Hendricks
"We have finally reached it," I said as the port of Greltheaven came into view.
It was the most difficult journey; I had ever made. We were nearly killed several times. If not for the man beside me; we wouldn't have survived it all.
"It is small," said the man beside me. "Yes, it is, but it has the legacy," I replied with pride.
I had thought it was fake news when I heard the legacy still standing, despite exploding into the pieces. If not for my grandchildren swearing on their lives; I wouldn't have believed it.
Even now, I still have some doubts in my heart.
The ship came closer, and I could see the port fully. It was not as bustling as it was when I came here a few months ago but looked better than I had thought.
I have seen how cities turn after going through the battle. Especially cities like this which are solely dependent on trade.
I turned my eyes away from the port and looked at the two children. The little girl is sleeping on her brother's lap, while the boy looks at the city with fear and trepidation.
"Don't worry. You will be safe here," I said to the boy and, as always, the boy's expressions remained unchanged, but the emotions in his eyes changed.
…
Click!
The carriage stopped, and I got out of it. I didn't return to the city-hall and instead to the site.
In front of me, over a thousand people are working. Some are laying the bricks, while some mixing the cement and doing other construction work.
Seeing me coming, Carla walked toward me.
"It is hard to believe, the progress they have made within a week," she said, looking at the things in front.
"It is good speed," I said, pleased, and walked toward it with her.
It is not the establishment, but the hostel, or rather the campus. It will be a place for the girls to study and live. I am making it in the form of modern collages and reserved twenty-five acres of land for it.
I had brought this land with my money.
I had asked girls to go ambitious and added my own ideas to theirs. It might seem too much, but it is not.
The new design isn't a circle. The girls have decided to go traditional, but it would be no less amazing. It would also be much grander than the circle, with more facilities and space.
Over a thousand people are working on it. Edmor is rapidly hiring people but has also taken help from the many construction firms in the city.
These constructions are one of the reasons why, so few people are leaving the city.
It had provided them with jobs and while it is dangerous. They are earning money, which is helping them feed their families, which for some people is a big enough reason to stay in the city.
I strolled around for a few minutes and talked to a few people. Before sitting in the carriage with Carla and Zela.
A few minutes later, the carriage reached another site.
I decided to go with Valentina's suggestion and agreed to build a park, rather than the garden that I had originally planned. It had increased the cost of the project, due to the large amount of land I needed to buy around the establishment.
The bank had given a blank check, but the way I had spent in the past ten days would have definitely made them wonder.
The land is very cheap right now. I had got in less than 30% of what it had been before the attack.
I used my authority to readjust the boundaries of districts. Especially the entertainment district and business district.
Now, the establishment will be in the middle of both.
Half of it will be in the market district while the other half in the entertainment district. This way, the establishment, as well as both districts, will be able to make full use of each other.
Click!
A minute later, the carriage stopped, and the door opened.
"My lord," said Davidson as I got out. "How is it going, Mr. Davidson?" I asked, looking at the fifty-some people working around the establishment.
They are not working on the main ground of the establishment but around it.
They had yet to find a partner for the construction of the establishment. So, the work couldn't be started yet, but there is still a lot of work needed to be done.
These people are sprinkling the crystalline powder around the establishment.
It is to absorb the death energies of the surrounding area. A lot of undead had died here, making it dense with death energy. We will need to deal with that. If we want to build a park.
It could be easily solved with spells from the establishment, but I can't use them. Even if there was no fear of discovery, I wouldn't have used them.
It is costly and I wouldn't spend essence on such things unless it is necessary.
"Everything is going well, my lord," he replied and began to explain things to me as we walked around the establishment.
"I hope, you will all start working on the building soon," I said to the old man, and he smiled.
"We are nearly done choosing the partner, once that is done, and we get your approval, we will begin the construction immediately," replied the old man.
It won't be immediate, as the old man said. The agreements would need signing. Things and people will be needed to bring here, from a merchant state, and that will take time.
Especially more, given the threat of the undead. Still, I want to start the work in this month.
Thankfully, we are set on designing. I had a vision and Edmore helped me perfect it. In essence, it is still the same, but a new thing has been added to it, making it even more amazing.
Edmor had thoroughly impressed me with the design, and it is far from finished, but it is finished enough, that we could start working on it.
The old man left a few minutes later; he also took samples, that Edmor had sent for the experiment.
He is bringing different types of materials used in construction to test with the emotion mist.
Every material reacts differently and while there are proven materials that work well with mist, they need to be tested as the composition of every legacy's emotion mist is different.
Something that works with other legacies might not work with mine.
The construction had not started, but the work had begun. Edmor and his people are doing hundreds of such things daily.
"Mr. Hendricks has arrived at the port. He wants to meet you as soon as possible," informed Zela.
The old man had been really unlucky. The journey, that is supposed to take a few days, had taken weeks. He had left Redfawn weeks ago, two days before the emperor's death and only now reaching the Greltheaven.
I didn't think, the old man was exaggerating, when he said he had nearly died several times in messages.
Serious things are happening in the empire. Till now, they have not affected us more than we had expected, and I hope, it will continue as such.
The wasteland is not of the princes' priority to conquer. If it had, they wouldn't have just watched while the undead invaded.
Though, that doesn't mean, they are not keeping an eye on it. I have been contacted by the people of all princes and all those bastards are asking is emotion essence.
Of course, I am not going to provide them with that. I even have a convenient excuse for a few months.
I shook my head at those thoughts and focused on the old man. He had come, and he was alone. He had brought some people, he said, I would be really interested to meet.
I opened my mouth to reply, but stopped for a moment.
"Ask him to come here directly," I said. I first planned to meet him in city hall, but I think this will be the best place.
It had a place where he had dropped me off and now, a year later, so much had changed. The brothel he had dropped me off had turned into a legacy before blasting into pieces, destroying thousands of undead.
Now it is being rebuilt with a grand vision.
I walked around the establishment with Carla with Zela, and guards following at a distance.
Since the battle, I had rarely had to spend time alone with her. We are both busy with our work.
"How are you? Is it the work being too much?" I asked her, to which she shook her head with a smile.
"No, work is good. I am enjoying it," she replied.
There are a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders. She is not only working with Ed in selecting the partners, since the establishment is her responsibility, but also with the girls.
We are sending the girls out. They are going to different places, some to the legacies like Vanis Tavern, some to big hotels and places. Some are going to the institute and teachers to learn special skills.
A few, like Maeve are going out of the continent.
The legacy that will open six months later will not only be big and the epitome of luxury, but the girls working on it will be an on class of their own.
I am sending them to different places to train. I have a vision in mind and to fulfill it, they will need to learn new skills and gain more experience. The places I had sent them will provide those things for them.
A few minutes passed when the carriage appeared and stopped a few seconds later.
Click!
I turned to it as its door opened and a familiar old man came out. He looked tired but had a big smile on his face.
Behind him came another man. He looked to be in middle age; he was handsome with a mustache that suited him well.
He is a warrior; it is not the saber by his waist told me, but the way he held himself. He is also not weak; I could tell he was pretty strong; Zela also thinks so as she took a step closer to me.
He is an Otonian. It is easy to recognize with dark skin and pale violet eyes.
I was looking at him, when my eyes fell on the two people, or rather the children, behind him. The boy looked to be eleven or twelve and had the same bronze skin as Jon and Stena.
I turned to the child beside him. She is clearly heraldan with light brown skin and looks to be about four to five years old.
Her hand is clutching the hand of the boy, while the other holding a stuffed toy. She is looking around nervously before those big dark brown eyes of hers meet mine and instantly; I get struck with an intense feeling of familiarity.
I felt like I knew her, felt a connection to her but I could swear, I have never met her.