Chapter 166: Grand Opening
Iron Fortress, The Plaza District.
Opening day at the Evernight Mall. The Commercial District was so packed it looked like a literal sea of limbs and cloth.
Kaito stood at the very fringe of the crowd, staring up at the four-story obsidian structure. His Soul Fire pulsed with a rhythmic, blinking cadence. In just a few days, Greed had overseen the completion of the entire project. The efficiency was, frankly, terrifying.
The exterior walls were etched with glowing blue geometric patterns—Reinforcement Arrays constructed by the Arcane Legion. While they lacked the "absolute" durability of the Royal Palace in the Capital—which could theoretically withstand a direct assault from a Tier 6 powerhouse—they were more than enough to deflect anything below Tier 4. The lessons learned from the Red Dragon's raid were still fresh in everyone's mind.
"Grand Opening Specials! Thirty percent off everything!"
"Step up, step up! Don't let fate pass you by!"
"Buy today, or pay the premium tomorrow!"
Near the entrance, several "Promotional Ghouls" were brandishing magical megaphones, shouting with the frantic energy of street preachers.
Kaito had intended to take a leisurely stroll through the aisles, checking the "customer experience" and making sure the floor plan was intuitive. Instead, the moment he stepped onto the edge of the plaza, he was seized by the current of humanity and dragged forward.
"Hey! Watch it! Stop pushing!"
"Who do you think you're shoving?!"
"My foot! Some bastard just crushed my foot!"
Kaito had zero leverage. He was like a dry twig caught in a flash flood, drifting wherever the crowd dictated. He tried to maneuver toward the edge, but it was a tactical impossibility. To his left was an Orcish brute built like a brick wall; to his right, a Succubus and a Drow were engaged in a high-volume debate. Ahead of him, three Elven maidens had formed a literal human wall, while a group of Dwarves behind him were unintentionally head-butting his lumbar region.
Kaito gave up. Fine. Whatever. Let the tides of consumerism take me.
As the line crawled forward, a sudden, sharp screech cut through the air.
"You old hag! Have you no shame at your age?!"
A young Elf girl, clutching a shopping basket larger than her own head, was flushed with a righteous, indignant fury. Opposite her stood a human matron, gripping a similarly oversized basket with a death-grip.
"Old hag?! I'm fifty! You pointed-eared brat, you've been 'young' for two centuries—learn some respect for your elders!"
The Elf girl's ears practically twitched with rage. "Two hundred is still 'Maidenhood' for an Elf! What would a short-lived wretch like you know about it?!"
"Short-lived?! Why, I ought to—!"
The human woman began rolling up her sleeves, her expression promising a brawl. The Elf girl didn't flinch, dropping her basket and settling into a low combat stance. The surrounding crowd immediately cleared a circle, placing bets with frantic whispers.
"A fight! It's going down!"
"Five coppers on the Elf!"
"No way, my money's on the Grandma! Never underestimate human 'Auntie' strength!"
Just as the first blow was about to land, the massive obsidian doors of the mall swung open with a resonant BOOM.
"DOORS ARE OPEN!"
The crowd erupted. The two women instantly aborted their duel, snatched their baskets, and sprinted for the threshold with the speed of elite scouts. Kaito was shoved from behind, stumbling and tripping as he was squeezed through the entrance.
The interior was far more spacious than the exterior suggested.
Floor 1: Fresh Goods.
To the left: The Fish Counter. To the right: The Meat Counter. Center: Produce.
Every stall was swarmed instantly. Kaito managed to fight his way to the Fish Counter, only to find the tanks almost empty. A few palm-sized trout were floating lethally, looking half-dead and entirely unappealing.
"This is it?" Kaito blinked.
He glanced at the nearby notice board.
Opening Time: 8:00 AM.
Current Time: 8:05 AM.
Five minutes. It had taken five minutes for the city to eat its way through the entire morning's catch. Kaito's Soul Fire flickered. These people... they're manic.
He turned toward the Meat Counter. It was a ruin. The mountains of pork and beef had been reduced to a few lonely bones and scattered scraps of gristle. The produce section was marginally better, but only because people were too busy fighting over the sausages.
Kaito let out a weary sigh, pulled a few silver coins from his robes, and purchased the last few gasping trout.
"L-Lord Sovereign?!"
The skeletal clerk behind the register recognized the customer. Its Soul Fire nearly snuffed out in sheer terror. "M-Master! What... what are you doing here in person?!"
"Keep it down," Kaito whispered. "I'm just performing an inspection."
The skeleton nodded frantically, carefully bagging the fish as if they were made of crystal. "My Lord... these... please, accept them as a tribute! No charge!"
Kaito shoved the silvers into the register's slot. "Nonsense. The Code applies to everyone. Record the sale."
He took the bag and turned to make a tactical retreat before the situation escalated. Unfortunately, the clerk's initial gasp had already pinged the ears of the surrounding shoppers.
"Look! It's the Sovereign!"
"It really is him!"
"The Master is shopping?! In person?!"
Kaito froze. Crap. I've been compromised.
The next heartbeat, he was swarmed.
"Master! Master!"
"Can I have an autograph?!"
"Master, can I touch one of your finger bones? Just once?!"
Kaito was pinned. He tried to squeeze through the gaps, but the density of the fans was higher than the density of the mall's walls. Their enthusiasm was more terrifying than the Crusade's charge.
Just then, a silhouette dropped from the rafters.
BOOM!
Greed landed beside Kaito, his Tier 6 presence exploding outward in a cold, suppressing wave. The crowd instinctively recoiled several paces, the air growing heavy with the scent of ancient blood.
Greed dropped to one knee. "Master. Forgive my delay in escorting you."
Kaito let out a breath he didn't need. "Perfect timing. Get me out of here."
Greed stood up, casting a sharp, crimson gaze over the crowd. "Citizens! The Sovereign has Imperial matters to attend to. Clear the path."
The crowd parted like the Red Sea. Under Greed's grim protection, Kaito walked briskly out of the mall.
Once they were back in the open air, Kaito exhaled. "Those people... their energy is exhausting."
"Master, the operation is exceeding all projections," Greed reported, his voice a professional flatline. "Within thirty minutes of opening, the first floor is ninety percent depleted. Floor Two—Daily Essentials—is nearly sold out."
Kaito looked at his bag of pathetic fish. "I noticed."
"Current statistics indicate foot traffic has broken fifty thousand," Greed continued. "Projected revenue for today is expected to exceed one hundred thousand gold crowns."
Kaito's Soul Fire pulsed. One hundred thousand? In a day? And that was with the opening discount.
"Impressive," Kaito nodded. "Status of the Aviation Department?"
"Paul and the craftsmen have finalized the 'Gondola' prototypes. We are currently in live-flight testing. I expect the first regional routes to open in seventy-two hours."
"Good. Tell them to accelerate. And Greed—make sure the Mall restocks immediately. I don't want people coming here for 'the experience' only to find empty shelves."
Greed bowed. "By your command, My Lord."
Kaito clutched his bag of fish and headed for the river. He needed to "release" these poor things before they actually died in the bag.
Floor 3: Media & Culture.
A girl in a flowing black dress stood before a towering shelf of audio-books. She was currently leafing through a newly released volume with a look of mild, predatory interest.
She pressed a specialized rune-button on the cover. A deep, magnetic male voice resonated from the parchment:
"This world... shall ultimately be blanketed by the Great Evernight..."
A thin, amused smile touched the girl's lips. "Entertaining."
She closed the book and walked to the counter. "I'll take this one."
The Skeleton Clerk looked up. When its sockets registered the girl's face, its Soul Fire gave a frantic jolt. "G-G-General Lust?!"
Skele-Lust gave a negligent nod. She pulled two silver coins from a small pouch and tossed them onto the counter. "Keep the change."
The clerk stood frozen as Lust retrieved the book and turned to leave. Just before she reached the exit, she paused, looking back over her shoulder at the paralyzed skeleton.
"One more thing."
"Inform Greed that the security detail for this building is insufficient."
"With a crowd this size, a single spark could trigger a catastrophe. I expect more 'eyes' on the floor by sundown."
With that, Lust vanished into the crowd outside.
Behind the register, the Skeleton Clerk finally snapped out of it. He looked down at the two silver coins on the counter, using a bony finger to count them.
The retail price of the book was three silver coins.
"General Lust... she... she short-changed me by a silver," the skeleton whispered to itself, its Soul Fire dimming with a sense of bureaucratic despair.