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Chapter 210 - Rally (1)

At that time, Monsieur and Enkelmann were also undergoing preparations to declare independence.

The three free cities all worked together toward the same purpose, at the same time, all following one convention.

Of course, all the orders in regard to this had come from Henry. After the free cities became independent countries, Henry would take the lead in supporting the necessary finances and establishing the necessary military policies.

Henry knew that not everyone who worked for the mayor would be on the same page even if all three mayors declared independence for their cities. No matter how competent a mayor was at their job, people would only acknowledge them as mayors, never as something beyond that.

In fact, most mayors who had tried to transform their free city into an independent country only ended up losing the trust they had built because the people had seen it as a presumptuous act.

Because of that, Henry had introduced new people to each city who could go beyond what the image of a competent mayor was capable of offering. He had picked people who could persuade those working below them.

"It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I am the previous leader of the Magical Spire, Lore Gillian.”

Murmur, murmur.

The civil servants of Vivaldi Town started whispering amongst themselves when they saw the former leader of the Magical Spire, Lore Gillian.

The civil servants were whispering among themselves because they knew that the emperor had ordered that all the wizards in the continent be executed, but also because Lore Gillian introduced himself as the previous leader of the Magical Spire.

Apart from those two reasons, they were surprised to see someone as influential as Lore Gillian stepping forward and helping Mayor Vant even though it didn’t seem like he had any connections with him.

Once the murmuring died out, a civil servant raised their hand to ask a question.

“Uh... Mayor? If you don’t mind, may I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“The wages we’ve been getting, did the wizard next to you happen to provide them for us?”

“Hmm, you’re not entirely wrong.”

"What?”

“A wizard did indeed pay your salary, but it wasn’t Lore Gillian here.”

“...?”

It was a straightforward question, and yet it included all the questions that the civil servants currently wanted answers to.

If Archmage Lore Gillian in front of them had, in fact, paid their wages, it meant that he was the one who had laid out the foundation for the soon-to-be-founded independent nation. However, given Vant’s answer, the civil servant asked a follow-up question.

“Then which wizard paid our wages?”

Instead of giving them a clear answer, Vant merely mumbled an ambiguous answer.

“About that...”

As Vant was about to answer their question, Lore cut in and politely asked the civil servant, “I can explain that part myself. Would it be alright for me to answer this on Vant’s behalf?”

“Y-yes!” the civil servant stammered. It was incredible that someone like Lore Gillian asked a simple civil servant like himself for permission so politely.

After a short pause, Lore proceeded to explain.

“We have indeed provided everyone’s salary, but I myself do not have the authority to directly pay everyone their wage.”

"What? If a wizard like you doesn’t have the authority, then who...?”

“Only the master of the new Magical Spire, the one above me, has that authority.”

“Huh...?”

For a moment, the civil servant thought he had misheard him. He couldn’t believe there was someone greater than Lore Gillian after Henry Morris’ death. After all, Lore Gillian was praised as the master of the second Magical Spire and the greatest wizard on the continent at the moment.

All the civil servants were shocked to hear this news. The more they found out, the more intricate the story became. Stan Hardiradi and Douglas Kincaid, who had been sent to Monsieur and Enkelmann respectively, were shocked as well. This mind-blowing information caused the civil servants to whisper among themselves again.

“Everyone, silence!” shouted Vant. He then picked up where Lore had left off and tried to further convince them with a follow-up question. “Hmm, I understand that you may be surprised, but think about it carefully... Do you still think I’m being reckless?”

He was being extremely sly and calculated with his question. He kept his cards close to his chest, and each time he revealed one of his cards, it would seem more valuable to the civil servants than the previous one.

Just like he had expected, his tactic worked perfectly.

The civil servants were like bankers to him; they were shrewd and good at calculations. As everyone was silent, Vant could tell that they were already calculating what their losses and gains would be.

Then, as if they were done with their calculations, the man with the highest rank among the civil servants broke the silence.

"Not at all, sir. I will join you. Consider me in.”

“I will join as well.”

“Me too.”

“I will...!”

When the highest-ranking civil servant openly expressed his support, everyone beneath him responded positively. However, they weren’t just blindly following their superior. They were actually extremely cautious and careful with their decisions because they knew that every single choice they made from then on would have a huge impact on their future.

Seeing how more and more civil servants agreed to join him, he said with a grin, “Then let us begin the meeting on the measures to recruit soldiers and ultimately establish city troops.”

“Of course, sir. How should we go about the recruitment guidelines and salary conditions?”

Now that they were all on the same page, everyone burned with excitement. Given how all the civil servants took out their notepads and pens when Vant got down to business, it was crystal clear that they wanted Vant to see that they were eager to cooperate.

Seeing them like that, Lore burst into laughter because they acted exactly like Henry had predicted.

Vant continued, “Our slogan is simple: an equal country with no distinctions between nobles and slaves, or between rich and poor. Vivaldi Town will guarantee equality for everyone.”

“What...?”

Despite his saying that the slogan was simple, its meaning was doubly surprising for everyone present. This was because a country had to have a king, courtiers, ordinary people, and slaves. It was common sense.

However, Henry had completely shattered that system.

‘In order to keep people from all over the place in a free city that will soon become an independent country, I need to come up with a justifiable reason for them to stay.’

That was Henry’s idea, and so, he had decided to get rid of the class division and set that as a fundamental principle of the new country. He wanted to set that principle because the caste system led to division not only between the nobles, commoners, and the slaves, but also between the rich and the poor.

However, because this social system was considered the norm, the civil servants weren’t sure if they should jot down what Vant was saying.

As Vant saw them hesitate, he looked at them in the eyes and said firmly, “Why isn’t anyone writing anything down? Go ahead and write what I said.”

“But sir, establishing an independent country with no nobles and slaves... I don’t think it makes any sense...?”

“Huh, why?”

"Uh... Well...”

“I said there would be no nobles or slaves, but I didn’t say there would be no kings.”

"Huh? Oh...!”

“Scoff... There has to be a ruler that takes care of the country as a whole. That’s the only way for our newly independent country to actually function as a country. As far as the work of the nobles goes, it’s just administrative work at best. How is that different from the work you folks usually do?”

Vant recited what Henry had told him so eloquently that it almost seemed like those were his own words, and thanks to that, the civil servants seemed to go along with it. However, some of them raised objections because they found his idea to be too eccentric.

“Then, sir, let’s say the gap between the nobles and slaves disappears. How do you plan to narrow the gap between the rich and poor? I believe it’ll be more challenging to do so because people have already accumulated wealth.”

“Excellent question. On face-value, the problem you mentioned also seems like a difficult one to solve, but if you take into consideration the chaotic situation the continent is going through right now, it’s actually easier to solve than you might expect.”

“...?”

Despite the hint, the civil servant who asked the question didn’t understand what Vant meant.

As Vant saw the civil servant’s clueless face, he decided to elaborate.

“The conflict between the rich and poor may seem like a complex issue at first glance, but if you take a look at the most fundamental problem, don’t you think it’s because the rich have what the poor don\'t?”

“Yes, but what about that sir?”

“Well, the solution to that is simple. If the poor are jealous because they don’t have something that the rich have, we can take advantage of these turbulent times and give the poor a privilege that the rich can’t have.”

“A privilege that only the poor have... Is there even such a thing, sir?”

After listening to Vant’s explanation, the civil servants thought he was speaking nonsense. The only thing the poor had that the rich couldn’t was poverty.

Seeing that the civil servants weren’t convinced, Vant continued with his explanation.

“Anyhow, the solution I’m thinking of might not work during times of peace and tranquility, but it’s perfect when war is knocking at the door. I’m talking about the military.”

“By military, are you referring to the city troops?”

“Yes. Well, I say military, but fundamentally speaking, I’m talking about a sense of belonging.”

“A sense of belonging... A sense of belonging? Do you think the rich will be jealous of the poor if they have a sense of belonging?”

“On an individual level, it doesn’t seem like much, but when an entire group of people has a strong sense of belonging, that’s when it really becomes effective. That’s the beauty of it. But of course, that alone won’t be enough to close the gap, which means we have to give the poor some special benefits, if you will, to make sure they don’t get jealous of the rich.”

“So what would these so-called special benefits be?”

“Food.”

“What?”

“Providing them with three proper meals a day, and occasionally providing them with drinks and meat. That should be more than enough.”

“Huh...?”

The special benefit Vant was talking about was offering the poor three proper meals a day. The civil servants looked perplexed as they were wondering why Vant talked of a basic necessity as a special benefit,

Seeing their confused expressions, Vant sighed and said, “You idiots... Let me ask you this then, since we’re at it. Where do you go to eat?”

"Pardon? Well, we eat at the cafeteria for civil servants in Vivaldi Town...”

"See? One of the benefits that civil servants have is that they can eat every meal at a low price at their own special cafeteria.”

“Yes, but why would that be a benef... Oh!”

“Do you get it now?”

Vant had explained his plans so eloquently that the civil servants had momentarily forgotten about the reality they lived in. The reality was that the prices in Vivaldi Town were rising at a ridiculous rate.

“In the past, you could buy a loaf of hard bread for a coin, but now you can’t even buy half of it with a silver coin. What better benefit would there be than being guaranteed a meal three times a day, given the current situation?”

Vant was right about this. Vivaldi Town lacked food, iron ore, and readily available weapons. Thus, it was natural that the prices of those resources had soared to the point where nobody could get their hands on any of them.

That was because Ten was buying all of them the moment they made it to town. Because of his mass buying, Vivaldi Town was currently ravaged by famine. The other free cities were in the same situation as well.

“Take the slogan I previously told you and modify it to make it marketable. As for the salary and welfare... I have an idea. Let’s do this. Say that we’ll provide basic equipment along with the three meals. For those who have experience in the military or someone who enlists with their own equipment, prepare to give them meat or alcohol.”

"Yes, sir!”

It was a pretty good strategy.

No matter how much money the rich had, food, clothing, and shelter were more important than money in the current situation. Once the poor who were suffering from famine joined the city troops and gained an intense sense of belonging, their jealousy for the rich would immediately vanish.

The civil servants pondered on Vant’s plan over and over again, only to be more impressed by it. As Lore saw them gasping in awe, he had no choice but to once again acknowledge Henry for his ingenuity.

‘No wonder he’s an Archmage. He knows exactly how to justify himself in order to reach his goals... I wonder how many steps he’s planned ahead?’

With this, the meeting had come to an end.

After hearing and understanding Vant and his intentions, the civil servants moved quickly to prepare for the new Vivaldi Town.