Damian and Carolla saw a small-framed man with glasses, Zach, the head of sales at the headquarters of the Kingsman Bakery, climbing the stairs flanked by several large bodyguards in black suits.
As soon as Zach appeared, Damian stood up.
"Are you going to meet that Zach guy?"
Damian nodded at Carolla's question.
"That's why I'm here. I've got something to discuss with him."
With that, Carolla stood up too.
"Then I'll come with you."
Damian and Carolla began walking toward the upper floor.
Damian approached the young female employees who were working and asked,
"Where's the office?"
"It's on the third floor, at the far end on the left."
"Got it."
After confirming the office's location from the employees, Damian and Carolla headed upstairs.
The third-floor lounge was very well decorated. It had a flashy yet organized interior, and the cozy atmosphere caught Damian's eye.
In the lounge, he saw young lords and ladies from noble and royal families—regulars at his own bakery—gathered in small groups, enjoying bread and coffee while playing chess and board games.
They were laughing and chatting while playing games, but as soon as they made eye contact with Damian, they froze and couldn't say anything.
"Uh..."
"Um... Damian, sir..."
"Damian..."
Seeing them awkwardly stumbling over their words, Damian smiled and said,
"Whoa there, why the long faces? I'm just another customer here. Haha. Please don't mind me or Carolla—carry on with your games. And feel free to stop by our bakery again whenever you're craving our bread."
"Well then... Carolla, let's go."
"Yeah."
Leaving the young nobles behind, Damian and Carolla walked toward the Kingsman Bakery office, just as the employees had instructed.
Outside the lounge, down the hallway, they spotted the office guarded by large men in black suits and sunglasses.
Damian and Carolla also wore black suits and sunglasses. Carolla, especially, was incredibly intimidating—she was over 2 meters tall, and had massive horns on her head. Anyone watching the scene might mistake it for a showdown between rival gangs.
Still, the two walked with serious energy toward the office. Damian's long golden hair, reaching down to his waist, fluttered dramatically as he strode forward.
When they reached the office, the guards at the entrance looked at them and asked,
"How can we help you?"
Damian gave a polite bow and replied,
"We're here to see Sales Director Zach."
"And who might you be?"
"I'm Damian Marcus, owner of Handsome Guys Bread Bakery and the head of the Lunemire Village Bakery Association. If you tell him my name, I'm sure he'll know."
"Ah... so you're Damian Marcuss. The director did say that if you showed up, we should let you in immediately. Please, go right in."
"Thank you."
With the guards' guidance, Damian and Carolla entered the office.
"Haha! I knew you'd come. Please, have a seat."
Inside, Zach welcomed them warmly. Damian and Carolla sat down on a luxurious sofa meant for guests. Zach sat across from them.
He turned to a beautiful woman in a navy-blue uniform nearby and said,
"Miss Elena, please bring us three coffees."
"Yes, sir."
The woman, Elena, soon returned with three cups of coffee and placed them in front of Damian, Carolla, and Zach.
After taking a sip, Zach spoke.
"So… have you come to give me your decision on my proposal?"
Damian answered,
"Director Zach, your proposal doesn't sound as bad to me now. At first, I was sceptical because Kingsman Bakery is such a huge franchise guild. But seeing it in person today, I must admit—it's more impressive than I thought."
"Then, are you considering opening a franchise with us?"
"Sorry, but no."
As Zach smiled in anticipation, Damian firmly shook his head.
He continued,
"I didn't come here to inquire about opening a Kingsman Bakery franchise. I'm here as the head of the Lunemire Village Bakery Association to discuss a few matters."
"And what matters might those be?"
Zach frowned slightly, clearly displeased.
Damian answered,
"To talk about how Kingsman Bakery and the other local bakeries in town can coexist peacefully."
Kingsman, who had been listening, frowned in displeasure and responded.
"Coexist peacefully? That makes it sound like Kingsman Bakery has no intention of coexisting with the other bakeries here."
"Isn't Damian right?" Carolla interjected with an imposing tone. "You're trying to drive all the local bakeries into ruin and hoard all the profits for yourselves, aren't you?"
Carolla was terrifying even when silent, but now that sshe was speaking, the pressure she exuded was enough to make the surrounding guards freeze in place. After all, how many people dared to approach the former Grand Commander of the Demon King's Army?
Even though she now worked under Damian as a bakery clerk, her fearsome presence hadn't vanished.
Even Kingsman, who had been speaking confidently moments ago, was struck silent by Carolla's aura, as if a cat had caught his tongue.
Damian looked over at Carolla and spoke firmly.
"Carolla. This isn't your place to speak. Right now, this is a conversation between me and Mr. Zach. Do you understand that this isn't the time for you to interrupt?"
"Ah... Got it. I got ahead of myself."
Carolla, realizing her mistake from Damian's lowered and slightly irritated tone, quickly apologized and fell silent.
Damian turned his gaze back to Zach and continued.
"I'm not saying Kingsman Bakery refuses to coexist. But the reality is that many local bakeries have taken a hit because of Kingsman's arrival. That's just the truth. I came here hoping we could talk about that, so I ask you to hear me out."
"Go on, then," Zach said, giving a nod.
"I'm not here to make unreasonable demands. I just want to say this: Kingsman Bakery is certainly impressive—I've seen that firsthand. But it's also undeniable that other bakeries are suffering because of it.
From what I understand, Kingsman Bakery operates year-round with no days off, and stays open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
If you could slightly reduce your operating hours or perhaps set a weekly day off, it would give some breathing room to the smaller bakeries that are on the brink of collapse."
Kingsman smirked and replied,
"Hmph… Mr. Damian, do you really think giving our employees a day off or reducing our hours would actually help the other bakeries survive? Even if we close for a day, do you think customers will just go elsewhere? Let me tell you—our service and flavour are leagues above the rest. Customers won't settle for less. They'll just wait until we reopen."
Damian replied resolutely, "The high-quality service and flavour? As the head of the local bakers' union, I swear to improve those across the board. All I'm asking is a minor concession—to allow local bakeries a sliver of room to breathe."
Kingsman shook his head.
"We have an obligation to serve our customers. They come to us because they want to, and cutting hours would only disappoint them. Besides, how much improvement do you think those other bakeries can realistically achieve?"
"Frankly, aside from your Handsome Guys Bread, most of them are disgraceful. Some sell bread so bad it's an insult to call them bakeries. You really think those places can improve?"
"These are bakers who have run their shops for 10, 20 years. With the right opportunity, I believe they absolutely can improve."
"Well... I don't share your optimism."
"So, in short, you're refusing my proposal?"
"We simply don't see any reason to accept it."
"If you continue to lure in customers this way, all the other bakeries will be crushed. Then what? You'll be the only one left, holding a monopoly."
"Are you accusing us of monopolizing the market? Even if we do end up the only bakery, we have no intention of abusing our position."
"If that's true, then why not accept a compromise for the sake of coexistence?"
"Mr. Damian, we have to make a living too."
"You already seem to be making more than enough profit…"
The tension in their voices was rising. Carolla, who had been silently listening, was boiling with rage inside at Kingsman's attitude. But remembering Damian's words, she clenched her teeth and held herself back.
Damian looked directly at Kingsman.
"So you're saying, without a doubt, you will not accept my proposal."
"There's no reason to."
"I only asked for a minor adjustment to your hours. Had you accepted, I was prepared to offer compensation—even if I didn't join your franchise. But since talks have fallen through like this… I'm disappointed.
Very well, Mr. Zach. If this is the path you've chosen—to use your Kingsman Bakery in Lukemire Village to drive out all competition and monopolize the market—then I won't sit idly by.
Come on, Carolla. Let's go."
"R-Right. Damian."
After Damian spoke, he walked out of Kingsman Bakery's office, and Carolla followed behind.
Left alone, Zach took a sip of his now-cold coffee and muttered to himself.
"Crazy bastard… No matter how well he's doing now, he's just some brute of a Hero who only knows how to fight. What good's his brain, anyway? Even if he teams up with that muscle-for-brains demon, they'll never beat Kingsman Bakery. Hah!"
Outside the bakery, Carolla was visibly fuming.
"What a stuck-up bastard. Seriously."
Compared to Carolla's fury, Damian remained calm.
Carolla looked over, clearly frustrated.
"Damian. Aren't you angry? I'm ready to drop a meteor on that damn bakery."
"If you drop a meteor, it won't just be the bakery that disappears—the whole village will be gone. Don't do anything rash."
"I'm just saying! I'm not actually going to drop one! But man, that Zach guy seriously wants to strangle every bakery in this town, huh?"
"That's why he came here. To do exactly that."
"So what now, Damian?"