Riot

"What's the background of that Shadow Trade Association? Can we find out?" Nikolayevich asked gravely. A thousand Low-Rank Apprentices meant nothing to him. Even ten times that number would not concern him. What mattered was the hidden hand behind them.

Granting powers to ordinary people with no supernatural talent was an astonishing feat, even if those powers were only the most basic kind.

It left Nikolayevich deeply unsettled. Gaining power through prayer was the work of a Deity. Had one descended to spread its faith in Friedenburg City?

Whatever the truth, Nikolayevich was certain there was more to this than met the eye. An unimaginable secret lay behind it, and he could not act rashly and let someone use him as a shield. But if he did nothing and let those people run wild, the chaos would soon spread from the Lower District across Fleidenburg. When that happened, he, as Director of the Anomalies Bureau, would have an even harder time escaping blame.

"How are the city government and the nobles' council reacting? And those damned capitalists?" Nikolayevich asked evenly. He was sure someone else would be more anxious than he was.

Cynthia answered meticulously. "There's been no move from the mayor yet. The Dietrich Family has made a strong return to the nobles' council and seems to be preparing behind the scenes to use the Shadow Trade Association to establish its authority. The capitalists have suffered enormous losses. Their factories have stopped, their machines have been destroyed, and I'd estimate each of the biggest factory owners has lost at least two hundred thousand Gold Pounds. But those vampires don't think they've done anything wrong. They spend all day portraying themselves as victims, stirring things up in the newspapers and fishing for sympathy wherever they can."

"Hmph. A pack of