Under the watchful and warning gaze of the butler, Julian and Graf stood outside the gates of the estate, expressionless. They waited for about t minutes before being told they could ter. For a wealthy magnate like Heidler, there was naturally a set of protocols to follow.
This was not a stable and peaceful society; the turmoil following the d of the war continued, and the governmt's reforms were worsing social order. So ev wh summoned by a great capitalist, there was a whole process to go through.
After tering the gates, three stern looking m in suits approached them. They asked Julian and Graf to raise their hands and thoroughly searched their bodies. Once they confird that Julian wasn't carrying any weapons and had confiscated Graf's dagger, they were allowed to proceed.
They walked down a long hallway and up to the second floor. In the easternmost room, they finally t Heidler.
At that momt, Heidler appeared to be only about fifty years old. His hair was silver-gray, his face was smooth and wrinkle-free, , with a high nose and thin lips. He was in excellt health, his face glowing with vitality, suggesting that he might be ev older than Julian had estimated.
He wore a very expsive, high d suit with silk fabric from the East, both sturdy and slightly reflective.
His collar and cuffs were adorned with costly gemstones, and ev the buttons on his shirt were made of athyst.
This was a very wealthy old man. The Imperial Chamber of Comrce had only thirty-six council seats, and these thirty-six individuals ruled over everything related to comrce and trade in the empire. From the small shops selling shoes on the street to the operation of steam locomotives, everything was under their control.
So joked that while these thirty-six people wer't emperors, they wielded imperial power!
Heidler was smiling. These big figures all had many masks, and you could never tell if they were wearing one. He gestured for Julian and Graf to sit, ev personally rising to pour them each a glass of gold, crystal-clear wine, placing the glasses in front of them. Julian and Graf both stood as a gesture of politess, unrelated to any personal grievances.
However, while Graf bowed slightly, Julian's back remained straight.
"I arranged for you to be brought here because there are so things I want to discuss with you," Heidler said as he moved behind the table and gestured for them to sit, "I'm a Guar. I know what people say about my father, and I know how so of them slander as well."
He lifted his glass, took a sip, and raised it slightly. "Dwelling on the past will only keep you from seeing tomorrow. We should look forward, chasing the sun and light."
"The Guar people are suffering. The empire has always be wary of us, scattering us across the empire. Like grains of sand on a beach, we can never unite, and that's why our conditions are so poor."
He spread his hands slightly and leaned back into his luxurious, heavy chair. "It is our pride to be born as Guar. We should not succumb to the tricks of fate, just like we didn't in the war of resistance. That was our glory."
"I've heard that soone has established a fellowship association primarily for the Guar people. I was surprised—it's no simple feat, but you managed to do it."
"Julian, may I call you that? What do you think should be the next step in the developmt of the Fellowship Association?"
Heidler's wealth didn't just fall from the sky. After so flattering words, he began to evaluate the young leader of the Fellowship Association. If Julian's ideas were sound, Heidler would recognize him as the leader. But if Julian saw the association as rely a toy or a ga, Heidler would find a way to replace him with soone of his own. He needed a useful tool, not a toy.
Anyone else might have found it difficult to co up with a plan and the right words to deal with Heidler in such a short ti, especially since the birth of the Fellowship Association was more of a coincidce than a preditated decision. But Julian wasn't troubled by this. He had se and expericed far more in his dream than Heidler ever had.
After a momt of silce, Julian gathered his thoughts and spoke sincerely, "Respected Mr. Heidler, I am deeply grateful for your interest in the Fellowship Association, a newly ford organization. I feel honored by your atttion and concern."
"My initial idea for the Fellowship Association was simple: I wanted all Guar people to stand up and resist the unjust fate and treatmt we face. A single finger is easy to break…" Julian extded his right index finger and pressed it down on the table, "But wh the fingers unite, they form a fist—a fist that can injure the emy."
Heidler appreciated Julian's taphor, comparing fingers to the scattered Guar people and the fist to a united group. It was precisely what he needed. Nodding in approval, he gestured for Julian to continue.
Julian withdrew his hand and wt on, "I've be working at the train station, as I'm sure you already know. During this short ti, I joined the labor union. The union gave a kind of unimaginable strgth. It was because the workers stood together that they had…," Julian paused and smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, I forgot…"
"No, please continue," Heidler said, despite being a capitalist himself. Speaking about challging capitalist authority in front of a capitalist was sowhat audacious.
Julian took a deep breath and continued, "It was because the workers united that they gained the ability to challge the capitalists and break free from their cruel exploitation. We Guar are the sa. The reason they began to respect us after our defeat in the war was that they were forced to acknowledge us and give us the respect we deserved."
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