City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 262: Responsibilities

“It is enough for today, gentlemen, we will meet again in a week,” I said to the three people in front of me.
 
They are Damon Hardt, Soren Arryn, and Charles Tilak; all three vice-directors of trade. Each of them was responsible for a different region, including me, who was responsible for the eastern region as well as their boss.
 
It hasn’t been long since I got the promotion and there are already a couple of people vying for the position.
 
Not the position of director of trade, but of vice-director of trade.
 
I had no interest in giving it up, at least for a few months or even a year. I have worked hard to achieve those things and unless I take them to a certain height and make them stable. I will not be handling them to others, only to mess it up.
 
I have some people in mind, to which I wanted to hand it over, but the Count would never agree.
 
They left the room after a short talk, and I followed after a few minutes. The meeting lasted longer, than I would like, but I had to sort things up.
 
From tomorrow, I barely have any time for anything. Not that I wasn’t doing anything, in the past few days.
 
Since I have come back from Port Midlet; I have been busy. There hadn’t been a single hour when I wasn’t working.
 
I walked out of the city hall and sat in the carriage.
 
Before I took charge of the trade department, most of the meetings used to be held in the merchant guild, since all three of them were from there.
 
I shifted them back to city hall.
 
Count Darrow is a good leader but has flaws. His style of administration is not efficient and since he is doing that, the other officials also follow it at their convenience, whenever they can.
 
It had decreased the administrative efficiency.
 
I shook my head and focused on the list; I had in my hands. It is the list of girls who will be debuting tomorrow; there are three hundred and twenty-four.
 
In total, there will be five hundred and eleven girls working in the establishment throughout the day and night from tomorrow.
 
There would have been six hundred and eleven, but a hundred are leaving for Owlspring tomorrow; the new brothel at Owlspring will open on the first day of the second week of next month.
 
Which is eight days away.
 
Soon, I reached near the establishment and saw its gates close. 
 
It had been less than an hour since the establishment opened for the evening and the gates were already closed. The establishment is doing well and with more girls, it will do even better.
 
With more girls debuting, the pressure on the girls already working will reduce significantly. 
 
Now, I could implement the proper shifts. 
 
I was doing it before but wasn’t able to enforce it properly due to the limited number of girls and a very high demand.
 
Which will also give them time to focus on their hobbies and interests. 
 
My research shows that giving them more time to pursue their interest makes them level-up faster. Not just in the class of their interest but also their classes and I want them to keep leveling up.
 
Every week, there would be at least two girls reaching Lv. 20 and sometimes, the numbers would go as high as five.
 
I am having a problem in housing all those girls, seeing every girl reaching Lv. 20 will get a private room. I have lots of rooms in the underground, but even that space will be occupied quickly with the progress of the girls.
 
Tomorrow new girls are debuting and if the past data is right, then in the month, they will advance rapidly. All the knowledge and training they have received will help them with that.
 
Many girls would gain two, three, or more levels and break capstones.  
 
Thankfully, the hundred experienced girls are leaving for the Owlspring, and it will open up a lot of space; especially the sixty-two private rooms of Lv. 20 and above girls. In two months, two hundred more will leave for the two cities.
 
With this, I shouldn’t be too worried, but I feel things aren’t going to be this simple.
 
I sighed and looked as the carriage entered through the back entrance.
 
I walked out but didn’t go directly to my office instead went to the floors first and saw each one was filled with patrons. 
 
It couldn’t help but bring a smile to my face.
 
Click!
 
Half an hour later, I entered my office and a few minutes after that, Caena and Margaux walked inside.
 
“How did your meeting with interior designers go?” I asked as she took the seat. 
 
I wanted to be part of the meeting, but the Count summoned me; it wasn’t an important thing, but it wasn’t like I could skip the summon.
 
Especially when I am taking the leave tomorrow for the debut.
 
“Good, they are confident to make changes within a day,” Margaux replied, and I felt relieved. 
 
With over three hundred girls debuting, we had to make some changes in the establishment. It will not be a big chance; a small one that won't take more than a few hours. 
 
I had discussed that with the designers a few months ago during the chances I had made, and they have made a plan for that. 
 
We are now moving according to those plans.
 
If I wanted to, I could have made big changes, so that the establishment could have been able to house all five hundred and eleven girls at once.
 
I will not do that, even though it will help me earn more money. 
 
The money is important; it is the purpose of the whole business, but it will affect the brand's image I had worked so hard to create. I will not do that, for a quick profit, that will bring me losses in the end.
 
Despite being over three hundred new girls debuting. There won’t be more than a 30% increase to their current numbers.
 
As I had said, I won’t be making them work like a bull.
 
They will work in shifts. That way, they will have enough time to rest and pursue their interest. It will keep them happy and level them fast while providing patrons with the experience of their lives.
 
In the long run, it will make me huge money.
 
“We only have a day. Let's hope everything goes well,” I said.
 
We discussed things for twenty minutes before Margaux left, leaving me alone with Caena.
 
“The enchantments seemed to be working great,” I said with a smile. “Yes, they are,” she replied.
 
Every day, she adds new enchantments to the establishments and every one of them seems to be improving the establishment in a small way.
 
“What is the progress of the enchantments?” I asked.
 
“I was about to tell you about it. I have finished 80% enchantments on the list and would need a new one,” she said, forwarding the list toward me.
 
I am surprised. 
 
I thought, she would need another month to craft those enchantments, but it seemed like she leveled up or became more proficient in crafting them, because looking at things, it won’t take more than a week to finish the rest 20%.
 
I looked list and the names she had marked; only 20% of them were unmarked.
 
“You see, I haven’t quite finished with it,” I said with slight embarrassment and took out the list of my own.
 
This is the list of enchantments I have been making to give it to her, but unlike all lists in the past few months, which had at least fifty or over names; this one had seventeen in them.
 
I was barely able to create a list last time and this time, I wasn’t even do that. 
 
I hate to admit it, but I am out of ideas. I have used everything I have in making the past lists.
 
It is not like I could create enchantments on anything; it needs to be related to the vision I have for the establishment.
 
I cannot ask anyone for help either, not even from Carla, considering what I am doing is quite dangerous and possibly illegal, depending on the interpretation of the law.
 
I don’t want her to know about it, because once she knows, she will become a participant in it. Now she could claim the deniability that would hold against even the strongest of truth spells.
 
“I am sure you will be able to finish it, in a few days,” she said, but to that, I shook my head. 
 
“I am out of ideas. If you have any, you are free to contribute,” I said, shaking my head, while her eyes lit up for a moment before she controlled her emotions.
 
“I have few,” she said and took out a page and slid toward me.
 
‘These are not few,’ I thought, looking at a list of one hundred and seventy-two enchantments. As I began to read the list, my expressions couldn’t help but become serious.
 
She hadn’t just written them out of nothing. Each one of them is well thought out and seems to fill the gap in the list I have created.
 
“It is good. I will order the things, you need to craft them,” I said after, looking through the list.
 

Still Craving. Visit for More.