Chapter 160: Business Practice (Patreon)

“Time is a strange thing. I wonder, what exactly did Galan and grandfather go through when they went on adventures together.

If I can get a friend that is only half as good to me as they were to each other, I can count myself fortunate.”

While Nisha had yet to live through many turns, she already experienced the betrayal between monsters in the Wilderness and the deceptiveness between humans and the struggles at the academy.

To see such strong bonds even after all these turns had passed and Galan still kept the kindness her grandfather had shown him in his heart, it touched the elf.

Her reverie lasted almost a candle before the dragon broke out of it and decided on a plan of action for the day.

If the morale of Galan’s story taught her about humility and kindness, then the actual details reminded her of an urgent and vital task she had to complete.

Although Alester promised her to work hard and gather competent craftsmen, planners and related personnel to start the construction work on the new district, situated in a belt around the existing city, a complete hands off approach might not work the best - for either side of the deal.

The old scrouge had taken over a villa in the noble district from his predecessor together with his title and position in the guild. Although the building was on the smaller scale and in the less prestigious area, it still counted as the upper social strata among Leandar nobility.

Maybe due to the aftershocks from the quiet power struggle, the new owner had yet to hire adequate number of guards and servants, the gate to the the house was opened but not manned.

Nisha let herself in and quickly crossed the rather small garden. Compared to her last visit, improvements happened here and there. Overall the estate looked better and while the process was not finished quite yet, the efforts remained visible to all visitors.

The inside of the mansion on the other hand displayed the absolute opposite. Between broken bottles, the sour stench of alcohol and another filthy thing the dragon smelled before and trash strewn about everywhere, a group of half dressed men and scantily clad women with fake smiles, which writhed about in the arms of their respective partner.

Some familiar smoke also drifted around, together with the bitter telltale sign of [Bliss] together with perspiration, human despair and resignation.

In the central position, on a couch made of higher quality materials, the leader of the group - at least judging by his position and higher cultivation - glanced at the elf before he busied himself with the girl in his arms again and shouted at the others.

“Who ordered another girl? She looks a bit young, though. Are any of you into that?”

Between the sips from his bottle and the huffs from a pipe that contained who-knows-what blowing yellow smoke, he eyes the dragon in a manner that made her skin crawl and gave her the urge to beat him up.

Nisha scanned them one by one and got quite confused by their adult actions, yet she had no time to question them. With the help of her [Spirit Sight] she already located Alester in a room upstairs and promptly ignored the common rabble indulging in pleasure and stimulants in the lobby.

The group shouted a few catcalls and teasing insinuations at her back when they saw where  she was going and the leader mumbled to himself.

“Old bugger always yells at us for bringing over the girls and punishes us with meaningless errands, but he himself also ordered himself a little beauty, and an elf at that. Must have cost a fortune to do one like her.”

Thankfully he spoke quietly enough and the noise around him made by the other miscreants prevented the elf from hearing him, otherwise he might have lost his life for the accusation.

Inside his new study, an older thief was currently pouring over stacks of documents, reports and requests.

When he inherited the title associated to the manor, Alestar was more than elated to finally climb in the social hierarchy of the kingdom. For a criminal to make his way here, he fought countless times with his competitors inside and outside of the [Thieves Guild] and nearly lost his life in the process countless times.

So he jumped at the opportunity when the elf he came to knew by chance talked about her plans with him and revealed that she indeed had the funds to dream big.

And if things went well, he could grab on that chance and move up even farther, maybe to the point where he no longer had to listen to orders from the guild, but reached a seat where he had the power to order others around.

Originally, Nisha wanted to follow etiquette and knock first before entering. However, when she saw that no one else besides the old crook was inside the room, the elf discarded those pretentious customs and went straight inside, raising her hand in greeting and observing the other party.

The man behind the desk had already been in his later years when she met him in that fight located in a small alley, but it had been a robust aged feel, with a strong physique and a vigorous spirit in his eyes.

Now the dragon saw an exhausted old man with a stale air around him, his hair a shade whiter compared to before and deep wrinkles around his eyes and mouth.

While he went through the various accounts and papers on his desk, he initially did not even notice that someone entered the room.

A pair of slender feet clad in soft leather boots entered his periphery view, only then did Alester raise his head and recognized the visitor in his study.

He dropped everything and reclined in his chair, stretching his sleeping legs and numb chairs before smiling at the girl.

“Greetings, Nisha. Or should I call you miss Dharnas from now on? How come my humble abode has the pleasure to host you today?”

Since the two now worked on a colossal project together, the old crook no longer spoke as leisurely towards the elf, that had a chance to inherit one of the most prestigious and noble houses in the entire kingdom.

This did alter his perception of the girl a bit, since he previously did not even have the chance to socialize with a mere baron, not to mention a count or duke.

Adding the fact that the old crook now had a title of his own and entered the strict hierarchy of the upper social circles, continuing to think of the elf as a little girl or calling her by the first name however he pleased was not an option for Alester.

“A good day to you as well. I have some free time now that the first period of lessons at the academy is over and thought I’d visit you to see how the progress on the land deed and the preparations for building a new district are going.

Just dumping all of the work on you and never showing up would be quite shameless, right, Alester?

Or would you prefer Sir Alester instead?”

The interaction sounded formal from a third point of view, Nisha and the old crook both grinned at each other though.

She picked up a stack of documents from the chair on the other side of the desk and seated herself casually, their etiquette oriented words turned into banter right away.

With a single glance, they communicated and settled that the formal titles were meant to be used in the presence of outsiders.

“So you know how hard it is to try and just create a whole new district out of thin air. If it was not for the huge pile of gold you left with me, I’d have thought it was just an elaborate prank you set up to screw with me.”

While he complained, the old crook already had the capital no longer lying around in the building, he ordered some of his own men that he brought with him from the protection money branch when he ascended to his current position, to deposit the entire stash of valuables with a trustworthy bank.

The [Adventurer’s Guild] as well as the kingdom itself ran a banking service, which allowed the customers to bring in their hard earned money to their branches after a bloody adventure or a campaign in the Wilderness, and withdraw it when they reached the place they want to spend it.

Due to the widespread nature of the guild coupled with their advanced equipment, the guild ran bank enjoyed a higher reputation and trust, which prodded the various kingdoms and nations that held a cooperative relationship with the [Adventurer’s Guild] to open banking services as a response, although their share of the market was smaller.

Nonetheless, nobles often allowed local financial institutions to credit their wealth, which brought them small benefits with the kingdom itself, and generated a small amount of income when the banks itself loaned the money out for them.

To even consider a project like building a district and a city wall, the old crook hurriedly brought all the shiny gold and silver to a local branch and deposited it before any of the shady characters in the guild learned of the vast fortune he hid away.

Having money was great and solved one of the bigger worries, but just capital alone did not solve all issues magically.

“That’s very nice of you, Nisha. In truth, I’m just running here and there every day to apply for permits, get experts to evaluate different circumstances for the surrounding countryside and searching for companies and trading houses to source construction materials for the wall as well as the infrastructure.

Did you know?

Each district in Leandar has to follow a strict sewer standard, and the plans for the sanitation standards have to follow royal norms, so a unified system can keep the Thurg river clear from human waste and byproducts from workshops.

In addition, the main street itself is already there from the continental highway running through all the nations along it, but the side streets going away from it also have to be built in a specific way, otherwise it can easily break down from stress and tear.

And that’s just the most fundamental issues I focused on, most of the documents you can see on my desk only capture approximately that; two problems. Of course, there also has been some success with a guarantee for stone coming from a merchant house affiliated with the [Blackburn] family, one of the sons or nephews is in charge there. Finest quality stone in great numbers, though it isn’t even clear yet how much is needed.

Based on the reports made by different earth mage experts, the numbers vary greatly.

I don’t even know when I left the house the last time without having a tight time schedule to attend, with some meetings falling through because the noble in charge of these offices has a much higher pedigree than me and doesn’t see me because something more important has come up.”

Since Alester had no trusted aide or a person of equal standing around him, all the stress and frustrations piled up until he broke out in a long complaining speech towards the dragon, who technically counted as his employer, backer and superior noble.

Thankfully, their relationship was quite close from the time when he introduced her to the [Thieves Guild] and helped her out, so the balance in power stood quite equal, to Nisha’s contentment.

“I see that the difficulty is quite high. What do you need me to do, and are you confident in continuing with the plan for the new district?

Maybe I can send someone more experienced to work with you.”

The last part held more concern than admonishment, so the old crook did not misunderstand it as an attempt to dismiss him from his position as the project leader due to anger towards him.

“No, I am certain there is a way to work this out and if I can overcome the difficulties this time, my standing as the builder of the new district and wall will soar into the heavens with one step.

Who knows, maybe some nice widow or older lady will pity this old fool and start a family with me, changing my title from a benefit provided to the guild to a proper noble inheritance,  could you imagine that?

A street thug that pressed others for money turned into proper nobility.”

While Alester drifted off into a dreamland conjured by that possible future, Nisha once again confirmed her resolve to support the endeavor to the best of her ability.

Not only would it allow a fellow who got on in his years to realize a dream he never even dared to think of, even the Dharnas house would share the glory and instantly change from a nominal house that had no land aside from a single mansion in the capital to a grand influence that controlled an entire district of their own.

Of course, such thinking was too simplistic and there would be quite a lot of trouble and hindrance coming from other factions, but was Marshal Dharnas, the older generation, not there to hold up the sky while she pursued her ambition?

“Then, if you are confident, once again: What do you need me to do? No matter what it is, I will accomplish it.”

The determination did not only make her presence stronger, but the dragon’s mana and aura that stayed a long time at the boundary between the third and fourth rank showed faint signs of growing.