City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 243: Property Hunting

“Owlspring. It is more beautiful than you had described, sister Carla,” said Gloria as the ship sailed through the confluence toward the port of Owlspring in the light of dawn.
 
It is a really beautiful scenery, that I really wish I could capture in the photo.
 
Unfortunately, there was no camera; I could only capture it in my heart, and that seemed enough.
 
A few minutes later, the ship had docked at the port, and we got out and stepped into the carriage waiting for us.
 
The carriage moved through the port, while Gloria watched in wonder. The young girl had never been out of the empire and the only time she had traveled was between the cities when she had come to the Greltheaven with the girls.
 
Carla talked with her, telling her about the things that had amazed her.
 
She had been here four times already this month; she had needed to. The licensing process of the scarlet business is complicated. I had hired the firm to deal with them, but I still needed to make the trips twice.
 
Forty-five minutes later; the carriage stopped in front of the huge hotel; it is fourteen stories tall, in the shape of a curved moon.
 
The hotel's name is the Almas. It is one of the best hotels in the Owlspring.
 
We stepped inside its grand lobby, took our keys from the reception, and walked to the elevator.
 
“Rest a little, we have a long day ahead of us,” I said to Carla and Gloria before walking into my suit.
 
There, I showered and read the research I did before having breakfast with Gloria and Carla in my suit. 
 
Two hours after that, we stepped into the elevator again.
 
We had just walked into the lobby when a beautiful elf woman stopped in front of us.
 
She looked to be in her early thirties. Tall with classing elvish features, green eyes, and long blue hair, which she had kept in a bun. 
 
“Mr. Silver, I hope you had a pleasant journey,” said the woman in a beautiful voice, augmented by her skills. 
 
“Thank you for asking. Miss Fahryce,” I replied.
 
“If you are ready, then we should leave now. We have a lot of places to look,” she said.
 
“We shouldn’t delay, then,” I replied, and we walked out of the lobby.
 
The woman is Sumina Fahryce, the realtor. Her agency is one of the biggest in the whole Meldhorn and she had come highly recommended.
 
Soon we were in the carriage, moving toward our destination.
 
“With the requirements, you had stated and the budget you have, we have selected two wards of the red-light district,” she said and activated the palm-sized stone disc appearing in her hand, which projected the map of the red-light district.
 
It is divided into seven wards.
 
“These two wards house high-class and mid-class brothels along scarlet category business of the same classes,” she added, and two wards lit up.
 
Three sections house mainly high and mid-class scarlet category businesses. I cannot afford a place in the most famous ward of Owlspring’s red-light district.
 
It was too expensive for me.
 
I am talking about renting here and not buying. The prices of the property here are sky-high, it is out of my range. 
 
“We will see 5th ward only,” I said to her, and she simply nodded. As if expecting it.
 
3rd ward and 5th ward are the only two wards that exclusively host high and mid-class brothels. The 2nd ward had some upper-low-class brothels, and I didn’t want my business there.
 
“We will have seventeen properties to look at there,” she informed me, and I nodded.
 
A little over an hour later, the carriage entered the red-light district from the entertainment district. 
 
The red-light district of the Owlspring is huge and strict. The merchants control every business strictly and they put a special focus on the scarlet category businesses.
 
We are currently in the 3rd ward, and it is beautiful, with huge buildings, some going over ten stories tall. They didn’t look like the brothels, but expensive hotels, but they are brothels.
 
Though not all of them are brothels, many are erotic message centers, naked fighting rings, and other scarlet businesses.
 
It is not just the buildings here, big and beautiful, but the streets are wider and greener, with a good presence of guards. One would also find the area extremely clean. 
 
If one didn’t read signs on the building and roads; they would find it hard to distinguish it from the entertainment district.
 
Not all wards of the red-light district are like this.
 
Only three wards are like this, they are the ones that pay the city enough taxes to be worth their upkeep. There are wards that are similar to every other red-light district of this world.
 
Especially, the 6th ward.
 
I have come to Owlspring twice in the past month and seen quite a lot and, like all the cities, Owlspring also has an underbelly.
 
Ten minutes later, the carriage entered the 5th ward and there was only a slight difference in it compared to the 3rd ward. Most people wouldn’t even notice the difference.
 
The carriage stopped a minute later, and we got out. 
 
“This is a three-a-half thousand square-foot plot; perfect for a medium-sized building with a small garden around it,” said the elf as she led us into the plot, which is not even a third in size compared to an establishment plot.
 
I want to build the branches of the establishment; I want them to have the distinct style that the establishments have.
 
However, that doesn’t mean I am seeing the plots only. There are three buildings in today's, itinerary.
 
“The plot is not big, and we would manage, but we will be overshadowed by our neighbors, especially the building on the left,” said Carla, and I couldn’t help but nod.
 
“It won’t be suitable for our vision,” I said, and the realtor nodded, without any hint of disappointment.
 
“We will see the next one,” she said with a smile and led us to the next plot, which was slightly smaller and had everything I wanted, but I didn’t feel like it would be suitable for the establishment.
 
One after another we saw plot after another and soon, we have finished seeing five and the carriage stopped in front of the sixth.
 
“This one is good,” I said as I stepped out of the carriage and Carla nodded.
 
“The neighboring buildings won't shadow it and it got the street access on two sides,” said Carla.
 
“It is good. The thirty-eight hundred square feet will give you big freedom to build what you want, and two streets provide your business with greater visibility,” said the elf woman.
 
“It is good, Miss Fahryce, add it into the consideration,” I said to the elf, and she nodded with a smile.
 
Half an hour later, we saw the seventh plot, and it was so-so.
 
The eighth place we saw was a building; it was built in the harsothian style, and its size was also good, but as I looked at the building, I didn’t get the feeling I wanted and the skill which I had used in the end gave me the similar feedback.
 
After touring through it, we sat in the carriage and went to the eighth place, which is a plot, I added into consideration.
 
“No,” I said as the carriage stopped.
 
In front of me is a white-colored building, a beautiful one, and even a small garden around it, but on the left and right of it are two even more amazingly beautiful buildings.
 
Even my skill is telling me, that choosing the building wouldn’t be a wise idea.
 
The elf didn’t try to pursue me and simply asked the driver to move to the next destination. Which is a plot, and it was so-so and one after that was good enough, that I had asked her to place it, in the consideration.
 
The carriage stopped again, and what I saw made my eyes light up, not only mine but also Carla’s.
 
“What happened to it?” asked Gloria, seeing the burned top floor of the building.
 
“A brawl broke out between the group of patrons and a fire spell is released. The enchantments weren’t strong enough to stop it completely and causing damage to the entire floor.” 
 
“The owner had got seriously injured and still recovering from it,”
 
“It had shaken him pretty hard, that he decided to leave the business,” the elf replied. 
 
The three-story building looked average; was average even when its top floor hadn’t been damaged. There is good space around it, it is not big, but a good designer could create a beautiful small garden around it.
 
What made my and Carla’s eyes light up wasn’t the building itself, but the greenery around it.
 
On all three sides, there are three huge buildings, and these buildings are surrounded by huge greenery. 
 
It gives a feeling that this building is also surrounded by it.
 
“Let’s go look inside,” I said, and the elf took us inside, giving us a tour of the building, which was not great. 
 
It had big potential; the past owner wasn’t able to bring it out.
 
“Add it to the consideration,” I said. The elf nodded, and we sat in the carriage and moved toward another property.
 
A few more hours passed, and we have finished looking at all the properties.
 
“I am sure you will need time. Contact me, when you have made the decision or need to see any more properties,” 
 
“I can show you more if we loosen your criteria a little,” said Elf.
 
“There is no need for that. We have already decided,” I said, and the eyes of the elf lit up.
 
“Which one did you like, the plot on Norm Street?” she asked to which I shook my head. “No, the burned building,” I replied and for a brief moment, a surprise appeared on her face before she hid it.
 
Gloria’s surprise is more pronounced. She hadn’t expected I would choose the burned building.
 
The only one who isn’t surprised is Carla.
 
“Though, before we go further with the deal, I would need complete information about the building,” I said, and the elf smiled.
 
“It's no problem, I have it with me. Mr. Silver,” she said and handed me a binder.
 
I will have to know everything about it. So, I could decide whether to demolish it and build another one or refurbish it in my vision.
 
The deal is expensive; I will need to pay around twenty-five million imperials for it and that will only be the deposit and rent of one year; I will need even more money to build or refurbish it.
 
It will not be the only project I will be spending the money on. There are two more.
 
Thankfully, they will be cheaper than the Owlspring, but more expensive than Greltheaven. I hope the fifty-one million imperials I have would be enough for the deals.
 
As to build them, I will pay as I earn.

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