City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 42: Gerald Silver

The city of Namdar came into view, and what a city it is; the first thing I noticed about its sheer size.
 
It is huge, really huge, huge as the cities on the earth, with more than ten million population. 
 
There are a couple of things that take one attention when one looks at this city. The first is the huge port that stretched for miles; it had thousands of ships coming and going every hour.
 
Every type of ship stops here, even a few flying ones which could be seen in the skies.
 
The second that attracts attention is the city itself; it is vast, spread across every angle, but not messily; one can see there is detailed planning in it, and it attracts the eyes of everyone who see it.
 
Still, both of these pale in comparison in front of the grey mage tower on a cliff that pierces through the sky.
 
It is the sole reason why in the past fifty years, everything that attacked the city had been sunk into the sea.
 
It is the seat of the warden of Namdar, the Lady of storms, the only person in the whole Empire who does not kneel to the Emperor. Helen Salazar, or if you want to be formal, then Grand Mage Salazar.
 
A storm mage, one of few people in the Empire above Level 50. She is so powerful that those monsters of S class shudder in the name of fighting her.
 
She is technically an S class, but she is a storm mage, one most offensive types of spellcaster; one could not measure her strength only through the level alone.
 
“You know I had seen Grand Mage Salazar; that woman is really something else,” said Locke and shuddered visibly.
 
I heard the same words from my father.
 
There is no need for me to be worried about her; I am too far below to be in contact with her. 
 
Only reaching the level of my grandfather do I need to think about her.
 
The ship moved closer and closer to the port, giving a better look at this majestic city, till it docked at the port.
 
“Best of luck, Gentlemen,” said Captain Perry as we walked out of the ship into the huge port.
 
We did not have to walk further, as carriages were already waiting for us, including one for me.
 
“Gentlemen, rest today and make preparation; from tomorrow, things will be tough,” he said and walked toward the carriage with the house of Santos sigil on it.
 
Others also went to carriages that were waiting for them, while Lawyers were going to the hotel. 
 
Merchant guild had booked a very nice hotel for them.
 
As for me, I am going to one of the properties owned by the house of Silver.
 
“Master Remus,” the guard waiting by carriage greeted me and opened the door for me. “Thank you,” I said and entered inside while Dan walked in after me, sitting in the opposite chair.
 
A second later, the carriage begins to move.
 
I sat comfortably, watching the scenery as the carriage drove through the port. 
 
This time, the family did not try to fuck me up. They have sent an enchanted carriage, which cost thrice as much as mine, and also the guards with it for my security, as I had asked them.
 
“Dan, have you been to the Namdar before?” I asked Dan while looking through the window. 
 
“Yes, a few times; it is a wonderful city,” he replied, looking out.
 
“Yes, it is,” I said.
 
The more I look at it, the more impressed I become; it is really beautiful, but the thing that impressed me is its planning.
 
It is an old city, thousands of years old, but it has wide roads, signs at every corner, and discipline. I could not feel any chaoticness that I usually feel when I am in a crowded port.
 
It took half an hour to get out of the port and enter the city proper, as I had expected; it was amazing.
 
I could see people of all colors and clothes walking by the shops selling all kinds of things.
 
Hun!
 
As I was watching, I saw a freaking elf and wanted to shout at the driver to stop so that I could take a careful look at him, but I did not. It would be unsophisticated and would not take even a day to spread to the rest of the family.
 
The family lives for such stories so that they can embarrass them at the right time.
 
It hadn’t been a minute; I saw the elf when I saw an orc walking openly without any problem; such a thing is impossible to do anywhere in the Empire.
 
Power is everything in the world; as long as you have the power, you can bend or even break the rules, and nobody will do anything about it.
 
In the next half an hour, I saw many orcs, elves, dwarfs, beastmen, and even a half-giant. 
 
It is not a complete giant; they are taller and seldom travel out of their holds. It is a half-giant, as humans and elves aren’t that tall and have such big muscles.
 
It took about little more than an hour before the carriage pulled into the sprawling mansion, and even Dan seemed impressed by it.
 
It is impressive.
 
The five-story sprawling mansion is beautiful with a big garden; in the whole of Greltheaven, there is not a single building of this level. It is one of the few properties house of silver has in the city.
 
It is not the most impressive one; I had chosen this one because no one is living in it and if possible, I want to stay as far away from my relatives as possible.
 
They are hazardous to my health.
 
“Welcome to Namdar city, Master Remus; I hope you will have a pleasant stay here,” greeted the old man as I walked out of the carriage.
 
He is a bald man who looks to be in his early seventies, wearing the butler's uniform.
 
“Mr. Roth,” I said. 
 
“Your suit had been ready, according to your instructions,” he said and let me inside the mansion.
 
As I had expected, it is as beautiful inside as it is outside.
 
The paintings and various other art pieces adorned the hall, they were amazing, and if I had been used to it, I would have gawked at them.
 
My father loved art, and he collected pieces; our house was littered with it. 
 
I still remember how I gawked at each piece when I took over this body; my father even mistakenly thought I had developed a taste for art.
 
“Master Remus, Master Gerald had invited you to his house for dinner and stay,” informed the butler as the elevator took us toward the top floor.
 
“Tell him not today; I am tired, and I have a lot of work to do,” I said. I will have to meet them and even have dinner before leaving, but not today. 
 
I am not ready for the family; even though my cousin Gerald is not bad, and his wife is hot, I do not have any intention to meet with him, at least not today, but given his habit, it really does not matter.
 
Soon, we reached the top floor, and I entered my suite; it was big and had all the modern and magical amenities.
 
The first thing I had was to freshen up before bringing out all the contracts and studying them. 
 
Locke is right about people of the merchant guild of Namdar chewing us up and not spitting out the bones. 
 
The merchant guild of this city is really powerful, and their people high-leveled.
 
We will need to use every advantage we have to get maximum contracts signed in our favor. 
 
Which I think is not a big ask, considering the benefits our city will provide them.
 
Time passed, and soon it was evening, and I was still working in my suit. 
 
Though I took a short break now and then and did not walk out of my suit, I have to finish going through the contracts today, and it will take a few more hours.
 
To be honest, I very much rather roam this beautiful city than work, but work is important.
 
I am sure I will get some time to roam the city in the next few days; I have a huge shopping to do, to buy things which only places like this have.
 
Knock Knock
 
I was working when a knock rang out on my door.
 
“Come in,” I said, and the door opened, and Roth walked in. “Master Remus, Master Gerald had come to meet you,” said the old man.
 
Sigh!
 
I sighed and put down the paper in my hand down, and got up. As I said before, my declining to meet him wouldn’t stop him from meeting me.
 
“Where is he?” I asked as I got up, “In the parlor,” replied the old man and took me to it.
 
A minute later, I walked into the parlor, where I saw a man in his mid-thirties sitting. He is tall with a handsome face and fit physique, and like me, he also has those silvery grey eyes, the mark of the house of silver.
 
“Remus, my cousin, you wound my heart; you should have come to my home directly instead of here,” said the man dramatically, as always.
 
“Hello, Gerald,” I said and moved to shake his hands, but he took me in for a hug, which was a little uncomfortable, but as always, he did not care.
 
Thankfully, the hug ended soon, and we sat across each other. “You have made Selina quite sad not coming to our house; she had personally invited you, Remus,” he said, looking accusingly.
 
Yes, I received the letter from his wife the day I left for Namdar.
 
“There is too much work for me to do,” I said, which only turned his expression even deeper. 
 
“We could have given you privacy and even kept little rose away from your room,” he said, looking at me like I had given the biggest betrayal of his life.
 
I know him, and unless I gave him something, he would not leave me alone.
 
“I will visit before leaving,” I said, but he kept looking at me, “and spend a night in your house,” I added, and only a smile appeared on his face.
 
“Good, Selina will be very happy to hear that,” he said happily before his expression turned serious.
 
“You know, I did not think your brothers would stoop so low to do something like that; I have even written to grandfather about it,” he said. 
 
To that, I smiled.
 
“It is fine, Gerald; I am happy in the Greltheaven,” I said, and genuinely am, more than I thought and more than I would have been if I had gotten what my father had left me for.
 
“Good. I am happy to hear that,” he said with a smile before his expression turned serious again.
 
“There is another reason I have come here,” he said, and to that, I arched her brow. 
 
“Your negotiations tomorrow will likely be handled by Carter Adams; he handles the small cities,”
 
“Be careful of him; his skills tend toward beguiling suggestions. He is very good at what he does,” he said.
 
“Thank you, I’ll remember it,” I said.
 
He stayed for another ten minutes before he left with that happy-go smile on his face.
 
That smile and altitude fool most people for the first time; it is one of his natural strengths, which he learned to use like a sharp sword.
 
He is one most successful merchants of the house, which is the reason why he got the Namdar, and he got that nearly a decade ago when he was barely thirty.
 
I watched him leave before I went back to my suit to make even further preparations. I already expected things were going to be harder, and now I have become sure of it.

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