"Your time as Governor is done," Nick said.
Markus furrowed his brows. "And who are you to make such a judgment?"
"It's not me making it. It's Aegis," Nick said.
Markus looked at Simon.
"Markus Julius, Aegis is not satisfied with how you have run Crimson City. The Left Arm has deemed you corrupt, and you will be guarding the entrance of the local stronghold for the foreseeable future."
"Corrupt?!" Markus shouted in rage and shock. "How am I corrupt?! I always gave Aegis the tribute every single year without fail! Even when half the city was destroyed by the Crimson Sea, I still managed to get enough Zephyx for Aegis! A corrupt Governor would have said that we couldn't pay, but I still paid everything!"
Simon didn't seem impressed. "This is not my decision, but the Left Arm's. You can send a letter of protest to her and state your case, but I wouldn't hope for anything."
The current Governor had seemed rather neutral so far, in Simon's opinion.
However, when he saw the Governor's "office", he also felt some disgust.
He wasn't as extreme as Nick, but the sheer wealth in this room alone could probably pay for an entire yearly tribute.
Obviously, Crimson City had wealth to spare.
Sure, in a way, Markus could do whatever he wanted with his profits, but Simon still felt a bit of disgust regardless.
Markus clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "This is an injustice!"
Then, he pointed at Nick. "And who is he that he can just waltz in here and talk to me like that?!"
"I am Crimson City's new Liaison," Nick said.
"Liaison?" Markus asked with furrowed brows.
"I am going to rule together with the new Governor. I will be implementing reforms, which will lead to an increase of 20% of the tribute within five years."
"I can give Aegis more than you, Markus," Nick said neutrally.
"20%?!" Markus shouted. "That is impossible! You have no idea how much Aegis demands every year! 20% will completely bankrupt the city!"
Nick just looked back. "Because you have run it inefficiently. Crimson City is a gold mine. The Crimson Fungus has an entire city from which to draw Zephyx, but you only utilize 20% of it."
Markus snorted. "What? You want to grow the Dregs even more? Weren't you always on about the poor, and now you want them to suffer even more?"
"No," Nick answered. "Quite the opposite."
Markus just sneered as Nick continued talking.
"The blood tax will change from being voluntary to mandatory. The amount of blood paid will be reduced, but everyone will have to pay."
"Inner City, Outer City, lower layer, middle layer, upper layer, Extractors. Everyone."
Markus was taken aback.
Then, he started laughing.
"What naivety!" he shouted. "You want to make these lions pay in blood? You have no idea what they can do! You will be dead within the year, and the poor will suffer even more after that!"
"They want their money, and they will be getting it regardless! If they have to pay with their own blood, they want credits in return that far outweigh the worth of their blood, and they will be getting that! Whether you like it or not!"
Nick didn't seem impressed. "The powerful have power, but in the end, they are also just humans."
"In your endless indulgence, you have grown scared. You are afraid of stomping out a rat because you are scared of getting bitten."
"Your vast storage of Zephyx is wasted. Your power is just wasting away in your possession."
Nick looked at Markus. "No businessman would let their money just rot away in a bank account. You have to invest to make more money."
Markus also wasn't impressed by Nick's words. "Spoken like a naïve child that never had to contend with the true elite of the city."
"You mean yourself?" Nick asked. "The only thing I have seen you do with the elite was lick their boots."
"You were never in control of Crimson City. Kugelblitz, Anatomy, and Ghosty's Lab were."
"But let me entertain that thought for a bit. Assuming I had to contend with the shrewdest businessman in all of Crimson City, someone far more experienced and shrewd than me, who would leave with more money?" Nick asked.
Markus sneered. "Are you saying that you would?" he asked, not convinced.
"Yes, I am saying that," Nick said.
"How?" Markus asked with a snort. "Are you saying you are shrewder than them when you yourself said in your hypothetical that they are the shrewdest?"
"No, I'm not," Nick said, "and the fact that you can't see the answer shows how warped your perception of reality is."
Nick turned to Simon. "It should be obvious to you why I would leave with more money."
Simon frowned.
"Yes, but I don't like the answer," he said.
Nick turned to Markus. "It's the same reason why the Dregs suffer, and the upper layer thrives."
"Power."
Markus frowned.
"I am more powerful than them. The shrewdest businessman will never forget that truth."
"Displeasing the government is the quickest way to the afterlife."
"The shrewdest businessman is so shrewd that they realize this. They will lose on purpose to get on my good side, hoping to gain my support in the future."
Markus just shook his head at the idiocy. "This is not how society works. We all have to abide by the same rules. Society will not exist otherwise."
Nick just looked at Markus neutrally. "I make the rules now, and everyone will abide by them."
"And my rules are that Aegis comes first!"
Markus just kept shaking his head at the stupid and naïve words Nick was speaking.
"I'll let you find out on your own," Markus said with a voice that showed that he gave up trying to convince Nick.
"Sure, I will be guarding the gates of the local stronghold."
Markus smirked. "But that's still a better fate than getting assassinated by some random bread merchant who saw their profits dwindle by a single-digit percentage."
Markus looked at Simon. "I'm ready to go. Do you need anything?" he asked.
Simon asked for several items required to run the city efficiently.
The key to the central console, special contracts, contacts, manuals, finance sheets, and a couple of other things.
It took almost two hours for Simon to get everything in order.
Nick just silently stood to the side.
Finally, all these things were left on the table.
Nick walked over and pocketed all the important things under Simon's supervision.
He would share these things with Aria, who would have to do two jobs at the same time for a couple of weeks.
The government would just barely do enough to keep existing for the couple of weeks that Aria needed, and she would only deal with the most important issues during that time.
Everything else had to wait until she officially assumed the mantle of Governor.
In the end, the three of them left the office, and Nick locked the door with the key.
Nobody would be allowed to enter the office except Aria and Nick.
Simon instructed the guards of the castle about what to do for the next couple of weeks.
In essence, they had to forward the most pressing matters to Aria while stockpiling the unimportant things.
Naturally, the guards were all extremely shocked.
The Governor was leaving?!
Was Aria going to be the new Governor?!
Although, after thinking about it for a while, the guards realized that it actually made sense.
The recent conflict with Anatomy was really bad.
It actually made sense that the Governor would be held accountable.
It didn't even take two hours until everyone in the upper layer knew about the Governor leaving.
The three of them went to the lower layer and left the megastructure.
Outside the megastructure, Simon turned to Nick. "Someone will come for Ghosty within the next couple of days. I have already dealt with the Heroes from Anatomy before we went to Aegis."
"Everything has been taken care of. You and Aria are now in charge."
Nick nodded. "Thank you."
Simon looked at Nick with a frown.
"I hope for the people whose lives ended unjustly that you succeed," he said coldly.
"If I don't, I will die," Nick said evenly.
"I will hold you to your word," Simon said with a threatening voice.
"You may," Nick answered.
Simon looked at Nick.
He didn't see any signs of dishonesty.
Nick seemed deadly serious.
He was really betting on his life.
In a way, this calmed Simon down.
Nick may be irredeemable, but he could still do good for the world.
Maybe there was something to Nick's words.
After all, even Specters could give humanity power and hope by producing Zephyx and granting abilities.
If even a Specter could be used to help humanity, why couldn't a monster like Nick?
A moment later, Simon left with Markus without saying a word of goodbye.
He didn't like Nick, but he wanted him to succeed.
Their methods and values were different, but both of them had the same goal.
Humanity's prosperity.
Simon hoped that Nick would do well, even if that meant that one more monster would keep living in this world.