The Mayor

Lucas was just finished with his breakfast and was about to go back to his room and make a trip to the dreamland through Rave Spirit when he heard someone knocking on his door.

He groaned mentally.

Who would visit him so early in the morning?

It had to be a miserable man who got kicked out of his house by his wife.

He trudged towards the door while cussing out the intruder in his mind.

"Ahh, good morning, Young Master Goldburn. I hope I am not too early!" The stout man, the mayor of the Timber Town, greeted him enthusiastically.

"Ugh, why are you here?" Lucas asked, scratching his stubble.

"Huh? Young Master, you don't remember? You asked me to visit you first thing in the morning when I sought your audience yesterday evening." The mayor frowned.

"Really?" Lucas tried hard to recall what happened last evening.

It was hard since he was intoxicated with the drug and had barely registered what happened yesterday.

However, he vaguely remembered his servant mentioning a visitor.

"Ahh, I see… I remember now!" Lucas forced out a smile on his face. "Well, come inside."

Lucas had to at least act decent in front of the mayor. He would make the monthly report in his stead and send it to his father.

If not for the mayor's help, he would've been caught slacking by his father already.

"I was drinking yesterday. My servant must've sent you back so as to not disturb me." Lucas lied.

It was pretty much a secret that he took Rave Spirit. Only his most loyal servants knew about it. And they did nothing to stop him since they were receiving quite a hefty sum to keep their mouths shut.

It also gave them a leeway to be remiss as Lucas was too busy pumping himself with poison to check on their work.

It was the same with the mayor and the Timber Town. Everything from governance to tax collection was left to the mayor and his people.

They had grown complacent over time due to the lack of supervision from the lord of the region and started extorting money from people in every way possible.

If not for Raymond's timely arrival and his scuffle with the toll collector at tunnel pass, these people would still be acting like the overlords of this region.

But things changed after Raymond carved out a mountain and created a new path between two regions of the Continent.

A cult, led by the prominent merchants of the area, was slowly gaining power and started taking control of the trade and even some part of the governance.

They had even started to provide food and shelter for the homeless in the name of social reformation which boosted their reputation among the common populace significantly.

The mayor knew it was only a matter of time before he was usurped by this cult. That was the reason which brought him here today.

He wanted to discuss the matter with Lucas and seek help from Duke Goldburn.

Lucas led the mayor, whose forehead was wrinkled with worries about the future, to his study.

"What brings you here, Mayor Fogs?" Lucas asked as he gestured for the mayor to take a seat beside his study table.

"Is there something that needs my attention?" He asked half heartedly. Lucas had zero motivation to do anything for the town and its people.

As long as he didn't fuck up royally, he would get a passing grade from his father and could keep being the so called lord of this region.

"Young Master, things have gotten worse while you were away!" The mayor's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"What do you mean?" Lucas instantly felt a headache coming on. Nothing good happened whenever the mayor whined about something.

"We might need to prepare ourselves against a possible coup!" The mayor said agitatedly.

"What nonsense!" Lucas snorted. "Who would dare to seize power from us Goldburns? Are these people not afraid of their lives?"

He really thought that it was some serious matter that had the mayor crying but it turned out to be some upstarts trying to take over the town.

"I will ask Brother Julius to send a company of Imperial Guards to deal with these riffraffs."

"Young Master, this time the matter is more serious than that! Otherwise, I wouldn't have disturbed you like this."

A group of ruffians or bandits from the forest trying to take over the Timber Town was a common occurrence.

The mayor had a lot of experience dealing with this bunch of people. They were inexperienced and couldn't hold a candle to his people who were properly trained and well equipped.

But this time, the matter was more complicated since the merchants were involved. These merchants had personal guards that were veteran mercenaries or retired soldiers who could fight with their life on the line.

The mayor was really worried that his people would fall short of dealing with these new cult members.

Even he, a Martial Grandmaster, was thrashed by these people when he confronted the guy who had blown up the mountain.

The mayor considered himself lucky. In his anger, he had gone up against a monstrous freak that had destroyed a mountain.

He only became aware of his foolishness after receiving a good beating from the merchants.

He somehow managed to save himself by apologising to that guy they called the new God of Merchants.

"Urgh! Explain properly! What am I missing here?" Lucas spat. "Surely, you're not suggesting that they're a threat to our authority!"

"Indeed, Young Master. With how things are moving forward, we might find ourselves at the short end of the stick if we don't do anything now!"

"Hmm? Who are these people anyway?" Lucas asked.

If someone was threatening to challenge a dukedom of an empire, then they must have a backing of similar power or more.

If not, they were simply looking for death.

"It's the merchants that used to fawn over us. They have grown a pair of balls ever since that guy blew up the mountain!"

"What?!" Lucas banged his fist on the table and stood up. "What mountain?"

"Huh? Young Master, you didn't know?" The mayor looked at him strangely. "Have you not read the reports I sent?"

"Ahem! I have been busy with some important matters and haven't had the time to go over them." Lucas lied through his teeth. "But what about this mountain?"

The mayor too stood up.

"Young Master, it is better to show you than tell. Please follow me."

He opened the door and led Lucas outside. After crossing the town square and exiting the backgate, they arrived at the base of Moonhawk Ridge.

Lucas' mansion was on the opposite side of the town where the blown up mountain was not visible. His jaw dropped as soon as he looked at the carved out pathway between the elven domain and his town.

"H-how…? Who did this?" He swallowed hard.

Even his father wasn't capable of this much destruction.

This mountain range was as tall as the Imperial Palace and to think that a person could blow it up sent shivers down his spine.

"I don't know his name, Young Master, but he was a human accompanied by two beautiful women!"

Lucas frowned.

Why did their description sound familiar?

"What else do you know about them? Did he have black hair and black eyes?" He asked, hoping against hope that it wasn't the case.

If it was true, then he could kiss his revenge goodbye.

His face darkened as the mayor nodded. "And one of the women with him had dirt-blonde hair and her skin was tanned. The other one was a lot fairer but short in height. She looked menacing with her black hair and violet eyes!"

Lucas felt his legs giving out but he held on since the mayor was watching.

It was precisely the people mentioned by his father.

"Let's go back." He said promptly.

His aunt didn't love him enough for him to be chasing freaks on his own.

If Lyla was alone or with someone he could take on, then he would've hunted them down like a predator.

Nope!

This was not what he signed up for.

'Dear aunt, may your soul rest in peace…'

Lucas offered his silent prayers.

"But Young Master, aren't we going to investigate who that man was?" The mayor hurriedly followed after him. "He is in the Mist Village according to my sources!"

"No! We alone can't do anything to him! I will need to make a trip to the Capital and bring this to His Majesty's attention!"

"Meanwhile you try to keep the merchants in control!"

"O-of course, My Lord. I have already made some headway in that regard." The mayor jutted his chin out in pride. "I subtly leaked information about Arlo's itinerary to Black Iron Bandits! They must have dealt with him by now."

The mayor had a lot of dealings with that gang's leader in the past. Whenever a merchant refused to pay the tax, he would send the Black Iron bandits after them.

"Who is Arlo?" Lucas questioned.

'Damn! I should've read the report!'

"He is the leader of this new cult, Young Master!" The mayor cursed under his breath. This Arlo was a wimp who used to be his bootlicker.

Now, his position as a mayor was being threatened by this guy.

"By the way, what is the name of this cult?"

"Uh, it's the Cult of The Merchant God!" The mayor answered with trepidation. "Young Master, it's better if you read the report before heading out…"

"I know… you can leave now." Lucas entered his mansion and closed the door shut on the mayor's face.

He needed to prepare and visit the Imperial Palace.

Even though he was an addict, he was not a complete fool.

He didn't fancy the thought of confronting these people alone.

No! Not even with an army he wanted to deal with these freaks.

All he wanted was to indulge in his fantasies and spend his life in peace.

Alas, fate had other plans for him.

That evening, Lucas left Timber Town and headed towards the Capital of FireBorn Empire.