The Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce was a behemoth.
That might be hard to conceptualize, but just knowing that its emergence had overturned everything the people of Lakeside City knew, bringing all kinds of magical tools and even changing their way of life, should suffice.
Its products filled every aspect of life, from high-end to low-end—there was no domain it didn’t touch.
It could be said to completely dominate people’s lives, since no one could compete with it.
The Northland States had thought about replicating or even stealing its secrets, but there was one crucial prerequisite: they had to thoroughly understand the Magic Theory that originated from Talrond Academy.
In the past, Magic Users looked down on such fundamental theoretical research.
They believed magic should pursue complex and profound structural deductions, not exhaustively study the origin of Magic Power—that didn’t improve them personally.
But now, with the birth of Magical Engineering, the rise of Magic Theory, and the promotion of Potion advancement, even the old version of Magic Users, who relied on Bloodline growth, were facing elimination by this world—let alone other aspects.
Although many still stubbornly clung to their old ways, refusing to learn new things, there were also plenty willing to change. They started learning theoretical knowledge from scratch, hoping to strive for the top in the new era.
But theoretical knowledge wasn’t something you could master in a day or two.
So, adhering to the unscrupulous principle that “doing it yourself is worse than stealing, and stealing is worse than robbing,” the high-level Northland Alliance came up with a solution: just seize it directly. That was why they targeted the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce.
The fact that a multinational alliance was wary of it showed just how influential it was.
Everyone on the Council Seats was also debating this matter heatedly with those around them.
“This is clearly targeting the Lily of the Valley Chamber.”
“Exactly. After all, the Lily of the Valley Chamber occupies far too much market share. They’re present in every aspect of clothing, food, housing, and transportation. Many people even owe their jobs to them. If this continues, it’ll be impossible to get by without the Lily of the Valley Chamber.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? As the saying goes, ‘When the whale falls, everything thrives.’ Then we can have a sip of broth too. Whether we get meat depends on our own abilities.”
“Right. The fall of such a big chamber is a hundred benefits with no harm to us. It has nothing to do with us anyway. And those lost jobs… aren’t they also unrelated to us?”
“You make a good point, brother. I recently invested some money in the Tea Rose Chamber through Marigold. I’m sure I’ll make a huge profit. I knew this was a golden opportunity!”
“Ah? You already invested? After the meeting, I’m going to Marigold to invest in the Tea Rose Chamber too. You can’t be the only one making money!”
On this matter, everyone unanimously favored the four major chambers.
After all, for them, the Lily of the Valley Chamber was ultimately an outside force, and one from the Zephyr Empire at that.
The Northland States educated their youth to hate the Zephyr Empire, seeing them as irreconcilable enemies.
They claimed that Zephyr was a thief who stole the achievements of the Golden Empire, while they, the Northland States, were the true descendants of the Golden Empire that had pioneered the human era—the real masters of the Southern Continent.
Of course, there were also some who were quite anxious—those who had direct or indirect cooperation with the Lily of the Valley Chamber, as well as some social Reputation figures who had favorable impressions of the Zephyr Empire.
Although the other chambers also had monopolistic behaviors in their own industries, they were the ones pushing the bill. How could they put themselves on the chopping block? Once the Lily of the Valley Chamber was carved up, they could pretend the bill never existed. The others, having eaten their fill, wouldn’t go looking for trouble.
That was the situation now.
Lucia, standing behind Enya, naturally understood the meaning of the Anti-monopoly Act. A look of anxiety appeared on her face.
Lucia cast a glance at Enya, only to see her yawn lazily. Many people noticed this languid little gesture.
What does she mean?
From a distance, Penrose saw a scene that was clearly fraught with danger—like an Assassin drawing a strange dagger, a wolf baring its fangs at a lamb—yet the lamb about to be slaughtered looked on indifferently.
She should be nervous. How can she be so nonchalant?
I’m already getting worked up…
Damn it!
Penrose gritted his teeth secretly, glaring gloomily at the calm Enya.
In his eyes, he saw only a Second Tier Magic User woman sitting in that seat as the representative of the Lily of the Valley Chamber.
A weak, pretty vase—that was everyone’s first impression upon seeing Enya.
Though Penrose was puzzled, he didn’t think Einfel had any real backing.
He couldn’t even imagine what power could possibly contend with such a massive force as the entire Northland States.
The Zephyr Empire, consumed by internal strife, didn’t have the capacity!
On the Council Stage, Horn signaled for silence.
Then, Horn announced the details of the bill and intended to push it forward as quickly as possible. Next came the voting session, which took quite a bit of time.
After the votes were tallied, there was an overwhelming majority in favor and only a few against.
As beneficiaries of the status quo, they didn’t care about others’ suffering. They wished for the Lily of the Valley Chamber to die quickly so they could feast on its corpse.
But this was only the first stage. The second stage was the vote of the five major chambers, since they were the actual force capable of driving this bill forward.
Taylor of the Abundant Harvest Chamber voted in favor.
Vincent of the White Wave Chamber voted in favor.
Penrose, the chamber master of the Tea Rose Chamber, naturally also voted in favor.
But when it came to the Marigold Chamber, there was a difference.
Melita felt all eyes on her. She lightly covered her mouth with her hand, cleared her throat, and then spoke.
“Abstain.”
Taylor, Vincent, Penrose, and Cleveland were all stunned. Horn, who had been so confident on the stage, now narrowed his eyes and glanced back at Melita.
They all shared one doubt: what did this woman mean?
They had agreed beforehand to vote the decisive “yes” together. Four votes against one would secure a crushing victory and establish the bill’s legitimacy.
But now Melita, representing the Marigold Chamber, had abstained.
Abstention didn’t mean opposition, but it didn’t mean agreement either. They needed agreement—a unanimous direction!
Only when everyone was the same would the one who differed be highlighted as the villain, giving moral justification for any action.
Marigold’s sudden abstention caught them off guard. Even everyone on the Council Seats was shocked by this scene.
In Lakeside City, the Marigold Chamber was notorious for valuing money over face. Many had been tricked out of large sums by their fine print.
With such a golden opportunity to make money, how could a lending organization like them not want to cash in big?
The Lily of the Valley Chamber’s assets were already worth more than the combined total of the other three chambers besides Marigold. If the Lily of the Valley fell, Marigold would be number one.
And yet, at this moment, she chose to play neutral.
Taylor was furious, cursing Melita as a shameless bitch in his heart. Horn on the stage felt much the same, though as a somewhat cultured old man, his curses were tinged with scholarly sourness.
Enya turned her head to glance at Melita, knowing her lunch today was secured. A faint smile curled at her lips.
Melita still has some imagination—she knows that even a force on the level of the Northland States can be toppled.
Or perhaps…
Enya’s eyes narrowed. For an instant, her pupils turned into golden-red vertical slits as she fixed her gaze on Melita.
Then, she quickly withdrew her gaze.
After Melita voted, it was Enya’s turn, seated beside her.
Despite Melita’s abstention, they all knew that no matter how much they opposed, a momentum had already been built. Though Melita had slightly dampened it, it was still enough to finish off the Lily of the Valley Chamber. Enya’s choice didn’t matter—she could only decide whether to struggle in vain or lie down.
Enya signaled for Lucia behind her to lean in.
Lucia stepped forward and put her ear close to Enya. After hearing Enya’s words, she pursed her lips and called out to the conference hall.
“Abstain.”
This choice was unsurprising, even expected.
But the atmosphere in the conference hall wasn’t lively—it was still dampened by Melita’s earlier abstention.
At this point, Penrose finally let out a sigh of relief.
When Melita abstained earlier, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
This matter was of great importance to him. If he could pull it off, he would swallow most of the Lily of the Valley Chamber’s assets.
With that, he could ascend to Lakeside City’s upper echelons, join the larger group of the Northland States, and take a major step forward in life—instead of staying holed up in a corner of Lakeside City as a chamber master who had to watch others’ expressions.
It’s going to succeed…
It will succeed!
When Penrose heard Lucia call out the abstention, he felt more thrilled than after sex. But there was still something unsatisfying.
He would have preferred to see his opponent struggle desperately.
Penrose looked over at Enya. Though he didn’t see any sign of panic on her face, he still sneered and muttered.
“Heh. You’re powerless to turn things around.”
After saying that, he still felt it wasn’t enough. He requested to speak.
Horn saw this and nodded in approval.
A speaker was placed in front of Penrose. Facing everyone, he directly addressed Enya.
“Ms. Einfel, I’m very curious—why did you choose to abstain? This is a bill that benefits everyone. We all voted in favor, except… ahem, you chose not to take a stand?”
He had wanted to say “except you,” but then realized Marigold had also abstained, losing him the chance to use “only you.” So Penrose hurriedly adjusted his wording.
A male servant carried a speaker and placed it on a stand in front of Enya’s seat—clearly expecting her to speak.
Enya swept her gaze over the group and shook her head inwardly.
Short-sighted, aren’t you?
Originally, I was just going to do a side quest. But now it’s turning into a main quest. Guess I should wrap it up soon.
Since you want me to speak, I’ll tell you properly.
You want change?
Then let Einfel see it through to the end for you.
Enya smirked wickedly.