Chapter 108: They, Silently Protecting

The Epidaurus Theater was a stage for artists to express themselves; it was also their place of pilgrimage. Although this ancient theater was located in the Giant Kingdom, it did not belong to any faction. Noble Dragon Species, Dark Nobles, and mysterious Witches—all kinds of entities would gather at the Epidaurus Theater on that specific day. No single nation or organization could bear the cost of monopolizing the entire theater.

Hermes’ Travel Hat, the wealthiest giant chamber of commerce on the Tartarus Continent that essentially monopolized multiple industries, announced it would take charge of opening the Epidaurus Theater. Less than two months later, their liquidity was in crisis, and the budget had ballooned by more than ten times. Was it difficult to hire those artists? No, those artists didn’t need Hermes’ Travel Hat to seek them out. They could hear the sound of the Epidaurus Theater opening; they could hear the voices choosing them. They would flock here like devout believers.

The greatest expense was the maintenance of this ancient theater. Legend had it that this was the place where Divine Era Humans worshipped and praised the Deities. The theater itself was a colossal, mega-scale item. Because it was so ancient, every activation required massive amounts of materials for repairs. Hermes’ Travel Hat was mentally prepared for this, but they still had to bleed money for a complete overhaul because previous operators had haphazardly repaired the Epidaurus Theater.

Hermes’ Travel Hat paid such a massive price for a simple purpose: to promote culture and spread the ideologies of various races. In layman’s terms: product placement. They planned to drape the artists in merchandise from every race, including but not limited to armor, items, accessories, and even potions. This project was proposed by an Advanced partner named Herbie Hermes. The inspiration came from ancient Slave Gladiators who would promote their sponsors’ products before a fight.

Was Herbie the kind of noble person who would pay out of her own pocket to promote and spread the cultures of various races? Absolutely not. Her goal was a monopoly. With the descent of the Foreigners, the world’s geopolitical landscape underwent a massive transformation. The greatest impact was not that Monsters were defeated, but that species once considered hordes of Monsters—such as the Beastmen and the Sky Giants—had transitioned into recognized races. But so far, only Foreigners could trade with these former Monster races without any reservations. These races were eager to integrate into the world, and the best way to do so was through commerce.

Herbie seized this opportunity. Acting as a sales agent, she gathered all the goods from these races into her own hands. Of course, selling to the Foreigners would definitely result in a loss, so she just needed to sell to anyone other than the Foreigners. Various royal families, Counts, massive organizations, and even the Dragon Race and Dark Nobles were her targets. On the grand stage of the Epidaurus Theater, she would display these valuable goods on the most dazzling artists. The audience would be forced to see them, whether they wanted to or not. Even if the audience didn’t care about the items, it would still convey the message that these races were friendly and sought mutual understanding, thus achieving her goal. In this way, Hermes’ Travel Hat would become the bridge between these races—who had just transitioned from enemies to neutrals—and the various Kingdom factions. While making a massive profit, they could also pull strings and continuously expand their trading network.

This wasn’t exactly a high-stakes gamble; rather, after meticulous calculation, they had concluded that it was a solid business deal. However, the unexpected happened. The Foreigners intervened, using extremely vicious methods to force the artists into giving up their chances to perform, completely ruining the product placement plan. And that wasn’t even the worst part.

If they couldn’t advertise, they would just treat it as setting off a very, very, very expensive firework. Numerous royals, Dark Nobles, and the Dragon Race all wanted to watch the performances in the Epidaurus Theater. Just the fact that Hermes’ Travel Hat was willing to open the theater, allowing them to enjoy the shows and the voices of the Singers, was enough to earn plenty of goodwill.

But the Foreigners bought out all the admission tickets for the Epidaurus Theater. The Epidaurus Theater was a mega-scale item. The only way to enter the audience seats was to use the specific item: the Epidaurus Theater Admission Ticket. Great. Unless those high-status individuals were willing to stand outside the theater, not a single one of them would come.

Herbie’s plan fell through. Hermes’ Travel Hat’s investment completely went down the drain. The worst part was that Hermes’ Travel Hat had to continue pouring resources into this project, because for a chamber of commerce, reputation was everything. Since they had made a huge fanfare about opening the Epidaurus Theater, they had to open it.

Now, Hermes’ Travel Hat could only watch helplessly as their investment benefited others. This suffocating frustration diffused to almost every employee of Hermes’ Travel Hat. The most severely affected were, undoubtedly, those responsible for maintaining the Epidaurus Theater. The theater maintenance crew glared with almost hostile eyes at those Foreigners who had usurped the venue. Most of them were veterans who had participated in the maintenance of the Epidaurus Theater in the past. Watching those Foreigners treat the sacred Epidaurus Theater like a playground made them gnash their teeth in hatred.

However, there was one exception. She was a Nun Foreigner, and the theater maintenance crew had a rather high opinion of her. Part of the reason was that this young girl was originally a qualified candidate chosen by the Epidaurus Theater. But the main reason was the young girl’s earnest dedication to the stage. It wasn’t a pilgrimage-like reverence seen in past candidates, but rather a simple earnestness—earnestness toward her own singing, earnestness toward the stage, and earnestness toward the empty audience seats. Even deep into the night, the young girl continued to sing. Listening to her singing, the maintenance workers moved a little faster. Under the miraculous Power of a Singer, their fatigue was dispelled.

Right then, a clamor of noises destroyed this beautiful atmosphere. A group of garishly dressed Foreigners appeared—men and women, frivolous and chaotic. The theater staff frowned, nursing massive headaches. They couldn’t understand how people possessing a Singer’s voice could make such grating sounds. Regardless, the appearance of these Foreigners meant that the young girl’s singing was over.

The young girl stood in a dark corner of the stage, hands clasped, twiddling her thumbs. With lowered eyes, she cast occasional, longing glances at those Foreigners. She wanted to walk over to them and become one of them. Finally, she mustered her courage and took her first step.

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH—make way—there’s dirt over here—"

A theater staff member swept the floor with a broom, drawing a sharp, distinct dividing line between the young girl and those Foreigners, like a swift blade. Startled, the young girl shrank back. The rest of the theater staff immediately gave him a thumbs-up.