Chapter 313 - 241: The Cabbage Rooted Up the Pig

Chapter 313: Chapter 241: The Cabbage Rooted Up the Pig

The City Lord of Twin Tower City had been on edge lately. He felt like he was caught between two opposing forces.

On one hand, an old worker from the Factory district named Mike had been constantly applying for a project—a job fair to promote employment for Tieflings—and wanted to temporarily use the city’s main square.

Every day, the City Lord received proposals like this: some random person popping up out of nowhere with an absurd plan that looked like they’d come up with it on a whim.

Usually, he wouldn’t even bother reading the contents of such plans, just glancing at the title before tossing them.

However, this one was different. It had an investor: the Zog Group.

The City Lord had no idea how much the Zog Group had invested in the matter, or how important it was to them.

This put him in a tough spot. The difficulty wasn’t in how to refuse, but in not knowing what level of support to provide.

It couldn’t be helped; the Zog Group paid an enormous amount in taxes.

Moreover, in Twin Tower City alone, they had created jobs for tens of thousands of people.

If Zog ever decided to move the Group’s headquarters out of the city while he was still in office, the City Lord suspected he would be on his knees, crying and begging them not to go.

From a purely self-interested standpoint, the City Lord ought to throw his full support behind this job fair.

But there was one small problem.

The job fair’s primary target audience was Tieflings.

’It doesn’t matter where they came from; the point is, they’re Tieflings.’

As the City Lord, if he gave it his full support, he would offend the other major force.

The city’s residents.

While he didn’t particularly care about any single resident, the citizenry as a whole was a force to be reckoned with.

’What a headache.’

’Couldn’t the Zog Group solve the Tieflings’ public image problem first, and then recruit them?’

’Aren’t they supposed to be the best at swaying public opinion?’

’So go sway it!’

’Make things easier for a "weak and pitiful" City Lord like me.’

’As long as the public stops hating the Tieflings so much, I’ll immediately throw my full support behind that worker Mike’s proposal.’

What a headache. The City Lord rubbed his forehead in frustration.

The life of a City Lord was like walking on thin ice.

Just as he was agonizing over his dilemma, the door to the room was pushed open. A delicately dressed, sweet-looking young girl peeked her head in, blinked, and called out.

"Daddy."

It was his daughter, Grace.

A brilliant smile instantly lit up the City Lord’s face. This wasn’t a fake smile to amuse his daughter; it was completely genuine.

That’s just how much he adored his daughter.

The moment he saw her, it felt as if all his troubles had been washed away.

As for his son...

They weren’t close.

He hated what he’d looked like as a child, so how could he possibly like a son who was the spitting image of his younger self?

"What is it, my little Princess?"

The City Lord said, imitating the dopey voice of a cartoon character.

"Daddy, don’t use that voice. I’m sixteen, not a little kid anymore."

"But you’ll always be my most precious little Princess."

Grace’s eyes darted, and she bounced over to the City Lord’s side on her tiptoes like a Little Deer.

She asked sweetly, "Daddy, what are you busy with?"

"Oh, I’m thinking about a project involving Tieflings."

"Ah! Tieflings? I think they’re so scary."

"I know. That’s why it’s such a dilemma."

"That must be tough."

As Grace spoke, she moved behind the City Lord and began to give him a "thoughtful" massage.

The City Lord was enjoying it immensely, closing his eyes in comfort. Although his daughter’s technique was far from professional—nothing like a real masseuse—the pleasure was more psychological.

He knew that all this flattery meant one thing: the next step would be her asking for money.

But that was fine. He was more than willing to walk right into the trap.

"Daddy," Grace said.

’Here it comes,’ the City Lord realized. ’The trap.’

But he had already steeled himself, ready to leap in willingly.

"I want a Digital Monster Machine."

"Don’t you already have one?"

"Mine is the Bichu Beast model. I also want the Gabumon one."

The City Lord hesitated for half a second.

"Alright, alright, I’ll buy it for you."

"Thank you, Daddy!"

Grace celebrated happily.

Charisma check: critical success.

"My Lord."

The butler knocked twice on the open doorframe, shattering the brief father-daughter moment.

"You have a visitor."

"What visitor?"

In front of the butler, the City Lord immediately put on a serious, dignified air.

"Er..."

The butler gave the City Lord a troubled look, then shot a meaningful glance at Grace.

As expected of father and daughter, they both picked up on the hint instantly.

"Is it him?"

"It’s him!"

The two spoke in unison.

But their tones were vastly different.

The City Lord’s was laced with fury, while Grace’s was filled with glee.

Peter had arrived.

"That filthy brat from the Factory district, what’s he doing here?"

"Daddy!" Grace said reproachfully. "Peter doesn’t stink at all."

"He’s just the son of some poor worker."

"Peter’s father is a Mechanician, and he’s a very nice man. Besides, what’s wrong with being a worker? If it weren’t for them, where would we get all the things we use every day?"

For the daughter of the City Lord, Grace showed a surprising level of social awareness.

But the City Lord clearly focused on the wrong thing.

"You’ve even met that brat’s father?"

The City Lord couldn’t stay seated any longer.

’Why?’

’His precious daughter met that Peter kid on a single, school-organized field trip to the Factory district.’

’It was just a field trip! An event for rich kids to make an appearance, that’s all. Why would she need to get to know the workers?’

’Who knows what kind of tricks that kid used to charm Grace.’

’He gave her a bunch of crude little models pieced together from machine parts.’

’And Grace treasures them like they’re priceless, keeping them all in her bedroom under glass domes enchanted with Protective Magic.’