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Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Kabur & Silavin
The rumor spread quietly but quickly through the northern town.
The rumor was that the northern town was in talks to become part of Razequa Amamiya.
The residents of the town were waiting with bated breath to see what the outcome would be.
They were hoping it would be in the direction of joining Razequa Amamiya.
The fact that the northern town had been left behind by the other three towns over the past decade was the subject of much discussion, mainly among the merchants.
For the peddlers, there were more business opportunities in the more dynamic towns.
Therefore, the peddlers were more sensitive to rumors about the towns.
Through the peddlers, rumors were brought to the merchants.
The merchants well understood that the northern town had suffered under the strict control of the nobles.
After all, taxes were higher than in the other towns, so there was no need to investigate the situation in detail.
Nevertheless, the northern town developed alongside the other three because it was the gateway for goods from the northern continent.
The nobles of the northern towns profited by monopolizing the goods coming into the Central Continent from the northern continent.
Even after the creation of Razequa Amamiya, this structure did not change.
In fact, it was said that the nobles, fearing change, continued to refuse to become a part of Razequa Amamiya.
In reality, there was also the influence of the church, but the public did not understand that much.
It simply showed that the public believed obediently in the church because they received the benefits through the filter of the nobility.
The situation in each town was reported from the accounts of the peddlers who came to the northern town in search of goods.
Although there was a disadvantage of being incorporated into the state, the three towns were producing better results than that.
There were stories of people who seized new business opportunities and changed their lifestyles drastically.
It is not only in the three large towns, but also in the towns and villages that have become part of the group over the past ten years, similar stories are appearing.
Of course, some towns and villages have declined, but this was a much smaller percentage than before Razequa Amamiya took control of this continent.
In any case, the presence of Razequa Amamiya’s army has drastically reduced the amount of damage caused by monsters.
That alone was worth the price of joining the group.
The general residents of the northern town, who had heard such stories through rumors, were secretly looking forward to the news of Razequa Amamiya’s incorporation.
This would change the stagnant town.
With this sense of anticipation in their hearts, the residents were waiting for the results.
However, the latest information that came in just the other day was that the talks had ended in failure.
The details were not reported.
It was simply the result of the talks that had been unsuccessful.
If things had continued as before, the residents might have accepted the outcome with regret.
However, the combination of the feelings that had been building up until now and the feeling that it was not good to be separated from the other three towns any further caused the residents to finally explode.
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Lucas let out a sigh as he looked down at the scene from his office.
Many residents had gathered in the plaza in front of the building where the administration of the northern town was housed.
The reason was to protest against the upper management’s refusal to join Razequa Amamiya.
Not that Lucas had done nothing since that meeting.
Using his own channels, he was aware of the growing discontent among the residents.
However, by the time he realized it, it was already too late, and the rumors had spread with sufficient momentum.
They knew that if they forced themselves to suppress the rumors, they would be rebuffed, so they could do nothing.
The result was the current scene.
It has not yet reached the point of revolt.
But if left unchecked, it was certain to explode sooner or later.
“So the Razequa Amamiya side was already aware of this at that time.”
Lucas thought of the face of the Razequa Amamiya representative who had come to the meeting a few days earlier.
He did not know through what channels Razequa Amamiya had obtained information about the situation in the northern town.
It may be that they had grabbed the rumors of the merchants in a very ordinary way.
What they were not doing was the upper echelons of the northern town.
They did not even have an accurate grasp of the situation in the town they ruled.
Lucas’s own channels were also obtained from merchants with whom he had direct connections.
It would have been better if he had gotten this information early on.
The residents had always been dissatisfied with the nobles, so they were unaware of the influx of complaints.
“No… Was the result the same?”
Rumors among merchants are the seeds that lead to business.
No matter how much you hold them down from above, they will soon go down the tubes.
Moreover, they would not have been able to take even the most aggressive steps.
After all, these merchants included even the big stores that supported the town’s business.
It was impossible to suppress the activities of all merchants.
“No hindsight, huh?”
Lucas understood that there was no point in getting upset in this situation.
After all, more than one-third of the town’s population was gathered in the plaza.
Of course, this was not an accurate count, but the number was so large that it was ridiculous to even try to count it.
Even if we were to suppress them by force under such circumstances, the town would cease to function as a town afterwards.
“What are you going to do?”
An aide asked Lucas as he let out a sigh.
The aide had been following him for many years, so the timing of the question was right for Lucas not to be interrupted in his thinking.
“No problem. Things will go as planned.”
“…Thank you for your time.”
Lucas firmly noticed that his entourage was really at a loss for words for a moment.
Even Lucas knew this guy well.
“Do you oppose this?”
Lucas asked, this time shaking his head quickly.
“No. I’ve prepared for it. That’s what I’ve been preparing for. If I was going to object, I would have done so at the beginning.”
“Indeed.”
At the aide’s words, Lucas gave a cackling, creeping laugh.
We have known each other for a long time.
They’ve known each other for a long time, so they knew exactly what each other was thinking.
“But still, they’re moving slowly. Are they still sleeping?”
At Lucas’s blurted out words, the aide smiled slightly and immediately returned to a straight face.
“I think it’s about time.”
“Well, I’m afraid it has to be.”
As the two of us talked about this, we soon heard a buzzing noise coming from outside the door.
“So you’re finally here.”
At the sound, Lucas understood that those who had been waiting until now had arrived.
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When Lucas saw those who entered the Oval Office, he laughed inwardly at the fact that the members were roughly as he had expected.
“What are you doing, Lucas!”
The situation being what it was, he couldn’t help but let it out.
Lucas’s aide was glaring at the person who had called out Lucas, even if he was the lord of the house.
Lucas suppressed it with a glance and a somewhat blurred expression appeared on his face.
“What do you mean?”
“The fools are probably committing a ruckus! Why don’t you hold them down?!”
He still didn’t understand what was going on, calling the people of the town “fools”.
Lucas was inwardly dismayed, but did not show it.
He would not be in the position of a lord if he couldn’t pull this kind of stunt.
“This is a strange thing to say. You have the authority to move the guards of the town, don’t you, and neither do you behind you?”
Instead of telling Lucas what to do, they should be the ones doing something.
“Well, that’s…”
Lucas shook his head at the executives, who instantly became more reserved.
“Under the current circumstances, moving the guards will only cause more trouble. It’s better to wait until things calm down a bit.”
In fact, Lucas was not sure if things would calm down, but he said something that sounded very plausible and calmed those in front of him.
It was not the residents gathered in the square that Lucas wanted to calm, but the executives.
“Oh, okay. Understood.”
“So for now, we’ll just stay quiet and wait for the commotion to die down… Oh, and don’t forget to leave with an escort just in case.”
The executives nodded their heads in agreement with Lucas’ obvious advice and left the place.
“Well, we’re in a race against time from here, aren’t we?”
“Yes, I guess so… Shall we begin?”
“Yes. I’ll take care of it just like we discussed, okay?
“Yes, let us do as we agreed.”
After seeing the executives off, Lucas and his entourage moved on to their roles.
