Emergency Merchants Meeting No. 20

"We’ve sent all of our staff to buy up the Firecarp, and we’re storing them in our warehouses," one merchant boss said, his voice rising with frustration. "But it seems like they have unlimited supplies! Every time we think they’ll run out, their shelves are full again!"

Another merchant slammed his palm on the table. "This is impossible! Even the biggest fisheries can’t handle this much production. We need to find where they’re getting that many Firecarp fish. Maybe they’ve got a private fish farm hidden somewhere..."

The group murmured in uneasy agreement. Their faces were pale, their once-proud confidence shattered by an invisible competitor who had turned the entire Firecarp industry upside down.

---

Emergency Merchants Meeting No. 67

A thin, exhausted-looking man stood, waving a report. "We found some people delivering storage rings to that cursed Mina’s Fish Shop!"

"So they’re the suppliers?" another merchant asked, eyes lighting with hope. "Good. Capture them. Force them to tell us where the stock comes from!"

"We did," the man said, voice trembling. "But it’s useless. They’re just bounty hunters—each was paid separately, and all they did was deliver storage rings to the shop at different times. None of them even know who hired them."

"Paid couriers?!" someone shouted. "So it’s a setup—someone deliberately designed this to confuse us!"

"Yes," the man sighed, slumping back into his seat. "We’ve been played."

---

Emergency Merchants Meeting No. 98

"It’s only been four days since that shop opened," said an older merchant, his voice hoarse, "but our market is collapsing! Even the black-market traders have shut down. The Firecarp trade is dead!"

"Dead?! It’s worse than dead!" another barked. "If this continues, we’ll have to close all our shops across the Industrial Cities!"

A silence hung over the room before someone muttered darkly, "It’s all that rich young lady Yumina’s fault. Did anyone find her origin?"

"The investigation says she’s a bounty hunter," one of the assistants replied, flipping through papers. "But... the documents are clearly forged. Whoever she really is, she’s not ordinary."

The room fell quiet again. The air was thick with fear and resentment.

---

No matter how many meetings they held, panic was spreading like wildfire among the merchants. For them, this week felt like the longest of their lives. Sleepless nights, collapsing stocks, and endless rumors haunted them.

By the seventh day since Mina’s Fish Shop opened, the streets outside were still overflowing with people. The crowd snaked all the way down the block, as customers shouted and laughed, carrying bundles of Firecarp fish at prices so cheap it seemed like charity.

Inside the shop, Yumina flipped through the account logs and frowned. "All the storage rings we received today are empty," she said, brow furrowed.

"Of course," Tyla replied, reclining on her chair as if everything was perfectly under control. "They’re the people I hired to act as suppliers. Fake deliveries, real confusion." She waved her hand dismissively. "Finding the real source? Well... good luck to those merchants."

Yumina sighed. "You’re too calm for someone waging war on half the city’s economy."

"Calm is what wins wars," Tyla said with a faint smile. She poured tea into two cups and handed one to Yumina. Steam curled lazily into the air, carrying the scent of jasmine.

Yumina took a sip, still frowning. "But... how are we going to make any profit from this? You’re selling the fish at a loss. At this rate, we’ll just be buried under debt."

Tyla chuckled softly. "Who said anything about making profits now?"

"Huh?"

Tyla leaned forward, picking up a stack of documents from the table. The papers rustled as she flipped through them, finally revealing a neatly organized set of contracts.

"These," she said, turning them toward Yumina, "are long-term supply agreements. Every major restaurant in the city has signed one. They all want guaranteed delivery of Firecarp, they only hope to deliver it to them from lower prices than before — and to do that, they’ll have to work only with Mina’s Fish Company."

Yumina blinked. "You... you’re locking them in?"

"Exactly." Tyla’s smile widened. "Once the old merchants collapse, we’ll buy their entire businesses—at a fraction of their value. Then, when we control the market, the prices will naturally rise again. That’s when the real profits begin."

Yumina stared at her, speechless. "You planned this... from the very start."

Tyla gently set down her teacup, the soft clink echoing like a clock striking the hour. "Of course I did. They refused to come to me when I offered to buy them out. So now, I’ll make them come to me—on their knees."

The sound of bustling customers drifted in through the window. Laughter, haggling, and the clatter of coins filled the air like music. Outside, Mina’s Fish Shop had become a symbol of hope for factory workers —and a nightmare for every greedy merchant in the city.

Yumina looked out at the crowd, her orange hair glowing faintly in the morning light. "You’re really something, Tyla... I almost feel bad for them."

"Don’t," Tyla said simply, brushing a strand of her snow-white hair behind her ear. "They built their empire by preying on others. I’m just flipping the table."

Her calm, confident voice carried an undertone of steel that made Yumina shiver—not out of fear, but awe.

As the two women sat together, tea cups in hand, the city outside continued to buzz with excitement.

Posters fluttered in the wind, showing Yumina’s radiant smile holding a Firecarp fish, the same image that had ignited an economic storm. Merchants whispered her name like a curse, while citizens cheered it with affection.

And at the center of it all, Tyla smiled faintly. Her plan was working flawlessly.

"Do you think the merchants will come?" Yumina asked, glancing up from her cup.

Tyla’s eyes glimmered with confidence as she leaned back in her chair. "Hmmm... just spread a rumor that the sale will continue for a month."

She smiled — not a kind or polite smile, but one that carried a hint of mischief and quiet cruelty. The kind of smile that made people tremble without knowing why.

Yumina sighed. "You’re scary when you smile like that."

Tyla chuckled softly, resting her chin on her hand. "I know."