Chapter 571
Chapter Title: A Calculated Disturbance
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"Come on! Take your pick! Take your pick! The specialty of Lumeria City!"
"From the far southern continent! Rare delicacies from the land of desert beastkin have arrived!"
"Come see the jewels crafted by a Dwarven artisan!"
"This is Mithril cloth woven by Elves."
Countless merchants filling Lumeria City endlessly hawked their wares.
The city, being the center of the world and home to Lumerne, was always bustling with merchants and crowds, but the atmosphere this time was distinctly different.
Normally, the merchants in Lumeria City were mostly human.
But now, merchants from many different races had set up shop.
Nowhere else in the world could you see such a large gathering of merchants from various races.
But this was a special occasion—the Festival of Heroes, a worldwide celebration. The fact that the four hero academies were gathering to compete drew in all the races even more.
Where people gather, merchants follow.
So, it wasn't unreasonable for such a large number of them to assemble.
Even among the same race, conflicts are bound to arise when countless people gather.
It was impossible to avoid disputes when multiple races with entirely different values came together.
"Hey! Hey! How many times do I have to tell you not to cross over here!"
A human merchant was threatening a beastkin merchant in a harsh voice.
"I just set them down for a moment because I have a lot of baggage, you know? Besides, I'm clearing it up right now, aren't you being too harsh?"
"Harsh, my foot! If you're going to do business in someone else's land, you should at least have some basic manners!"
The human merchant irritably kicked the boxes the beastkin merchant had stacked.
*Crash!*
All the food ingredients the beastkin merchant had prepared spilled out.
Seeing this, the beastkin merchant's eyes turned fierce.
"What do you think you're doing!"
The agitated beastkin merchant bared his fangs and sharpened his claws.
The human merchant flinched for a moment at the sight but soon started to wail.
"Oh, dear! A beastkin is threatening a person!"
Both merchants ran stalls selling street food.
However, since the beastkin were world-renowned for their culinary skills, customers rarely came to the human merchant's stall.
On top of that, the beastkin's prices were much cheaper.
For him, who had made a killing every year by selling at high prices during events in Lumeria City, the beastkin merchant's stall, which attracted all the customers, was nothing but a thorn in his side.
As the human merchant cried out, the beastkin merchant took a step back with a flustered expression.
"N-No! You were the one who started causing trouble...!"
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear! The local merchants are all going to die because of these outsiders!"
Just as the human merchant raised his voice to make the commotion bigger, someone spoke up.
"It looks like something's happened."
Someone emerged from the crowd.
"What's the matter?"
Spotting the attire of the boy with light orange hair, the human merchant flashed a triumphant smile.
Conversely, a look of dismay clouded the beastkin merchant's face.
"Oh, a Lumerne student! Please, look at this! This beast-like beastkin was harassing me while I was just trying to do business peacefully!"
"H-Harassing? You were the one who started it!"
As the beastkin merchant protested, the Lumerne student, Karl, raised his hand.
"Let's hear the full story. Mr. Beastkin Merchant, could you please explain the situation first?"
At those words, the beastkin merchant explained what had happened.
"Hmm. I see."
Karl nodded and was about to hear the human merchant's side of the story.
"Before I explain, thank you for your hard work. Please, take this as some pocket money."
"Oh my, you shouldn't have."
Karl smiled slyly as the human merchant stuffed a money pouch into his pocket.
The beastkin merchant watched this with a look of disgust.
After listening to the human merchant's lengthy explanation, Karl nodded.
"I see. That must have been difficult for you."
"That's what I'm saying!"
"So, please apologize."
"Excuse me?"
"I understand you're angry about losing customers, but you shouldn't act like that. In the first place, if you didn't overcharge, this wouldn't have happened, right? The Festival of Heroes is a festival held with the intention of promoting harmony among the races and for everyone to enjoy, isn't it?"
The human merchant's shoulders trembled as he looked at Karl's broad smile.
"If you're a Lumerne student, you should be taking the side of a fellow human! What is this!"
"A hero isn't someone who takes the side of a specific race, you know?"
"But you just took the money pouch..."
"Oh? Wasn't this pocket money?"
Karl dangled the money pouch from his finger, spinning it around with a sly expression.
"Damn it! Even if you are a Lumerne student, a mere second-year is going too far! What's your name! The Lumeria City Merchant's Association will file a formal complaint!"
Finally, the enraged merchant blew his top.
Even a Lumerne student could find themselves in a difficult situation if they were reported to the Lumeria City Merchant's Association as an unknown student.
Besides, he had underestimated Karl, who had been acting politely.
Just as Karl scratched his cheek at the merchant's words, a voice cut in.
"Unbelievable. Is a stall owner actually threatening a Lumerne student?"
From behind Karl, a girl from the south with light brown skin, Juen, appeared.
As she stood with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed, a murmur started to spread through the crowd.
"Isn't that Juen Torbina?"
"The top of Lumerne's first-year magic department?"
Those who recognized Juen began to whisper among themselves.
Seeing this, the human merchant became flustered.
"Brave of you, threatening the Acting Student Council President of Lumerne."
"Isn't that Eliza Hergin?"
"The heir to the Hergin family?"
"Wait, what? Did she say that student is the Acting Student Council President?"
People stared in astonishment at Eliza's words.
As the situation unfolded, the merchant's face turned pale.
"W-Well, I mean..."
Eliza looked at the merchant and spoke with annoyance.
"Tell the representatives of the Lumeria City Merchant's Association to report to Lumerne immediately."
"Oh! I didn't recognize you! Please, forgive me just this once!"
The merchant prostrated himself on the ground, but Eliza just scoffed.
"Come on, let's go, Karl-sunbae."
Juen also pushed Karl's back and left the scene.
Returning to the crowd, Eliza spoke with a look of disdain.
"Can't even properly use your own status. How foolish, Karl Thomas. Though I suppose it's to be expected from a commoner."
"Are you looking down on Karl-sunbae? He just doesn't flaunt his authority at every opportunity!"
Eliza glared coldly at Juen, who had retorted to her words.
Juen flinched slightly but then lifted her chin in defiance.
Just as Eliza was clenching and unclenching her fists while looking at Juen, a voice interrupted.
"Alright, alright, let's all calm down."
Karl stood behind Eliza and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Let go."
Eliza snapped, shrugging off Karl's hands.
Watching her, Karl raised his hands innocently and shrugged.
"I did that on purpose just now."
"What did you say?"
"Merchants are the kind of people who would risk their lives for money."
Coming from an alchemist family that engaged in commerce, Karl was well-versed in the ways of merchants.
He was a member of the Merchant's Club, and most of the first and second-year students at Lumerne used his distribution network when they needed something urgently.
"With a festival of unprecedented scale, the Merchant's Association will want to make a huge profit."
Karl shrugged.
"But the Festival of Heroes isn't just a competition. It's also a place of harmony for everyone to enjoy."
Karl recalled Leo's words.
He had said he wanted to create a festival where everyone could gather and have fun.
Karl stopped walking.
The streets of Lumeria City, with countless races coming and going, were quite different from usual.
'Yes... it's a bit like Gardsrone, which I saw in Lord Dweno's world.'
A city from the distant past where everyone helped and lived in harmony with one another.
A legendary city that had now vanished into the annals of history.
'Maybe Leo truly wants to create a world of harmony.'
It wasn't just about preventing division in the face of a great threat.
'Perhaps he wants to pass on this unity to future generations after everyone joins forces to overcome the crisis.'
"Surprisingly, division and conflict often start from small things."
Karl shrugged.
"It's no fun coming to enjoy yourself only to get ripped off, right?"
"Is that so?"
"You could just pay the paltry sum."
As Juen and Eliza looked on, not understanding, Karl clicked his tongue.
"This is why you ladies from good families are the way you are."
"Did you just treat me like a child?"
"You've got some nerve, Karl Thomas."
Juen glared and shook Karl back and forth, while Eliza smiled coldly.
"Anyway! They can make a huge profit even by doing business fairly, so we can't let them ruin the festival atmosphere by price gouging! My father, the head of a small business family, always said! To create a festival that everyone enjoys, we must first eliminate overcharging! Elena-sunbae agreed with this too."
Karl clenched his fist.
"A merchant from the Lumeria City Merchant's Association conveniently picked a fight with the Acting Student Council President, so Elena-sunbae will use that as an excuse to pressure the association. In the first place, the reason I could even come out to Lumeria City during this busy preparation period was to create a pretext to pressure them."
***
"I don't care how, just create an excuse to pressure the Merchant's Association."
"Me?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"You'll have to figure that out yourself, won't you?"
"Isn't it over if Hark-sunbae just says a word?"
Karl said, glancing at Hark, who was working beside him.
"The mayor of Lumeria City is not a king. He's not in a position to give orders to the Merchant's Association. He can only persuade them through peaceful means."
"And what are these peaceful means?"
"Pick a fight. Or find some trivial fault."
"That sounds great. I'm sure there won't be any repercussions."
Karl sighed at their methods, which seemed far from peaceful.
'Right, what faction in Lumeria City would dare hold a grudge against the heirs of Jer-on and Liguard? But I'm different.'
As a commoner, Karl found it burdensome to be on bad terms with the Lumeria City Merchant's Association, which held powerful influence worldwide.
***
After finishing his explanation, Karl shrugged.
"Now I'll just slip out of the middle, and Elena-sunbae and Hark-sunbae will use this pretext to crush the Merchant's Association."
"Is that why you brought me and Juen Torbina along?"
"Yep. I knew the moment a fight broke out, you or Juen would retaliate in a way that would make the other party suffer. And for the same reason as Hark-sunbae and Elena-sunbae, there's no reason for any of it to backfire on you two."
"So you used me? How cunning."
Eliza's lips curled up at Karl's words.
'I thought he was just being taken for a fool.'
Though she had been used, Eliza wore a strangely satisfied smile.
"Anyway, now that I've pocketed this money, shall we go get something delicious to eat?"
As Karl laughed heartily, Juen muttered.
"Karl-sunbae, you look incredibly happy."
"Hey! Of course I'm happy to finally be free! Once the Festival of Heroes starts, I'll be liberated from that hell of paperwork too!"
"But that's only for a limited time, isn't it?"
Karl's future, having already been chosen as a high-performance talent by Elena, was obvious.
He would be worked to the bone even after the Festival of Heroes ended.
At that, Karl gave a refreshing smile.
"Hey. With my grades, there's no way I'm making it to the third year anyway. Serving as the Acting Student Council President wasn't a bad way to cap off my time at Lumerne! You could even say I was lucky!"
'He's the first person I've seen who looks happy about being expelled.'
Juen wore a look of disbelief.
'But with his grades, the third year will be tough for Karl-sunbae.'
On the other hand, she was worried.
Karl himself had stated that his goal was to just survive the first semester of his first year.
Yet, he had survived until the second semester of his second year, so from his perspective, his school life must have been incredibly satisfying.
But for Juen, it was a pity.
An abysmal amount of mana by Lumerne student standards.
And a less-than-stellar talent for magic.
His alchemy was amazing, but as a magic department student, he was full of flaws.
Even so, Karl's abilities outside of academics were outstanding.
'Is there any way I can help Karl-sunbae?'
While Juen fretted, Eliza also stared intently at Karl's back.
***
After crushing the Merchant's Association representatives who had come rushing over, Elena muttered with a serious expression.
"He can do anything I ask him to, can't he? This one is a real all-rounder."
Stroking her chin, Elena's eyes sparkled.
"Leo. How can I work Karl even harder?"
Elena asked with a serious face in the student council office.
At her question, Leo, who was reviewing documents, replied.
"That's a problem for Karl to solve."
"There's an easy way. I also have the authority of the Acting Chairwoman."
Leo smiled faintly at the beaming Elena.
"You can't."
"Why? It would be nice for him to be with his best friend, wouldn't it?"
As Elena narrowed her brow, Leo said nonchalantly.
"If he's just going to end up as a junior who's easy for you to order around, Elena-sunbae, then I suppose that wouldn't be so bad."
"Are you saying he's not?"
"You need to work on your eye for people."
"What?"
Elena's face flushed at Leo's words.
Though always composed, Elena often lost her cool in front of Leo.
After staring at Leo for a moment, Elena scoffed with a "Hmph!" and twirled a strand of her hair.
"Are you saying you think Karl can make it to the third year on his own?"
"That, I don't know. But isn't overcoming one's limits our school's motto?"
Leo let out a small laugh.
"If it's Karl, he will overcome his limits and achieve a result that everyone can accept."