"Ugh, the smell of cigarettes, are you mixing tobacco with weed? Don't you ever air this place out?"
"What? What did you say?!"
"This bastard!?"
The plantation lords were suddenly shocked at the sight of the one who had entered.
Around this clubhouse they had stationed skilled mercenaries, and among the farm laborers they had gathered the biggest, strongest, and most talented in martial arts to stand guard.
Hunting dogs were also loosed, making it a place as secure as a dragon's lair, where not even a rat could sneak in freely. And yet, this young man was walking in with utter confidence.
"Are you all children of darkness? Try opening a window, get some light, breathe a little."
The young man opened a window, letting in sunlight that streamed into the clubhouse.
In the darkness, they were men who could wield the power to appoint even the king of Bruma at will. But under the light, they were nothing but bloated old men, steeped in pleasure and corruption.
"What an insolent brat."
"Stand back, my lord."
The servants, who had withstood the shattering doors, approached the Herald Clan member. Each of them moved with the skill of someone trained in martial arts.
"This clubhouse of the Bel Hoda Sugar Business Association is a place only for esteemed guests."
"You smashed down that mahogany door, and for that crime, you'll pay with your life."
"We'll cut one of your ankles, then loose the dogs and play with you as long as we want!"
The servants spoke so and drew their weapons — gentleman's canes concealing thin blades, cane swords.
"Oh, stylish."
The Herald Clans youth admired the weapons.
"Once your blood stains the blade, it will look even better!"
One of the servants shouted and swung his cane sword, but…
The young man lightly extended his hand and flicked his middle finger. Normally, striking hardened steel with a human nail would injure the finger. And yet…
—Crack!
The blade snapped at the middle and went flying. The youth's hand twisted like a snake, coiling around the servant's sword arm, and with ease he flung the man away.
"Damn it!"
The servants faltered for a moment. The Herald Clan member had thrown their comrade in the exact direction of the sofas where the plantation lords were retreating.
Should they protect their masters first? Protect the whole clubhouse? Or only the one who paid their wages?
In their moment of hesitation and confusion, they rushed to catch the flung servant, but ended up tumbling together in a heap.
"Hm, cane swords do look elegant, but they're so thin their durability is weak. I'd like one myself, but it seems impractical."
"You bastard!"
Another servant stepped forward. All the servants working inside the clubhouse, male or female, had to be strikingly attractive. Among them, the largest, most muscular, and most trained servant-chief lunged at the Herald Clans youth with a fist like lightning.
'Our chief servant is stronger than most cell sword mercenaries!'
'One blow from his fist has killed a drunken man before…'
The servants thought this, but the Herald Clan member blocked the punch easily, and with the same arm, gave the servant-chief's face a light jab.
It was a mere tap, without shoulder or body weight behind it… yet the burly servant-chief suddenly collapsed with a thud.
"Ugh?! M-move! Move, damn it!"
He clutched at his legs, shaking them with his own hands in agony. His mind was clear, but his body refused to obey.
"Ugh…"
The servants realized in that instant — this intruder was far beyond their level, a true master.
"Now then, shall we talk?"
The Herald Clans youth turned to the plantation lords.
"Talk?"
"Even if I kill you here and now, others will simply take your place. That's why I'd rather talk."
"..."
The plantation lords were startled that this Herald Clan member would actually attempt conversation.
"I know my petitioner offended your pride without much thought, I know you tried to crush her with force. That's your way, your order, isn't it?"
"Y-yes, that's right."
The plantation lords were briefly unsettled, but then smiled at the Herald Clan member who seemed to be voicing their side.
It had always been so, the plantation lords of Bel Hoda possessed immense wealth, and even nobles and clerics groveled to win their favor.
Was this Herald Clans youth also trying to flatter them? If so, he was worth hearing out.
"So then, what sort of deal are you proposing, Herald Clan member?"
"To resolve the petition, if I can persuade you to accept my petitioner's will, then both you and I will be satisfied."
"And what sort of persuasion is that? What terms do you offer to sway us?"
"If you abandon slavery, then there'll be no reason for conflict with my petitioner. She will be content, and so will I. What do you say?"
"Pft, are you mad?"
The plantation lords burst into laughter. But the Herald Clans youth remained earnest.
"Even by the emperor's decree, even by the laws of the Eight Kingdoms, slavery is forbidden. If you abolish it now and obey the law, it won't wound your pride, rather, you'll be praised as merciful."
"Do you take us for fools?"
"Such praise isn't worth a single coin!"
"Think carefully, the money you spend hiring slave hunters and keeping private troops — if instead you abolished slavery and paid wages, would you truly lose?"
"Private soldiers must be maintained regardless. Why do you think nobles respect our vast fortune? If we don't keep troops, the king and nobles will seize our business."
"To train and feed those soldiers costs money, you can't let them sit idle. Without work, they'll test their blades against your fortune to see if they can take it. So, you give them work — hunting and managing slaves — and with that money, you pay for their upkeep."
In other words, because they could not trust the king or the nobles, they raised private soldiers, and because they could not trust those soldiers, they maintained slavery.
"We're not enslaving innocent people out of sadism, we do it to protect this vast wealth, for our independence, for our survival and our freedom."
"Ah, I see, for the sake of your wealth and your freedom, you strip away the freedom of others and make them slaves, how noble your words are."
"We are not the same as them."
"What's different?"
"They are not worthy of freedom, we are."
At that, the Herald Clans youth smirked.
"Disgusting nonsense, every time a noble said such things, we killed them, that is why we are called the Divine King Slayers, my ears are worn thin from hearing noble fools spout such drivel, so I would prefer if people who aren't even nobles like you refrained."
"So the negotiation is over?"
"No, there is still room for negotiation."
"Room for negotiation?"
"Yes, abolish slavery and pay wages, then we Herald Clan, Aragasa, will make sure your plantations don't fall into the hands of nobles, there's no need to waste money feeding useless private soldiers while keeping a foul reputation, I swear this in the name of the Emperor's Herald, the Second Herald, Azadin."
The Herald Clans youth, Azadin, made his offer, yet even this sounded laughable to the plantation lords.
"Hahaha, what a ridiculous man, you Herald Clan think to lay claim to our Bel Hoda sugar?"
"Countless kings and nobles have coveted Bel Hoda sugar, and now you, a Herald Clan member, dare demand it from us while trampling our dignity, as if bestowing us a favor?"
The plantation lords scoffed at Azadin's proposal.
Even the king's army, who once came offering to protect the sugarcane fields and sugar factories, had been rejected by the plantation lords.
And yet here was the Herald Clan offering to be the protectors of the Bel Hoda Sugar Business Association, how could that be considered a negotiation?
"Coming here to trade shows you're at least smarter than that little girl, but you're still a fool, without a soul, your head must be dull too."
"Hm? You think my terms are that bad? When you experience what's to come, you may change your mind…"
Azadin shrugged his shoulders.
At that moment, the clubhouse door flipped open, the remains that hadn't flown off when Azadin had first kicked his way in were now scattered apart.
Through the now completely shattered entrance, a group of figures appeared.
A dwarf with a blunderbuss, a young human man with sword and shield, an elf woman with blue war paint across her face, and a gaunt human man carrying a long staff stepped in.
They were the adventurers hired by the plantation lords.
"I would have preferred not to set foot in this clubhouse."
The elf woman, apparently disgusted by the stench of the clubhouse, waved a hand before her nose and frowned.
"Bear it, Veldras, our employers are in danger, this is a chance for us to earn a bonus."
"But the Second Herald of the Herald Clan… be cautious, if even half the rumors are true, then what we face is a monstrous being."
The dwarf gunner warned his companions as he leveled the blunderbuss at Azadin.
"Ah."
"Cell swords…"
The servants were overjoyed at the mercenaries' arrival.
The clubhouse servants were forbidden to carry weapons, so the best they could wield were kitchen knives.
Even the cane sword the servant-chief had was snapped in an instant by Azadin, and now mercenaries with proper armament had appeared.
But Azadin, with a disinterested tone, gave them a warning.
"Point that muzzle at me and it'll be dangerous, won't your employer get hit as well?"
In truth, Azadin himself was tense, a firearm was a weapon even he dared not underestimate.
'During herald training, I only ever saw them fired from a great distance…'
It was at that moment, as Azadin tensed.
"My lords, here."
A young human woman wearing a mask slipped in through a window and pulled the employers back toward the wall.
From the start, smashing through the already broken door that no longer impeded entry was a distraction, to draw Azadin's attention here and make rescuing the plantation lords easier.
As soon as the lords were separated from Azadin, more adventurers surged in.
—Step, step, step….
Footsteps echoed from the ceiling, adventurers had even climbed atop it.
The clubhouse was now completely surrounded.
Those on the ceiling tore open sections of the roof, thrusting their crossbows downward, ready to fire at any moment.
"We'll help too."
When the servants moved forward, the mercenaries scoffed and waved them back.
"Stand aside, your loyalty to your masters is admirable, but now it's time for the blades that have tasted blood."
"You may have some skill, but you're not the same as warriors who've killed in earnest."
The mercenaries of the Cell Sword Guild boasted, shoving the servants behind them.