Re: Level 100 Farmer

Chapter 122 - Deal With The Devil

Li did not move, nor did he change his expression much, looking at the two as if he had said nothing out of the ordinary. He did not want to pressure them into fear or anger or any other possible reaction. He wanted them to naturally react to his words so that he could gauge exactly how complicit they were with this as well.

It may be that they did not know at all about the slaves, that perhaps Chevrette just snuck them there, but Li seriously doubted that. 

"I knew it!" Ada's husband stood up, his knees wobbling. He pointed an accusing finger at Li. "I thought your strength far too unnatural. You are with the duchess, are you not? An undercover hero come to bring reckoning upon our sins."

Ada became panicked as her husband's frantic energy infected her, and she looked between her husband and Li, not knowing what to do or what to say. He could tell that she too had known about the slaves from her panic and the fact that she had been rather nervously fidgety the whole time they had been talking. 

"That's…pretty far off from the truth." Li shrugged. "But I guess that proves you did know about the slave trade. My moral compass doesn't point at slavery as something commendable, and I know I'm not alone here – it's been banned by the laws for a reason."

Li pointed a finger down to the wooden floor and stared at Ada's husband. The man was starting to inch backwards, mostly out of sudden fear, but Li did not want to spend the effort to catch him if he was making some kind of foolhardy escape.

"Sit," said Li as his eyes widened ever so slightly, his other hand balling into a fist. "I'm not done talking."

Ada's husband spied Li's fist and gulped, deciding to sit down again, though a fair bit farther away than before.

"Closer. Back where you were," said Li. 

The husband scooched forwards with shaky arms, and Li nodded with satisfaction.

"Good. Now you two will tell me everything you know about your business with Chevrette. Don't skimp on details, either."

Ada spoke, her voice strangely weary and tired where Li had expected it to be panicked.

"When I married me husband, we tried at first to tend papa's land." Ada shook her head. "But the land lacked life, not to mention we lacked papa's skills, and by that time, papa himself was of no use anymore. We tried sellin' the land to try and buy a spot in the city, but none would take it. 

Sir Chevrette, though, saw our plight and told us he saw mighty fine entrepreneurs within us, solicited us with sly words from that silver tongue of his, and promised us a handsome loan to buy out a property and turn it into our own business. He even picked the property out himself, tellin' us not to worry bout' all them complicated real estate matters. Even let us keep ownership o' the farm, made sure to warn us never to sell it, that it was terrible that we'd have to sell off a family heirloom."

"I'm assuming some strings were attached to this deal?" said Li.

"Aye, mighty many. A mighty many we wished we'd known fore' we got into this whole mess, but alas, the poor like us ain't got much luxury to be thinkin' hard when money's shoved in our faces. 

Oh, sir Chevrette was so very nice, provin' all the rumors about him right. So many tales of him givin' generous loans to the strugglin' in Lower and Middletown to prop them up, to the point that there ain't anyone mongst' use poor that ain't heard o' him. 

 For years, I suppose we did live well and honest, startin' on a bakery – my husband's trade fore' his own father's place shut down. We were happy, aye, happy as could be, with my beautiful daughter on the way. 

It was then that Chevrette brought over the first few slaves."

Ada's hands started fidgeting uncontrollably again, and her husband drew her hands into his, calming them.

"That night marked the start o?? our own hell, though I am certain Helius will condemn our souls regardless," she said. "There he was, sir Chevrette the golden, the same happy smile and understanding ol' look on his face. Cept' this time, he had em' slaves next to him. Told us there was a special space here that ought to hold em', that he'd be back for em' soon, to not worry bout's us bein' caught, that this only an one time thing, that he'd never make us lift a single finger, to please understand him."

"I see," Li said. "And I'm assuming this didn't end up being the last time. That he kept pressuring you two."

"Aye. Was just what he said to make us stomach it the first time around. Make us complicit in his scheme. But not like we could've refused him the first time round', considerin' we were still payin' out his loans. He had our entire life, the entire foundation we built for our little baby girl, in his fingertips.

I've no illusions about what we've done, letting him sift his slaves through our little bakery. I know those poor girls and boys, no matter them bein' beastmen or not, will suffer their whole lives."

"And the other farmers? The ones who held land just like you?"

Ada shook her head. "All in the same straights, I'm afraid." 

"I am in no way condoning your actions, but I can understand why you two did not speak up. You have everything to lose. Not just a livelihood, but also the future of your daughter," said Li. "But what I don't understand is that among all those farmers, not a single one spoke up? There must have been some of them that were childless or had far less to lose in general."

"Make no mistake, sir, we'd have spoken up too were it not for the fact that our words would have done nothin'."

"Nothing? There's power in numbers. I can understand you not being the first one to speak out, but if anyone else had and gotten several of you to come forward together with allegations, Chevrette couldn't silence you as he'd just draw massive attention to himself, especially if he was using thugs that can easily be captured to strongarm you.

I know the law turns a blind eye to beastmen, but a serious accusation of breaking the law will still put someone as influential as Chevrette in hot water."

"A farmer did speak out against Chevrette a couple o' years back. He was a blacksmith, by them, no wife, no family, nothin' to lose like you say. Reported the nobleman to the city hall. But a lowly blacksmith's word against the Chevrette the golden, the hero of the poor, the lifeblood of coin and opportunity in all of Riviera?

Not a chance in the world that anyone'd believe him. Then the specter got to him after the ruckus died down, and that was that: a clear message that anyone that went after Chevrette would perish."

"The specter?"

"You've not been round' middle and lowertown much, aye?" Ada explained. "The specter's a ghastly thing. None's seen it, jus' what it does – splits its victims right in two. It's haunted both parts o' Riviera for as long as anyone can remember. Over a hundred years, maybe.

Thing about the specter, though, is that it only takes apart scum. The criminals o' the city, the rascals, the murderers, that lot. The deservin'."

Li put a finger to his chin. "And that farmer was deserving for speaking out? Doesn't sound quite right to me."

"Well, he was complicit, just as we be now," said Ada simply. "Moment we let Chevrette do as he pleases in our houses, in our livelihoods, is the moment we're stained, marked for the specter."

"Which indicates that Chevrette has some degree of influence over this supposed ghost if he can leverage it as a threat against you all," said Li. 

"Aye, that's what we've been fearin', that's why none of us speak. We've no power. If we do speak, none will believe us, and we'll simply face death for our troubles." 

Li took a moment to contemplate, analyzing the information. The farmers did not speak because Chevrette controlled their livelihoods. Even if they did speak, they would die for the trouble. If it was a regular group of thugs, then they'd be bold enough to speak, soliciting help from the knightly guard, but a supernatural entity was an entirely different matter. 

"And the adventurers haven't wiped this ghost out?" 

"They've tried, aye, but none's ever been able to track it," said Ada, defeat laced in her already tired voice. "Not in a hundred years, so I reckon not now, either."

Li nodded. If he wanted the farmers for his fields, then he needed to free them from this current situation. He needed to do so in a way that would not overturn the balance of the entire city, so raw brute force was off the table. Certainly, he could kill Chevrette as he had initially wanted to with the count, but Li had to admit that what he had done with the count was extremely reckless, motivated by emotion because the old man had been attacked.

Had Li killed the count and all his vampires, a pillarstone for this city's economy and a balancing totem for the entire world's geopolitics, he would have cast Riviera into extreme chaos and caused infinitely more trouble for himself and the farm. 

Chevrette was in a similar situation. Li needed to act smart and sustainably, and now that he was off the mind altering influence of eldritch spellforce, he was confident he could solve this issue in a perfect and seamless manner.

Of course, the fact of the matter was that Li could go to Chevrette and threaten him with sheer power, forcing the nobleman to bend to his will, but Li did not want this man to live and serve under him. There was no place or use for this man for Li. Chevrette was going to die no matter what, and so would his little slave trade. 

It was simply a matter of orchestrating a death that would allow life to go on as usual. 

"Bring the slaves out here," said Li. "I'm going to put an end to all this nonsense.'