Enlightened Empire

"Going Thrice! Sold!" The moment Hieronymus banged the gavel onto the table, a warm feeling spread all over Alcer's body. Finally, after days of walking on a razor's edge, he had landed back on solid ground. After he had bought the manufactory, there would be nothing left to threaten his plan.

For most attendees in the theater hall other than Alcer, the sale of yet another property didn't cause much outrage. After all, this property wasn't all that unique. If anything, the lack of interest from most attendees due to the rumors was one of only two things which made it stand out from others, together with the strange way in which its auction had gone, with only two bidders, one bidding far below value, and the other far above it. However, right after the sale, a third unique feature was added.

As soon as the gavel fell, both Rimaq and Sawo forgot their decorum and the rules of the auction. WIthout a care for the eyes around them, they jumped up and shouted out against the injustice they had suffered.

"What is the meaning of this!?" the former craftsman screamed towards Alcer. His head stretched over Sawo's left shoulder, and his hand dug into Sawo's right, in a panicked attempt to squeeze past the banker and the narrow seats. Compared to Rimaq's madness, the banker at least tried to remain calm.

"Surely, this is simply a misunderstanding," he tried to say, but was interrupted by Rimaq again.

"Misunderstanding my ass! You better-"

However, before he had finished, he was interrupted by Sawo in turn.

"You shut your mouth! This is beyond your abilities."

As the banker shot back, he easily threw off the craftsman's grip and threw him back into his seat. The image was reminiscent of the head guard's fight against Kichka, as the master's actions mirrored his servant's. However, Alcer was more preoccupied with Sawo's surprising strength.

So he was a warrior. I should be more careful in case he does something rash.

Due to the unexpected show of force, Sawo had regained the initiative for just a moment.

"How about we go outside and solve our issues in private," he suggested. This time, his voice was no longer fawning or servile like before. Instead, it was low and deep, and layered with threat.

Faced with harsh words from a dangerous opponent, the veteran Alcer could feel his calm smile fade away. Even so, he remained relaxed. Realistically, there was nothing Sawo could do to him, not here, not if he wanted to keep his banking business.

For now, the auction had been halted. All eyes were on the three troublemakers in the center of the room. Even the local policemen who lined the hall for protection and security looked ready to move by this point. Thus, Sawo was bound by the law, unless he wanted to leave behind his wealth and escape the city. Meanwhile, Alcer himself didn't think it would be wise to stir up any more trouble in public. There was no reason to further provoke these two, until they were in a more private setting.

"Sure, let's do that," the new owner of a paper manufactory thus said, before he left the hall at a leisurely pace.

Of course, in order to retain his self-assured steps, Alcer had to ignore the two malicious stares behind him. Though more than that, he wondered where the ignorant Rimaq still pulled his courage from to provoke him like that. How could this graying craftsman still want to get involved in a conflict between a warrior and an army veteran?For now, there was of course no danger to be had, not until they would leave the hall.

Thus, as he walked, Alcer had the leisure to fall into thought. Only now did he truly begin to grasp just how many pieces had fallen into place to reach today's result.

First, he thought back to the day he had come up with his plan. After he had heard Kichka's idea for an improved musket reloading mechanism, the gears in his head had begun to turn. He had thought about all the veterans still stuck at the docks and in other places throughout the city. He had thought about all the little ideas these men had come up with during their time on the battlefield. After all, such practical experiences, faced with one life-and-death problem after another, would surely breed creative solutions as well.

How many of these could be turned into useful products? With Alcer's ring bayonet alone, their new manufactory could become a fairly respectable workshop. However, once the order for the army were to be filled, there was a good chance that they would simply be out of work for a while. In contrast, with every veteran's ingenuity combined, they could be so much more than just another small company.

Not to mention, there was still the incident with Rimaq's 'head guard', which had reminded Alcer of the cutthroat manner in which many merchants conducted their relations towards competitors. He had heard all kinds of horror stories from Killari, from intimidations like the one organized by Rimaq, all the way to arson and assassinations. Yet if their business were to employ army veterans, surely no one would be dumb enough to use these dirty tricks on them, right?

These veterans would grow and protect the business, and in turn they would receive a safe haven, a place to go even if they couldn't see any other future after experiencing the horrors of war. Of course, the pay wouldn't be bad either, neither for Alcer nor for the other veterans. It was a perfect deal.

Thus, the plan had formed in his head, a plan to punish those who aimed to exploit the good people of the city, while benefiting those good people directly. All he had needed to do before he could get the plan going had been to confirm some basic information, and find some reliable people.

By now, he had reached the final step in his plan, all difficulties had long been passed. All he had to do now was follow his prepared road to its logical conclusion.

While he was still mulling over his next steps, Alcer barely realized that he had left the theater's main hall and entered the building's foyer. At this time, all the other attendees were still inside the hall, where they were waiting for the auction's resumption.

As a result, there were only a receptionist and a few guards left to watch the drama which was about to unfold in this place. Finally, things were quiet enough to start negotiations. However, before Alcer could say anything, the banker and the craftsman were already rushing towards him.

"What is going on here, dear customer?"

"Explain yourself, you poor sod!"

When Alcer turned around, he saw two completely different expressions in the faces of the men who had followed him outside. At some point during their walk, Sawo seemed to have calmed down and returned to his fake servility. Meanwhile, Rimaq was still fuming, and this time, Sawo made no attempts to stop him any longer.

When Rimaq rushed Alcer with a red face and his outstretched arms ready to strangle, the veteran simply held the older craftsman at arms length and stepped to the side. In the end, Rimaq unceremoniously landed on the ground, with a whimper of pain for good measure.

"Bastard! I-" Although the old man was trying to stand up again, Alcer's foot landed on his chest before he could. From his unreasonable actions, it seemed like Rimaq wouldn't calm down anytime soon. Thus, the veteran had to take this seriously, or the old man would injure himself in his rage.

"Do you know who you're messing with?" he asked in a deep voice full of fake anger, while he stared down onto the old man on the floor. Finally, faced with the threat of real violence and no one to protect him, Rimaq calmed down somewhat. Or rather, his fear overpowered his anger for the moment. Once the first problem had been dealt with, Alcer turned towards the second.

"What about you?" he asked towards Sawo. "Do you also wanna go a round?"

Despite his outward confidence, Alcer didn't really want to fight a warrior one-on-one. Luckily, the banker's nerves held, and he retained his mask.

"Of course not, dear customer. We simply wish to know if we upset you in any way? Is this about Master Rimaq's head guard again?"

For a second, Alcer frowned, as he looked at the two villains of this little play. Right now, both of them were presenting their worst vices to him. Although his mood was low over the pitiful state of the old Rimaq on the ground and the groveling Sawo before him, the veteran wouldn't forget what these people had tried to do.

"Yes, you've upset me," he finally said. "It's not about that idiot guard who bothered me last week, I really don't care about that. It's your attitude, how you treat other people. Look at you," he pointed at Sawo, "pretending to be some poor, misunderstood servant, treating everyone like pawns in your games. And you," this time he looked down onto Rimaq again, "No abilities, but more rage and self-entitlement than sense. In fact, I think you especially could learn a thing or two from that apprentice of yours."

As he looked into the shocked and confused faces of his two opponents, Alcer was reminded Kyunya. Compared to these villains, the young drunkard was ten times the man they were. Even though Alcer considered himself a good person as well, the truth of Kyunya's character had been quite the shock.

Several days earlier, inside the kingdom's new office for veteran's affairs.

In prior weeks, Alcer had come here regularly for support with his patent process, and to ask for the prerequisites for a loan. This time, however, he had come to ask for help on another man's behalf.

"Official Berrat, you have to help me. I cannot stand the idea of a good man's name being smeared like this." After Alcer had explained Kyunya's story to the official in charge of his case, he finished as such.

This was the first time he had come here since his meeting with Kyunya and Mallku in the ale house. Then, he had asked Berrat for confirmation of some claims Kyunya had made. Back then, the official had asked for some more time.

However, the second time Alcer came, Berrat was ready to answer the veteran's burning questions.

"I hope I don't get you in trouble with this," Alcer began, before Berrat could reveal any secret information out of sympathy. However, the official shook his head.

"It should be alright. Since there's no official record anyways, none of this is classified," Berrat replied. "This morning, I asked the guys who were in charge of enlistment during the early days of the war."

"Thank you very much."

In response to Alcer's sincere bow, Berrat just shook his head again.

"There weren't a lot of people in charge, since most of the soldiers during the war were standing troops. So asking them wasn't that much work in the first place. Anyways, I was told that your friend Kyunya did try to apply military service, but he didn't have permission from his guardian, so we had to reject him. My colleague tells me he was quite passionate about joining as well, which is why he remembered it so well."

"Is that so? I knew it!" Alcer was overjoyed. Since Kyunya was willing to join the army in penance, he certainly wasn't the selfish thief Rimaq had portrayed him to be. However, if there was any doubt left in Alcer's mind about Kyunya's character, Berrat's next revelation left none of it.

"Not only that, I also have something... less substantiated to tell you regarding your friend," Berrat continued.

"Really? Like a rumor?"

"More of a conjecture, really." The official chuckled. For some reason, he sounded smug. "At the start of the war, we received a number of donations from people across the city, in support of their king and their city."

"This place has a good heart," a proud Alcer noted, but Berrat had already moved on.

"Back then, I was one of the officials in charge of receiving these donations, organizing them, and then sending the bulk to the finance people in Rapra. One of these donations was quite substantial, but also anonymous. That was unusual, since most people donated out of pride, so they were eager to publicize their names. I was curious back then and did some digging. In the end, we traced the donation back to Master Rimaq's paper manufactory, and thought it was just the master's attempt to show remorse in front of the government. But based on everything I've learned today, I wouldn't be surprised if it was sent by this Kyunya instead, without his master's knowledge. If what you said was true, then he was in charge of most of the manufactory's operations after all. Apart from Kyunya, no one else should have been able to send this donation without RImaq's knowledge. And considering what the paper maker has done since the start of the war, I really doubt he would have donated such a sum on his own, which only leaves your friend Kyunya as a suspect."

Once Berrat was done with his conjecture, he leaned back in his chair with the smug confidence of a policeman who had just cracked a difficult murder case. Alcer, meanwhile, had no desire to rob the man of his victory.

"Thank you. This has been a huge help," he said instead, and bowed deeply.

"A help in what, exactly? What are you trying to do? Just out of curiosity, of course."

"I want to make things right. Not only for Kyunya, but for everyone. Just you wait. Maybe soon, your veteran's office will have a whole lot of work all at once."

"In that case, I'll be looking forward to that."