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"Oh, no need," Asal said quickly, a little too quickly. "I think I have already made my choice. I suspect, my lord, that at some point you plan to have these yellow-colored zones be set aside for merchant use, for shops and such, but what are these green areas, if I may ask?"
"They will be government property," Harry said vaguely, "buildings and facilities to be used how I, and the future city council, decide at a later date." He already knew exactly what he was going to do with most of them, of course, but not yet. Not for a city of only seven hundred people.
Asal nodded at his answer nonetheless, his expression unreadable. "I see," he said. "Well, I was thinking… here, if that's okay." Asal said, as he pointed to a specific, blue-colored house on the map. Harry was completely, utterly unsurprised to find that it was in very close proximity to both his own, personal house, and the base of his massive, central tower.
"I think I might set up a small alchemy clinic nearby, to help the community, so this would b—" Asal started to say, but Harry didn't feel like hearing whatever convenient, altruistic-sounding excuse the man had managed to make up on the spot.
"Done," Harry said, cutting him off. Immediately, the house on the parchment turned from a bright blue to a solid red, seeming to surprise Asal with the speed of the magical transaction.
"It is now officially registered to you. Enjoy the property. The city's craftsmen can make you most of the ordinary furniture you might need to furnish your new house. They have simple, pre-made sets if you're in a hurry, of course. You said you have already been here for a week, so I'm sure you know where to go to find them. I look forward to you being a productive part of our growing community, Asal. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a very important, and very time-consuming, project to get back to, and I really need to get started."
Harry said, in a clear, polite, but firm dismissal of the man.
Asal bowed again, a little more stiffly this time. "Of course, my lord. Thank you, my lord. I look forward to getting settled in," he said, as he turned and walked away.
Harry was absolutely sure that the man was now going to go and send a detailed report to whoever, and wherever, he was here for.
"You're just going to let him walk right in here, just like that?" a sharp, familiar voice said from his left.
"You do know he's just trying to get close to the 'new lord' so he can get himself a cozy, influential position, just like every other scheming sorcerer."
Harry didn't even bother to look up as Merri stepped into the room from behind a cleverly concealed side door in his office, a secret entrance he knew she had been hiding in, listening to the entire conversation.
"You are unfamiliar with the term, I am sure," Harry said, his voice dry, "but that is called stereotyping, Merri. And besides, that's not why he is here. He's here to spy on me."
Merri frowned, her expression a mixture of confusion and concern.
"So," Merri asked, her voice sharp with disbelief, "you're just going to let a spy walk right into your city? Is there a particular reason why you're being so monumentally stupid?"
She sounded angry, almost like she was about to start yelling at him. And she might, in all honesty. Merri, he had learned over the past few months, seemed to have absolutely no fear of him, a fact which amused him far more than it ever bothered him.
She would march right up to him and yell at him if she thought he was wrong about something, which was incredibly impressive, since Harry knew for a fact that she knew that he could, if he really wanted to, kill her just by blinking. All the more impressive on her part, really.
"Spy or not," Harry explained calmly, "I can make use of him. He is, by his own admission, a skilled alchemist. And besides, it would be much, much harder to find out who sent him to spy on me in the first place if he wasn't actually here."
That really didn't seem to help Merri's opinion on the matter at all, judging by the deep, furious glare she was now sporting. "And what if he hurts someone?" she asked him, her voice accusatory.
Harry's own, more casual expression, immediately hardened at that. "I highly doubt he would be that foolish," he said, his voice turning cold, "but if he did, if he ever dared to harm a single, innocent person in my city, then I will personally, and very slowly, introduce him to what hell on earth is. He would pay for it with every single fiber of his being, and then some.
I promise you that, Merri." Harry finally moved and looked her directly in the eye for the first time since she had entered his office. He stared at her, his green eyes blazing with a cold, deadly intensity, and she stared right back, her own eyes fierce and unwavering.
Eventually, after a long, tense moment of silence, she finally nodded once, sharply. "Fine," she said, though her voice was still tight with disapproval. "It's your city. I can't tell you who you do or don't let in." Merri said, as she turned to walk away, her point made.
"Merri," Harry called after her, causing her to stop, mid-stride, her back still to him.
"Never, ever be afraid to tell me your honest opinion on something. If you have a concern, then you bring it up with me. I can't always promise to give you the answer, or the result, that you want, but I do always promise to listen, at the very least. You have done a lot for this settlement, Merri. More, probably, than anyone else other than myself. You kickstarted it, in a way that I probably never could have on my own."
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