kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Chapter 174

"Is something wrong?"

"I came to talk to you about Misa. I considered coming later, but this was important enough to come right away."

"Did something happen to her?"

"We ran into an idiot named Randall, from the Salbert family."

Their expressions changed when I mentioned his name.

"Was everything okay?"

"No one got hurt, but he did make fun of Misa."

Though, even verbal abuse was probably quite hurtful to a child like Misa.

"Again…?"

Gran-san muttered, sounding annoyed.

"I only heard a bit about this, but are your relations with the Salbert family really that bad?"

"It’s bad, and has gotten even worse lately. This harassment began a few years ago. It was very minor at first, so nobody really knew who was doing it. That’s why we have been ignoring it until recently, but now, they harass us without even trying to hide it, like Randall bullying Misa openly for instance. I complained to his parents about this, but they just told me not to interfere with mere children’s quarrels."

Gran-san told me, obviously frustrated.

Did Randall’s parents not understand that words could hurt as well?

Some people could never recover from bullying, and a few even ended up killing themselves over it.

"So, does that mean you are getting harassed yourself, Gran-san?"

It seemed like the conversation would get long, so I took drinks out of the Bear Box for the three of us.

The two of them gladly took their drinks and took a long sip.

"The Commerce Guild master is now under the control of the Salbert family."

"Didn’t you try to object to that?"

"We did, but without any real evidence…"

"How did you find out about it anyway, then?"

"Ah, that’s because more and more merchants are working for the Salbert family."

Cliff, who had been just silently listening till now, cut into the conversation.

"More and more goods are being supplied only to the districts owned by the Salbert family, making other people unable to buy them anywhere else but there."

"Yes, and because of that, my districts began to suffer."

"Did you try to talk to the Commerce Guild about it?"

"Yes, and the merchants said that they are free to sell their products wherever they want to."

"Well, your residents should still be able to buy things, right? They just have to go to one of the Salbert districts."

"Yes, but that hurts the merchants in the Faren Gramm districts. Some are even moving to the Salbert districts."

"Do guild masters really have such influence?"

"It’s less about influence and more about corruption. If one of the shops here tries to purchase something from the Commerce Guild, they are offered only ridiculous prices."

"And, that’s why merchants are migrating to Salbert area, since it is now the only place to get normal prices."

"What a low move, making competitors from another area unable to buy things."