“Isn’t he a nice and skilled young man? Why do you dislike him so much?”
“Nice? Skilled? As if. He’s just lucky. And annoying. And disrespectful. And a jerk. And…”
Seeing that this could go on for a long time, someone else interrupted her.
“Even if we pushed him against the three great companies, he’s just a newcomer trader. It would be like asking a marmoset to move a mountain. Three mountains, even. There’s no point in doing so.”
This made Crali smirk weirdly.
“What if he was…”
“Crali.”
The sudden interruption startled all the participants. They glanced at Angin, still reading her book, pretending she wasn’t the one who stopped her daughter in her tracks. They sometimes wondered if there existed so many books to read that their Lady could always have a new tome in her hands.
Crali closed her mouth, frightened, before laughing oddly.
“Ha… Hahaha… I’ll spare him for today. Let’s continue discussing other solutions.”
Watching the miss direct meetings in Geola was always such a show. At least, they were never bored. As for the reason her mother interrupted her, they weren’t stupid either. They had long since noticed the young man’s anomalies, reaching diverse conclusions on their own. In a way, that single word could also be interpreted as a reminder for them to keep whatever they guessed to themselves, no matter what it was.
They talked about the topic for some more time before the miss concluded.
“We’ll start implementing regulations, but slowly. As for supporting competing merchants, let’s go with three, no, six for now. Any remarks? No? Let’s move on.”
After that, many other topics were broached. From internal issues, security, army training, the situation in the villages, movements from the three surrounding countries, and so on, there was plenty to talk about. Eventually, they were done, after many hours of information sharing and debates.
“Is there anything else? If not, let’s end this. I’ve got more than enough.”
This wasn’t something a leader should say, but their young miss wasn’t someone to care about details like these. Unfortunately, Eilin raised her hands, looking a bit hesitant. Crali sighed before interrogating her.
“Eilin? What is it?”
“Well… it might be nothing but…”
“What? Just spill it already.”
“Alright… There’s a rumor that something is happening in Volnex.
This was yet another surprising piece of information, and for a good reason. Volnex was one of the continents farthest away from Bankil. News from there was far and few in between.
“Volnex? What’s happening there?”
“That is… That’s it.”
This made Crali frown.
“What do you mean?”
“The only information that reached us was that there was a rumor of something happening in Volnex.”
“…Really?”
“…Yes.”
They could understand why she was a little embarrassed. In reality, the only reason she revealed something like this was that Angin always insisted on reporting every piece of information, no matter how trivial, when she was the one ruling Geola. It was a management style completely different from that of her daughter, who was much more easygoing.
“Huh… Well… Okay. In that case, try to send someone to learn more about it.”
“Yes, mi…”
“Send ten teams of five of your best people each. They should all depart at different times, with different objective depths, using different routes. The first ones should stop and come back after getting a bit more information, the second ones should get even more, and so on. Safety should be the priority at all times. They should be ordered to flee at the first sign of danger.”
The sudden flood of instruction from Angin took them aback once more. When they looked her way, she was now sitting, an incredibly rare feat. Her face was serious, her gaze focused on Eilin, who became flustered.
“Ah… Wait, wait, my Lady. Can you repeat all of this? I want to note it.”
Angin repeated it all, and Eilin nodded in acknowledgment. No one questioned their true leader’s judgment. Angin was someone who experienced much in her life and built Geola from almost nothing to the massive city it was today. Her life could become a saga by itself, and there were indeed books about her on the market. Even though she looked no different from Crali’s big sister, being a high-ranker, she was older and possessed more wisdom than anyone else in the room. On top of that, she was known for having a keen instinct. Considering all of this, there might be something important going on in Volnex.
Still, it was their duty to report potential issues.
“My Lady. Using so many of our most skilled personnel will affect information gathering in other places.”
“That’s fine.”
“What sort of problems should be anticipated? That could help survival rates for the teams. Travelling to Volnex is a trial in itself.”
“I don’t know either. Just tell them to be prudent and prioritize their lives first.”
“Mom, even if we find something, how will that impact us? Isn’t Volnex on the other side of the world?”
“You be quiet.”
Except for her now pouting daughter’s protest, she addressed all remarks before slumping on her sofa again, uncaring about the rest. The officials looked at one another while Crali was grumbling about how unfairly she was treated.
“Anything else? No? Dismissed!”
They left the room, glad that this was done. Crali immediately came to her mother, ready to harass her.
“Mom, what do you think is happening there? You can tell me, right? Come on, I’m sure you have some guesses. I’ll keep it a secret.”
She went on like that for a long time until even Angin couldn’t take it and left to find a quieter spot to read her book, leaving her disappointed daughter behind. The young woman had no idea what could have triggered her mother like that. She tried to think of a few possibilities, but nothing concrete came to her mind.
A transcendent? That wasn’t anything that special. Some disaster, like the epidemic they just went through? Or maybe an earthquake, or a volcanic eruption? They didn’t seem that terrible either. Maybe a rare or legendary affinity was born there? But they had their own here, too, so it seemed unlikely.
In the end, she couldn’t guess anything specific and had to give up for now. She would know sooner or later anyway.
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