Proofread By Thomas F
"You don't have to come drop me off," said Carla as the carriage moved toward the port. "I know, but I wanted to," I replied. To that, she smiled and took my lips into hers.
She is leaving and will return only after the inauguration at Inam.
She won't be going to Inam immediately; she has to visit two cities before returning there for the inauguration.
"I wish you could come with me," she said. "Me too," I replied. We both understand, I could not. There is too much work, and the dominion isn't as safe as it looked.
Many dangers are just waiting for the chance.
Soon, the carriage passed through the city gates and entered the port.
There are people everywhere, and ships, too many of them, but everything is moving efficiently; it is all thanks to the people managing the port.
Many of them have reached a high level. One could feel their skills if they focus enough.
The carriage stopped at a protected pier, where my yacht was docked. "Safe journey," I wished. "Thank you," she replied, and I pulled her in for one last kiss before letting go.
A second later, she stepped out of the carriage, and I watched her walk toward the ship.
As she reached it, Captain Perry greeted her. I had offered him a place in the nascent navy, but he declined. He wanted to serve on the yacht, which I like as well.
I trust the man and wanted no other to command my ship than him.
"James, let's go," I said after watching Carla reach the boat. The carriage moved toward the gate, while I opened the confidential file.
It had come from Panar; things aren't calm as many had expected.
Things are happening there that only a few are aware of, and I am making a huge effort to keep it that way. Which isn't easy, given there are spies everywhere.
Soon the carriage reached the city hall, and I stepped out of it.
There I saw the carriage and people loading the stuff into it. Once more, another office is shifting. Well, this time, it's not only due to the space.
We are slowly emptying the city hall. In two weeks, it will be completely empty.
Not only that, but also all the other government buildings in the square.
It's going to cost a lot of money, but I will have to spend it. City hall and other government buildings are symbols of the city and also make governance more efficient.
A minute later, I stepped into my office.
"Adviser to the Lord of Pearthorn will also be joining the head of Pearthorn's merchant guild in meeting with you," informed Argis. "I believe he was not coming with him?" I asked, and he shook his head.
"No, the adviser was in the Owlspring, and he hitched a ride with him," he replied.
It's good that the adviser will be joining. I have a few things I want to talk to him about.
Castral is a small merchant city in Oksall, like all the cities of the merchant state. We are trying to develop a relationship with them, especially those in the merchant states of Belnin, Meldhorn, and Oksall.
These three are closest to us and the ones we trade with the most.
I moved on to other things, signed a few documents, and met with some people before the meeting. Once I finished, I walked back toward my office with Valentina.
She is complaining.
"I told him, Vardian crystals are good for a connection circuit, but he isn't listening,"
"Could you talk to him about it?" she asked, turning to me.
The construction of the Mage Tower is going well. Well, there had been a few problems, but they are solving them along the way. I would have been more worried if it had been going smoothly.
Seeing that it is their first time as a company building a Mage Tower.
"You just want those due to the Vardian crystal having a greater affinity with the earth element," Zela replied, before I could reply.
Making Valentina glare at her.
"The tower is not element specific; we want every mage to make use of it." I reminded her. "Vardian works with all elements; they just have a little more affinity with the earth element," she replied, without feeling any shame.
It's not the first time she has tried something like this. Most of the time, I ignore her requests.
Soon, we reached my office, and Valentina took a seat opposite me.
"Thank you for making the donation of emotional essence to my alma mater," she said. I did it yesterday. "Well, they agreed to send enchanters to us," I replied.
The donation is a donation. I will have to pay the enchanters separately.
We need enchanters for the wall, new civic buildings, and even the bridge. Not to mention the new Mage Tower and Velvet Garden, the numbers we need are truly immense.
I had donated to her university last year as well, but the amount was much smaller.
Relations are important, and sometimes, one needs more than just effort to build them, especially with academic institutions like her academy, which is one of the best on the continent.
"Speaking of the academy, how is your talk with the academies of the empire going?" I asked.
A year ago, there was barely any interest in establishing the academy, but now there is, from both the empire's academies and the merchant state.
"Good; the rapid expansion of population and migration of merchants into the dominion is piquing a lot of interest from them," she replied.
"Then let's hope at least one of them will invest in the city," I replied.
We desperately need an academy; we only have one, and that is not enough. We need several more of them, and Dominion alone couldn't build them.
I have reduced the gap with the schools, but it is still not enough. They cannot entirely replace the academies.
'Lord Silver, he is here,'
I was in the conversation when the voice interrupted. "He arrived, it seemed," said Valentina, seeing my expressions, and I nodded.
Her casual expressions have turned serious as well.
…
Shaman Trik
"He is ready for you, adviser," I said as I appeared beside the teen human girl.
I nodded and walked toward the office, feeling a little pleased. I arrived ten minutes before my summoned time, but I got to see the lord immediately.
It's a privilege a few have in the whole dominion.
The guards opened the door, and I walked inside. I immediately felt the office's serious atmosphere.
The summons isn't strange, aside from regular weekly meetings. The lord sometimes summons me for various reasons, from asking for advice on the orc affairs to asking me to deal with a few things.
I thought it would be such a meeting, but it seemed like I had guessed wrong.
I just hope it has nothing to do with my position. I am an adviser, one of the three orc advisers he had. It is the highest political position we were able to reach.
I like the position, the power, and the privileges it comes with.
Many people want it. I am at the highest level; once that was enough, but not anymore. I thought about any mistakes I might have made, but I couldn't think of any that would warrant my expulsion or demotion.
Seeing that I am standing like a statue, I quickly pushed my thoughts away.
"Lord Silver," I greeted and nodded at Chief Valentina. "Shaman Trik, take a seat," he replied. I nodded my thanks and sat down.
"May I know why I have been summoned?" I asked.
I have learned in my life that it's best to get to the subject directly; the man in front of me prefers the same.
"As we have informed you in the meeting at the start of the month, that we are separating the administration of the city and dominion," he said, and I couldn't help but feel my heart sink.
He had informed us, and it had already begun. Some people were promoted, some demoted, and some shifted to a different department.
Two advisers had even lost their jobs.
"The city is becoming bigger; it has a population greater than all three cities combined, but we are governing it the same way as the three cities."
"Which is not efficient, and it would be bad if we continue as we are doing, as we are already having some problems," he said.
All I could do was nod while getting more confused. I first thought he was going to fire me, but it didn't seem like the case. Still, I do not understand what he is trying to say.
He seemed to understand what I was feeling as he laughed and shook his head.
"The point is that we are creating hierarchy in the city hall. We are creating two new city halls that work under this city hall."
"The eastern city hall and western city hall; the eastern city hall will lead the eastern outer ring while the western city hall will lead the western outer ring."
"I want you to lead the Eastern City Hall," he stated.
His words are thunder to me. It shocked me so much that I couldn't react for several seconds.
"You mean, eastern outer city?" I asked to be sure, as I am not daring to believe it. It had been two years since we had been here, and the orcs had paid with their blood for the right.
He did not disappoint us; he followed his promises. Gave us the same rights and opportunities as humans.
The orcs have reached high positions in both the military and the administration. We were trusted enough to lead the elite force and even given an artifact.
Still, I thought we were years away from gaining such a public position.
"Yes," he replied. "You have a day to think about it," he added a moment later, but I immediately shook my head. I didn't even need a moment to think about it.
It's a massive opportunity for the whole orc community and me.
…
"I do not need time to think about it. I accept," Trik replied. Still, he seemed quite shocked.
I have never seen the old man like this; he is one of the most composed people I have come across. Most of the time, it's very hard to guess what is going on behind his eyes.
"Good," I replied, before my eyes became serious.
"One more thing, you will have to follow the same rules as Valentina and other Governors. You will have to step away from the affairs of your tribe and tribal body."
"You will be a leader of all the city's people, not just the orcs," I stated, and the old man smiled.
"I understand," he replied.
"Keep the news to yourself for now, we will announce it next week," I said, and he nodded. We talked for a few more minutes before he left.
"A lot of people will not be pleased about this," said Valentina. "They will not," I replied.
The empire had been conditioned to view every non-human as a monster. It is manageable with elves and dwarves, but the orcs are too different.
Despite our trying, there are incidents every week.
We are doing everything we can to foster harmony, but we cannot control everything. Some are bad people, and some are people who have yet to understand that orcs are just people.
Not the mindless monsters the empire had made them out to be.
The main reason he got the job is because he is a capable man. He is the shaman of his tribe and the leader of his tribal body, an umbrella organisation encompassing nearly all orc tribes in the dominion.
He has extensive management experience and has learned the ways of the city over the past two years.
The role will be very challenging for him, but I am confident that he will be able to do it. If I did not, I wouldn't have given him the responsibility.