Partners

Ashton Harbor

The light on the staff muted, and the man opened his eyes.

"The ships have left their places," said the man. "With them, we will be able to capture the Port Midlet and have enough forces to attack the Owlspring and other cities," said Haiz.

"We need to be careful, this time, Haiz. We cannot make the mistakes, we had made last time," said the man solemnly.

"We will not, commander," replied Haiz with a big smile.

…

Scrach!

My pen scratched across the paper as I signed before I turned the page again. I read it carefully, before signing again.

I have studied the contract already; I had crafted it myself. Still, it is important, that I check every word; there are some nasty skills that I like to be careful of.

The contract is pretty good. It gives me the power to fire them anytime, I want, without paying extra. They wanted a tougher contract, but I straight up declined. If they wanted the job, they had to agree to it and they did.

They were willing to do the job for free, but I am paying them, what they would have gotten from the project.

I don't want anyone to say, they did the job on my legacy for free. I specifically mention that in the contract.

Finally, with the last signature, the contract clicked.

"I hope we will have a good partnership, gentlemen," I said to the two men and their teams. 

On my left is half elf in his late fourteen with deep blue hair that almost looks black while on my right. 

He is Carmen Syl, vice-direction Tanarys Construction from Belnin.

On my right is a human, who looked to be in his mid-thirties. He was of medium height with long blond hair and a handsome face. Hal Liow, head of liow construction material from Meldhorn.

They are partners, that Edmor had chosen to build the establishment.

Tanarys will provide men and skills, while Liow the materials. Both of the companies are over two thousand years old and trusted in the market.

"We sure will, Lord Silver," said the half-elf.

A few minutes later, I walked out of the conference room with a smile on my face. They have five and half months and seemed pretty confident, that they will be able to do it.

That confidence would have been even higher. If not for the undead. 

Still, they didn't seem unfazed by it; they do not same fear as the citizen of the city has for the undead.

Their states have assured them, that they would try to save them if the undead had captured the city. The only thing, they have to do is not take part in any war-related things.

This didn't surprise me; this is an opportunity of ages, and any city wants its firms to be part of it.

As for the assurance, it will work. The undead don't want to mess with the merchant stage too much or they wouldn't have removed the blockade. It is also the truth, that they are working on legacy, that undead are also very interested in.

It is very likely, that even if the undead captured the city. They will let them do the work on the legacy.

The same protection isn't given to the people of the merchant state working on reconstruction projects and other things. 

They came on their own, there is no big powerful company seeking assurances for them. Still, I think, if the undead attacked, they would also be protected by the aegis of the merchant state.

Click!

"Tabes had captured Tismit," said Zela as I just sat down. I didn't say anything and looked at the map of the empire.

"Dawhall would be the next," I said. 

The victory over the Tismit will give the Tabes' forces a clear road toward the Dawhall, the capital of the kalzan region.

Nearly all the empire's neighbors are attacking it. If I were one of them, I would have done the same. The empire is weak, right now, with princes fighting each other for the throne; it is an optimal time for them to attack.

A few months ago, I had expected, the same thing to happen here after the emperor's death, but it didn't. The region got attacked, but not by the enemies, I had expected.

A few hours passed. I met a few people and attended meetings, before walking out of city hall and stepping into the carriage.

Soon, the carriage reached the place where thousands of people were working. Just a few days ago, there used to be buildings in here, but now all of them have disappeared.

They have been demolished. 

Now in this place, there are only workers and mages here.

The workers are over a thousand and around fifty mages; 90% of which have come from the merchant state. We do not have enough mages and most of them didn't have spells and classes that require this kind of work.

They are clearing the rubble and shaping the earth to make the park; it is really a massive operation, which is going over the budget.

I had not given a budget to the bank, but I had one in mind, and I already spent more than it, before the construction of the establishment began.

I had agreed with the ulaxasys sisters' suggestion and brought even more land.

It is now big enough, that the establishment and campus of the girls are going to connect. I had brought all the land that was in between them.

I am getting nervous about the cost, which has just begun. I can't imagine the final cost and how long it would take me to pay for it. Now that I think about it; I could tell those at the bank had been smart.

It is a big money, but the bank is also big. Financing it isn't a big thing for them.

I thought the bank would say something, but they didn't. They just gave me the money without a word.

Earlier, I was quite confident in paying back the money on time, but now with increasing cost. I am not and that will give the bank the leverage over me; I would need to give them the benefits.

Those people have played well.

If I pay the loan on time, they will get a good relationship with me. If I didn't, they would get those leverages, that will benefit them a lot.

'Let's hope; the construction finishes in time and Legacy earns enough, that I could pay back all the loan on time,' I thought.

The carriage reached the establishment, but it didn't stop there and went back toward the city hall. 

I had talked to ulaxasys sisters in the morning when she showed me the preliminary design of the park and it blew my mind. It was much better than the quick one, she showed on the first day.

I signed the contract today. From tomorrow, the construction will begin.

I am excited; not only about the construction, but for the help, it will give to the economy of the city. The construction will give the people jobs; the construction won't require complete high-skill people, and there are many low-skill people that would be needed.

Like in the garden, over 70% of workers are from the city.

The new people coming from the merchant state will occupy houses and hotels; they will eat food and spend the money. 

Thus, helping the economy of the city.

We have signed many agreements with the merchant state, and many are investment-linked, but not much has come out. It had been only a few weeks and also because there was less confidence in the city.

It will take time to build confidence in the city for investments to come.

The establishment would be tremendously helpful in that and, if I could construct sooner, I could have, but six months is already quick; I couldn't rush it, even if I want to.

Soon, the carriage returned to the city hall, and I went back to my office.

'Master Silver, Mr. Emer is here,' informed Jill. 

"Let him in," I said and prepared myself.

The man had been in the city for a few days, but he was leaving tomorrow. I am far from ready to ask certain questions, but I would need to.

Click!

The door opened, and the man walked inside. "Lord Silver," he greeted. "Take a seat, Mr. Emer," I said politely.

"Thank you, my lord," he said and sat in front of me.

For a couple of seconds, nobody spoke. There are hundreds of questions, but none want to come out. I don't want to ask them. Fearing the answers I might receive. 

The man seemed to understand, what I was feeling as he sat in front of me, without showing any hurry or impatience.

Finally, I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.

"How long my mother had been in the colosseum?" I asked. "Eleven years," He replied quickly as if expecting this question.

It had been eleven years since she had disappeared. I still remember the day, she had left. She had told me a week before leaving that it was going to be a long mission and she would be out for about a month.

"Did she tell you the exact date she appeared there?" I asked, wanting to create the timeline.

"It is eleven eyes, three months, and fourteen days," he replied, and a surprise appeared on my face. 

"I am the first person; she had fought in the colosseum. I had lost that battle and thus become the property of her master according to conditions of that battle," he informed, with a smile.

Though there is not a hint of mirth in those pale violet eyes, only pain.

There is a nearly two-month window between her leaving the Redfawn and entering the colosseum. Whatever happened, made her go there, had happened in those two months.

"Is my mother a slave?" I asked hesitantly, and the man shook his head slightly. "No, a contract fighter, but those contracts are tough enough, that those signed it could be called slaves," he replied and sighed.

I had expected the answer but still shuddered in my heart.

In a few days, I was able to get a lot of information and know how the system works.

There are many types of people who fight in colosseums. Slaves, contractual and independent. First, are slaves; they are slaves brought by the masters to fight in the colosseum.

The second is contractual. They entered into a contract with the colosseum and masters are the handlers. The contracts are tough, but masters are enticing; they offer such conditions to the desperate, that they couldn't refuse.

Some enter for the big money.

The third is independents. They fought match by match and weren't bound by any contracts.

"A decade is a long time. Why hasn't she been able to free herself?" I asked, and he smiled again and there was a sick mirth in it.

"There is a saying in colosseums. If the master's like you, then you will stay in the colosseum, even if you are a step away from freedom," he said, sending another shudder into my heart.

I know too well how few words in the contract could make one slave. Most kingdoms have rules against that kind of thing, but in colosseums, they are the rules. They could do whatever the hell, they can.

"If you don't mind asking. You had not contacted the colosseum, have you?" he asked. "No," I replied, and he heaved a sigh of relief visibly.

"One of the reasons your mother had sent the children with me was because she feared the colosseum would try to bury their claws into children,"

"The master had already started to take an interest in Heron," he said, and my eyes couldn't help but flash in anger.

"Your mother had asked me to tell you, to never contact her. If they get to know about you, they will try to tangle you in their nets."

"Now, with you being the lord of the city and a host of legacy. It had become even more important, that the colosseum didn't find out anything about you. If they did, it would be bad for you as well as your mother," he warned.

"I will remember it," I said after a moment of silence.

I didn't contact her immediately when I found out she was alive and the information I had read made me even more careful.

Now, this warning.

I will need to deal with it extremely carefully. If I made a mistake, I would cause trouble for my mother as well as me. 

I might be angry with her, but I still love her. 

A few seconds later, I opened my mouth for another question. This one is a little heavy.

"Are you Josephine's father?" I asked. I already know the answer to no. "No," he replied with a laugh. 

"Do you know, who it is?" I asked. "No, I don't. Your mother never shared that detail with me," he said, and his expression turned heavy with deep anger and hate appearing in his eyes.

People say that brothels are the filth of society. They should take a deeper look at the colosseums.

Dealer of Desire Lv. 26