The Transmigration Survival Guide Volume 6 Chapter 32
It should be fine. Achilles couldnât explain the problem with the letter, which was actually a few words I casually wrote in the spur of the moment. The basic takeaway was, âUnderstood,â which created the false impression that Achilles communicated with us through letters in private. In reality, though, Achilles and we never communicated in any capacity. Howbeit, he couldnât explain the nature of the letter. Put another way, nobody would believe him even if he did explain it. If there was doubt between the president and Achilles, then the merchant inner circle would be in total disarray. Among the group of disordered businessmen, some helped Queen Sisi, and they didnât have the capital to ask for anything after they provided help. That was exactly what we needed.
Queen Sisiâs letter was effective. The seemingly impregnable alliance was a laughing matter, as all it took was one letter to dismantle it. That was the nature of businessmen. Before money and profit, trust and friendship are worth nothing.
It was a much simpler issue compared to the first issue I tackled when I came to the imperial city for the first time. The businessmen and military personnel were not on the bishopâs level.
The soldiers were busy sticking up posters to announce Veiryaâs upcoming coronation, while there were others who replaced the preachers, standing to one side, calling people over to explain why Veirya was superior to Queen Sisi. They also promised that Veirya wouldnât do worse than Queen Sisi, and promised better days for everyone.
I stopped to listen to what they preached for a while. What they were doing wasnât Veiryaâs intent, and they didnât even talk about the key point. A manifesto should have one priority key point, which was what the new ruler could do for everyone. A manifesto isnât a couple of slogans jammed together. Instead, it should include some points, such as reducing unemployment rates or increasing benefits for citizens. You also need to provide details for how that goal will be achieved. Thatâs how you convince the people. The soldiers didnât say a single thing with substance. All their garble was slogans without any substance. Most importantly, the people werenât even passionate about the war against the elves. The soldiers prattled about avenging humanityâs defeat at the elvesâ hands. That wasnât going to get them in the peopleâs good books.
My plan was to go and arrange things with the food merchants. Essentially, I was going to have them transport food out for some time as per Achillesâ wish. They didnât need to do much. All they had to do was transport food out. Leave it there for a while, and then finally bring it back. That was a move in the food merchantsâ favour because they could make some extra money from it. A commodity with a stable price, such as food, required such tactics to increase earnings. No businessman would pick a fight with money.
The food merchantsâ were focused at the spot close to the city entrance as it was a good location for transporting food in. Needless to say, there were also stores foreigners run there. There were no longer any elven stores around. Basically, there were dwarvesâ stores. Lots of them were jewellery stores. They were dwarvesâ stores, after all. They were far superior to humanity when it came to processing metal and gems.
The mention of jewellery reminded me of that unpleasant dreamâŚ
The ring Francis gave me was still on Luciaâs ring finger. At the time, I had to propose to Lucia. Without a ring, a proposal isnât sincere. I couldnât ask Lucia to give it back after. I admit the dwarfâs ring was niceâŚ
I gripped the ten thousand gold coins invoice in my pocket. I had ten thousand gold coins that all the merchants loaned to me. No matter how expensive a ring may be, it wouldnât cost more than ten thousand gold coins. It was best for me to have a ring with me the next time I saw Veirya. If possible, I needed one the exact same as the one Francis gave me. But honestly⌠I couldnât remember how it lookedâŚ
I strolled to the jewellery store. Someone suddenly pushed the door to the store open. A white robe appeared before my eyes, and a familiar scent came from in front, causing every muscle in my body to contract. My world lit up thanks to the familiar scent. My heart gradually began to beat faster. I couldnât help myself from smiling. I told myself that I had to maintain my composure and not panic when I saw Veirya.
âYou didnât do anything wrong. You must calm down⌠just calm down. I need go and see the food merchants? And umm⌠uhâŚ. I can just apologise to Veirya, and then we can go home, right? I can take Veirya home and crown Queen Sisi. Iâll make it up to her with a ring here. If possible, proposing here while Iâm at it would be all right. Do I even need to try? Wouldnât all end well if we just went back?â I told myself.
But⌠I suddenly realised something⌠ I yanked my head up. There she was in front of me.  Veirya hadnât changed at all. She extended her hand toward the sun. The inlaid gem on the ring sitting on her left ring finger was akin to a sharp piece of glass that pierced my heart, with someone grabbing it and repetitively screwing it in while wearing a savage smile⌠The young man next to her looked at her with a smile, one that youâd wear when spoiling someone. She looked as if she was a wife who came to buy a ring with her husband.
What shouldâve been fondness and affection had turned into pain and despair. Even though she saw me, Veirya immediately pulled her hand behind her. She gave me a small nod.
âVeiryaâŚâ
My heart ache stirred my tear ducts. My legs trembled. Had I not had my cane, I probably wouldâve fell to the groundâŚ
âUhm.â Veirya removed her ring from her finger: âI just. Wanted this. So⌠Is the ring. Francis gave us. With you?â
âI⌠IâŚâ
It was the same as in my dream⌠the exact same⌠I didnât have a ring in my pocket. The ring Francis gave me was his blessings for Veirya and I. I ended up giving mine to Lucia⌠I literally scrunched the invoice in my pocket up into a ball. Iâd be willing to pay ten or even twenty times the ten thousand gold coins to get the ring back. I wanted to personally put it on Veiryaâs fingerâŚ
âI see.â Seeing as I kept silent, Veirya lowered her head and wore on the ring again. She then looked up at me and questioned, âSo. You no longer. Love me. Correct?â
âYouâre. Already addressing her by her name. And gave her. The ring. So. We have nothing left. To say, then. Thank you. For your help before. I wonât need it. From now.â
With a nod, Veirya turned around. The young man gave me a grin that I wanted to rip off his face. He taunted, âI am delighted to meet you here, Mr. Lin. Next time, you will receive my invitation, okay?â
I didnât watch them leave. I grabbed my chest. I dropped my cane to the ground. I leaned onto the wall and banged it. My tears came from my eyes, nose and even my mouth.
âIf these arenât tears, why am I so bitter?â I asked myself. âAaarrrrghh!â
Everyone in the vicinity went silent and looked shocked at the man kneeling on the ground. His body pulsated violently as he punched the wall over and over until his bloody fist was left on the wall. Nobody dared to approach him for they werenât certain that he was human. A human wouldnât roar that way.
âI failed. I completely, totally, utterly failed,â I cursed.