Since the town had already seen that Hildir was on their side of the gate, Milicky was taking a risk. The people might rebel, thinking that he was betraying them to make a deal with the devil. Why would he make such a gamble? Was this his plan all along, or some kind of trap he had set?
The more Lawrence thought about it, the more the answer came into focus. It took him longer than usual because it was so deviously simple. The messenger was here to win over the hearts of the townspeople. If they did so, the reopened negotiations with Milicky would put Hildir in serious trouble.
If Milicky had come to an agreement with them already, then that would explain why only a messenger had been sent: seeing an army heading their way would have made the people lynch Milicky on the spot.
“And, Mr. Hildir..”
“There’s more?”
At Hildir’s prompting, the young man found the courage to continue.
“Their messenger wants to negotiate with you.”
This was entirely beyond belief. Hildir quickly looked out the window, then back at Lawrence.
“It’s too dangerous for you two to leave. Milicky must be on his way.”
If they acted carelessly now, Lawrence and Holo could be treated as spies. Even if they weren’t under suspicion, they would be hunted down and Holo’s ears and tail might be exposed.
“Of course. We’ll stay here and lay low.”
“Please do! No one else is running, so all of their focus would be on the two of you.”
If they fled like fools it not only risked bringing trouble to Moid and Hildir, but also to Holo. Lawrence didn’t even need Hildir to urge him to know better.
“But.. then.. hmm.. what..?”
Hildir was holding a major deliberation in his mind. He clearly wasn’t able to figure out the reason the messenger was sent. Why would they be out to negotiate with him? It would never work. They weren’t planning on stepping down, since they’d brought an army like this, so were they just trying to get Hildir out in the open to force him into a corner?
“Just go meet with him.”
Holo finally spoke her mind.
“You do not have enough information, but that has never stopped you from cleverly taking advantage of the situation. You can do the same now.”
The Wisewolf’s words were able to calm the mind of any merchant, no matter how mighty.
“Thank you so much.”
“Hmph.”
Hildir began walking out of the room with the young worker’s help, as Holo lifted up the half-wrapped hammer. She studied it with her fingers before muttering.
“How stupid. It must be a male’s doing.”
With that, she casually flung the hammer back onto the cloth.
* * *
“Is Mr. Hildir Schunard here?”
A voice was heard. Lawrence and Holo took a peek out the window at the giant crowd. There was Milicky, on a horse in the middle of the crowd with his guards surrounding him. There was also a lavishly-dressed man who was presumably the messenger.
His leather hat was his most prominent feature from the second floor, but his fine coat and golden horse-reins were also quite visible. His procession also wore similar costumes, and there was a riderless horse laden with goods. The messenger sat proudly on horseback, rather than with the seriousness the situation seemed to call for. He clearly felt they had won already.
And yet, the townsfolks surrounding them weren’t just casual observers; they were butchers with cleavers and bakers with rolling pins heavier than a club. All of them were staring their enemy down. Of course, mercenaries had come along with Diva’s men to ensure things weren’t going to quickly escalate, so no side held a definite advantage in numbers.
Even Myuri’s mercenaries were watching the event, now staring at the soldier who was calling for Hildir to come out. The other pieces were in place, so when the inn door opened and Hildir emerged, the townsfolk saw it as a sign that their leader was coming out to fight.
“This is a negotiation! Why do you raise your weapons at the messenger?”
The excited crowd calmed themselves at Hildir’s bellow.
“Mr. Hildir Schunard?”
Hildir replied to the soldier with a simple, “yes.”
“We have allowed the messenger to come, and wish to arrange for the negotiations.”
The crowd began murmuring to one another about the defensive walls they had to protect their town. There were many who wished to occupy this place; barons who regarded the common folk as little more than leaves on the ground, thieves who lived for conquest, a Church that was only capable of burning pagans, and greedy merchants.
And that was just the humans; there were also wolves and bears to worry about. The townsfolk weren’t about to sit back and let themselves be conquered, but Milicky gave them no more mind than flies buzzing around him. He stared at Hildir with an expressionless face.
“Please.”
“Very well. Then, I shall introduce the messenger-”
Hildir cut the soldier off.
“That will not be necessary, I know him well.”
Hildir stepped forward calmly, and the mercenaries made way for him. Lawrence could feel his determination from the second floor of the inn.
“Well met, Emanuel Yanerkin!”
The messenger on the horse smiled.
“I trust you are well, Mr. Hildir Schunard?”
Hildir put his hand on his right shoulder; it seemed Yanerkin was responsible for that wound.
“Shall we commence the negotiations at the council chambers?”
Milicky made the offer that the most powerful man in town should offer. Of course, the townspeople couldn’t accept that because it meant sending Hildir behind closed doors with his enemies. They were already raising their voices.
“I have nothing to hide, so we might as well negotiate out in the open.”
Yanerkin’s words made it clear that he was hiding something, but he was doing his best to conceal it. He climbed off his horse, much to everyone’s surprise.
“..What do you think, Mr. Schunard?”
Milicky was doing his best to maintain a neutral position. He turned his eyes to Hildir as he asked, but Hildir had been expecting this sort of outcome. It wasn’t typical at all to negotiate in public, since council chambers were meant for such things. Such political dealings were not meant for public consumption, so this was less likely to be a compromise than a trap. Hildir’s mind was surely filled with such thoughts, but he couldn’t reveal them to their audience with Yanerkin standing before him.
“..I am fine with that.”
Hildir paused only long enough to appear as dignified as possible. He had to maintain that image to be the people’s righteous defender. His heart might be burning with desire to pursue his dream, but he had to keep that eagerness in check. Lawrence understood all of this; he was uniquely experienced when it came to how black and white merchants could be. It was beyond him whether anyone else in the audience knew that.
“Very well. Then let us begin.”
With Milicky’s order, the soldiers dispersed the townsfolk with their spears to form a clearing in the center of the crowd. There were many people watching from the surrounding buildings as well. Lawrence didn’t get a bad vibe from the proceedings so far; Hildir still seemed to hold the advantage.
The city was undoubtedly surrounded by Diva’s army, and Hildir had been hoping to unite the north without the use of force. Now was the time to take all of his talk and figure out a way to make it a reality. And yet, despite Yanerkin clearly being at a disadvantage, he seemed prepared. Milicky, too, seemed calm. It was Hildir who was nervous.
“What’s their game?”
Lawrence murmured.
“I do not know. The rabbit should have the advantage.”
Holo felt the same way, but she still continued to calmly speak as she stared out the window.
“Still, that baron with the dark eyes told the rabbit that clever people struggle precis
ely because they are clever; if that happens now..”
Lawrence looked at what Holo was eying, and saw Yanerkin fire the first shot.
“We have been misunderstood!”
He spoke much more loudly than necessary to be talking to the people next to him, and he was gesticulating.
“We are not here to hurt anyone!”
This was so ridiculous that the crowd began to get riled up again. They could see the reality, so how could they trust him? Hildir was given an obvious opening.
“So you say! And yet, you have brought an army! You only plan to start with this town, and will not halt while you can profit! You plan to devour anything in your path, and not just food! The fact that you have an army is all the evidence we need to know your true motives!”
When people thought of the accountant for a big company, they thought of a person who lived their lives in a room full of numbers. But Hildir was nothing like that, and it made sense that he wasn’t: Diva wasn’t a large company when it began, and Hildir had been there right from its inception. He wasn’t just a dreamer, he was an accomplished adventurer who dreamed big.
“That is precisely what is being misunderstood!”
Yanerkin quickly, but calmly insisted that their army was being misunderstood. What was he hoping to accomplish? The crowd didn’t even bat an eye.
“Oh, we have misunderstood? Was the army just here to protect you?”
Everyone was cheering Hildir, since there could obviously be no misunderstanding about this. It was clearly Diva company’s army, and no explanation was necessary as to their true intent. In fact, everyone was expecting a fight the moment their messenger arrived.
And yet.. Lawrence felt a chill run up his spine. Yanerkin’s smile was terrible, like he had been waiting all this time for Hildir to say that. Misunderstanding.. protection.. fear.. Lawrence looked back out the window, remembering the pain he always felt when people did this. Damn. Milicky really was going to use this trick..
“Precisely!”
Yanerkin shouted loudly enough for Hildir to flinch. His game was tricksy, but Lawrence had finally figured it out. It had to do with the wooden crates on that horse’s back. Why hadn’t he noticed it before? Their goal was so obvious. Hildir had given him the very answer before: Diva didn’t have the money to make this work! They read the same account books Hildir did, after all.
However, it was those account books that triggered a memory in Lawrence. Something about port cities, and Narwhales.. and something about a riot in the Winfield Kingdom. Accountants couldn’t see everything. Even if the numbers didn’t lie, they didn’t have to tell the whole story.
Of course Hildir had considered Diva’s ruse carefully, and that was why he was so confident that they didn’t have the means to hide large amounts of money. But what if he was wrong? What if they had enough to pay everyone off? Milicky was right. Hildir was too damn clever; so clever that he couldn’t even fathom how these idiots would try to trap him!
“We not here to harm anyone! You see, we had to protect ourselves, all because of this!”
Everyone gasped as Yanerkin’s men opened the wooden crates. They were filled with silver coins. Trenni silver coins. All eight crates were filled to the brim - a very large amount of money.
“We’re not philosophers! We’re merchants! We get things done! We know how to make everyone happy, unlike the deceiver who is among you!”
Yanerkin shouted his accusation as he cast the coins into the crowd. They fell like snowflakes among the people.
“Oh! They’re real!”
“Real silver coins!”
The crowd was quickly swept into a frenzy. It was only natural, of course, since most people had to work an entire month to earn but a single Trenni silver. They were drawn to it like flies, and Yanerkin continued to fling them even as he spoke.
“Please take them! Our company has gathered them for all of you!”
People had thrown down their weapons to pick the coins up off the ground.
“We’re merchants! We never trade unless we’re sure we’ll make more! These silver coins are no different! We’re giving them to you because we feel that helping you will help us in turn! If you doubt me, just pick one up for yourself! They’re real!”
The crates were emptying as the coins were flung by Yanerkin and his men. Not a single weapon was still being held up; only coins. All hands were too busy with them to pick their weapons back up.
“Wait, please wait!”
Hildir’s shout fell on deaf ears. Even the town’s soldiers had no idea whether to stop everyone or join them in picking up the coins. Yanerkin could tell, and was already handing more out to them personally. Milicky just watched with his usual stoney expression. He had his own reasons. He knew the power of money better than most. That was why he knew Hildir’s idealism couldn’t stand up to it.
Hildir and Moid were trying to convince people one by one, but it was all for naught. Lawrence wanted to shout out at Yanerkin. He couldn’t believe that he called himself a merchant when he dirtied that name with such underhanded tactics. Not even the ancient powers could stand up to the violent lust of money; especially not this much money.
Things like pride and righteousness meant nothing in the face of this. Even a wonderful dream like Hildir’s would be easily crushed by such despicable tactics. A so-called merchant was working to destroy a merchant’s utopia, by abusing the privilege that money afforded him.
The world couldn’t be changed. Those were Milicky’s words, but really it was that people couldn’t be changed. That was the ugly truth being shown here. Hildir was only wasting his effort in trying to stop them.
Lawrence hit the windowsill and rose to his feet. He turned around and reached out for the pouch lying on the table. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” he thought, ready to use gold’s might to crush silver’s. The moment he tried to open the pouch, however, he was stopped by Holo.
“That is stupid!”
“Stupid?! Of course it’s stupid! But can you really just watch this? Just watch them lose?!”
Lawrence obviously wasn’t thinking about what would happen after he flung gold coins out of the window. He understood that. But there was no way he couldn’t shout at this, let alone forgive it. He fought with Holo for the pouch, until several objects fell out onto the table beneath it. The account book Hildir had copied from memory. Cole’s bag. A hammer with an image of the sun on it. A hammer meant to lead the world to glory.
“This is destiny.”
Holo spoke spitefully. Her voice was so hoarse it sounded like she had been crying for centuries.
“So many things cannot be changed..”
She was echoing Milicky, but even he had implied that powerful people could still run the world. If even she could do nothing but watch destiny take everything away from her..
Lawrence let go of the bag and fell back down. Holo stared at him sadly as the clamor outside continued. Hildir couldn’t even be heard anymore.
“I know! Trust me, I’ve been doing my best to tolerate that!”
He wanted her to tell him what to do. He wasn’t a powerful Wisewolf, so what could he do? Right now, all he could do was helplessly stare at her.
“Hey..”
She knelt down and pulled his head into her chest.
“I could not tolerate it without you. You are always there to hold my hand..”
She was talking into his ear, just like he had done to her.
“So if the world cannot be changed, then we can at least look out for ourselves. At least we can try to be happy.”
Lawrence wanted to speak, but couldn’t. He would have to sigh and let this merchant dream die. Could he do that? Could he even stop them? Why, God, were the good people being forsaken? This cold-blooded, unchangeable world was just too harsh and cruel. Dreams were something one could only ever see in their minds and Lawrence’s tears just wouldn’t stop falling.
Hildir’s hard work was right there on t
he ground in front of him. So was Cole’s, who had gone to Kinisen for his own dreams. In the end, both dreams were worth the same amount. They would all collapse, just like that copy of Diva’s account book, just like those useless certificates Cole had lugged around with him.
Cole had been robbed of everything and left with nothing but worthless paper. Diva’s account book was destined for the same fate. Life was like a bag; no matter how much you mended it, a hole would always open so you would lose what you cherished. Cole would have to learn that lesson himself some day, now matter how cruel a lesson it was.
The dream that Hildir and Diva had was over. Who was left now who could change the world? Lawrence’s eyes were fixated on the papers in front of him as it sank in that money was the only thing that could change people. It would always shine in their eyes and make them forget their own dreams.
Hildir was a man who lived to count money. He’d already given up a great deal for the sake of money, and now money was forcing him to give up what little he had left. Lawrence needed to vent. He kicked the papers with his good leg, wanting them to vanish from his sight, but they simply flipped in the air right back to him.
“Damn it!”
He grabbed them to tear them to pieces.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, he stopped. He wasn’t sure why, but it had something to do with the paper he held. A merchant’s mind was always turning, and it was seeing one of Cole’s certificates. One of the ones a young worker must have stolen from some company and sold to con artists to earn some coin. It was just a standard exchange certificate, completely worthless, but Lawrence’s mind was suddenly completely occupied.
Exchanges. Exchange certificates. That was it! That was how Diva could have hidden their capital. It had to be! Would Hildir have noticed? Lawrence let go of Holo’s hand and scrambled to find Hildir’s account book. There it was! Had he considered this or not? Lawrence read through it at a breakneck pace: overstocking, faking trades, faking the cost of production.. he seemed to have considered everything..
..everything but exchange certificates.
They were the perfect tool for the traveler who couldn’t risk hauling actual cash. Not when a simple certificate for that amount was enough to claim that amount at the end of their journey. But like any great advance, it provided certain loopholes. Most importantly, that the traveler never took the actual cash with them, so it remained safe in the company holding it for them.