Chapter 158: The Grand Imbalance

The next program started shortly afterward. This one had a much larger studio. There were far more people in the audience, and the scale itself was enormous.

Marek looked at the title appearing above the screen.

THE GRAND IMBALANCE

“What’s this one?” he asked while several people appeared during the introduction.

Rhovan didn’t answer, although Marek noticed that he had suddenly become much more interested in looking somewhere other than the enormous display above them.

“Rhovan?”

“What?”

“Why are you looking away?”

“I’m not.”

Marek was about to point out that he obviously was trying to ignore him when another person appeared on the screen.

He recognized the face almost immediately.

Kellan apparently did too because he suddenly pointed toward the display. “What the fuck?! That’s Rhovan!”

Several people inside the transport hub looked toward them after hearing him, but Kellan didn’t seem to care. Nadia was already comparing the person on the screen with Rhovan himself, while Silas and Eren had also started paying more attention to the program.

Marek looked toward Rhovan. “You were on this show?”

Rhovan finally looked back at the screen and sighed. “Once.”

“Why?” ℴℴ𝗺

“It happened a long time ago,” Rhovan answered.

But that didn’t answer anything. Nonetheless, the program started explaining the dispute before Marek could ask again.

Apparently, another celebrity had accused Rhovan of taking a reserved seat after leaving it briefly to use the bathroom.

Marek waited for something a little bit serious to come after that. However, like the previous couple, nothing did.

The entire case was really about a chair.

“Seriously?” Marek asked.

Rhovan ignored him.

On the screen, the host turned toward the recorded Rhovan. “Did you take his seat?”

“I occupied the chair after he ceased occupying it,” Rhovan replied.

The ceremonial scale remained completely still.

Kellan immediately started laughing, while the other celebrity in the recording looked like he wanted to throw something at Rhovan. “I went to the bathroom!”

“A regrettable tactical decision.”

Nadia covered her mouth after hearing that, and even Silas looked amused.

Marek turned toward Rhovan again. “You actually said that?”

“Apparently.”

“You’re literally watching yourself say it.”

“Then I suppose we have excellent evidence. Why ask in the first place?”

Marek shook his head and looked back at the screen.

The host tried again. “You knew he was coming back.”

The on-screen Rhovan barely seemed bothered by the accusation. “I considered it statistically probable.”

The scale still didn’t move.

By then, Kellan was laughing hard enough that people around them had started looking over again. Marek also finally understood what Rhovan had been doing. He wasn’t lying to the host. He was simply refusing to answer anything beyond the exact wording of the question.

The host had also understood it too because his expression had become less patient. “You deliberately sat there because he left.”

“Yes.”

The scale moved slightly.

Rhovan glanced toward it. “Ah. Better question.”

Nadia started laughing again.

Marek stared at Rhovan for several seconds before asking, “Were you seriously using the entire show to teach the host how to question you?”

Rhovan took another drink. “He was improving.”

Eren was trying not to react too much, although Marek could clearly see him smiling.

By the end of the episode, the host finally announced Rhovan’s punishment. For the next seven days, he wasn’t allowed to use the words technically, statistically, or arguably during any public interview.

Marek looked toward him. “Did you actually follow that?”

Rhovan remained quiet for a moment. “I objected.”

“Of course you did. That’s how I imagined the way you’d react.”

On the screen, the on-screen Rhovan was already arguing that the three words did not belong to equivalent categories. The scale dropped again before he could finish.

Kellan started laughing all over again.

For the rest of their time inside the transport hub, everyone kept bringing up the episode.

Rhovan eventually threatened to leave them behind.

That threat wasn’t particularly effective anymore because Rafe knew how to return to Goldwake House without him.

Several more days passed like that.

By then, Marek had become much more comfortable living in Courtspire City.

He still didn’t know most of the city, and there were probably districts larger than places he’d visited back on Earth, but he no longer felt completely lost.

Goldwake House had also started feeling like an actual home. Maybe not the same kind of home he had back on Earth. Still, it was somewhere he could return to. He should have nothing to complain about.

One night, everyone ate dinner inside the sitting room because nobody wanted to move everything toward the dining area.

Rhovan turned on one of the public broadcasts.

Nobody paid much attention at first.

Kellan and Nadia were arguing about something they bought earlier, while Dario was eating enough food for several people. Rafe was using his communication device. Silas was sitting quietly. And Eren was watching the broadcast.

Marek was also listening from time to time, although most of the reports weren’t particularly interesting.

Eventually, a report from The Equal Standard appeared. The footage showed another part of Courtspire.

Marek hadn’t been there before.

The buildings looked older than the ones around Goldwake House, and several areas were filled with construction barriers and redevelopment notices.

Then, the district’s name appeared.

LANTERN VERGE

Marek remembered hearing about it before.

Apparently, there had been an ongoing redevelopment dispute between some residents, private contractors, and several government offices. Some people wanted the redevelopment because the district needed better transportation, newer housing, and better public facilities.

Others were worried that the new developments would become too expensive and eventually force existing residents to move somewhere else.

Marek listened while eating.

He wasn’t particularly interested in politics, but he understood why people would argue about something like that.

Then, the report moved toward healthcare funding.

Eren became more attentive.

The Equal Standard showed several figures related to public-health spending and clinic services inside the Lantern Verge. Some residents claimed that the amount being reported as spent did not match what they were actually receiving.

Several contractors denied that anything was wrong.

According to them, the figures were being misunderstood because some of the funding included services that wouldn’t immediately appear through basic clinic statistics.

Marek looked at Eren. “You think something’s wrong?”

Eren continued watching the numbers. “I don’t know.”

“But you’re staring.”

“Because they’re talking about money.”

The report continued for several more minutes.

There were arguments involving contractors, public funding, housing, and several redevelopment projects that Marek didn’t completely understand.

Eventually, he stopped paying attention. It had nothing to do with Tomas. Nor did it have anything to do with him.

As far as Marek knew, the Lantern Verge was simply another district somewhere in Courtspire City.

So, he continued eating while Eren watched the rest of the report.

Author’s Note: How are you liking the novel so far? Volume II had a lot of worldbuilding, so please bear with me as I’m making it interesting to read. Anyway, thank you so much for reading until this chapter! Any gift is welcomed! Hehehe. :]