Chapter 36 - Volume 2 (2/2)
“I will give ten thousand Giga to whoever brings me the person that started this riot.”
“…”
There was silence.
Ten thousand Giga. It was a fortune people from New Port City couldn’t even dream of seeing. It was enough for them to leave the city and open a small shop to start a new life.
The atmosphere of the rioters quickly changed, while those who watched from afar slowly approached toward the rioters – the leaders of the riot, to be exact.
“E, everyone, don’t fall for his lies! It’s part of his dastardly scheme to fracture our unity!”
Sensing danger, the men who were inciting the mob attempted to counteract Isaac, unsure of his next move until Isaac followed up with additional conditions.
“You have until I finish my cigar. If you fail to bring me the leader of this riot, I’ll fire not only the rioters, but everyone who was hired for this construction job! I have plenty more to hire from!”
Those words were final. The workers only partic.i.p.ated out of greed to receive more pay, not to get fired. The workers who watched from the sides were even more aggressive. Isaac may have hired a large number of workers for the project, but the qualifications for the job were much harder than an average job in New Port City. They won the job after a fierce compet.i.tion, and they weren’t about to lose it now because some idiots decided to make an incident and bring them down together. They looked as if they were ready to kill not just the leader, but all of the rioters if they lost the job.
“There! Get him!”
Waaaah!
The mob quickly chased after the people who led the riot while the leaders of the said riot ran with a stumped look. Cordnell could only watch in silence as the game of cat and mouse played out in front of him. Isaac smirked toward Cordnell as he spoke.
“Did you see that? This is how you negotiate in New Port City.”
It seemed more like causing dissent rather than negotiation, but at the end of the day, the riot was easily dealt with, contrary to Cordnell’s expectations.
“H, how could it crumble so easily?”
Cordnell could not understand. The employees from the merchant guilds sometimes had riots of their own when they weren’t satisfied about their treatment and and felt like their suggestions were dismissed. The riots Cordnell had been facing against had a firm unity since they were fellow colleagues who had worked together for a long time, so it would have been impossible to sabotage the riots using Isaac’s method.
“Don’t forget that this is a special case. You’re in New Port City. Murder for a single meal is a common sight in this place. Paying their wages and feeding them is the best treatment I can offer to them. Anyone who wants more are unsalvageable trash and I don’t need to make any considerations for them.”
“You maggots!”
“Aak!”
Isaac saw the rare sight of a man kicked into the air. The people who chased after the leaders of the riot had their heads and arms broken.
“Come at us if you want to die!”
One of the leaders shouted menacingly, his show of force holding the mob back.
“It seems they can use mana.”
“Idiots. I guess you’d need them to be somewhat strong and smart to use as a tool. I suspect they aren’t citizens of this city, seeing how they can use mana.”
“They seem like mercenaries. I’ve heard there was a band of mercenaries specialising in causing confusion by inciting unrest through rumours. It might be them.”
“Hm. Was it Count Milros or Port City that sent them?”
“We’ll find out once we catch them.”
“Are you confident?”
Rizzly seemed hurt by Isaac’s questioning.
“We North Bears may be insulted because of honey, but we are still considered one of the best.”
“Then bring them here.”
“Huhuhu, gladly.”
Rizzly turned into a bear as he smiled, satisfied that he got to use his strength for once.
“Oh! That’s pretty cool.”
His body swelled in size, snow white fur rose from his skin, and his face turned into that of a bear. If Kunette had the appearance of a teddy bear, Rizzly had the form of a true polar bear.
Roar!
Rizzly leapt off the roof and roared at the mob around him, suppressing everyone. The mob cleared a path to the leaders and Rizzly walked up to them, his hand extending to one of them.
“Citizens.h.i.+p.”
“What?”
“Give me your proof of citizens.h.i.+p.”
“H, here.”
The man quickly handed his identification over. Rizzly tilted his head. This wasn’t what he had planned. He was thinking of arresting them all using their lack of identification as an excuse, but now he had no excuse to harm them.
After a quick ponder, Rizzly spoke to Isaac.
“He’s got identification.”
Isaac responded with a gesture of crumpling something in hand and throwing it away. Rizzly nodded and scrunched up the piece of paper in his hand and threw it away.
While everyone watched the paper ball fly away in a parabola, Rizzly asked his question once more.
“Identification.”
“W, what the! You just threw it away!”
“Huh? When did I do that?”
“Everyone here saw it!”
“Really? Who exactly?”
Rizzly looked around him, and everyone acted as if they weren’t watching or ducked their heads to avoid eye contact.
“s.h.i.+t! We may as well just kill them all since we failed….”
Even before the man could finish his sentence, Rizzly grabbed onto the man’s throat and lifted him up in the air.
“Huh? What was that?”
“Kekek!”
The man struggled against Rizzly’s arm, unable to breath. The rest of his group seemed to have lost the will to fight and surrendered peacefully.
“He’ll die if you keep that up.”
Isaac spoke to Rizzly as he came down to the plaza himself, and Rizzly released the man from his grip. As the man crawled on the ground coughing, the rest of the inciters were rounded up next to him by other North Bears.
After catching his breath, the man begged to Isaac on his knees.
“Please let me live! I’ll tell you everything, including who hired us and the reason behind it!”
“Huh? I don’t need it. One person takes the lead and start inciting, while the rest of you help get more support. These clueless idiots got greedy even after the generous treatment they had received and followed you. It’s obvious.”
The man was at a loss for words for a moment after Isaac’s explanation but regained the will to speak again.
“T, then I can at least tell who hired…”
“No. You don’t have to tell me. If I find out, I’ll need to get my revenge, but that’s just annoying. Let’s just bury it between us. Got it?”
“T, thank you!”
“No. The rest of you may thank me, but not you.”
“What?”
Isaac smiled as the man looked to Isaac in confusion.
“New Port City’s police force is hard at work defending its citizens from harm. The same applies for outsiders who have entered as guests.”
“Yes… Thank you.”
Ignoring the man’s hesitant grat.i.tude, Isaac walked back to the City Hall as he pointed toward the man.
“He isn’t a citizen. Seems like he’s an outsider without an invitation too. The police have no reason to protect that man.”
It basically meant the people were free to do whatever they wanted from him.
Everyone’s eyes turned violent as Isaac’s words echoed into the air. That man had almost cost them their livelihoods. The people who were part of the riot were even more intense because of the guilt.
“Kuuk!”
Finally realising Isaac’s intention, the man looked to his companions for help, but his unfaithful companions already had their identification out with apologetic looks on their faces as they disappeared into the crowd.
“You think I’ll die that easily? Come at me if you dare!”
Noticing that Rizzly was away following Isaac, the man quickly made a grab for a shovel and swung it around with mana as he shouted. There was no way an average man could fight a mercenary who could use mana.
“You will die if you a.s.sault my citizens.”
Those words meant that he should give up fighting and just run.
The man grit his teeth and looked to Isaac, then quickly turned around and started making his escape.
“Move! Move if you don’t want to die!”
The man made an route by swinging the shovel in front of him, forcing the crowd to back away from him. The small gap was more than enough for the man to quickly gain speed and run away.
Isaac spoke as he watched the man’s back disappear into the distance.
“The ten thousand Giga bounty is still valid.”
“Waah! Get him!”
The crowd quickly chased after the man. He may have been a mercenary, but these citizens were hardened by the dest.i.tution of New Port City. The mob left the plaza like a storm, and the plaza turned deathly silent.
“I guess construction is at halt today.”
Cordnell finally crawled out of the City Hall and sighed at the sight of the empty construction site.
“Give them their pay anyway.”
Cordnell sighed even louder, knowing that money was being lost for no reason once more.
Rizzly tilted his head and asked Isaac a question.
“Why did you do that? No matter how many workers chase after him, they won’t be able to catch him.”
“I know. He’s just an example. That should stop anyone else from trying to do the same again. Cordnell, let the workers know that I will give a ten thousand Giga bounty to anyone who reports any inciters. But warn them that if it’s a false report, they will face the consequences of taking me lightly.”
“Yes sir.”
“Rizzly, send one of your men after that runner and find out where he goes. He most definitely didn’t enter through the bridge, so he’ll likely leave through the same hole he came from.”
“Do you think one of the other districts sent them here?”
“There are many ways to infiltrate other than the bridge. The only hard part is slipping through the syndicate’s watch.”
“Shall I do a clean-up once I find out which district it was?”
“No. Let’s just know about it for now. It’s much easier to clear them all out in one go.”
“Huhu, understood. I think it was the right choice to follow Kunette here. I didn’t think it’d be so fun.”
“Oh, it’ll get better.”
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