Chapitre 34: Enrique's Demand
"That's my problem, My Brother, and I don't need to think about that right now. Being able to adventure and defeat the Demon Lord with you... I feel like this is what I was born for and being an invincible warrior."
Xavier didn't know how to respond to that sentence. His face looked confused, as if he should show an expression of happiness or disgust that his senior was prioritising him over the important business of being one of the royal soldiers.
"Is that really the only reason you want to join us? I'm sure you have your own reasons. Like not wanting to..."
"Enough of this, Xavier. Don't let your mouth say more than this." Enrique interrupted quickly. For the first time since they met, a serious and threatening face was shown by his senior. Xavier had repeatedly seen that look when he was a royal soldier, but it had been a long time since he had seen it again.
Xavier felt no fear at all at the threat. He admitted that his actions were wrong but he had no intention of apologising, at least for now. Cytherea squealed and shuddered, as the Great Goddess she was ashamed of her reaction and tried to remain calm and authoritative.
"Ahh... somehow I still feel a little hungry. Why don't we have dessert? I'll bring some fruit pudding for you all." Connor clapped his hands quite loudly, startling some of them to divert the tension he didn't like. He called and whispered to the waitress before him to prepare the dessert.
"Great idea! Bring out all the stock!"
***
On the other side, Enrique and Xavier were still staring at each other. Cytherea watched them from a distance and tried to eavesdrop on the conversation. Connor was there but he was busy entertaining himself with the three girls.
"I don't know what your ultimate goal is, senior. But our journey may take a long time."
"You don't have to worry. I'm also curious how big this world is. The goddess said she had spent 500 years travelling the world to capture the throne of the gods. It would be a pity if her journey was not accompanied by a strong fighter."
"You have a point. Then what about your duties as market leader? Don't tell me you're going to leave all that responsibility to Connor?"
"Your assumption is correct, My Brother. I've no interest in being the market chief. Those bastards never even fulfil their obligations. Not paying taxes, destroying market facilities, staging demonstrations to lower the price of goods. They don't think that all the money I receive is for village development and so on. I only take a little profit and they still protest that I've corrupted the money." Enrique explains the current state of the market.
"I understand how you feel. I could see their actions when we first arrived. Your decision to step down was the right choice. At least talk to Connor about it. We don't know if he's really willing to let his employer go."
"Hey, Connor has been my most valued friend since I came to this place. I never even thought of him as a servant or a slave."
***
They sat on the sofa while enjoying dessert. Everyone involved filled the room, including Jack. Not wanting to delay too long, Enrique cleared his throat loudly as a diversion to enter a conversation that discussed the future.
"As you know, I'm leaving this place and this village as soon as I can. My duties as market leader are over. I ended my own position because of my selfishness. So I apologise for abdicating my responsibilities to you. Connor, it is with a heavy heart that I give this responsibility to you."
The man who had earned the nickname 'Old Man' from foreign adventurers, momentarily smiled wryly. "I'm sure you haven't forgotten your responsibilities other than being the market leader... Yes, this bar. From the depths of my heart, I'm more graceful and happy to be charged as a bar owner than as a market leader. I'm also pretty sure that you know how difficult it is for me to hide myself from the villagers."
"They're still after you? Until now?" Cytherea interjected, not expecting the locals to actually mark her as a fugitive.
"Until now, My Goddess. That is the main reason why it is so difficult for me to visit the village again even though we used to live there."
Enrique closed his eyes, humming long while rubbing his chin repeatedly. "There's no way I'm going to leave the village when the most influential place has no one to organise it. How about one of you three?" He pointed at the three women he had been holding on to.
"Sorry, master. We prefer to be slaves because we love this job so much." One of them replied, representing the other two."
Enrique nodded, he understood 'slave' to mean something else. A loud clatter startled the occupants of the room. He couldn't rely on people who never spoke to him at length, including Jack and the waitress who brought the guests.
"If one of you is not up to it, then the last option is to end the building." Enrique made a quick and unilateral decision.
"End it? You mean you're going to destroy it?" Xavier confirmed.
"Exactly, My Brother. Although I'm not willing to be the market leader now, I'm also not willing to let the vendors there not pay taxes every month. They will enjoy their wealth even more and I am not happy to see that."
"Hey, are you the kind of person who doesn't like to share happiness with other humans?"
"You misunderstand, Goddess Cytherea. It's just that I've had a problem with them for a long time. One way to relieve this problem is to destroy that market. For me, at least, that would be a worthy reward."
"Alright, whatever you say. We will leave the village tonight. Then what is your plan to eliminate the market in an instant?" Xavier wondered as if he did not recognise his senior.
"Save your questions. We'll execute it right now. Connor, close the bar for now. Tell the customers that the bar has air circulation and drainage problems. Jack, help Connor if there are customers who insist on not leaving. Chase them away using your strength and body."
"Yes, sir." Connor and Jack immediately left the room and drove them away forcefully but subtly.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone