Chapter 55: The Performance is About to Begin

After bidding farewell to Pela that day—
Time flew by, and the day of the performance drew closer. Venti temporarily halted his activities in the lower district and stayed in the upper district instead.
However, perhaps out of concern that something might happen to Venti, as the members of Wildfire gradually recovered thanks to the batch of medical supplies, Natasha sent Seele over.

"—Anyway, the boss said he’s really grateful for your help. Next time you come back, he’ll treat you to a drink."
Seele leaned against the wall, speaking like a gang member from some movie.
"That’s good to hear. I’m glad Mr. Oleg is safe. He’s a rare drinking buddy of mine."
Venti sat on the soft bed, his tone relaxed and carefree.

Although it was indeed difficult to get alcohol in the lower district, even under the toughest conditions, people needed something to relieve the pressure.
Otherwise, before solving the problems, they might collapse under the stress. Not everyone was made of steel, able to endure pressure indefinitely.
Not to mention, with people like Sampo around, it wasn’t too hard to get a bottle or two of alcohol, though they could only sip it slowly, not daring to overindulge.
Back then, Venti had boasted about bringing Oleg a few bottles of "flammable oolong tea."
Too bad he’d always been short on funds…

Bringing this up, Seele couldn’t help but lecture him.
"Give it a rest. I still remember who it was that choked on a sip and coughed for half the day."
She even rolled her eyes at the bard.
"Just so you know, if you really get drunk, you’ll be lying stinky and drunk next to the boss. I’m not carrying you back to my place again."
"Don’t worry, don’t worry. I’m 90%, maybe even 100% sure I can outdrink Mr. Oleg this time."
Venti stroked his chin, wearing a confident expression.
"That’s not the point!"
"Ah, could it be that Seele dislikes me?"
"Ugh—! It’s not that I hate you or anything. I just don’t want to bring random strays back to my place."
Seele, as usual, turned her face away, as if avoiding his gaze.

"Ah, speaking of cats, I can’t help but—achoo!"
Venti rubbed his nose. This inexplicable cat-attracting constitution had caused him quite a bit of trouble, especially since the cats here were mostly cold-resistant breeds.
And cold-resistant naturally meant they had a lot of fur. Although stray cats weren’t that common in the alleys, he still ran into them occasionally.
Whenever that happened, Venti had to carefully avoid them.

"Huh? Are you scared of cats? How lame!"
Seele suddenly perked up, her smile widening.
"It’s not so much fear as it is an allergy. Whenever there’s a cat or cat hair around, I start sneezing."
Venti explained helplessly.
"No wonder you’re holed up in this room. On a nice day like this, there should be plenty of stray cats roaming the upper district, right?"
Seele shifted her posture slightly, leaning to look out the window at the bustling cityscape.
The corner of her lips curled into a smirk, though whether it was teasing or mocking was unclear.

Seeing the girl’s obvious resistance, Venti grew a bit more serious.
"Seele, you really don’t like coming to the upper district, do you?"
"If not liking something counts as hating it, then yeah, I guess so."
She didn’t turn her head, speaking coldly.
"Whether it’s the people, the environment, or the buildings here, I feel this insurmountable gap…"
Perhaps unable to vent her frustrations, she roughly pulled the curtains shut, blocking out the glaring light outside. The room was now bathed in a faint gloom, and Venti watched her with concern.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"
The smirk on Seele’s lips vanished, replaced by her usual cold demeanor.
"Because I’m worried about you."
Venti placed his hands on his knees.
"So I want to make a promise with you. If—and I mean if—you wake up one day and find this city has truly gone to ruin, and you want to burn it all to the ground, let me lend a hand."
"...Your thoughts are way too dark, aren’t they? You’re supposed to be an upper district person. Are you sure it’s okay to say something like that?"
Seele sounded both exasperated and curious.

"Haha! A home can be rebuilt, but some things can only be reborn from the ashes."
Venti brushed aside the notion of being an "upper district person" and smiled.
"But just saying that probably leaves you confused. So, how about we put it into practice—"

Earlier, Venti had told Seele that the Supreme Guardian’s authority wasn’t gained through plunder, but through the trust of the people, who entrusted her with leading them out of crisis.
And as for home, being something that easily stirs emotions, destroying it would inevitably bring strong negative feelings. Similarly, people would also give birth to many shining qualities through the act of protecting it.

For Wildfire to make inroads into the upper district, they needed to establish a banner.
First, it couldn’t be tainted with the dark hues of debt collectors, nor could it openly rebel against the existing regime.
They needed to understand the primary and secondary needs of the lower district, rather than rushing to seek revenge.
The resentment hidden in the hearts of most lower district residents wouldn’t be ignored but would be released after Cocolia’s downfall.
After all, by then, she would already be a rat everyone wanted to chase away. Even if the lower district residents acted a bit "extremely," to others, it would just be the final nail in the coffin.

So, after all that, where should Wildfire start?
Seele’s eyes conveyed this question.

"During tomorrow’s performance, the Silvermane Guards will patrol the surrounding streets and the train tracks below to ensure no monsters from the newly formed rift escape there."
"...You want me to make a name for myself there?"
"No, no. A small number of scattered monsters wouldn’t pose a threat to the Silvermane Guards’ patrols, nor would they put pressure on the existing order.
What we need is a bigger stage, one that draws everyone’s attention."
Venti’s eyes sparkled with a hint of amusement.

"I don’t get it." Seele shook her head, looking confused. "We need to make a name for ourselves, but we can’t rely on such a small event. Are we supposed to stage an attack on the Silvermane Guards ourselves?"
"Hehe. You’re actually very close to the answer. While we can’t do anything bad ourselves, someone else can do it for us—"
Venti snapped his fingers lightly, and invisible crystalline elements quickly assembled into a small but incredibly detailed "monster."
Its body was covered in sturdy, alloy-like armor, its form resembling a sea slug, with slowly extending wing structures glowing faintly green.

"...What is this?"
Staring at this fabricated out of thin air monster, Seele couldn’t help but feel a shiver.
"Just a little trick, all show and no substance."
Though this little trick would cause a sensation if revealed to the outside world, the bard of the wind remained as lighthearted as ever.
"On the day of the performance, I’ll let it cause a scene—in a way that the current regime can’t ignore, with overwhelming pressure—"