City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 288: Fair

Sharn Rolgath
 
 
I looked nervously at the small city that came into view. It is still hard to believe a small city like this had produced a legacy.
 
legacies produced in big cities, like Port Belnin, Meldhorn, or even Owlspring, which is over twenty times larger than this city.
 
Every second it got close; I felt more and more nervous.
 
It still felt like a dream. Maybe it is a dream. Maybe I really died a week ago, and this is a test of the afterlife to send me to heaven and hell.
 
A week ago, I sold the last of my possessions and paid my debtors and employees before letting them go. That night, I had tried to take my life, but my neighbor’s cat broke into my room.
 
It took a while to catch her and return it to its owner. When I returned to my room, I lost the courage to take my life.
 
In the week, I had tried several times, but lost the courage every time.
 
I was with my neighbor when a messenger from the message guild came, bearing a message from a person that I had nearly forgotten.
 
I had heard about what he did, and he didn’t seem like a person who would steal designs from other people, but he was convicted and was serving a term, the last I had heard about him.
 
I was not planning on reading the letter immediately, but my nosy neighbor had torn it open. I still remember the expressions that appeared on her face.
 
When I read it, the same expressions appeared on my face. 
 
I nearly tossed it away. 
 
It was not the first time, someone played a cruel joke on me, but my neighbor insisted, that we checked it out.
 
I went to the messenger guild with her, and was able to confirm with the legacy. They had invited me to the meeting.
 
I still wasn’t able to believe it. I am called to the legacy. They are the place, where the most famous and powerful of the profession get to work.
 
One call from the legacy and all the top firms in Belnin. Hell, the whole merchant states would come running. Unlike normal business, work on legacies is rare; they are delicate, too much change and they will be destroyed.
 
It is why rarely any work comes up from legacy when it does. People lined up to do it.
 
I hope I am selected. If I didn’t, the river seems like a good place to die.
 
Rawr!
 
I was disturbed from my thoughts by a familiar cat growl, held by a twenty-year-old half-elf. The girl is Amryn and the devil cat is Sugar. Its name should be bitter.
 
The cat is a white fluffball with dark blue ears and purple eyes. 
 
I have lost count of how many times this devil cat scratched me, ate my food, and sneaked into my apartment, despite locking the widows. It is freakishly strong that I suspect it had some monster blood in it.
 
The young half-elf holding the cat is my neighbor. 
 
The young woman tagged along; she was also the one paying for the trip. I barely had money for my next few meals, much less this trip.
 
She wanted to see the legacy. It was the only way she would be able to ever see one. She is not the only one; I am excited to see it too. It will be a great experience before the death.
 
“Do you really have to bring this devil cat?” I asked, seeing how she was trying to calm it down.
 
“I can’t leave sugar alone for a few days. She hates the cat’s inn,” replied the half-elf, gently petting the cat, while I rolled my eyes.
 
This devil cat had scared the cats in the cat hostel so much that the owner, had refused to take it. 
 
Soon, the ship reached the port, and I adjusted my clothes, which covered everything, including my face. Greltheaven is an imperial city where non-humans are not allowed; wearing this constricting clothing is one of the conditions to come here.
 
Unlike me, Amryn only had to wear a hat to hide her slightly pointed ears.
 
A minute later, the ship docked, and guards entered the ship. They are looking around as if searching for someone.
 
Soon, their eyes fell on me, and two of them walked toward us. Seeing them, I couldn’t help but become nervous.
 
“Miss Rolgath?” asked the blond middle-aged human. “Yes,” I replied after a moment of hesitation and gave my papers. He checked it and passed it to his partner, who nodded.
 
“We will be your escorts to the velvet garden,” he informed.
 
They led us out of the ship, and toward the carriage, which is surrounded by the four more human guards on the horses.
 
The middle-aged human opened the door, and we entered, and soon, the carriage moved toward the city gates.
 
“It went better than I had imagined,” said Amryn with clear relief in her voice. “It did. To be honest, I was expecting them to haul us out of the ship and throw us in jail,” I said, to which she smiled and pulled that devil cat closer to herself.
 
It seemed to have calmed down now that we were out of the ship and trying to scratch the window with those sharp claws.
 
The carriage entered the city, and I was surprised, to see how developed it was. I had not expected that, even Amryn looked surprised.
 
Being from Belnin, one of the wealthiest places on the continent and even the entire world, we tend to look down on other countries. Especially the Empire, which is still considered the enemy by most non-humans in the merchant states.
 
Minutes passed, and we seemed to have reached the legacy, seeing people crowding on both sides of the road.
 
A common scene around the legacies.
 
“It is really a legacy,” said Amryn, looking out of the window at the beautiful building, covered in a swirling mist of emotions. 
 
The signature of every legacy.
 
Our carriage passed by the gate without entering and turned. “Aren’t we going into the legacy?” asked Amryn, with worry appearing in her eyes.
 
“We are through the back entrance,” replied the guards, making me feel relieved.
 
Soon, we appeared at the back and, as the guard said. The gate at the back opened, and the carriage entered through it.
 
Gasp!
 
Immediately, the gasp rang out of Amryn’s mouth and even the devil cat’s expressions became pleasant as the effects we have heard so much about washed over us.
 
They are far better than everything I had expected.
 
Click!
 
We were enjoying the effects when the carriage stopped, and the middle-aged human opened the door.
 
I controlled myself and got out of the carriage and saw the emotion mist around me. The cat tried to lick but failed to get anything.
 
A few seconds passed, and I looked at the middle-aged human, but there was nothing on his face.
 
Click!
 
I was about to ask him where to go, when the door of the building opened and a beautiful human teen walked, looking embarrassed.
 
“Madam Gloria,” the guards greeted, and she nodded at them, before turning to us, with an embarrassed smile.
 
“I am sorry. I was caught up with something,” she said, and I didn’t know what to say, but I had to say something. This human teen is clearly important, seeing how the guards greeted her.
 
“It’s nothing, Madam Gloria,” I said. She smiled and turned to Amryn, or rather, her cat.
 
“She is the cutest kitty I have ever seen. Can I pet her?” she asked and for a moment, a hesitation appeared on Amryn’s face. 
 
I could understand it; the devil cat is feral. It had scratched countless people who tried to pet it.
 
I don’t want that. It might end the opportunity before I even got it.
 
“Be gentle, she gets startled easily,” Amryn warned. The teen nodded and slowly moved her hand, before started petting her, and to the surprise of both of us, the devil cat leaned toward the hand.
 
I still remember the first time I had tried to pet the devil. It had bitten me.
 
“Such a good kitty,” said the human teen with a big smile, and a second later, took out a jerky that perked up the kitty’s ears and fed it to her.
 
“Good, kitty,” she patted it final and turned to us, with once again embarrassed, expressions appearing on her face.
 
“Please, follow me,” she said, and we followed.
 
The moment we entered inside, the real power of the legacy washed over us. It is far stronger than what we had experienced outside. It felt like we had entered heaven.
 
‘No wonder people are crazy about the legacies,’ I thought.
 
They are like drugs but without side effects. I had read that people who visit Legacy daily for a month don’t get addicted. Instead, it seemed to help them lose the other addiction.
 
It is something to do with legacies ability to suck those excess emotions.
 
As I followed her, I looked around and saw every floor was filled with people having the time of their lives with beautiful human girls, wearing beautiful dresses.
 
“If you don’t mind me asking, Madam Gloria, what is the work that Lord Silver wants to do?” I asked. 
 
Edmon didn’t tell me. All he said was that I would be perfect for the work he is doing here. Which told me nothing, but I would be more than satisfied even if I got to work in a single room.
 
It is a legacy; with this on my resume. My fallen business could be revived.
 
“You can ask Master Silver about that,” the young girl replied with a smile.
 
Soon we reached the top floor and stopped. There was another pretty young human girl behind the table and guards guarding, who seemed powerful enough to kill me in a second.
 
“Miss Rolgath, Master Silver is ready for you,” she informed. “You can remove the coverall, Miss Rolgoth. I am sure it is uncomfortable,” she added.
 
I hesitated before deciding to remove it. It is not like he doesn’t know; I am an Orc. I never hid my race from my clients and won’t hide it now, even if it cost me business like it did so many times.
 
It is the reason I am broke.
 
People expect elves to be interior designers. They will take even humans and dwarves, but not Orcs. Even my fellow Orcs don’t hire me; nobody expects Orcs to be an interior designer, much less a good one.
 
Very few of us have succeeded in this field.
 
I handed the coverall over to the young girl; Amryn did the same with her hat, before walking toward the door, that the guards opened.
 
The moment I did, I was surprised to see the young man sitting behind the table. He is young. Younger than even Amryn.
 
I wanted to buy information about him but didn’t have any money. So, asked a few friends, who told me, he was young and from a powerful mercantile house in the empire.
 
I had expected him to be over his thirties young, not even his twenties young. That, I started to doubt whether he was the host of the legacy.
 
“Lord Silver,” greeted Amryn, bringing me back to myself, and I hurriedly bowed while he looked at me with a small smile on his face, which flamed my cheeks further.
 
“Take a seat, Miss Rolgath, Miss Balib,” he said, in a gentle but firm voice, which felt good to ears, likely an effect of skill. The skill is good; more powerful than one would expect from a person of his age.
 
I shouldn’t be surprised; he is a host of the legacy. It would be surprising if he is at least, not this strong.
 
“Thank you, Lord Silver,” I said, not daring to embarrass myself any further.
 
I sat down to the left of a beautiful blond-haired human woman, while Amryn to her right. There are also three more people, sitting on the sofas, including that young girl.
 
“Have you worked on the legacies before, Miss Sharn?” he asked directly. To which a mirthless smile appeared on my face.
 
“No, my lord,” I replied, feeling where it was going. 
 
“What is the biggest work, you have ever done?” he asked a second later. I didn’t answer immediately and even thought about lying before deciding against it.
 
“It is a small armament store. These are the designs,” I said and activated Project Designs. Immediately, the designs appeared in front of him and others, surprising them.
 
It is my most cherished skill; one of the rarest in the class. Most projections skills, project things in the mind, mine shows them in the open.
 
It is a small shop, with glass windows and a wooden shelf. The budget wasn’t huge, but I made do and was quite proud of what I had done.
 
He looked at the designs carefully, without commenting.
 
“Can you show me your other works?” he asked, I nodded and other designs appeared in front of me. There are not many and all of them are small, but I showed him, every work, I had done.
 
“It seemed like. You have only done work on a small scale and most of it is non-magical.” He spoke. 
 
It didn’t feel like a critique, but a simple observation.
 
“Yes,” I said with a crushing heart. It is where the people reject me. Even if their project is small, they want an interior designer with experience in big things.
 
“Show me your designs? I am sure you have created some. Show me the most ambitious ones; it didn’t matter. If they seemed preposterous, over the top,” he said, and I couldn’t help but become surprised.
 
No one ever asked me to show my designs; most would just say thank you after seeing my work. Even those who hired me didn’t show much interest in them, even when I showed them.
 
However, the difference between designing a restaurant and legacy is greater than earth and sky. It is only natural that he will ask me to show them.
 
I had selected my best designs and brought them out.
 
He looked at each one of them carefully, before coming back to the spa designs. They were the part of designs; I had shown Amellus.
 
Five years ago, I had just branched out on my own. When the firm Amellus used to work for posted an advertisement for needing outside interior design contractors to help them with Radillum Spa.
 
Through a mutual friend, I was able to get to Amellus and showed him my design, and he was quite impressed by them.
 
He had said he would take it to his boss, and he did, but the man rejected it.
 
It was that time; I met Amellus first time and met a few more times over the years. He took my designs many times for different projects, but not a single one pan out.
 
I even thought he was playing me till now.
 
“Show me more of the spa designs,” he said after a couple of minutes, looking at them. I nodded and made all the other designs disappear and brought out all the spa designs I had.
 
There are a lot.
 
I had not only tried for the Radillum Spa, but others too, but those bastards didn’t even let me enter their gates, much less let me show them my designs. 
 
“Amazing. Your designs are even better than the three I had met during the day,” he said finally and hope couldn’t help but flutter in my heart.
 
“Thank you, Lord Silver,” I replied.
 
“I am building a spa below the establishment, and I want you to show me designs for it. You have two days. Impress me and the job will be yours and remember, there is competition,”
 
“So, you better give your all if you want the job,” he said, and my heart couldn’t help but beat up wildly.
 
This is all I ever wanted, a fair chance. I don’t mind losing. Yes, I would be very disappointed and sad, but it won’t be soul-crushing, like it had so many times when I didn’t even get a chance.
 
“I would need to see the place and the blueprints. Most importantly, your requirements,” I said, forgetting to thank him in my excitement, and opened my mouth when something touched my mind.
 
Gasp!
 
I opened it, and immediately pictures appeared in front of me. They are so different and amazing that I couldn’t help but gasp in shock at seeing them.
 
“These are requirements. Other things will be provided to you by Miss Valentina and Amellus,” he stated.
 
A few minutes later, I walked out of the office with a silver blond-haired woman, with thousands of ideas flashing in my mind. 

I will be taking a break till 17th Jan for personal reasons. Will be returning on the 18th with regular updates.