C115- Popalis (1)

Two days later, Corvin got out of the hospital early in the morning and got back to the inn. He opened the door of his room at the inn, but his stuff were already tidied and packed, ready to go back home.

"Huh? When?"

Then, he heard a voice from behind. It was Clair.

"Oh, Corvin. We packed your stuff for you. Noah got a letter from his father telling us to hurry back to the Empire so we are leaving early."

"Oh, I see. If the Margrave sent a letter, something happened, right? What happened?"

"We don't really know. It only said things are starting to get chaotic in the capitol."

"Hmm... I see. When are we leaving?"

"Now."

"? Now?"

"Yeah, that's why we packed your stuff before you came back. We are leaving now."

"Okay..."

"Come on. Pick your stuff up and follow me. The carriage is waiting."

Corvin nodded and followed Clair. His bags floated behind him, glowing green.

"Should I carry your bags too, Clair?"

"Oh, sure. Thank you."

*****

The ride back home went without any major event. They reached the capitol and then the Institute at night and carried their bags to their dorms. Tired from the long bumpy ride, they quickly went to sleep.

The next morning, Corvin was sitting in front of his dorm, watching the trees shake with the wind while thinking.

"Hrmm... There is still two days until the classes start. What should I do? Do I visit the village and my workshop or-"

"Why don't we go to the capitol?"

"Ah, Noah?.. Yeah, I guess we could go to the capitol. I have nothing else to do currently."

"You think it's still chaotic in the capitol?"

"I don't know. Do you even know what was happening, Noah?"

"....I think so. I have a guess at least..."

"Let me hear it."

Noah took a deep breath and started talking.

"You know... The Empire's been kind of struggling, right?"

"In what way?"

"Economically. Even if the war is over, our trade is being interrupted by Eidzunge merchants and privateers. We just don't have the naval capabilities to combat them. And, ever since the conquest of the Septen, smaller kingdoms are shy about trade. We are selling a lot of new technology, but when other's catch up to us in that, that won't also be able to sustain our economy. We are lacking raw materials."

"...Because too many people are leaving the villages?"

"Right. That's exactly what's happening. Our economy is going to struggle in the near future. So, the nobles are raising taxes after realizing this. Because there is so much work in cities, people are forced to leave their villages as ordered by the nobles, soon we won't be able to feed our people with the food produced in the Empire. Crops are just rotting in the fields before being harvested."

".... What are the nobles doing to stop this?"

"Not much. There is more money in factories than farms. It doesn't matter if bread gets more pricey since they are making more than the new prices. They will just buy some food from nearby kingdoms when they need it."

"Guessed as much...", said Corvin and got up.

"So, let's see if anything is happening in the capitol."

"Sure."

*****

After a quick ride to the capitol, empty streets greeted the two. They got off the carriage and walked towards the center of the city, where a crowd was gathered.

"Oh, I see... They started protests, huh?", said Corvin.

"Yeah. Let's get closer."

They walked closer to the Altarce Palace. The closer they got, the more noise they heard coming from the crowd. The people were shouting slogans, but there was no coordination and it just resulted in an incomprehensible cacophony.

"Do you understand what they are saying, Noah?"

"What? I can't hear you!"

"Do you understand what they are saying, Noah?"

"Oh. Something about food... But I don't get anything else they are saying."

The two walked away from the crowd and went to a more silent place to watch everything.

"Hey, Noah. Look at that..."

Corvin pointed to an especially chaotic part of the crowd. A small group of people were clashing with guards. Noah's face soured as he spoke.

"They must have insulted the Emperor... They are probably going to get executed..."

"What?!"

Corvin quickly got up and tried to run towards the people getting beaten by the guards, but Noah held his arm and stopped him.

"Noah, let me go."

"..."

"Let me go! Do you think they deserved death just because they insulted a random gu-"

"Corvin! Be careful of what you say."

"Why?! Why should I listen to the stupid laws?! Isn't this unfair?"

"I know! But this is what's normal! It might seem weird for you, but this is what's normal for people who aren't lucky like you."

"...."

"If it was that easy, do you think I would have to plan and work in the shadows so much? The Emperor is strong, you can't fight against him without a proper plan."

"Do you have one then?"

"...Not yet. But.... Actually, I brought you here for this reason. Come with me for a bit."

Before Corvin could ask any questions, Noah started walking away. He quickly followed him while asking questions.

"Where are we going? Noah?"

"I can't say it in the open. The ones who aren't supposed to hear it shouldn't hear it, or it will all go to waste. You as well. Don't talk about this to anyone. Even Amy."

"O-Okay."

They walked towards and unassuming building. A sign outside the door wrote 'Popalis Publishing House'. They entered the building. Inside, there were various machines used in the production of books and a wall covered by a bookshelf with many books stored on it.

"A publishing house?"

"Just follow me."

Noah walked towards the bookshelf and reached for an empty shelf. He gripped the back of the shelf and pulled it. The bookshelf swung open, revealing a stair leading down.

"Today, we had a meeting to talk about what was going on and... I think it's time you met with my friends.", said Noah and started going down the stairs.

"Friends? Which friends?"

"You will see."

As they descended down the stairs, they reached a door. Noah opened the door and entered. It was a dimly lit room with a table in the middle. On the wall across him, Corvin noticed a flag. The flag was made out of three horizontal stripes coloured white, blue and green from top to bottom. In the middle of the flag, there was a dark brown bird with a green gem on it's chest.

"...What's this place?"