Step!

I stepped out of the carriage and walked into the city hall with the Lord's Presence while keeping the Trustful Presence down as much as possible.

The people turned toward me, feeling my presence, and bowed. I have to say, the respect and prestige of it is a little addicting.

No wonder the lords desire this skill so desperately.

Click!

“Master Silver, your nine-thirty appointment is waiting inside,” informed Jill. “Thank you, Jill,” I said and walked into my office.

Ina is already there, along with the appointment.

“Lord Silver,” greeted the handsome man. “Locke,” I said as he sat in my seat and looked at my friend, who did not seem happy to see me.

“What can I help you, my lord?” He asked, there was a faint bit of anger in there. He tried to meet several times in the past week, but I didn’t give him any time.

I knew what it was about and didn’t want to deal with that before it was time. Today is the time.

“I want you to resign from your job, Locke,” I said to him, and could see a surprise appearing in his eyes before the hurt took over.

I didn’t have to tell him, what job I was talking about. It is the job of the vice Guildmaster.

There is going to be a meeting at twelve in the merchant guild, where the guild leader will ask the whole council to resign. The guild leader will also resign from the merchant guild, along with vice-guild masters, deacons, and leaders of sub-guilds.

Tomorrow, the new appointments will be made.

Many are going to lose their job, some will be demoted, some will be promoted, and a few will be reappointed back to their position.

I was going to do this in the week of the second battle, but the undead attacked and things got delayed.

“I really like my job,” he said softly, after a few seconds of silence.

“I know,” I replied with a sigh.

“Am I now good enough for the guild?” he asked. I could see the hurt in his eyes and the accusation of betrayal. It pained me to see it, but it needs to be done; I need him somewhere else.

“You are, but I have a different position that, I think will be more suitable for you,” I said, and a surprise appeared in his eyes and then curiosity.

“Which is it?” he asked.

“Education. I want you to head it,” I replied, and his expression turned strange, and anger flashed in his.

He opened his mouth immediately to say something, but closed it, before opening it again a moment later with a much calmer emotion.

“Apologies, my lord, but I am incapable of handling such a massive responsibility,” he replied, with clear sarcasm and anger.

He felt disrespected, anyone in his place would feel the same. I mean, what is education? Most cities didn’t have that department at all. It is the church's responsibility to teach the children.

The state only takes responsibility for education after they reach fourteen when they can be admitted into academies and less than 1% of people go to the academy.

There are only a few countries that focus on education. Merchant States, are one of them, but I plan to go above them.

I smiled and pushed a file toward him.

“At least read it before making up your mind,” I said. He didn’t touch the file or even look at it. Instead, he kept looking at me.

He was angry and considered this as a pity job, I am giving him, after taking

It is not a pity. I genuinely feel he is the best candidate for it. If I did not; I would have kept him in a merchant guild; he was doing a good job, there.

Finally, after over a minute; he looked down at the fire and opened.

The file is my education plan. What I had done, what I wanted to do, how much I was willing to spend, and others. It is far from complete, but one could get a clear idea, of what I wanted to do.

His expressions were angry at first, but soon a frown appeared on his face, before turning to surprise and then shock.

On each page, he turned. His expressions turn intense before finally he reaches the last page, where his hands begin to shake.

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It took a while for him to calm down before he took a deep breath and closed the file gently.

“Are you in your right mind?” he asked. There was genuine shock and confusion in his voice.

“I am not actually,” I replied.

“Then why are you spending so much on things that church does for free?” he asked and the smile on my face disappeared, and my expressions turned serious.

“Education is one of the most important things there is. It is through which we could shape the future generation, the people who will become pillars of the city in the future. It is also one of the reasons behind the merchant state's success,” I said intensely.

I had given a lot of thought to it. I could just hand it to church; it would save me a lot of money, which I could use for defense and other things, but education is important and I want to focus on it for the growth and prosperity of the city.

“The money; it is huge. I don’t think the city has any,” he said, and I nodded. “We didn’t, but our condition is improving,” I replied with a smile.

We are receiving the taxes from route as well as from the city; it is far from peak, but still better than anyone would have expected.

The condition might improve in the next few weeks.

Hardt and Lola are leaving for the negotiations tomorrow. If it worked, we would have another trade route and a source of income.

Robin is in a merchant state. If he succeeded, it would elevate some of our financial worries.

“Still spending so much on education, didn’t seem wise. When you could spend it on defense, it is a thing you should be focusing on most,” he said.

“I am focusing on defense, but other things education needed the focus. Even in a time like this,” I replied.

We are still recruiting the people, training them, buying weapons and ammunition, and other things that are required for defense. It is taking an insane amount of money, but as Locke said, it is necessary.

He looked at me before opening his mouth but didn’t speak for a few seconds.

“I assume, a few of those buildings being worked on are for the schools?” he asked, and I nodded.

I had the plans. I had created them for the count, but the bastard even looked at them. The moment, school came out of my mouth.

The schools were part of a reconstruction package; not all were built. More than half of the buildings were repurposed as schools, which is much cheaper than building from scratch.

It was a wise decision to buy the properties right after the battle. They came dirt cheap, seeing many willing to take, whatever they could before leaving the city.

I had brought them with my own money and leased it to the city. Currently, I am not charging anything, but I will after the city gets out of the financial strain, which will take some time.

“Fine, I will take the job, but only because you are my friend,” he said finally and a big genuine smile appeared on my face.

“Thank you,” I said.

Locke is the best candidate for it.

People might see him as a merchant, and scion of a wealthy family, but he is very educated. He is a student of the Imperial Academy and has two masters. He was pursuing a third when his family pulled him out of the academy and threw him into the business.

“It says here that you plan to start the schools within a month?” he asked, opening the file again.

“Yes,” I replied.

“That means hiring a hundred teachers and other staff. Buying all the furniture and the tools that are required, informing the parents about it, and other things. It is too much to do in a month,” he said, and I smiled.

The buildings are nearly done, and I have done some work, but still much has remained. He had to achieve that in a month.

“I am confident, you will be able to do it,” I said. It is a big responsibility, but if anyone could do it, then it would be him.

“I don’t,” he replied grumpily, but I could see, the faint excitement in his eyes. He already likes the job.

“I had prepared a space for your department in the city hall, including an office for you,” I informed.

The education department needs its own dedicated place, but currently; I am trying to save every penny, I could and not spend any money on things that could be managed.

Ten minutes later, he walked out of the office, and I went back to my work.

The next couple of days are important. Tomorrow, the police will shift into their new headquarters and start to work in a way, that I had been training them for the past one and half months.

All the new recruits and the old ones were being trained in a certain way. I had even taken help from the old woman to give them the etiquette training, along with a few other types.

I want the city to prosper. The professional and approachable police will play a big part in that.

“Any message from Robin?” I asked. “Yes, he said, negotiations are going well,” she replied, and the relief flooded into my heart.

He had gone to a merchant state for the aid. They have given us aid, but we want more. I don’t like it, but I need it and am grateful for it.

If it wasn’t for the aid from the merchant state, I wouldn’t have been able to recruit enough people for the second battle and buy the mines other armaments, and strategic resources for the battle.

Every day the city is growing, and more people are returning.

It is nothing compared to its peak, but it is happening. The activity was picking up, first, it was construction, but now the other business also slowly rising, creating jobs and attracting more people.

Those who are coming to the city know, that things are dangerous, but they have no choice. Seeing the empire isn’t in the best state right now.

The civil war is spreading, and our enemies are also making progress. Making many people leave their homes.

Most of them escaped toward the Namdar. Currently, it is the safest place in the whole empire. Everywhere in the empire, the prices of real estate are shrinking, but in Namdar are skyrocketing.

The house of silver is raking in cash up there.

Gerald had made a huge real estate investment; it was a risky bet, that if he had failed, would have cost him, his future as the successor. He succeeded, and the bed instead cemented his position further.

If the undead hadn't invaded, a good share of those people would have come to the Greltheaven, not only the peasants and poor but also the rich ones.

We would have been further away from the conflict, but still in empire. It is also the place with legacy and a few hours away from merchant state; where they could run, if conflict arrived in the region.

The undead had messed it all up.

Still, I have not given up on those people, and they will come, but to bring them, I will need to make the city attractive and there are two things, that will do that.

Security and legacy.

They need to feel the city is safe. We have won the two battles, but it is not enough. We need to do something more and I already have a plan for that.

It is Stone’s plan and overambitious, to say the least, but if we are able to achieve that. My god, the changes will happen.

The legacy will bring even bigger changes.

The amount of loans is increasing every day. Going far beyond the initial budget. Though, I am not scared of it.

I know, I am on the right path, and I will succeed.