“Just tell me, why did you need us to go through such a farce?”

While kinda harsh, those words saved Mike from Xyenna’s wrath. Swiftly turning around, he saw two tattered men, looking as if they just left the battlefield. Once elaborate clothing was disordered, once elegant haircut turned messy, once stoic and serious face changed into one of anger and annoyance.

“I’m really sorry for the trouble, but there was a reason behind this.”

Mike swiftly answered, while keeping his hands up in the same defensible pose he used to guard himself against his unruly bodyguard.

“I was thinking about making more serious business with you than just hauling one or two wagons worth of wares here.”

Putting his hands down, a young merchant fixed his dishevelled robes.

“As you just saw in the same way I did, the market potential here is so great that no matter how many traders come here, all the wares will end up bought out. And if that's the case here, in the city nearest the border...”

Mike theatrically cut his sentence short, making his interlocutor finish it by himself.

“And do you think I didn’t realise that before you pointed that out for me?”

Angered by how much importance young fellow put into this simple fact, Bern almost turned away right on the spot.

“There is no way that small fry like us can do anything about it!”

“Right now? Yes, you are right about the current situation. We are almost completely powerless about the situation, but so is everyone else. What our wares are is just a small patch on the open wound in the Kingdom. People will continue to starve, prices will continue to rise and eventually Altarcia will reach equilibrium, and then everything will collapse, both in the Crown and our end. Is that desired outcome for small merchants like us?”

Mike stared intensely at his companion with expectation in his eyes.

“You could say that the longer this situation won’t stabilise, the bigger the profit we will make!”

Bern threw the ball back at his younger counterpart.

“Don’t take me too lightly kid. I was in this business long before your head poked out of your mother’s womb!”

“Yes, we will get rich. Maybe not by the standards of nobles or guilds, but just making the round trip a few times can secure at least a few years of a lavish life. But what if...”

Mike’s eyes suddenly lost their shine as he turned gravely serious.

“… Our last trip happens to be during the market crash?”

Mike sighed as colours returned slowly to his face. His eyes yet again started brimming with the same calm energy that already started forming his trademark around his colleagues.

“To speak more about my plan, I still need to confirm some stuff. If I'm right about the things I have on my mind now, we could cut a lot larger piece of a pie from this situation that you could’ve ever imagine!”

Mike ensured his companion after promptly turning around and heading into the deeper parts of the alley.

“We need to visit the Great Market now. We won’t get anything by fishing out here. I know a rather calm path leading outside the walls, follow me”

Not leaving them any choice, Mike promptly moved ahead. Left with nothing better to do than follow this theatrical guy, Bern sighed heavily and followed him. Seeing this action, Veil sent Xyenna a meaningful look before heading forward too.

What young merchant said appeared to be true. Compared to the cramped main streets or filled to the brim city market, a route that Mike took was rather empty. There were some passerby's here and there, but they could consider overall spotting a single soul in those remote alleys a lucky or fated meeting!

Sooner than everyone would ever hope, they out of a sudden stood before the main gate. While it was busy, the number of people coming and going was incomparably smaller than in the West gate.

“Where did you take us?”

Xyenna asked while looking at her employer with curiosity. Not knowing much about city landmarks, she could not easily pinpoint their location. Judging it by the flow of people was impossible since most of them headed from or into the central area of the town. Obviously, if she were to put her heart and experience into the task, she could do it. By orientating herself with directions, she could tell the name of the gate they stood in front, but that wouldn’t exactly be the answer she was looking for.

“Northern district gate. The only one not following directional cross in the city layout. Guess what this road is heading too?”

Mike asked as corners of his mouth moved higher by just a bit.

“Don’t make it so dramatic. You already told us we will visit the Great Market and those hints… What else would need its own road and gate if not the main trade centre of the area?”

Bern humped with just a bit of annoyance in his voice, implying that this kind of silly puzzle was far too easy for intelligent people like them. What he didn’t realise though was a faint red mark that appeared on the Veil’s cheeks after he said his bit.

But to everyone’s surprise, Mike didn’t say a word and just kept smiling lightly, while taking a pose inviting them towards the gate. Humping slightly, Bern moved forward, prompting the bodyguard's duo to follow them. All would be good if Xyenna didn’t take a chance when passing by her employer, to honestly hit him in his side to express her thoughts regarding his attitude.

Contrary to their expectations, soldiers guarded this gate in the opposite way to the one they crossed before. Unbothered by the guards, they could just walk past them! For some reason, when Mike passed by them, nodded their heads to him in small greeting. Right after that, they suddenly looked at his companions… Only to show them wide and amused smile!

But even this secret got revealed soon. The moment they exited the gate tunnel, and the world opened before their eyes again, every single one of the trio felt their jaw touching the ground.

“How!?”

“What the hell?!”

“Impossible!”

Three shouts used different words to express the same emotion. And the sight was truly worth this reaction. Even Mike couldn’t help but stare at the busy area in a daze for a short while. It didn’t matter that he saw it God only knows how many times before.

Where open ground filled with farms and houses should be, was insanely cramped urban area! A multitude of warehouses, with the most prominent ones being five-story high! Stores, stalls, Inns… All kinds of trade or service buildings were stretching all the way how far eye could reach!

“That's why I was so theatrical before”

Mike stated while gazing into the distance.

“This is the most magnificent thing I ever saw in my life. I just wanted you to enjoy it as much as I did when I was in your place.”

Merchant explained, unintentionally showing unusual, relaxed smile.

“But, how? Before we entered the city, there was no such area here!”

Bern protested with a light voice, still unable to comprehend how this gargantuan area could be hidden in the plain sight.

“This goes all the way back to the first century after founding this city. Legends say that most of the building elites in the entire country gathered here and implemented this set of walls. To this day, they hold an enormous power of their blessings. If you know that there is something special here, you might find it, otherwise… Good luck!”

Mike elaborated for a bit.

“When Altarcians realised that the inner city market could not hold all the trade that was going through local roads, they had to expand the buffer zone for trading. And with such huge amounts of cargo flowing daily through the city… They had to find a place to divert all this traffic from the city. Thanks to that, if you know the right way and follow the internal cargo limitations, you may even be able to pass through the city without even entering it!”

“Then I apologise for my earlier comments about your actions. It seems I was the one acting stupidly. But let's stop wasting time. While this place is indeed magnificent, don’t you have something to check? Now I'm getting rather curious about your offer!”

Bern pointed out truly the most important thing. The money!

“Actually, there is no need for that. Just looking at this place and the way the guards acted… I know everything I need!”

Mike surprised his older colleague with those unexpected words.

“What I wanted to offer you before include renting some storage here. Instead of jumping like everyone else on the occasion, why won’t we sell our cargo and use the money we get to create a stable supply of goods between empire and this city?”

“Hmm… While it sounds like a good idea, there are several problems with it. We won’t be able to obtain food and other common wares as cheaply in greater amounts, without going out of the way to procure it. Then, there is a problem of selling it in Altarcia… But looking at this from the other side...”

Bern felt into deep though. Despite the eagerness in Mike’s eyes, he still decided to wait until the older merchant finishes his calculations to drop the next bomb.

“I have a list of potential suppliers in the Empire, that might help you make the price even lover that what you can buy in the guilds. I want you to establish a warehouse near the border on the Empire side, where all wares for the trade would be held. You would also organise people to ride the carriages here.

On the other side, I would receive the stuff and create another network responsible for selling it around the Altarcia. We split both the cost and profits in half. What do you think about the idea, without bothering with all the obstacles we will have to face along the way?”

After explaining his idea to Bern, they talked for a few minutes while walking on the streets and adoring elaborately decorated buildings. After reaching the primary conclusion, they finally exchanged a strong hand grip, sealing their promise to talk about the details of the whole operation later.

When all was said and done, all four of them got back to the city and directed their steps towards their Inn. While it was still daytime, several people on the city roads started shrinking already, making their stroll rather comfortable. But just as they finally entered their Inn, Mike heard an enraged voice.

“What is the meaning of this! Guards took over my private stables and claim that the carriages you guys brought were stolen!”