Proofread by Thomas F
Damon Hardt
"…yes, when you come to the city, you will see I am not exaggerating; it is a place full of opportunities," I said. 'Good, I will be there in two weeks,' replied the man on the other side, before cutting the call.
The job is more complicated than it looks. It was much easier to bring investments to Greltheaven than to Panar.
But I must. I am not the Chief of Trade anymore, but the Governor of Panar.
"Has there been any communication from Belrav?" I asked. "No," Argis replied. It made me sigh before I controlled myself.
The House of Belrav used to have many mines in the empire. Like us, House of Hardt, Belrav had thrown its lot in with Prince Grelt and is paying the price.
The price they have paid is even worse than what we did.
The Crown Prince had confiscated businesses and arrested many of their people in his territory. The princess had been a little more merciful, but they had paid her good money to keep their business.
I am contacting him because I want to sell him the mines. It will also bring us a lot of miners.
The city plans to sell all the mines, except for Odis, where we harvest Grade IV crystals. Though it is not the reason, we are not selling it.
Most of them will be sold through the tender, but I have the authority to sell a few directly, provided they agree to the price set by the mining department.
I am focusing on Belrav because they are desperate enough and have the necessary resources. They not only mine, but also have a processing business.
Grade I to Grade III mines aren't something they are interested in, but they are very interested in a free market environment and political stability.
We could offer them that.
Our market is even freer than Namdar's; Silver is very strict about interference. He also does not mess with business as long as they follow the law.
It's why there are so many businesses popping up across Greltheaven. Most of them are small businesses, but there are also many medium-sized ones and a few large-scale ones.
Panar is also getting a piece of the pie, but our piece is small; we need the bigger piece.
I am Damon Hardt from the Mercantile House of Hardt. I need to prove that I can do the job and make Panar successful. It is why he gave me the job.
I worked for an hour and a half more before I walked out of my office.
The carriage was waiting for me outside the city hall, and I stepped inside.
Soon, it began to move through the city while I watched it through the window. In the past two months, I have seen the population of the town growing.
When I took over, there were only around twenty thousand people in the city. Now, it is over fifty thousand.
Unlike Greltheaven, it has yet to reach its peak; it had before the undead arrived, but it will soon, given the number of people coming into the city.
I had been given a target: to have two hundred thousand people within a year. It is the minimum I have to do, and people will only come when they see safety and employment.
In Greltheaven, people are pouring in, despite the city being nearly at capacity, with a significant portion of the area around Legacy restricted from buying and selling.
Alas, Panar is not Greltheaven. It does not have a river port like it or a sea port like Gailhorn.
Nor does it have a legacy, even a small one.
That doesn't mean Panar didn't have its strengths. It does, it is a mining city with the most significant number of mines in the dominion. It also has a Western Command of the Army.
In the coming year, it will be the city that will have the largest army in the whole dominion.
More than Greltheaven or Gailhorn.
Soon, the carriage stopped and I got out of it. It is a construction site where people are working.
We are building a hospital. Not the city, but the dominion; they are the ones funding it.
It didn't take me long to see the person, and I walked toward him. As if sensing me, he turned with a smile on his face. He is another person, I don't like that much.
"Governor Hardt," he greeted. He didn't bow, just nodded. "Chief Hercule," I replied.
He came to the city yesterday and will be here till tonight, before going to Gailhorn.
"It's going at a good speed," he said, looking at the construction. "Hilson and Penn is a good firm; the few projects they did in the city were satisfactory," I replied.
It is one of the firms based in Panar. I had lobbied to have half the bidders from the city.
I am glad that the local firm has won the contract.
He didn't say anything and just looked ahead. It irritated me, but I controlled myself, showing that would not serve me well. He had become chief of infrastructure; he could make things difficult for me if he wished.
"Did you have time to read the proposal I had given you, Chief Hercule?" I asked.
"Yes, I did, but I will have to decline it." He replied, and I wanted to curse at the bastard.
"You have enough homes to house around three thousand families, and by the end of the month, you will be able to repair enough homes to house a thousand more with your own budget," he added.
'You bastard!' I cursed in my heart.
He is clearly saying that I should use the city's budget to repair homes. I am already stretching the budget as much as I can. If I had the money, I wouldn't have been asking the bastard for it.
"Yes, but the pace of people coming to the city is increasing. I need more homes ready for them," I requested.
The city has a little over thirty-five thousand houses. Of them, a little over fifteen thousand are occupied. As he mentioned, three thousand are ready to be occupied, and one thousand will be repaired by the end of next month.
Still, that is not enough; the pace of people coming is increasing, filling the ready houses.
If some of the things I am working on are successful, it's a positive sign. Then a lot more people will come, and the repaired houses we have won't be enough.
I don't just need money to repair houses; I also need it to fix roads and improve sanitation in those areas.
That is the basics. If we had money, we would build hospitals and other essential facilities.
After the undead occupation, the city has been left in a dilapidated state. Ina Knox had done an excellent job, but many parts of the town still needed fixing.
The city's budget is not enough to fix those things.
I might have managed somehow if the people hadn't left. Before the Great Horde's attack, Knox had made the city nearly self-sufficient, but many people left.
Many of them have returned, but not all.
"I want to help you, Governor, but I can't. I was barely able to squeeze enough money to sanction these projects in your city. The money is tight and will be tight for a while."
"So, you will have to find the way to fund it somehow," he replied with a sigh.
I know, it is not an act. My connections in the Greltheaven told me that the dominion is barely managing it, with a large part of the budget going to the army.
"Still, do try. We will appreciate even the smallest bit of help," I said, and he nodded.
A few minutes later, I was in my carriage. It's clear that I will not get the money from the Dominion for it. If I want it, I will have to do it myself.
Soon, I reached the city hall and stepped inside.
People greeted and bowed as I walked by. It feels good to be admired and respected. I was the head of the merchant guild and then the chief of trade, but both were civilian positions.
The governorship is a nobility; quasi nobility in my condition, since I am not noble born or have a noble title bestowed on me, but I get addressed as 'my lord', the same as them.
I was among the people in the family who were in favor of buying the barony from the prince, like many merchant families did, but most of my family, including the head, were against it.
It is one of the reasons why I was sent here.
The family wanted to go for the big prize, the countship that Prince Grelt had promised in exchange for their support.
Not only did we not receive it, but we are also paying the price for that support. The house of Hardt is one of the most powerful mercantile houses in the empire.
Our family is even older than the empire itself, but we are in our worst condition. Now, the family that threw me here is putting their hopes on me.
"Lord Governor, Lady Hardt is waiting for you in your office," Edin informed.
She is the new secretary, the one who comes with the appointment. She is from Velvet Garden. So, one can imagine where her loyalties lie.
She is here to help me, but also keep an eye on me.
I do not like it, but it's not like I have any choice. Still, the woman is competent. As efficient as my personal trusted secretary and more hardworking.
I nodded and entered. There, I saw Scala, sitting in my office, talking with Argis.
The man had been very helpful. If not for his help, I wouldn't have gotten into the job so smoothly. It's quite unfortunate that he won't be with me for long; a few months at most.
I had been informed that they would soon call him back to Greltheaven.
I don't know what job he will get, but given his capabilities. It's likely going to be an important one.
I hope he will be here long enough to train the new assistants who will come in a week or two. They have informed me that the names will be finalized after Lord Silver returns from the merchant states.
"Lord Governor," he greeted. I nodded and sat down before turning to my wife.
"How was the trip?" I asked. She had gone to Greltheaven, where she had a good relationship with Velvet Garden, and met Lola Monet and other people from the city hall.
"Not great," she replied. "They didn't have any money to give to us," she added with a sigh.
"What did Hercule say?" she asked. "The same," I replied.
"We need money, but I don't know where to find it. I already skimmed from the other things to finance the repairs, I couldn't skim from them anymore," I said, and looked at them with hope.
They had good ideas before, which we have used, but we need more.
"There is one," said Argis, after nearly a minute of silence. "Anything," I replied.
"Reduce the free rent to two months from three that we are offering now," he stated. I wanted to reject it immediately, but I stopped.
The new arrivals get homes, but they are not free. We offer them three months of free stay before they need to start paying rent or purchase the units.
"It might make people hesitant toward coming to Panar," I said.
"We aren't the only city anymore; we are competing with Gailhorn, they are offering the same," added Scala.
Before, only Panar was doing this, but Gailhorn changed things. It is bigger and its population is larger, but it also has a lot of empty houses.
"We are, but our city is offering quick jobs." He replied. "Here, we are offering them the job on the day they are coming."
"Not to mention, we have more jobs with our mines, and the salary we offer is greater than what jobs like construction offer." He explained.
"They are also risky jobs," commented Scala. "Yes, but people do it as long as they get paid well," he replied.
This won't bring in quick money, and we can only start with the new arrivals, but considering the number of people coming. It will give us a good amount of money.
I could delay the few projects and use their money to fund the repair. When the rent money comes in, I will use it for them.
"Let's do it," I said finally.
It is very risky, but I need to take the risk. If I didn't demonstrate growth and complete the objectives Silver had given me, he wouldn't hesitate to replace me.
This job is more difficult than I had recognized, but I loved it for the power and prestige it provides. Most importantly, I never received the deep satisfaction from my business or anything else in my life that the governorship offers.
This job gives me an opportunity to make a mark that will last for generations. So, I will take the risks and succeed.
Make myself such an asset that Silver wouldn't ever think of replacing me.