Chapter 68

“Did you honestly think I would use an incident like this as a pretext to invade the lower district? Did you think I increased the guards and intentionally sent Malik’s subordinates to set up a ridiculous stall just for that? Just to stupidly start a war?”

I asked him point-blank.

“Did you really think I was that kind of pathetic bastard?”

“You…”

Izack’s voice faltered. He looked utterly confused.

“…You manipulated their hearts. You made them get close to the upper district people just as you intended, and you made them steal our goods and run away just as you intended.”

“Wrong.”

The one who spoke up was Adele. She pulled out her mace and pointed it at me.

“The Young Master here simply predicted it. What actually happened depended on the choices of each and every one of those individuals.”

I turned to her. “I appreciate the sentiment, but you don’t need to help me out here.”

“What about when I blocked that punch earlier?”

“I’m grateful for that, too.”

“Don’t mention it.”

She smiled satisfiedly and gestured for me to continue, as if telling me to get on with it.

‘Thank you sooooo much, lady.’

I resumed my speech.

“I can’t say I contributed nothing to what happened. I knew they would do it. I’m at fault for not stopping it. But look here, Mr. Izack. Using this to stir up conflict and invade the lower district? Not a chance. Is that really the kind of man you’ve taken me for?”

I met Izack’s eyes. My smile reflected in them… well, it probably wasn’t a very bright one.

“I don’t do politics that way.”

I then turned to one of the soldiers guarding the gate and asked, “The market opens again on Wednesday, right?”

“Uh, yes… it does?”

The soldier, caught off guard by the sudden question, stammered his reply.

“Good. Then let’s make it Wednesday.”

I raised my voice.

“Next Wednesday, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. We will completely open the East Gate of Denabi Castle—the lower district gate. Please keep identity checks and bag inspections for the residents to an absolute minimum.”

“Brat, you…”

“This is how I do politics.”

With those final words, I turned my back on Izack.

Two days after the weekend, Wednesday arrived, and the gate was opened exactly as I had ordered. This had naturally been announced to both the upper and lower districts of Denabi.

A large crowd had already gathered in front of the gate. Upper district people stood to the west of the gate, and lower district people to the east. Though their positions were different, their eyes held a similar look.

Anxiety. They felt a strange sense of unease as they looked at one another.

Then, a man approached the gate hesitantly. He asked us with a suspicious face.

“Excuse me… I’d like to ask something.”

“Yes, is there a problem?”

“Well…”

He had initiated the conversation, but he seemed reluctant to get to the point. I suppose that made sense. Usually, people would want to ask the guards who normally stood here about what was going on.

But unfortunately for him, only Adele and I were standing by the gate. The man spoke to me as if he were asking only out of sheer necessity.

“…Are you really just letting us through?”

“Yes. That’s how it is,” I answered immediately.

However, his confusion only seemed to grow.

“What, you’re not even asking for names? You’re not asking to see my bag?”

“Yes. That’s really how it is.”

“What happened to all the guards?”

“I gave them a holiday. They’re probably in the market right now having a mid-day drink.”

“A holiday…?”

The man tilted his head for a long while before finally shuffling through the gate.

For the next hour, a tedious standoff continued. Naturally, the upper district people didn’t even try to head toward the lower district side, and the lower district residents rarely ventured over here.

During that time, I sat side-by-side with Adele, making small talk.

Adele said, “I’ve been thinking.”

“About what?”

“Did you choose this spot because you wanted to be alone with me?”

“I’d be stuck with you even if we weren’t here. It’s not like you’re ever going to stop following me.”

“Oh… but you’re just standing here for no apparent reason. Surely I must be—”

“They’re coming.”

I cut her off and pointed toward the downhill path of the lower district. Three carriages were racing up in a line. The scent of fruit wafted through the air.

I waved as they approached. Their cargo was a carriage-full of fruit. Some were bug-bitten and others were overripe, but that only made the fragrance spread more intensely.

The eyes of the lower district people were drawn to them.

“Young Master. It’s been a while.”

“Marty.”

I shook Marty’s hand.

“Hurry along. The manager is throwing a fit because an order placed ages ago is only being delivered now that it’s market day.”

“Oh boy. I’d better hurry. But where are the guards? Why are you here alone, Young Master?”

“We opened the gates.”

“Pardon…?”

“I said the gates are open because it’s market day! If you don’t get moving, I’m going to pester you for a discount on the next order!”

“Ack!”

I intentionally shouted to shoo Marty away. His carriages hurried through the gate. The scent of the fruit was sucked into the gate along with the carriages.

Soon, an old man was pushed forward from the crowd. I noticed they had been playing Rock-Paper-Scissors over some unknown topic earlier; it must have been a bet to see who would go first.

The old man approached slowly and asked me, “I heard something about it being market day…”

“That’s right. That fruit that just passed by will be for sale, too. Go on ahead. Buy your grandkids something delicious.”

“Is it really okay to go? This isn’t some kind of trap to settle the score for what happened the other day, is it?”

He was quite blunt. Someone in the crowd had likely told him to ask exactly that.

‘Based on a few people slapping their foreheads, I’m guessing they didn’t tell him to be that direct.’

I leaned over the old man’s shoulder and shouted to the crowd.

“It’s not a trap, the doors are genuinely open, so feel free to come and go as you please! And as you heard, there will be alcohol for sale in the market! There will be drapers and blacksmiths too! Whether you need a new pot, a job, or just something to see! Anyway, you should check it out! And this isn’t an advertisement!”

“It sounds like an advertisement to anyone with ears,” Adele quipped.

“People who advertise always say it’s not an advertisement. While I’m at it, should I run another ad?”

“?”
 
I took another step forward and shouted toward the crowd.
 
“And everyone! I’m telling you again, this is not a trap! If you can, pass the word to those folks who ran off with the wages and the wheeled chairs the other day! Tell them I’ll grant them amnesty, so just come back and finish helping with the work! We’re dying from a labor shortage over here!”
 
Just then, someone shot their hand up. I pointed toward him.
 
“You there! If you have a question, go ahead!”
 
“Didn’t ya just say ya were short-handed?”
 
“Yes! To be specific, I’m short one carpenter and three brewery laborers!”
 
“The brewery? If ya work there, do ya get paid in money and booze?”
 
“We only provide money for now, but couldn’t you just use that money to buy some? There’s an employee discount, too.”
 
The man turned to the others and started whispering.
 
-…Whoa, sounds good, don’t it?

-It does, but…
 
I shouted toward them again.
 
“If you need it, you can stay in the dormitory right next to the site while you work!”
 
“Right next to the site, ya say…?”
 
“Yes. Up in the upper district.”
 
“Hah.”
 
“What do you think? Interested? If so, now’s the time. Once those other folks come back, there won’t be any jobs left!”
 
The crowd began whispering again.
 
-Should I fall for this… or not?

-Sounds like a load of bull.

-No, wait. Ya know that lady who lives next door to me? She kept blabberin’ about workin’ in the upper district, and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her since.

-What? Then is she actually livin’ up there?

-Well, I’ll be…
 
Suddenly, a young man who had been listening silently stepped out.
 
“Ain’t that the butcher’s boy?”
 
“What? Why you sayin’ that?”
 
The young man spoke with a serious expression.
 
“…I kept thinkin’ my time would come soon enough, and it looks like today’s the day.”
 
“What kind of nonsense is that? Then who’s gonna run your pa’s business?”
 
“A man ain’t a man if he just follows his pa’s coattails for his whole life.”
 
“Stop talkin’ rot and get back over here. Your ma will faint if she hears this, boy!”
 
“She’ll faint from joy, then! I’m off!”
 
The young man sprinted toward me in a single bound.
 
“Welcome.”
 
I offered him a handshake. Without hesitation, he gripped my hand and shook it.
 
“Just give me any job, sir.”
 
“Oh? But what about the dialect?”
 
“I left it back there with the old me.”
 
“…”
 
Well… whatever.
 
Starting with that, the number of lower district residents passing through the gate increased in an instant. By the afternoon, there was almost no one left even trying to talk to us. Since there was no longer a need to guard the gate, we decided to head back inside the castle.
 
Adele, who was walking in front, turned around.
 
“So this is how you ‘invade’?”
 
She spoke to me while walking backward.
 
“You intended to gain the support of the people in the lower district this way.”
 
“Support. That’s good, too. But this alone won’t make them all turn away from Malik and become my subjects.”
 
“Then does that mean you had another target in mind?”
 
Instead of answering, I pointed toward where we were heading. Adele turned back around and looked.
 
Ahead of us was the market.
 
I said, “Support is an uncertain metric. It’s nice to have, but the visible gains are small. It’s not like we’re holding an election to pick a new ruler for the lower district. So, what must I take from Malik to practically bring the control of the lower district to me…?”
 
“That… Oh, I see.”
 
Adele opened her mouth as if she’d realized something. She looked at me and drew a circle with her index finger.
 
Money.
 
I nodded.
 
“Until now, Denabi couldn’t collect taxes from the lower district residents. Why? Because they operated in an underground economy. Their consumption happened in the black markets of the lower district. But now, it’s different.”
 
“Because they can spend money in the upper district. Naturally, you can collect the taxes attached to the goods. Conversely, the money flowing to that Malik guy will decrease. Right?”
 
Adele looked at me with sparkling eyes.
 
How was that? I got it right, didn’t I? I did good, right?
 
I did my best to look away from her. If Adele gets any more triumphant, she’ll become a handful.
 
‘And why is she looking for praise just for figuring out something so obvious? If it were Avenger or Izack…’
 
“…”
 
‘…Well, they wouldn’t have known.’
 
They failed to read my intentions until the very end. Getting disappointed because they didn’t understand my heart—I didn’t intend to be that petty.
 
However, it was also true that I didn’t want to have to explain the intent behind every single action I took. At the very least, I just wanted them to follow my lead. Isn’t that what trust is?
 
Of course, it’s my fault for not providing enough reason to trust, but…
 
“…When you have to cook right now, you can’t waste time trying to persuade a dull knife to cut, can you?”
 
You simply choose a sharp one.
 
“Hm? What did you say?”
 
Adele blinked at me.
 
I said nonchalantly, “Nothing much. I just thought that maybe I could trust you a little more.”
 
“Oh! Does that mean…?”
 
“A festival can’t just be all good things. Soon, the flames will rise. I need to be prepared for that.”
 
That is precisely why I need a new blade.
 
“Adele.”
 
“Yes…?”
 
I looked her in the eye.
 
“Have you any interest in becoming one of my people?”