The Tale of the Redeeming Villain

If there was something that helped then it was the location of the meeting—which was being held in the headquarters nearest to the Academy.

Since Blake didn't have any mode of transportation other than renting a carriage, he decided to walk to that place. Hiring a driver and renting a carriage would cost him ten gold coins—which was equivalent to food and shelter for ten days.

His savings were there but considering the future, Blake decided that he should be using his money only when immensely required. And the main use of that money would be to have his start-up.

However, for now, he needs to take care of this company meeting.

After taking a small meal at the school cafeteria, he left for the meeting nearly at ten.

The news of Saintess being kidnapped by the chairman of the leading glass sculpture company has widely spreaded. And there are various fanatics across the Empire who would come to take revenge. That's why Blake has used a large hood to hide his face and also has done some silly makeup, in case, his hood gets removed by the city guards.

The route from the school to the city where the headquarters was situated was quite straight and safe. It was the direct route of trade after all. Although the school was surrounded by forest, this side was mostly cleared out and regularly the soldiers hunted the beasts around the section to maintain a safe trade route.

Blake was carrying a bag over his shoulder in which he had some potions with him and some money along with a pair of clothes. For now, he has hidden his personal belongings—those which were extremely precious to him—at a secret place that only Blake could access.

Slowly and steadily, while taking some breaks in between, Blake finally reached the Cravock city by half past twelve. It was a tough journey since this body wasn't accustomed to physical work. However, now he was here.

"ID." The city entrance guard asked Blake for an ID—a normal procedure that Blake expected.

He inserted his hand inside his bag and very regretfully tapped five gold coins on the table.

"I think this should do," Blake spoke in a heavy voice. Revealing his identity here would be gravely consequential. There was a high chance that the church of Cravock would get informed about Blake's arrival and they launch an all-out attack on him—in the name of purging the sinner.

The security guard raised his brows, before taking a glance at Blake.

"Add three more or get lost."

Blake gritted his teeth and cursed the man inwardly before his heavy hands dropped the light coins.

"Have a good visit to our city." The guard smiled at him before indicating to his fellow soldier to life the barricade.

Blake harrumphed and walked away. This corrupted world.

After entering the city, he followed his memory to locate the office. He still had fifteen minutes so he wasn't in a rush.

The large office of Bricks and Bans stood taller than most of the houses in the vicinity. Peculiarly painted in black the headquarters gave a very ominous vibe like it was the working space of some mafia.

Outside the main entrance, two guards were stationed wearing the uniform of the company.

Blake took out the letter he had in his bag before showing it to one of the two.

After assessing it thoroughly, the soldier looked at Blake and coldly stated, "Remove the hood."

He did as he was told. The guard narrowed his gaze for a moment but because he must be familiar with Blake, it didn't take long for him to recognize the ex-owner of the company.

"Wait outside." Returning the letter, the guard stated.

Blake took the letter back and covered his face with the hood.

The soldier walked inside the office, to probably notify the others about his arrival.

Under the cloudy sky, Blake remained silently standing for a good five minutes before the door was parted again—revealing a woman this time.

She has long back hair that reaches the middle of her black and her bangs cover her forehead. A pair of deep blue eyes like an ocean which contained particularly no emotions at the moment. She was wearing a formal suit that embraced her supple body quite magnificently.

The woman was Blake's secretary—or more like ex-secretary.

"Lana...long time." Blake greeted the woman only to be ignored as she stated, "Let's go in. Everyone is waiting for you."

There was no surprise that Lana had such a cold demeanor around Blake. He has been a prick to her all this time. Acting rudely and doing everything in his power to humiliate her whenever he could.

Reason? She never yielded to him and always held her head high. Blake only had kept her in this job to break her so he could dispose of her once he was done.

'Quite twisted I was...' Grumbling about his past self wouldn't be of any use so he silently followed Lana, inside the office.

There was an eerie silence that awaited. The walls of the headquarters were made of soundproof material.

After walking through the short lobby they ascended to the second floor. Just opposite the stair end, there was a huge door, of about twice the height of Blake.

Lana opened the door and gave him the space to enter.

Blake heaved a sigh and unhooded himself before walking inside.

******

The atmosphere of the conference room was anything but comfortable.

Blake, in his last life, has met several royalties and people with profound backgrounds. His weapon shop was very famous, so it wasn't a surprise that even the Hero-ranked adventurers came to his shop often.

However, these people inside the meeting room gave a very weird and ominous vibe. They all held a collective emotion of displeasure and animosity towards Blake.

Blake shrugged away the needless concerns and took the seat available for him. He wasn't given the head position like always but there sat a man who had been with the company since the very beginning.

This gesture of sitting positions was enough to signify the motive of this meeting and the decision they have taken, but still, it has to be verbalized.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for assembling here today. I would like to formally initiate this emergency meeting to discuss critical matters concerning the future direction of our company." A blond young man who was one of the department heads began.

Standing up he walked to the other side of the table and spoke again, "As we all know Brick n Bans has been a leading company in the field of sculptures and glass products for the past six years. Our trade and local sales have reached their peak if we consider the last six months' report. And what makes us special and favored is the trust of people in us. Our reputation gives us the confidence that our future will be better than our past. And we, as a unit sharing a common interest, must exercise the necessary measures to ensure the safety of our reputation."

Near the end, the eyes of the speaker turned sharp at Blake—only to be ignored by the latter.

The room went silent for some moments before the gray-haired man in the head position spoke up, “We know you have done a lot for this company Blake, but because of your misdeed we cannot afford to have you in this company.”

Extending a document toward Blake, the man asked, “Sign the resignation and leave the company, Blake.”

Without a single hesitation, Blake took the document and began to read through it.

He didn't find anything wrong, so he took out his pen and signed it.

A round of gasps resonated across the room as Blake stood on his feet.

“Okay then gentlemen, it has been a great time working with you. Goodbye.”

Without another word, and under numerous widened gazes, Blake began to walk out.

His journey with Bricks and Bans ends here.

*******

A/N:- There will be a change in Perspective in the next chapter. I hope you all are enjoying the story. Drop a comment.