Chapter 158: Banter

It's been two whole days since I, or perhaps more honestly, Maylin drove Serue off.

As we agreed she took what she needed, which happened to be a surprisingly modest piece of the wealth amassed in the vault's underneath Serue's Palace, or more practically, my Palace.

She muttered something about money buying only reliance and crippling inability. Despite my money mongering background, I understood what she meant completely. 

With tokus in hand it's unlikely anyone will want to work for their piece any longer than the tokus can carry them.

I know I wouldn't. In fact, if I can recall it's pretty much how I started this journey of mine. From the cave with natural hunger plaguing me, all I could think about is getting tokus and having a proper meal with Sem and Elsa.

Still, the haul left behind after she took her bit is more than sufficient to sponsor my needs for the moment. Much like Leriva, coming from a noble, powerful House, the vault is not just full of chests full of gold tokus and silvers.

But several interesting enchanted objects, one that stands out especially well is the large mirror that reveals a presumably current image of a place you've been to in the past.

Testing it out and seeing the Beta still hibernating on the remains of Carbina was both unsettling and relieving. 

Unsettling for obvious reasons, the landscape is still as torn and hurt as we left it, and merely seeing the large, faceless, featureless humanoid is enough to send shivers down anyone's spine.

And relieving because I won't have to be facing the beast of a creature for a while longer.

In the two days since then I've been faced with several annoying events, things I really wouldn't have seen myself doing even as I chased after control of the city and thereby the March itself.

The Nobles.

Aste, from the very beginning is the very image of the class system within this world or more grounded, this Kingdom.

At the top sat the Mayor, a powerful Mage. Next come the numerous Nobles that support the local economy and feed the Mayor his or her power through gold. As I have bee forced to learn in the past days, the Nobles expenditure here is what caused and still causes Aste to be the centre of trade in the March.

As I have also been forced to learn, there are several ways to get the Nobles to spend in the city. One is to throw a ball; this is the most popular one. The exclusivity alone gives the fools a fleeting sense of worth.

These balls can be organized in respect to anything really, but are most impactful during some kind of widely known or well-regarded event.

Another way to get the Nobles spending, one that truly doesn't require much effort either, is to hold tournaments. These tournaments with prize large enticing prizes are advertised to the adventuring crowd and the wannabe fighters amongst the commoners.

It's a poor disguise for a gladiator's pit really. But in quite some fairness, there is truly something for everyone, everyone capable of participating that is.

For the Nobles it's clout and prestige, fame and a potential new bodyguard added to their names.

For the fighters it's the grand prize and the chance to serve one of the spectating Nobles as a bodyguard after a generous bid has been placed.

There are many other brilliant ways I'm sure, but I frankly stopped listening at the halfway part as my mind wondered to the several other troubles I have with these Nobles.

Their current demand is not a way to give me money or gain clout but rather a way to get out of the city.

With my power over the city still shaky seeing as most people don't even realize there's been a change in powers and others frankly couldn't careless who's riding the carriage, I've had to lockdown the city to prevent an unwanted leak of information.

Both Kaylin and Maylin think this move is rather unnecessary seeing as Serue is already out and about and know more than enough to start his counter attack, but I'm willing to bet the man won't go crawling to the Marquess just yet.

Like Maylin said, he has far too much pride to do that.

If the Nobles and people begin open migration from Aste then it'll bring down the eye of the Marquess, someone I've yet to have the pleasure or disdain of meeting.

And if my encounter with Serue has taught me anything, it's that preparation is vital. For that reason, the gates stay shut until I'm feeling ready.

Still, my Steward, a woman I found in Serue's work office with the Diviner and Marshal, thinks this will hurt the economy of the city.

My new Steward, was the quickest to fall to my side after I announced that Serue had fled, the Diviner, typical of their ilk, cursed me out to oblivion as a devil from the Nether realms.

I think it's the second time someone's accused me of being a being from Reais, I wonder if it's something on my face.

The Marshal was a bit more reluctant to join than she was, I could understand that as I just turned a vast majority of his force into undead, but they're better that way anyway; stronger, faster and they even explode? Who wouldn't want soldiers like that?

My Steward, a stout, dorky woman by the name of Hastra, briefed me on many of the outstanding concerns Serue was tasked with fixing before Maylin ran him off. 

Most of these problems happened to have something to do with one or more Noble demands, hence her noticing my supreme ignorance and filling me in on the ways Nobles are appeased and are used as instruments to furthering my goals.

I realize she beliefs I am here merely as a replacement Mayor to Serue, a flawed bit of thinking on her part but one that I'm ready to fix….as soon as I get a head start on my most pressing problem.

The damned conveniently silent Wolf, Lotar.