Velastra Merchant Guild
Looking at the Velastra Merchant Guild from afar, one could immediately discern that its influence and authority were extremely high.
The building was situated at the heart of the bustling trade quarter. It stood tall like a fortress of wealth and authority. Its towering structure was built from refined sandstone and inlaid with veins of gold and obsidian, gleaming beneath the afternoon sun.
The front façade was decorated with intricate carvings of ancient trade caravans, coins, and mythical beasts tamed by prosperity, a testament to the continent’s mercantile history.
Besides the carving, there were massive marble columns flanking the grand arched entrance, each one engraved with runes of binding contracts and prosperity spells.
A golden sigil depicting a balanced scale resting atop a mountain of treasure hung proudly above the entryway, signifying the Guild’s allegiance to the Gold Sigil Accord, the most powerful merchant union in the Valdoria Continent.
"A lot of money must have been put into the Merchant Guild. But I wonder how much of those actually benefit the commoners." Leonard chuckled in amusement.
Oftentimes, the more luxurious a building was constructed, the more corrupt it was on the inside.
Naturally, this logic applied to his palace as well.
After all, his own palace at the capital was many times more luxurious than the Merchant Guild here.
"None of the money used here benefits the commoners," Caroline commented.
Nodding in agreement, Mirelle hated such extensive decoration to showcase one’s prestigiousness.
"The city of Velastra wouldn’t have been so corrupted if these merchants weren’t so money-grubbing and self-centered." Ever since she had set foot in the city, all she had witnessed was debauchery and blatant disregard for the laws.
Even though Leonard was disguised as a certified gold merchant, he could still break the laws without any repercussions. In fact, the city guards had to respect him and console him along the way.
"Corrupted is an understatement." Leonard suddenly said. "I’ve read a report from Logan, and it’s said that the slum population in Velastra increased by 30%. Lots of people are starving and left to rot."
"This is..." Mirelle was alarmed by the data.
"How could a free trade city have that high a population in the slums?" She questioned the validity of the data. Naturally, it was just her denial mindset talking. She definitely knew the reports from Logan couldn’t be falsified.
There was no reason for Logan to deceive him. No, it was more correct to say that they would never dare to deceive Leonard.
Contrary to Mirelle’s astonishment, Caroline remained silent.
"You should look at your friend’s response." Leonard didn’t waste a beat to call her out.
Sure enough, Mirelle shifted her attention to Caroline, only for her to sigh softly.
"The slums’ population increased because of magical improvement, resulting in less need for manpower. Most of the people going to the slums were those who had been fired and left with no income."
"Magical improvement? Do you mean the research that your facility has been working on?"
Caroline was silent, but her reaction was more than enough for Mirelle to understand.
"No wonder..." Mirelle breathed heavily.
She finally realized why the Noble Faction and Merchant Guild decided to collaborate to construct a Research Facility in Velstra. It was all to lower the cost of hiring fees and increase efficiency with less manpower.
In the long run, these people would continuously be replaced while production and efficiency remained intact, or even increased by leaps and bounds.
For merchants, nobles, and business owners, such a result was their ideal wish.
Spend less, and earn more!
Anyone who objected to them was those unable to receive any benefits and were subjected to losing their homes and jobs.
"You really know how to do a good deed by making many people lose their livelihood," Mirelle said sarcastically.
Before Caroline could answer that kind of snide remark, Leonard chuckled and chimed in.
"You would be wrong about that, Relle. She actually helped a few gain jobs and have a place to live." He calmly said.
"Did you not see what type of businesses we see a lot in Velastra?"
"Type of businesses?"
Mirelle was a bit taken aback by the sudden question. She furrowed her brows and wondered what kind of businesses were booming in Velastra. It took her a while, but she soon realized something horrifying.
Her breathing seemed to turn hazy as she asked doubtfully. "Are you saying the pleasure houses we see a lot were the outcome?"
"You’re partially correct this time." Leonard’s eyes gradually turned cold as he gazed at the blue sky.
"The pleasure houses are booming simply because commoners can no longer afford to live. To survive, men turned to gambling in the hopes of winning big and overturning their fate. As for women, they either sold themselves or were forced to enter the pleasure house to survive."
The incident revolving around the deceased Meagan and her father, Butch, was the perfect depiction of what was wrong with the current city.
Mirelle finally lost her footing and dropped to the ground. Although Leonard wasn’t being explicit, she knew who the people he was referring to were.
After all, Meagan’s death was still fresh in her mind, along with the fact that she had personally ended Butch’s life out of disgust and rage.
Not once had she anticipated that tragic incident to be something common in Velastra. Moreover, she didn’t expect Leonard to have picked up so many things based on that one incident alone.
"Was that why the city guard, Jeffrey, didn’t react much?" Mirelle looked at him in an exasperated manner. Her eyes were turning misty from the sudden enlightenment of the situation.
Flashbacks of Butch repeatedly muttering about winning big began to surface in her mind.
So it wasn’t that Butch was a gambling addict from the start. Instead, he was forced into that desperate circumstance because of these filthy nobles and merchants who sought to cut losses in their gigantic wealth.
"It’s not just the city guard, Jeff, but the collective people in Velastra who didn’t need to suffer the lower commoners’ plight," Leonard said.
"Butch was previously a manual laborer on a mine to harvest rare ores. But thanks to the research and development from the facility, they developed a tool that could harvest ores even quickly and efficiently without the need for heavy manpower. So, Butch was ultimately terminated from his worker’s contract and became unemployed."