you will know it once you see it! When the signal comes, then it means that the revolution has begun!”
The crowd cheered excitedly once more, but it was interrupted when a man stepped forth. The man was big and muscled, and he wore a dirty leather apron that signified he was a blacksmith.
“I wholeheartedly agree with everything you've said just now,” the man said with a deep voice. “Everybody here has suffered from the gangs' presence, one way or another. All of us want to change the system, but what I don't understand is you. You come here spouting things about our suffering and how we should fight back, but you're not one of us. Your skin is smooth and unblemished, your clothes are well-made, and you're clean. I want a revolution just like everybody else, but how could I trust someone who does not truly understand our plight to lead us?”
As the blacksmith spoke, Esta assessed the reactions of the crowd. She noticed that the people listened to every word the man said, their faces thoughtful. Some even looked at her with the type of hostility that they usually gave to the wealthy.
Esta chose her words carefully. There was more to the blacksmith than he appeared if he could influence the crowd this much and get them to listen.
“You're right, I am not one of you,” Esta easily admitted. “I am not from this city. I came here several weeks ago and learned of the bad state of things recently. Indeed, I will never be able to understand your suffering when I get to eat to my heart's content every day, but that doesn't mean I don't care. I'm sure countless other travelers have seen the state of Halros over the years, but did any of them try to help? I could have left the city a long time ago and not bother with all this shit, but instead, I stayed to try and help all of you fight back. If I didn't try to start a revolution, nobody would have, or else things would have changed years ago. I do all this without anything in return. Is that not enough to gain your trust?”
The blacksmith scrutinized her for a few seconds before grunting. “Fair enough, but willpower and numbers ain't enough to win a revolution. If all we've got to fight the damn gangbangers and corrupt guards are hammers and rolling pins, our blood will flood the streets in no time.”
Esta grinned. “On that front, I've got us covered.”
She went to a random crate and popped the lid open with a dagger before knocking it over. Everyone's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as dozens of weapons ranging from daggers to swords spilled from the crate.
“Weapons won't be an issue,” Esta said. “I'm not stupid enough to start a revolution without arming my soldiers. There are enough weapons in these crates to fit a small army.”
Even the blacksmith looked impressed as he looked at the dozens of crates stacked inside the warehouse. “Looks like we've got a decent chance after all.”
For years, the people of Halros allowed themselves to be trampled on because they didn't have the means to fight back. But the sight of the weapons in front of them finally gave them a chance to retaliate.
Like a pack of hungry wolves, the crowd descended on the piles of weapons, eager to stain them with the blood of their oppressors. The warehouse immediately turned chaotic, with the blacksmith and some of his friends trying to maintain order.
Esta helped in keeping things orderly as well, but most of her focus was trained on the shadows outside the warehouse. Not everyone in the crowd was very eager to join the revolution that would greatly endanger their lives. They were easy to spot as they fled with nervous looks on their faces.
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Esta ignored them. What she was looking for was a different set of people. A moment later, she found them.
Two men left the warehouse at a brisk pace, but instead of exuding nervousness, their faces were set in determination as they walked with purpose. Esta listened in on their conversation through the shadows around them.
“…got to warn the boss. Shit's about to get real messy when a bunch of armed beggars starts stabbin' everyone they see.”
“How did that bitch even have so many weapons? Our arms dealer's got fewer weapons than her. Smells like a fuckin' plot to me.”
“That doesn't matter to us. Our job's simply to get the—”
The two men didn't get to finish their conversation as the shadows around them suddenly congealed into a sphere of darkness that trapped them inside.
“What the?!”
Before the men could even bring out their weapons, dozens of spikes jutted out from the inside of the sphere, killing them instantly. The shadow sphere then receded into a wall, leaving behind no trace of the two men.
Esta nodded in satisfaction. She knew that the news of the revolution already reached the ears of the gangs and the city officials, but they didn't have to know about the weapons.
Tomorrow night, Esta thought as she watched the people finally line up to get their own weapons, with the blacksmith managing things.
●●●
“How was your room?” Rella asked as she led me to the ornate carriage parked in front of the inn.
“It was wonderful!” I replied with false cheer. “This is actually the first time I've been to a high-end inn before, and I was not disappointed. I have to thank you for offering to let me stay in the Golden Mare free of charge.”
Rella smiled brightly. “The pleasure is mine, Mr. Marion. Now let's get on to that tour, shall we? I've already made sure everything is in order to make your experience as smooth as possible.”
The carriage that Rella brought for the tour was on the smaller side, but it was by no means uncomfortable. The seats were upholstered with extremely soft cushions to keep the passengers comfortable throughout the trip, and a table was installed in the middle so that meals could be eaten while the large glass windows provided an ample view of the outside. There were thick curtains as well in case the passengers decided they wanted to have some privacy. It was the perfect vehicle for a tour.
Any joy I may have felt in riding such a nice vehicle was gone after the revelations last night, but I still made sure to put up a front while Rella was around. No need to make her suspicious of my intentions. After all, I finally decided to establish my company anywhere else but here.
When I entered the carriage, I paused in apprehension for a moment when my mana sense suddenly detected numerous magical fluctuations emanating from the walls. I initially thought it was a trap, but Rella spoke up after seeing me go still.
“Impressive, huh? This carriage is one of our best ones, completely equipped with mana and sound cloaking, magic-reinforced materials, and automatic defenses in case of an attack.”
I released a relieved breath when it didn't turn out to be a trap. I initially thought it was a trap since I wasn't able to detect the mana fluctuations from the outside of the carriage, but it looks like there was some kind of mana-cloaking technology built into the carriage.
Taloress entered the carriage and took the seat beside me while Rella sat opposite us on the other side of the table. Once we were comfortably seated, Rella opened a small window above her head to signal the driver that we were ready to go.
“By the way, I believe you haven't introduced your companion to me yet,” Rella said as she looked at Taloress with a curious smile. “I was quite impressed with her battle prowess back when we were attacked by dire wolves.”
“Ah, this lovely lady is Taloress, my valuable assistant and one of my seamstresses,” I said, sticking to the backstory I thought up when I arrived in Wildpost.
But I haven't sewn a single piece of clothing in my entire existence, Master.
Shush, that's not important.
Rella's eyebrows rose at my declaration. “A seamstress? I was quite sure she was your bodyguard, Mr. Marion. I thought you were the one who created all those clothes you sold me before?”
“You think too highly of me, Miss Rella,” I said with a laugh. “Indeed, I created some of the clothing that I sold to you before, but surely you didn't think I did all of those by myself? I may be skillful, but not even I can make hundreds of clothing in a week.”
Of course, all of those things were lies to downplay my capabilities a little bit. With my ever-growing mana pool, I could create thousands of clothing in a week.
“Miss Taloress must be very impressive then. Not only a powerful warrior but a skilled seamstress as well,” Rella said as she faced my puppet with interest. “All of the clothing we've received so far had been of the same high quality, which means you must be on the same skill level as Mr. Marion.”
Taloress vehemently shook her head at that. There's no way I am greater than Master!
“I forgot to mention, Taloress is mute, so she wouldn't be able to voice out her thoughts much,” I said. “But you're right, Taloress is one of my talented apprentices!”
Taloress looked at me incredulously.
Play along! I told her.
“Mute? Ah, that is very unfortunate. I assume it must be an inborn disability?” Rella asked. “If it wasn't, Mr. Marion would have already healed you.”
“Yes, Taloress was unfortunately born without a voice,” I said with a rueful shake of my head. I was actually telling the truth this time since none of my puppets could speak.
“By the way,” Rella said as she changed the topic. “Did any of you happen to leave the inn last night?”
Rella already knew the answer to her question, but I was sure she was just trying to test how I would respond.
“I did send Taloress to buy a few things for me. She said the inner city was great at night.” I narrowed my eyes to test how Rella would respond as well. “Although she did tell me that she encountered a few stalkers that followed her like creeps. I guess even the inner city contains some distasteful people.”
“I'm sorry you had to go through that,” Rella said to Taloress with a sincere look. It was an impressive mask, I'll admit. “I guess it was my fault for not warning you. Things in Halros are a bit hectic as of late. Just last night, eight innocent men had been killed in the outer city. I suggest you tell me if you want to roam the city by yourselves so I could provide you with an escort. Most criminal elements are located in the outer city, but some still manage to slip into the inner city sometimes.”
“Yes, there are probably criminal elements in the inner city as well,” I said as I eyed Rella's face, but there was no change in her sincere expression at all. If I didn't find out about the true background of the company she worked for, I would have believed her facade.
Rella continued to engage in small talk with us for a few more minutes before she turned our attention to the scenery outside the window. “Look, we're now entering Fashion Avenue.”
I looked outside the window and saw dozens of stores featuring extravagant clothing. The simple glass windows that displayed the stores' products were proof enough that the stores lining the street were high-end. Only they could afford to buy expensive glass.
According to Rella, we were currently in the Business District, which was composed of numerous connecting streets. Each of the streets that made up the Business District catered to a specific type of product. The street we were in, Fashion Avenue mainly focused on expensive clothing, cosmetics, and jewelry.
“Our first destination is Vivi's Clothing and Jewelry, the best clothier in the inner city,” Rella announced.
I did my best to hold in my snort. As long as I was in the city, nobody was a better clothier than me.
Our carriage soon entered a vast parking space of a large opulent building. I didn't even have to ask Rella if we'd finally arrived since there was a comically-huge sign on the building that said ‘Vivi's Clothing and Jewelry.’ A person two blocks away would have easily spotted the store with how large the sign was.
“That's one way to advertise a business,” I muttered as we entered the large building. Instead of the usual racks of clothes I expected upon entering a clothing store, what greeted us was a brightly-lit lobby. A large counter where beautiful receptionists sat was located in the middle of the room where they assisted the scant few customers that came and went.
Unlike the normal customers though, our group didn't have to approach the counter before we were approached by a funny-looking man who was waiting for us.
“Rella, my dear!” the man exclaimed before pulling Rella into a tight hug. “Oh, how much I missed you! You don't the hell I've been through while you were gone! The only thing women around here seemed to be good at is bedding men!”
Rella laughed as she returned the man's hug. “I missed you too, Vivi. I'm sure you'll eventually find the perfect model you're looking for.”
“Bah, if you would just agree to be my model, I wouldn't have to go scouring the pits of Halros for a woman who deserves to represent my fashion!”
I watched curiously as the funny-looking man, who turned out to be Vivi, pestered Rella. The man dressed as bombastic as his lavishly-decorated store. He wore a coat embroidered with beautiful floral designs and colorful frills on the hems, all of which were made with high-quality silk. His face was covered with thick makeup and his nails were manicured a fiery red.
To be honest, the man looked less like the epitome of fashion and more like what fashion should not be. But I guess everyone has their own preference for fashion.
“We can discuss modeling another time, Vivi,” Rella finally said. “I'm here to tour my client, remember?”
“Oh, right!” Vivi exclaimed in exaggeration before turning to me. He was about to greet me when he suddenly froze in place. His eyes roved over my body in an extremely disturbing way before he made a squeal of delight. “My, my! I see Rella has brought someone who knows true fashion! Nice to meet you, fellow fashionista. I am Victor Aldmin, proprietor of Vivi's Clothing and Jewelry, but you can call me Vivi just like everybody else.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Vivi. I'm Mr. Marion, owner of the Broken Heart Company,” I said with a bow. I considered including my usual ‘Clothes Master and Aficionado’ in my introduction, but I had a bad feeling things would turn chaotic if I said that to Vivi.
“Mr. Marion here intends to open his company in the city, so I'm touring him around,” Rella added. “Since his company is also in the same niche as yours, I decided to introduce you to each other.”
“A competitor?” Vivi said with amusement as he glanced at me. “Well, competitors are always welcome around here, although since your company will be newly established, you're going to have to work twice as hard. The customer base in the city is already neatly divided among the well-known shops, so you'll have to exert extra effort to steal customers from other establishments.”
I thought Vivi would try to intimidate me, but surprisingly, he offered great advice. Even though I no longer had any intention to establish my company in Halros, Vivi's advice was applicable in any large city. To survive as a newcomer in the world of business, a juvenile company should have something that distinguishes it from the rest of its competitors, or else people would ignore it in favor of long-established businesses.
“Anyway, we can save all those business talks for later,” Vivi said with a wave of his hand. “You're here to see the great success that is my store, correct? Come, let me show you how I managed to get to the top of the clothing industry!”
●●●
An embarrassing revelation came over me throughout Vivi's tour of his shop. As much as it shamed me to admit, I was a complete noob when it came to business.
As much as I tried to sell myself as a ‘merchant,’ the reality was that I didn't have the proper education to be one. All I knew about business were things I learned from Maly and her dad back when I was still staying in Erfeld. But after seeing how Vivi ran things, I realized I was just a frog in a well.
When it came to the quality of clothing, I was obviously the better one. But on the business side of things, Vivi was a master compared to me.
For instance, not just anyone could enter Vivi's Clothing and Jewelry. One needed to be a member to enter, and getting a membership required a referral from an existing member of the shop. It drastically limited the shop's number of customers, but that didn't mean their profits were hit. In fact, their only customers consisted of the extremely rich, allowing Vivi to sell each piece of their clothing for hundreds of gold without complaint from the buyers.
Another thing I learned from Vivi's tour was my pragmatic method of putting values on things. When I sold my products, I always adjusted the price based on the value of the raw materials used, but I never considered other aspects such as the labor and the artistic value. It was an extremely stupid mistake caused by my total dependence on my Authority: with how easy I could make clothes, I no longer put any value on the effort it took to create them.
Going through Vivi's tour was like a wake-up call for me that just because I was probably the best clothier in the kingdom didn't mean I would automatically become successful as a businessman. Vivi's tour took the better part of an hour, and when we left for our next destination, I learned a couple of things that I could use when the time to open my own store came.
Rella also led me to other shops and boutiques on Fashion Avenue, but although they were high-end establishments as well, they paled in comparison to Vivi's Clothing and Jewelry.
After roaming around Fashion Avenue, we next headed to the residential area of the inner city where Rella showcased the sprawling estates of the rich. Some were so large that their front yards were enough to fit Wildpost several times over.
“This is where the key players of the city reside,” Rella said as the carriage trundled down the wide road. “This is the best place to live in if you want to bring your company to greater heights. From time to time, a social gathering is conducted in the residential district's clubhouse where you can make connections with important people, which is important for any company owner.”
Rella had a good point there, although I was willing to bet that all those ‘important people’ were the kings and queens of the criminal organizations around here. I don't think I would have been able to withstand that kind of gathering without killing those assholes.
The tour around the residential area was pretty quick since we weren't allowed to linger for too long. The security was extremely tight, with dozens of guards patrolling the streets constantly. Some of them even shot our carriage dirty looks from time to time. Talk about rude.
Rella had the driver roam around the inner city for a few more minutes before we finally decided to end the tour. When I decided last night to establish my company in another city, I thought the tour would become boring and useless. Surprisingly, it turned out to be extremely informative and managed to relax my mind somehow. Yesterday had been extremely stressful, and with my urges getting stronger and stronger, I was a bit wrung out. The tour managed to soothe me greatly.
But now that my visit to Halros was coming to an end, my mind focused back on the important things. Namely, my revenge on Rella and her company for making a fool out of me. Killing eight of her lowly thugs wasn't enough.
As I tried to think of a way to take my revenge, the carriage passed by a large auction house whose name immediately caught my attention. “Dagula's?”
“Oh, that?” Rella muttered with disinterest as she glanced at the opulent auction house that looked so much like the Pantheon in Rome. “That's one of many high-class auction houses. There's not much to see there.”
“I'd still like to have a look inside if you don't mind,” I said as I stared at Rella's face.
For the first time throughout the entire day, Rella's facade broke for a fraction of a second. A look of annoyance flashed over her face before she donned her usual smile. “If you wish.”
Dagula's was the auction house where my clothing was sold for thousands of gold, and I had a good feeling that going inside that place would provide me with the means to exact my revenge.