In the morning, Premeus woke up and while drinking his coffee, an idea came to his mind. He turned to his men with excitement.
"Let's bring cannons to the battle! With our special weapons, we'll blow everything up!"
"Yes, my lord! You've thought brilliantly!"
In the back, Haru was listening to the conversation, lost in his own thoughts.
This idiot... We have all this equipment and he only just now thinks of this? I can't voice my opinion to him. I have to stay silent, or I'll shatter his ego even more. We seem to have the numbers advantage in soldiers.
Rei told the spy that he's keeping his team hidden and will add his teammates at the last moment. Is he lying? Or did he deliberately tell the truth again? I'm not sure...
On Rei's side:
When I woke up in the morning, I washed my hands at the fountain nearby. I put on my hoodie, bought food from the market, and ate one myself for breakfast. When I returned to the old building, I distributed food to everyone again. They seemed pleased that my presence was useful to them.
"Old man, how is Premeus's discipline? How does he treat the people?"
"Don't even ask. He always looks down on us. He only acts normal toward the elite. When we make a mistake, we're punished harshly. There's no balance between rich and poor in this place!"
"I see. So, are there others who think like us?"
"I'm sure the poor people in every part of this region think the same as we do."
"I'm going to go meet them."
"Be careful, son. Some of them like to steal."
After listening to his warning, I crossed to the other side of the area. For hours, I attended to people in bad situations in deserted, dark corners. I gave them food, listened to their troubles. The poor side was talking about me to others. My reputation among the lower classes was slowly rising. I spoke about the injustices done to them, aiming to trigger their emotions.
After a while, Premeus came out onto his balcony and greeted his people. He spoke about the state of the region and announced that they would win the war. I had learned that if the people ignored him, he would punish those who didn't listen. Probably being ignored damaged his ego, which was why he hated it so much.
I secretly bought a set of paper pieces from the market. On the papers I already had with me, I wrote things about a fake tax increase. Then I secretly distributed and hid them in various locations. I intended for people to start reacting within a short time.
I think they'll all spread within about a day.
While looking around, I saw Sakura at the market, browsing fruits. I immediately moved to a hidden position so she wouldn't see me.
So Sakura is here. It's good that I saw her, but if she sees me, she might remember. I need to be careful. She might be angry with me because of the game, but at the same time, I was the one who made her win. I can't be sure what she's thinking. I'll stay hidden for now.
On Premeus's side:
Premeus asked the soldiers he had sent out whether they had seen Rei. His soldiers responded negatively. Premeus's patience was wearing thinner by the moment.
"How can he not show up? Is he not moving at all?"
Haru continued thinking to himself in the back. His trust in the man was beginning to wane.
This man is seriously an idiot. After teleporting away, Rei would have been able to predict that we'd want to patrol the area.
Would it be right if I secretly did something on my own? We have a high number of soldiers. If we fight, we'll win. But Rei is our opponent. I'm sure he won't fight...
He could even be inside this very region. He had potions. Just in case, let me tell the other soldiers to be careful.
Haru voiced his thoughts to the soldiers, telling them to be cautious just in case. The soldiers nodded in agreement. His request was relayed to the other soldiers. From now on, the soldiers would act more carefully.
I have to stay silent now. I can't get through to Premeus. If necessary, I'll do something in secret.
On Rei's side:
While I was with the poor people, I "coincidentally" showed them the papers I had planted myself.
"What is this administration doing? Look at this! Now they want to introduce a new tax!"
"You're right. This is too much. We can't even survive as it is, and they're still bringing in more."
"Let's show these to all of our acquaintances. As the lower class, we should defend our rights. If necessary, we'll gather and take action."
"Let's inform the others."
"Alright, I'll show the papers to the others too."
I spent a few hours informing others about the situation. The news slowly spread. Even the middle class started talking about the tax. Officials from the administration said there was no such tax. Hearing this, the lower class felt some relief, but at the same time, they wanted to express their pent-up emotions. They spoke about the condition of the lower class and complained about the imbalance in the region. The upper elite who heard this acted indifferently. Some from the middle class, however, pitied the lower class and agreed with some of their views. A decent crowd had formed in the central area. Clearly, Premeus didn't want to deal with such ridiculous matters. Trying to satisfy other people seemed absurd to him.
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How did he become the leader here? I wondered. I concluded that it was probably passed down from his father.
Officials from the administration gave the people dismissive answers and then left the scene. It was clear that the lower class's demands wouldn't be met. When they tried to push further and were met with the same attitude again, they grew angry. They tried to shout and rebel, but the guards stopped them. In the end, they gave up and everyone dispersed. The crowd was slowly breaking up.
It seems like I'm achieving what I aimed for. Their suppressed emotions will only be further inflamed when their demands aren't met. The administration made a mistake. They should have at least said they would fix a few things and reassured them. I'm going to use this.
When evening came, I tried to stay out of sight of the night guards with the stones I had secretly gathered. Then I secretly threw the stones at the windows of the building where the poor were staying. The impact of the stones shattered the windows, making a loud noise. Hearing their windows break, the lower class woke from their sleep. They tried to figure out what had happened. After throwing the stones, I secretly returned to the old building.
"What's going on, everyone? Our windows are shattered! The elites must be doing this to mock us because of our demands!"
I had transferred the toxic thought into the old building where I was staying. The other buildings whose windows I had broken could also come to the same conclusion on their own. Together with my suggestion, they understood the logic of what I was saying. They thought the elites had done it. Their anger began to rise.
"Those bastards! Now they're damaging the places we live in!"
"Where were you, by the way, Zankou?"
"When I heard the sound of windows breaking, I thought it was an attack, so I ran outside immediately. You know, I sleep downstairs."
"I see. They need to pay for this. Judging by the sounds, it happened one after another in other places too. How are they not getting caught? They must have made a deal with the guards. They want to punish us in their own way because of our demands, the bastards!"
"You're right. Let's talk to the others. This won't end here."
We went down and told the surrounding lower class about the situation. We gathered half of the region's lower class in a secluded area in the same place. Everyone was voicing their emotions and thoughts.
"What they've done can't go unanswered. We need to do something too."
"You're right, old man. But what will we do?"
"I'll think about it. But we can't just stand by either. This is complete disrespect. They need to pay the price!"
After the old man's speech, everyone seemed motivated. I decided to voice my idea.
"Old man, let's inform the acquaintances on the other side of the region about the situation too. That way, our numbers will increase and we can make better plans."
"You're right."
"Let's do this. Everyone here, spread out to the areas you know. Tell the people in the same situation as us about the events and voice your thoughts. Tell your friends too. If we all spread out and do this individually, we'll spread the situation much faster. That way, we'll have more people."
"Alright. What you're saying makes sense, Zankou. You're a smart man. Let's do it this way."
The group found my idea logical. Everyone dispersed to random parts of the region, deciding to spread the information. I headed to a suitable spot myself. I secretly made my way to one of the market stalls in the area. The stall was closed, so no one was there. I took out the rope I had brought with me before coming from my inventory. The guards weren't around; they had headed to the area where the windows had been broken. I slightly disturbed the position of the table where the stall's food supplies were placed. I tied the rope at an angle that wouldn't be visible underneath. The next day, when the person came to the table and saw it wasn't straight, they would try to nudge it back into place. When they tried to straighten it, the leg of the table would catch on the rope. The tied rope would cause a snag, and the table would fall over. The food supplies placed on it would spill out in front of the people.
I left a piece of paper under the table. On the paper, I drew a random symbol. The paper wouldn't be visible until the table fell. When the table fell, the person straightening it would see the paper and the symbol. I wanted them to think, because of the randomly drawn symbol, that it had been done by an organization.
After setting up the trap, I quietly left the area. In the dark corridors, I continued telling the poor people about the situation, fueling their emotions. It had gotten quite late. The lower class would soon start planning actions on their own, even risking death. I was planning to create chaos within the region.
After finding a suitable corner for myself, I sat down and tried to sleep for a while. The fourth day had come to an end.
Because I had gone to bed late, I woke up around noon. While I had been sleeping, the events I had expected had unfolded. The market table had collapsed, and food had spilled everywhere. The owner of the table had seen the paper and shown it to the others at the market. They thought the lower class had created a secret organization. Meanwhile, the news of the broken windows had spread. The lower class's hatred toward the elite was growing. The people were more restless, complaining about the elites. Even when the elites explained that they hadn't done it, the lower class didn't believe them.
On Premeus's side:
Haru came to Premeus. He had finally decided to make another suggestion.
"Lord Premeus, there's something I want to say."
"What is it, Haru?"
Premeus was watching the outside from the balcony.
"In a short time, too many incidents have occurred. Rei may have infiltrated inside somehow. We know he has a potion. Even if it's only one minute, he could have used it at the entrance to get past. Now he might be triggering events among the people. How about we gather everyone in one place and check them one by one?"
Premeus laughed arrogantly at Haru's proposal.
"We're going to check the entire population just because of a mere possibility? That's nonsense!"
I can't stand this man anymore. He's seriously so stupid...
"My lord, the incidents are growing. Fights among the people have increased. What are we going to do then?"
"They're all idiots. If they go too far, I'll throw them in prison. That'll be the end of it."
"I understand..."
On Rei's side:
I was watching the fights breaking out among the people. I understood that there was a prison dungeon beneath the central building. I could tell that the soldier members had their own private rooms inside the central building. I could guess that there were a lot of soldiers. I checked my phone. Premeus's side had reached eighty people. I used my potion and took on the appearance of one of the guards. I entered the central building. There was a left and right corridor. The middle section was a large hall, and there was another hall at the back. With so many rooms, I figured they wouldn't be able to make sense of the confusion. I entered the armory and placed a guard's armor into my inventory. Then I entered one of the many similar-looking rooms. The potion's effect had worn off. I had returned to my own appearance. To avoid any chance encounters, I hid inside a closet.
Inside the large closet, I put on the guard's armor. I stepped out of the closet and began walking down the corridor like a normal guard. A guard asked me if I remembered what Haru had said. I told him I didn't remember. He scolded me briefly, then said that Haru had mentioned Rei might be in the area and that we needed to stay alert. I indicated that I understood and continued walking down the corridor. The lower class of the people was becoming angrier by the moment.
Haru, you're a smart kid, but you won't be able to get through to that donkey. That's why you're going to lose.