Chapter 40 - Volume 3 (2/2)
“D-do you think I’ll let you! G-get them!”
“Haap!”
Myurena’s outbursts went to deaf ears, and the group ignored her completely as they talked to their own. Now they clashed at each other, but even with her untrained eyes she could see that it was poorly ch.o.r.eographed. The men jumped backward even before the punch landed and they continued to let out grunts as they acted, performing this awkward scene to their fullest.
Myurena reached the point that even being mad at this situation was too much of an effort, and decided to watch how it will end with folded arms. Miller approached her, gasping for air despite the fact that not a single drop of sweat was on his face. He seemed to make an expression of anger as best he could.
“Kuu! As expected, it isn’t easy. We must run.”
“H, hng! There is no place to run! Just surrender quietly!”
“Impossible!”
Miller rolled out from the group of men at the end of the woman’s words.
“s.h.i.+t!”
Myurena could feel her head throbbing when she saw the group of men make a path for Miller to roll through then let out words of praises such as ‘he’s fast!’ and ‘Amaizing’.
“Let us escape first, lady.”
“Where do you think you’re touching?!”
When Miller approached Myurena to grab onto her waist, she shouted out in irritation and swung her fist at his face. Everyone was surprised by the sudden turn of events. Miller grabbed onto his face as he made grunts of pain while the woman screamed.
“Kyaa! Why would you hit him!”
“Huh?”
“Ouch! That must’ve hurt.”
“Is she really a n.o.ble lady? How could she resort to violence like that?”
Miller grabbed his face as he moaned in pain, while the woman pranced around constantly mumbling ‘what do we do, what do we do’ to herself. The men behind the woman whispered to each other, speaking ill of Myurena. Watching it all, Myurena felt she didn’t deserve such treatment while at the same time felt a sense of guilt.
“T-that’s why I’ve been asking what is going on!”
Myurena shouted, and everyone recoiled yet still hesitated to speak. But in the heat of the moment, the woman flinched and then pointed to the broken window which Miller entered from and spoke.
“T-they got away! Hurry, we must go after them!”
“Huh?”
“d.a.m.n! Let’s go!”
“Huh?”
With a war cry, some of them escaped through the window while others left out the door they originally entered from. The group left the room like a storm and only Myurena and Miller were left in the desolate room.
“Ugh! How dare they ignore me like this.”
Watching Myurena grind her teeth in anger, Miller was slowly distancing himself from her while he still clasped his face. But Myurena quickly noticed Miller’s act, and their eyes met.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“If you don’t tell me exactly what this situation is all about, I will be the first n.o.ble lady to beat down an elf in history.”
Crack!
Each and every pop of Myurena’s knuckles was at best, horrifying.
“W, well…”
Miller stepped backwards with a stiff smile, but soon he found himself backed into a wall. Realising there was nowhere to run, he looked to see if there was any help, then sighed.
“Well… Alright. I’ll explain to you what has been happening. I am an agent of Centural.”
“…”
“I have been sent here to investigate when Centural received word of an evil organisation that has been trying to take over New Port City. I have been collecting intelligence in secret, and wrote down the names of all the bosses and lieutenants on a handkerchief …”
“Are you making a sick joke! Centural? What is that? All you’ve done is add a single letter on Central! What? An evil organisation? Taking over New Port City? What kind of an organisation would want to take over New Port City, which has been thoroughly taken over by criminals already! And why would you write down the names of secret organisation’s leaders on a handkerchief!”
“T, that’s what the script said so…”
“Script? What do you mean a script?”
“D, didn’t you ask for the spy course?”
“Haa?”
Myurena could remember in the back of her mind that she did tick one of the courses without putting much thought into it.
“I, it’s just that you came too early and the scenario wasn’t exactly complete…”
“Scenario? What scenario? Was this all just an act?”
“Yes.”
“… Seriously? Then even the fight in the street was all an act?”
“Yes.”
“What kind stupid situation is this!”
Myurena’s cry of frustration shook the hotel.
“The spy course reported that it has failed.”
“I’d be amazed if it didn’t, considering all of the actors have never watched a play in their entire lives. How about the other guests?”
“It is unexpectedly popular. Some have told us that they would like to experience other courses, while others wished to experience a scenario which is written by them.”
“Go and see if you can hire famous playwrights and authors for the job. Everyone dreams of becoming the protagonist. It’ll sell well.”
Cordnell nodded with complicated feelings inside him.
“I didn’t think such method would really work.”
“Someone said this before. Women are beings that feed on dreams.”
“But even if there is a rise in the number female guests, it’ll still be difficult to expect an increase in the profit of our casinos. Most women tend not to gamble in the first place.”
Isaac clicked his tongue at Cordnell, disappointed by his words.
“If women enter New Port City freely without any issues, men will also have no problems in visiting us too. Then the women can spend their time shopping and partic.i.p.ating in the plays, while the men spend their time gambling. It’s a win-win situation for both of them.”
“I’m sorry to say this, but there aren’t enough amenities in the city for all the women to enjoy their time here.”
“What do you mean there aren’t enough of them? All we have to do is make them. What do women like the most to spend their time with?”
“…”
“What, you don’t know? You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”
Cordnell felt both sad and angry as he retorted back to Isaac’s pitying eyes.
“… But you don’t have one either.”
“Do you think there’s a woman out there that would like to have a relations.h.i.+p with someone whose future is uncertain at best and could die at any time?”
“…”
“Contact the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds and tell them to set up shop in New Port City. All of the goods sold by the Seven Grand Merchant Guilds will be sold in this place. All you need to do is place enough shops in this building so that it’d take an entire day to even visit every shop in the building.”
“But we already have that in Port City.”
“Even better. Tell them to pack up and move over to New Port City.”
“That’s impossible!”
“Tsk! Why do you even call yourself a merchant when you only look for safe ways to earn profit? All of the Ceta District is owned by me. If I succeed, all of the properties and land in Ceta District will rise in value with me. I’m giving it to you while it’s cheap. I won’t give any discounts later even if you cry at my feet.”
“D, did you buy all that land with that already in mind?”
“When real estate makes a hit, it’s always a home run.”
Myurena felt cheated. There were a lot more visitors to New Port City than she had expected. Most were women, and they enjoyed their time as they went on dates with the handsome elves.
But unlike them, Myurena had to suffer through that mind boggling situation because she didn’t apply for Escort service and replied to the letter without much thought. Leaving behind Miller who was sulking that he wouldn’t be getting paid because of the failure, Myurena went to watch the famous band from Gabelin to ease her empty mind. From there, she saw more women who were victims of similar situation.
They exchanged the experiences they had with each other, and Myurena found out that this childish attempt of a play was unexpectedly popular. She was also impressed by Isaac, who came up with the idea to use the entire city as a stage to be sold to the public.
Myurena headed to the Sky Bridge to leave New Port City.
“Hm, I’ll make sure to do it properly next time.”
She spoke those words as she turned to look at New Port City for the last time, when suddenly…
Smack!
She felt a sharp blow at the back of her head.
“Ow! Sister!”
“What do you mean next time! I told you time and time again not to a.s.sociate yourself with New Port City!”
“Hiik, brother-in-law!”
In an attempt to avoid Eliza’s burning gaze, Myurena hid behind Philip’s back, pleading for his help with tears in her eyes. Philip made an awkward smile at the difficult situation he was put in.
“Where do you think you’re hiding! You’ll get your punishment when we get back home!”
Eliza could only do so much despite her anger, as doing any more may tarnish her reputation. They were in the eyes of the public, and she couldn’t show herself punis.h.i.+ng her sister in the open. She resorted to only glaring at Myurena for now while Myurena dropped her shoulders and followed behind them like a criminal being led to prison. But even at this moment, she couldn’t help but look back at New Port City quietly.
She had acquired some sense in business, and according to her own calculations, there could be significant profit to be made if she were to open a shop in New Port City, selling specialties from her own province. And if she became the manager of the shop, she would have the perfect excuse to visit New Port City every month and enjoy that strange play, that time as part of the audience.
“Hurry up this instance!”
“Hiing, I’m going.”
Myurena tried to act as pitiful as possible to make sure her devious scheme isn’t found out. It seems as though she will need to lay low for some time.
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