City of Desire: Chapter 944 Stores (Patreon)

Proofread by Thomas F

The guards opened the door, and I walked into the conference room.

“Master Silver,” “Lord Silver,” Greetings rang out.

 I looked at them all and nodded before sitting down.

There are six people at the main table. Carla, who is sitting opposite me, with Andrea and Cath to my left and right, along with Grommash and Eesmond.

In the middle of the table is a model of the store layout.

It is the design we have chosen, which all stores will follow, but each one will be unique to the city they are in, made with local materials.

Before the legacy was born, I wanted to expand my brothel, but now I am taking a different path for expansion.

The Velvet Stores.

It is more profitable and helps me expand my influence further.

“The construction of the stores is going according to the new plan. By the end of this month, we will be finished with the construction part of it, and by the end of next month, the other changes will be finished as well.”

Cath leaned forward, her expression resolute as she addressed the group. “If we continue progressing at our current pace, we will be able to launch the stores at the current schedule,” she announced.

She is the head of stores, while Andrea is the head of production, as she leads the Artisan’s Garden, with Carla being the chief operating officer.

I nodded and turned to Andrea.

“The production of the mist goods is going well. It is a little slower with the new artisans the stores have hired, but each day, their expertise is increasing.”

“The goods will be ready on time,” she confirmed. “Good, we need them to be on time,” I replied.

“Esmond, how are the finances?” I asked the raven-haired middle-aged man. He is Virek Esmond; he used to work for my father before I brought him here.

He proved trustworthy and capable when he worked for the city, before I transferred him to Velvet Garden.

“Obviously over budget, my lord, with the new changes in design, but both Namdar and Owlspring have shown no objection to the increased cost,” he said, with clear displeasure.

He was against new changes, saying they would cost too much.

They were expensive, but I am happy with the design, as it will be our signature and will be replicated across all the stores we build.

Currently, there are only two stores, but there is a massive interest in more.

Many nobles have contacted me. They all want the stores and are more than willing to pay for the construction, like Namdar and Owlspring are doing.

I nodded and turned to the orc, whom I had headhunted from Meldhorn.

“There is immense interest from the elites of the cities and the surrounding area. The rates of real estate around the stores have increased by over 30% within months and have kept increasing,” Grommash stated.

That is a lot considering I am building the stores in one of the most expensive areas of the city.

Even more so, the stores hadn’t even opened yet.

“The stores are already delayed by a month. I don’t want to delay it further. I want you all to continue to work really hard, so that we can open them as scheduled,” I stated.

My original plan was to open them six months after Twilight Hall opened.

Six months after that, I will open Velvet Garden. Now, five months have already passed since the opening of the Twilight Hall, and there are seven months before Velvet Garden opens.

Thankfully, the work on Velvet Garden is on schedule.

“We should include the goods from the new stores,” said Carla after a few seconds of silence. She means that the store owners who were newly chosen across the continent.

More and more are appearing and starting to work in the artisan's garden, leaving us with barely any space. As soon as the space opens, it will get filled.

“I agree with Lady Carla; it will give us understanding of the opinions of patrons on the new goods,” added Cath.

“Not all the stores we had chosen before worked perfectly. This will give us enough data on what works and what does not.”

“That will help us tremendously with placement of stores and goods production space,” supplied Andrea.

I looked at the two men; they are a little fearful of those three. They have become much more open over the past few months, but they are still intimidated by the three's influence.

Especially Carla.

I turned to Grommash, and he hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

“I think we shouldn’t,” he replied, and I looked at him.

He cleared his throat and licked his lips. “There are two reasons: first, we will not be able to get the element of surprise when the Velvet Garden opens with the new stores, and second, they are not as tested as the old legacy stores.” He explained.

“That is a valid point,” I said and turned to Esmond.

“I think it’s precisely why we should use the new stores. As Miss Arga and Miss Kestayen pointed out, this will give us a chance to test the new goods.”

“It will not only help with the designation of stores in Velvet Garden, but also let us know what truly works, what does not,” he stated.

I didn’t say anything to that, as both of them have made a fair point.

I need a surprise, but also need to know what work will and what will not. I believe that is more important than the surprise.

We have chosen them, but we are not omniscient. We do not know how they will work or what level of compatibility they will have with us.

Most importantly, test their goods and character.

We have been burned once before by the store owners. I don’t want to repeat that mistake.

“We will create temporary places on every floor of the Velvet Stores. We will allow every new store to open and operate. We will observe them and see how they do,” I stated.

Velvet Stores, I am building with the intention of accommodating the new stores as well.

We will be using a localized stocking system in our stores from the beginning. Though it’s not something we should be worried about, seeing everything mist-crafted sells.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t optimize our operation and provide our patrons the best experience.

It didn’t matter whether it was legacy or the stores; I want my patrons to have the best experience in the establishments I own.

An hour and a half later, the meeting ended, and everyone walked out, leaving Carla and me alone. She walked toward me and quickly settled into my lap, before taking my lips in a long kiss.

“I missed you,” she said as our lips separated. “I missed you more,” I replied.

Over the past few months, she has been traveling constantly. For the stores, to look for other store owners and attend functions, along with other things.

Only one of us could be out at a time, which put all the pressure on her.

I feel guilty, but there is no choice; I can’t leave the dominion. There are a lot of things only I could do, not to mention that travel is extremely dangerous for me.

She has been out for over a week and will leave again in two days.

“I was thinking about taking Josie with me to Owlspring. Since she came here, she had been only to Inam; it will be good for her to see other places,” she said.

I hesitated; she is still a child, but Carla is right. She needs to see other places.

She has been bugging me about it since Heron has been out of the city a couple of times. Usually accompanying Robin on his trips, only on short trips.

He still has his classes in the academy.

If not for the dynamics of this world, I would have asked him to focus on the academy, but that’s not how the world works.

In a year, he will receive his class, and to increase the chances of getting the best class, he needs to do certain things. Working for Robin is one of them.

“Fine, but don’t indulge her too much,” I agreed finally, and she smiled, before kissing me.

“Don’t worry, I would not,” she said, and I laughed. “Yeah, sure you won't,” I replied. To which she glared. Carla can be strict, but Josie knows how to get her way.

“I had met Count Balsinor on my way back; he was asking about the stores,” she said. I sighed.

Unlike before, the imperials and their men are tracking our every move, now.

“What did he say?” I asked. “Asked about the progress on Velvet Garden, stores, and other things related to the legacy,” she replied.

“And also drelthar stone,” she added, and my expressions changed. I hoped they would not find out about it for a few more weeks.

It is what we named: the stone we found in the Panar mine.

It turned out it was not the gods' punishment after all, far from it. Looking at the tests our mages had done, it could turn out to be a great blessing.

It has a high capacity for magic and force absorption. Amellus and the architects of the Mage Tower are performing tests on it.

They are thinking about using it. I hope they do, because it will save us a massive amount of money that we would otherwise need to spend on special magic-absorption sand for the tower.

“No questions about the undead?” I asked, and she laughed.

Those bastards only want the benefits. They do not want to help deal with the enemy. If they had helped, it wouldn’t have taken much effort to wipe away the undead.

No, instead, they are creating more problems.

In the last month, I have found that imperials have a helping hand in the moves those two are making. At first, they were against them coming to the region, but now they are helping them from the dark.

“We could handle them until the Velvet Garden opens. After that, it’s going to be tricky,” I said, and her expression turned somber.

“Will the things we are preparing not be enough?” she asked worriedly.

“They might be, but might not. So, we will have to increase our efforts before the legacy opens.” I replied, and she sighed.

“We achieved so much, became strong, but it’s still not enough to resist the greedy imperials,” she said, her eyes flashing in anger as well as frustration.

“We will one day,” I replied.

Until then, we will have to manage. We have been doing that, and in the past few months, I have increased my efforts, from lobbying to building new connections.

I hope they will be enough to satiate the imperials when the time comes.

“Are you planning to go back to the office?” she asked. I was planning to, since it is only six in the evening, but seeing her eyes, I shook my head.

“Let’s go home,” I replied, and the most beautiful smile lit up across her face.

For now, the world and its troubles could wait. The night is for her and nothing else.