A Dragon's Curiosity

“Time is a strange thing. I wonder, what exactly did Galan and grandfather go through when they went on their adventures together?

If I can get a friend that is only half as good to me as they were to each other, I can count myself fortunate.”

While Nisha had only lived through a few turns so far, she had already experienced the betrayal between monsters in the Wilderness, the deceptiveness between humans, and the struggles at the academy.

To see such strong bonds even after all these turns had passed and that Galan still held the kindness her grandfather had shown close to his heart, it touched the elf.

Her reverie lasted almost a candle before the dragon broke out of it and decided on a plan of action for the day.

If the moral of Galan’s story taught her about humility and kindness, then the actual details reminded her of an urgent and vital task she had to complete.

Alester had promised her to work hard and gather competent craftsmen, planners, and related personnel to start the construction work on the new district, which was situated in a belt around the existing city. However, a complete hands off approach might not work best—for either side of the deal.

The old scrooge had taken over a villa in the noble district from his predecessor, as well as  his title and position in the guild. Although the building was on the smaller side and in the less prestigious area, it was still considered upper social strata among Leandar nobility.

Maybe due to the aftershock of the quiet power struggle, the new owner had yet to hire an adequate number of guards and servants. The gate to the the house was opened but not manned.

Nisha let herself in and quickly crossed the small garden. Compared to her last visit, there were improvements here and there. The estate looked better overall and, while the process was not finished quite yet, the efforts were visible to all visitors.

The mansion’s interior, on the other hand, displayed the absolute opposite. Among the broken bottles, the sour stench of alcohol and other filthy smells, and trash strewn about everywhere, a group of half dressed men and scantily clad women wore fake smiles as they writhed about in the arms of their respective partners.

Some familiar smoke also drifted around with the bitter telltale sign of [Bliss] and perspiration, human despair and resignation.

In the center, on a couch made of high quality materials, the leader of the group—at least, judging by his position and higher cultivation—glanced at the elf before he busied himself again with the girl in his arms and shouted at the others.

“Who ordered another girl? She looks a bit young, though. Are any of you into that?”

Between sips from his bottle and huffs of yellow smoke from a pipe that contained who-knows-what, he eyed the dragon in a manner that made her skin crawl and gave her the urge to beat him up.

Nisha scanned them one by one and was quite confused by their adult actions but she had no time to question them. With the help of her [Spirit Sight] she had already located Alester in a room upstairs and promptly ignored the common rabble indulging in pleasure and stimulants in the lobby.

The group catcalled and teased her when they saw where she was going and the leader mumbled to himself.

“Old bugger always yells at us for bringing over the girls and punishes us with meaningless errands, but then he also orders himself a little beauty, and an elf at that. Must have cost a fortune to do one like her.”

Thankfully, he spoke quietly enough. The noise around him prevented the elf from hearing or he might have lost his life for the accusation.

Inside his new study, an older thief was currently pouring over stacks of documents, reports, and requests.

When he inherited the title tied to the manor, Alestar was more than elated to finally climb up the social ladder of the kingdom. To make his way here as a criminal, he had fought times with his competitors inside and outside of the [Thieves Guild] and nearly lost his life in the process countless times.

So when the elf he came to know by chance talked about her plans and revealed that she had the funds to dream big, he jumped at the opportunity .

And if things went well, he could grab onto that chance and move  even farther up, maybe to the point where he no longer had to listen to orders from the Guild, to a seat where he had the power to order others around.

Originally, Nisha wanted to follow etiquette and knock before entering. However, when she saw that no one other than the old crook was inside the room, the elf discarded those pretentious customs and went straight inside. She raised her hand in greeting and observed the other party.

The man behind the desk had already been in his later years when she had met him in that fight in the small. But he had aged sturdily, with a strong physique and a vigorous spirit in his eyes.

Now, the dragon saw an exhausted old man with a stale air around him. His hair was a shade whiter and he had deep wrinkles around his eyes and mouth.

As he went through the various accounts and papers on his desk, he initially did not even notice that someone had entered the room.

A pair of slender feet in soft leather boots entered his peripheral view, only then did Alester raise his head and recognize the visitor in his study.

He dropped everything and reclined in his chair, stretching his numb legs before smiling at the girl.

“Greetings, Nisha. Or should I call you Miss Dharnas from now on? How come my humble abode has the pleasure of hosting you today?”

Since they now worked together on a colossal project with a chance to inherit one of the most prestigious and noble houses in the entire kingdom , the old crook no longer spoke to the elf as casually.

This altered his perception of the girl a bit as he had previously had the chance to socialize with a mere baron, not to mention a count or duke.

He now had a title of his own and was part of the strict hierarchy of the upper social circles—continuing to think of the elf as a little girl or to call her by first name as he pleased was not an option for Alester.

“A good day to you as well. I have some free time now that the first period of lessons at the academy is over and thought I’d visit you to see how the progress on the land deed and the building preparations for  the new district are going.

Just dumping all of the work on you and never showing up would be quite shameful, right, Alester?

Or would you prefer Sir Alester instead?”

For an observer, the interaction sounded formal, but Nisha and the old crook grinned at each other.

She picked up a stack of documents from the chair on the other side of the desk and seated herself casually. Their etiquette-oriented words turned into friendly banter right away.

With a single glance, they communicated and decided that the formal titles were meant to be used only in the presence of outsiders.

“So, you know how hard it is to try and just create a whole new district out of thin air. If it weren’t for the huge pile of gold you left, I’d have thought it was just an elaborate prank you set up to screw with me.”

While he complained, the old crook had already removed capital from the building. He had ordered some of his own men that came with him from the protection money branch when he ascended to his current position to deposit the entire stash of valuables at a trustworthy bank.

The [Adventurer’s Guild], as well as the kingdom itself, ran a banking service, which allowed the customers to bring in their hard earned money from bloody adventures or Wilderness campaigns to any of their branches and withdraw it wherever they wanted to spend it.

Due to the widespread nature of the Guild, coupled with their advanced equipment, their bank enjoyed a higher reputation and trust. This prompted the various kingdoms and nations that held a cooperative relationship with the [Adventurer’s Guild] to open banking services as a response, although their share of the market was smaller.

Nonetheless, nobles often allowed local financial institutions to credit their wealth, which earned them small favors with the kingdom itself and generated some income when the banks loaned the money out for them.

To even consider a project like building a district and a city wall, the old crook had hurriedly brought all the shiny gold and silver to a local branch and deposited it before any of the shady characters in the Guild learned of the vast fortune he had hidden away.

Having money was great and solved one of the bigger worries but capital alone did not magically solve all issues.

“That’s very nice of you, Nisha. In truth, I’m just running here and there every day to apply for permits, getting experts to evaluate the surrounding countryside, and searching for companies and trading houses to source construction materials for the wall and the infrastructure.

Did you know?

Each district in Leandar has to follow a strict sewer standard, and the plans for the sanitation standards have to follow royal norms, so a unified system can keep the Thurg river clear from human waste and workshop byproducts.

In addition, the main street itself is already there from the continental highway running through all of the nations along it, but side streets also have to be built in a specific way. Otherwise, they can easily break down from stress and tear.

And those are just the most fundamental issues. Most of the documents you see on my desk only capture approximately that—two problems. Of course, there  has also been some success with a guarantee for stone coming from a merchant house affiliated with the [Blackburn] family; one of the sons or nephews is in charge there. Finest quality stone in great numbers, though it isn’t even clear yet how much is needed.

Based on the reports made by different earth mage experts, the numbers vary greatly.

I don’t even know when was the last time I left the house without having a tight schedule to attend to, with some meetings falling through because the noble in charge of these offices has a much higher pedigree than I do and cancels because something more important has come up.”

Since Alester had no trusted aide or a person of equal standing around him, all the stress and frustrations had piled up until he broke out in a long complaining speech to the dragon, who was technically his employer, backer and superior noble.

Thankfully, their relationship was quite close from the time that he introduced her to the [Thieves Guild] and helped her out, so they felt equal in power to Nisha’s contentment.

“I see that the difficulty is quite high. What do you need me to do? And are you confident in continuing with the plan for the new district?

Maybe I can send someone more experienced to work with you.”

The last part held more concern than reprimand, so the old crook did not misunderstand it as an attempt to dismiss him from his position as the project leader.

“No, I am certain there is a way to work this out and if I can overcome the difficulties this time, my standing as the builder of the new district and wall will soar into the heavens with one step.

Who knows, maybe some nice widow or older lady will pity this old fool and start a family with me, changing my title from a benefit provided to the guild to a proper noble inheritance,  can you imagine that?

A street thug that pressed others for money turned into proper nobility.”

While Alester drifted off into a dreamland conjured by that possible future, Nisha once again confirmed her resolve to support the endeavor to the best of her ability.

Not only would it allow a fellow to realize a dream he had never even dared to consider, the Dharnas house would also share the glory. It would instantly change from a nominal house that had no land aside from a single mansion in the capital to a grand influence that controlled an entire district of its own.

Of course, such thinking was too simplistic and there would be quite a lot of trouble and hindrance coming from other factions. But was Marshal Dharnas, the older generation, not there to hold up the sky while she pursued her ambition?

“Then, if you are confident, once again: What do you need me to do? No matter what it is, I will accomplish it.”

The determination did not only give her a stronger presence, but the dragon’s mana and aura that had stayed a long time at the boundary between the third and fourth rank showed faint signs of growing.