CHAPTER 533: CHAPTER 533 - PREPARING TO LEAVE CERYNEIA (PART 3)

Right after we talked a bit, three men came rushing through his office door without knocking. I remember these people as the senior receptionist of the information office named Cid, the head chef of the restaurant named Ponz and the lead auctioneer at the auction hall named Nen. It seems that Levi is quite exceptional at training people since with just these three, the businesses can be reopened and do well with their skills alone.

The bunch came in carrying about two to three huge pieces of luggage each, all sweaty and looking panicked as if their boss has abandoned them. I could see the relief in their faces when they saw that Levi is still in the office having a friendly conversation with me.

Levi looked stunned at how the three of them looked as they went through the door but then he ended up laughing at the them afterwards. The three scowled like children but did not comment on their boss’ heartlessness.

It took a few minutes for Levi to stop laughing at the trio. After he’s done with his little happy moment, he waved his hand and all the luggage disappeared into the storage ring that I gave him. The three looked stunned at what just transpired but then a glint appeared in their eyes. As if demanding a pay back, they started bombarding Levi with requests to bring a ton of other stuff with them if they were to transfer to a new workplace away from Ceryneia.

Levi clicked his tongue as if very annoyed but he still followed their wishes in the end. He also admitted that he has already raided and took all the contents of all the vaults and warehouses inside the three businesses (information office, restaurant and auction hall). His three aides said they knew about what he did that but they were pertaining to taking all the furniture and other working equipment found in the three separate buildings.

Levi looked at me as if consulting if the storage ring could actually accommodate that many things at once and I simply nodded my head in response. With my assurance, he finally sighed and agreed to do what the trio wanted.

With that said, we took everything in the restaurant from eating utensils, cooking utensils, wall decorations, light fixtures, table cloths, curtains and even the dining table and chairs. We also raided the other two buildings until their floors, walls and ceilings are all bare. I think these four are planning to rebuild the establishments the same way the looked like once they start doing business again in Sohmiren.

After the tiring task of packing everything up as quickly as possible, Levi murmured towards me that the ones that decided to go with me were already making their way to Ash City as of the moment. As for those that chose to stay behindú up to us, he gave them 3 months worth of their salaries so that they can stay afloat while looking for their next job opportunities.

The five of us went back to Levi’s main office inside the information hall. As we did, I already noticed a few people watching our every move from the shadows. I guess I will have to make a special delivery for these three straight to Marahuyo if they were being watched over this much. I even noticed that one of the spies was the person talking to a certain prince a few days ago.

I acted the usual while being very cautious to avoid alerting the ones hiding in the shadows. Once we are inside the confines of Levi’s office, I erected a soundproofing barrier and began to discuss the things that I have noticed on our way back. I also told them the solution I came up with and they readily agreed to the teleportation as long as they can leave safely.

With that agreed on, I started the teleportation circle with its destination set as the plaza in Marahuyo. I have already given a heads up to the elders that there may be sudden teleportations concerning Merfolk within a few days after Marius and I leave the sanctuary so they should be prepared for the arrival of this first batch.

Within a minute, the teleportation portal was completed and the four of them hurriedly went inside the circle. I told them to stay in the house by the river temporarily while waiting for the others. They bid their short goodbyes towards me as they went their merry way to Marahuyo in a flash.

After that, it was also my turn to teleport straight inside the inn room that I was sharing with Lir. I don’t want the spies to find out that they are waiting for nothing while they were camping out of the information office. Lir was surprised to see me suddenly appear out of nowhere but he simply brushed it off and chose to not ask anything about how I did it.

I decided to lay down and chill for a bit while inside the room, waiting for the three hour period to pass. I even bought some food to eat so Lir and I can have an early lunch inside our room to pass time.

Once the three hour period is over, I told Lir to pack up all of his belongings because it is finally time to visit the stores and shops we passed by yesterday to leave notes in. We shall help whoever is already geared up to leave and get them moved out before we finally go back to Coal City to fetch Lir’s father and sister.

After ironing the plans for later, we then alighted the stairs and went down the lobby. We talked to the receptionist to settle everything and checked out of the inn. I also bribed the receptionist to not tell anyone who asks that we have already checked out of our room.

Instead of walking out of the street, we went to a secluded part of the inn then teleported to the inside of Levi’s personal study inside the information office. I chose this because I want to give the illusion (and also confusion?) that I just concluded my meeting with Levi and the trio. By being seen leaving the building with only Lir in tow, the stalkers of my four companions will think that they all chose to stay back inside the office with no intention of leaving anytime soon.

Honestly, I missed doing this little hide and seek game we are doing right now. The last time I did this was in the entertainment district, trying to hide from pursuers.

What can I say? There is a certain satisfaction when you get away with what you need to do and giving a loss to the other party.

Well, that is just the way I think. I am sure my companions are thinking and feeling the opposite though. They must be all nervous and scared of being caught any time.

When Lir and I exited the information hall, we chose to turn left instead of going right which we used to take to go back to the inn. We went straight to the area where stores, workshops and factories were located. I decided to visit the largest workshop first to see if they are ready to leave.

Our walk only took about 10 minutes until we reached the biggest workshop in the city. We stood in front of an impressive and huge looking set of doors with intricate carvings and metal trimmings as the design on it. After admiring the exterior of the building, I decided to knock on the door.

After knocking a few more times, somebody from inside the building finally answered. A young man peeked from inside the door and when he saw me, a hint of reverence and awe appeared on his face as he quickly opened the door wide. He guided me to the private office of leader of this workshop a.k.a the "mini sanctuary".

After a few twists and turns along the corridors, we finally reached the private office. I was always observing my surroundings and can’t help but notice how simply designed everything was. The leader briefly explained that he’d rather not be extravagant, only to end up having eyes including that of the nobles’, prying on every move his business makes.

In the end, the leader actually chose to stay simple, using the money he earned to pay his staff better and even buy meat and vegetables for his people to share when they eat together instead having a luxurious looking personal office to flaunt his status. With this alone, I can say that this place has found a good leader indeed.

Since our little chat was over, we went out of his office and then went to the main warehouse of this company. As he pushed the door open, what welcomed was a room full of people who were talking to each other. The feeling of the room was somewhat that of excitement and a bit of impatience for what’s ahead for them.