Proofread by Thomas F
"It fills me with joy, seeing you all sitting here," I said to a hall filled with merchants. "You all have stayed, when many abandoned the guild and the city,"
That statement had made many merchants look away. They are the ones who had abandoned the city.
"This loyalty and commitment leave no doubt in my heart about the prosperity of the Merchant Guild and the city." "Especially when the capable hands of Guildmaster Reed are steering it," I said as I looked at the man.
I am in the merchant guild's ballroom, with hundreds of members sitting in front of me.
It is the inauguration of the new merchant guild council. I had filled all the unoccupied seats; each was occupied by those who stayed in the city.
Many of their past leaders have returned, and they are now sitting among members.
They will not be part of leadership again.
Unless I have no choice, I will always choose those who are loyal. I have made this a policy across all the guilds and departments of the city.
I want to make it clear that loyalty would be rewarded, but that doesn't mean I won't give the new people a chance.
They will get the chance they deserve. If I chose only the loyal, I risk missing out on many capable people, which is the last thing I want to see happen.
I finished my speech, and the new Guildmaster got up.
"Thank you, Lord Silver, for giving me this opportunity. The opportunity, only your dominion could give to a small merchant like me," he said
I didn't increase the members and kept it small. It is enough to support its current needs, but I did make a small change.
In the previous council of the three Vice-Guildmasters, two were from small-sized businesses and one was medium-sized.
Now, the three vice guild masters are from small, medium, and large businesses, respectively.
I had to give one seat to a large business; they are demanding all three since I made Beckette Guildmaster, but of course, I am not going to do that.
Although large businesses are important, small businesses take priority.
More than 50% of the business taxes come from small businesses, which are also the most innovative.
The primary reason for my focus is to help these small businesses grow significantly. Maybe in a few years, some of them could become big businesses, and one might even turn into a giant.
It will take years and decades, but it will happen if I start from today and continue to support them.
I left the guild a few minutes ago, and soon my carriage stopped at the city hall.
It had been a month since the battle, and the city hall had returned to its peak numbers, and we are still hiring people.
We need more. For us, Panar and Gailhorn.
Especially more for us. Seeing that we will need more people due to the city's expansion.
I am planning to release the plots by the end of the week. The city's population is growing, but with sky-high prices, not everyone can afford the land here.
The prices are the highest in the whole region, and they are yet to stabilize.
I don't think they will stabilize soon, but they shouldn't rise as fast as they are right now.
Soon, I reached my office and saw Julian sitting there. I waved him into my office.
"Lord Silver," he greeted. "Commissioner," I replied, and he sat down in front of me.
"How are things, Commissioner?" I asked. "Good, my lord," he replied. "We are taking all the precautions so that the bad influence of Gailhorn remains contained there," he added a moment later.
Law enforcement-wise, things are good in Greltheaven and Panar, but not so much in Gailhorn.
Things had been bad in Gailhorn. The army was handling it, but they were not well-suited to deal with the problems that require flexibility.
That is the domain of the police.
There are local gangs and a lot of people with an addiction, which we are trying to help.
"Have you made all preparations?" I asked. "Yes, I will be leaving in the evening," he replied. He is leaving for Gailhorn and taking some of his men with him.
There are still two weeks before the army hands over control to the police, but given the recent developments, I need to send him there sooner.
Three days ago, we caught a consignment of drugs entering the city. However, that's not the reason I am sending him there.
The reason is White Crown, the gang.
A few days ago, the merchant state sent non-military intelligence that one of the top leaders of the White Crown is coming to the Gailhorn.
Last night, the intelligence service and the army raided their safe house and were able to catch one of the men who came with him.
What he told us not only confirmed what merchants' intelligence had revealed, but also made me realise how deep the trouble runs.
I need to rip it out before its roots reach deeper and, God forbid, spread into the rest of the dominion.
It is why I had taken several precautions. I controlled the number of people entering and leaving Gailhorn, and I did the same with soldiers.
Only those who cleared all checks are allowed to leave.
It hindered us and delayed our plans, yet I will take control before this corruption seeps into other cities.
It is why I am sending Julian to deal with it. His priority is to find and deal with the vice-leader of the White Crown; second, to uncover the hidden load for which he came.
The third is to clean up the city of the gangs.
I understand enough that gangs couldn't be eradicated. If we kill one, another will take its place, but we could control them. Let those live who toe the line.
"Good luck and keep me updated about your progress," I replied.
Although the things he has to do will not be easy, I have confidence in him.
"We will announce your promotion after you return," I added. Now he is the commissioner of Greltheaven, but I will soon promote him to Chief of Police.
Commissioner is the title for the city; it worked till now, but now that we have three cities in the dominion, it is no longer effective.
He will need a more suitable title to lead all the police in the dominion.
"Thank you, my Lord," he replied.
"I will give you an answer on your replacement by then," I said, and he nodded.
Greltheaven will need a police commissioner to replace him. He had already provided me with a list of names, and it includes some good people.
He left soon after, while I focused on my work.
Too quickly, it was evening, and I walked out of the city hall. It is a bit earlier than usual for me to leave, but I am meeting someone in Legacy.
The carriages moved through the lighted roads of the city. I could see carriages and people, with police patrolling through every street.
High security presence is necessary due to the large number of people coming to the city.
People looking for jobs, people returning, tourists, and more. Not all of them behave. We need to deal with them as swiftly as possible.
It also creates a perception of security, which helps bring more people and tourists to the city.
Soon, the carriage reached the tower, and I got out.
There are people, as always, a line of them. I will have to do something about them. Design a new system that reduces the time people spend waiting in line.
I stepped into the elevator and it began to move up.
It moved fast, and within seconds, it reached the top floor, but the elevator didn't stop. It kept moving up before stopping at the roof.
The screen opened, and I walked out; there were two people already there.
Carla and a middle-aged man, built like a mercenary, but he is not a mercenary.
He is the man I am going to ask for a lot of money from. I have been doing that a lot for a couple of weeks, but this will be my most significant ask, aside from the money I got from Salazar.
"Lord Silver," greeted the man. "Mr. Shaw," I replied. He is Valdris Shaw, manager of Repose and Bulwark, the bank.
"How have you been?" I asked. "I am great, my lord," he replied. During the battle, he hadn't left; managers of nearly every team had left, but he didn't.
This is another reason why he is the first person I called to ask for money.
"Has Carla told you why I had called you here?" I asked. "No, Lady Salt didn't mention anything, but I could guess," replied the man with a smile.
"The higher-ups had informed me that we are willing to finance the expansion of Velvet Garden," he informed.
I am not surprised by it.
I paid my instalments on time. On top of it, I have provided them with a substantial amount of emotion essence, which, even with their level of wealth, is hard to come by.
"I wonder, they will be of the same opinion when I state the number," I replied with a smile.
It surprised the man, before his expressions turned all business.
"How much?" he asked. "Before I tell you the number. Let us show the expansion of the legacy," I replied and turned to Carla.
"Please, give me your hand. Mr. Shaw," said Carla. He looked at me in hesitation; seeing me smile, he gave Carla his hand.
For a moment, nothing happened before his expression changed drastically.
Carla let go of his hand a moment later, but the man didn't recover for a while. When he did, he looked at me with awe and fear.
"It will be the second biggest legacy of the continent!" he stated, and I smiled.
"It is not the only thing I want," I replied, and a moment later, the mist began to move and come into shape; it took nearly a minute before a model made of mist appeared.
I haven't decided on the design of the legacy yet, as Edmor hasn't finished it, but I've completed the park.
I have created a model of the city and the space the new park will occupy. I have nearly settled on the size, and it is massive.
"This is huge," he finally stated after looking at it silently for a minute.
"This is a proposal for the legacy and park," I said, and a thick file appeared in his hand.
The man looked at it before he opened the file.
It is thick enough that even with skill, it remains challenging. It will take him some time to read through, but he could read through the summary, where I have mentioned the money we need.
He closed it after some time, controlling his expression that had changed with every page.
"This is far beyond what the higher-ups expected." He said. "It is," I replied with a smile.
"It would be hard for them to commit such vast funds, with the terms you are offering." He said. I am not surprised; the money I am asking for is colossal.
"It is, but terms won't change. Tell them that they have two weeks, or I will go elsewhere." I replied.
I have options, it's not a lie. Merchants, including Inam and others, will agree on one leg, regardless of the number. However, they will also ask for a lot more than I want to give.
It is why I prefer to get the money from the bank.
"Thank you for giving me the first chance. I will contact the higher-ups as soon as possible," he said. "Please do, Mr. Shaw," I replied.