Valentina 
 
“I have to say, this is the easiest aid, negotiations. I had in my life,” said the elf and closed the file in front of him.
 
There are five people in front of us. Led by a blue-haired, handsome elf, who looked to be in his late thirties. I heard he is a tough negotiator, unfortunately; he didn’t get a chance to show his abilities. 
 
“That is because you are so good. Mr. Vasys” replied Robin with a grin. 
 
“You will get a third of the aid tomorrow; the rest we will deliver in the next ten days,” said the man. “We are grateful, Mr. Vasys,” said Robin, and we are. 
 
The aid is not small. It will solve a lot of problems for the city.
 
The man smiled and shook our hands, before walking out of the conference room with his team. I quickly sent a message to Remus, informing him of the negotiations progress. 
 
“I hope, Lord Silver, knows what he is doing. There is still time to back out,” said Hardt, looking at me. 
 
We have not come here for the aid, alone. If that had been the case, then Robin alone would have been fine. Remus wouldn’t have been needed to elevate me to the vice director of trade for it.
 
No, he wants the amend the deals we had signed with the Meldhorn in the past.
 
Tomorrow, Robin will leave, while we will stay behind and renegotiate the terms. We will be here for a few days or even a week; I hope, it will be finished before the funeral.
 
“The conditions might seem good, but Lord Silver isn’t the one to sell the city for short. There must be reasons behind it,” I said to him.
 
It might feel rushed, but it is not. He had prepared for it for months, more than a year likely.
 
Remus had discussed some of these things with me many times. Cursed that the Count was wasting the potential of the city with his regressive policies. 
 
Damon Hardt isn’t the only one, who has the doubts. I too have doubts, but I decided to trust Remus.
 
Soon, we walked out of the conference room but stopped seeing some familiar people.
 
“Director Statham, it’s nice to see you here,” said Robin, and shook hands with the old man. The old man is Will Statham. Director of the trade of Deerpond City.
 
“You too, Adviser Robin,” replied the old man, before shaking hands with me and others.
 
“It seemed like, we weren’t the only ones, who had come here,” said Robin as we walked away from them.
 
“Any idea on why they had come here?” asked Hardt, and Robin shook his head. “It could be for the aid or some other business,” replied Robin.
 
Soon, we were back in our hotel. Robin had gone to meet a few people, while Hardt, Lola, and me, along with the team, had come to my suite to plan for the negotiations for tomorrow.
 
Today’s negotiations offer temporary concessions, but the one that will start tomorrow will be the long term.
 
They won’t be smooth.
 
We are willing to loosen a lot of restrictions, but we also want the investments. Which is much harder than getting the aid.
 
According to Remus, if it is successful. It will bring the city a lot of trade and investments.
 
I wish the undead hadn't attacked us. It would have made things a lot easier, but then Remus wouldn’t have been in charge. The Count might still be running the city, and I would be in jail with Lena.
 
Two and a half hours later, Hardt and others left, leaving only Lola behind.
 
“There is a response from the alchemists and Artificers; all of them want the bones,” I informed her. We had sent a sample of bones to all the reputed alchemists and artificers of Owlspring and Meldhorn.
 
I had tested the bones myself and knew there would be a good response, but still, I underestimated it. 
 
“We are not selling them all at once right, right?” she asked, and I shook my head. Remus wanted to sell it all and I could not blame him since the city needed money, but I had convinced him to not do that.
 
“No, we will auction it by the load,” I replied.
 
We have a huge number of bones. That explosion had killed nearly 70% of the undead. So, one could imagine, the number of bones we have. If we were to sell together, we would get a lot of money, but that would be a mistake.
 
The bones are resources that had never appeared on the market. 
 
They contain the death energy as well as the emotion power. Everything with emotions is expensive and these bones are going to be even more expensive.
 
“You are waiting for them to find out, right?” she asked and the smile on my face, before bigger. 
 
“Yes,” I replied.
 
She is a smart woman. She had figured out, what I was trying to do.
 
Alchemists and artificers want the bones, but there is one more party that will want them, more than those two. 
 
I am sure, the sample of bones will reach them soon. If it is a thing, that turns out to be useful to them, then won’t hesitate to pay a high price to get it. We won’t trade with them directly; it is illegal and would empower our enemies.
 
Still, they have claws everywhere and would get their hands on it. It will drive up the price and that is what we want.
 
Though it will depend on whether they want it.
 
If they didn’t, then we will suffer the loss. It would be better to sell them all now. It is a huge risk, but Remus agrees to take it on my suggestion.
 
“When will we auction the first load?” she asked. “After we return to Greltheaven. Samples should be spread around by then,” I replied.
 
….
 
Ina
 
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming,” I said to nearly two hundred people in front of me.
 
Their numbers are more than I had expected. I thought no more than fifty would come. Seeing many of them are busy packing their bags to leave.
 
“You have already guessed the reason, but I will say it. Lord Silver wants you all to be with the city like you all have been during the battle against the undead,” I said to them, and could see many of them shaking their heads.
 
These nearly two hundred people are small business owners. Master Silver had called them, the lifeblood of the city.
 
More important than the mid and big business owners.
 
“Lord Silver is asking too much from us. This time, we were able to deal with the undead, but the next time, they would be more prepared; we won’t be able to deal with them,” said the bald man in his late fifteen.
 
He is Beckett Reed. The leader of a small business group.
 
“You are wrong, Mr. Reed,” I replied with a smile and activated Dramatic Voice.
 
“The last time, the undead were prepared, they had brought a horde of two hundred thousand; that led them to conquer three cities without any resistance, but when they attacked our city, they met with the surprise of their life.”
 
“We had not just defeated them but wiped out every undead. Aside from two, not a single undead of over two hundred thousand undead hordes could escape,” 
 
“Even the two cities, which had defeated the undead, didn’t get the thorough victory like us,” I said.
 
It stumped the man, but he was not to be undone.
 
“It is why the undead will be more prepared. This time, we won't have as many powerhouses as the last time to deal with them as many are leaving and most importantly, there won't be a legacy to wipe most of them out,” he said once again, I smiled.
 
“You are right, the shell of a legacy had been destroyed and some powerhouses leaving, but you are wrong to suggest, there won't be many powerhouses.” 
 
“There will be more powerhouses than before, as many had leveled up, including Commander Stone, who had awakened the power of elder-blood. Our army will also be bigger, as many volunteers are joining it,”
 
“So, even if the horde came; they will be destroyed and this time, they won't be able to enter the city,” I replied with confidence.
 
The confidence isn’t fake. I truly believe we will be in a better state than last time if the undead came. The army will be bigger, more disciplined, and most importantly, it will have many powerhouses.
 
There was a silence for a couple of seconds. Reed opened his mouth to speak but closed it.
 
“The risk of staying is too big, Adviser,” said the woman in her mid-thirties from the back. 
 
She is one of the few women sitting here.
 
Not many women could independently own the business. Some regions in the empire didn’t even allow that; compared to them, the laws of Greltheaven are liberal and they will become more liberal in the coming days.
 
However, the woman isn’t the business owner or hasn't been before the battle with the undead. Her husband was and he died, killed by the undead in strange circumstances.
 
She is Arlina Harlow. Her husband used to run a small construction firm.
 
“I will not deny the risk, Miss Harlow, but the risk is everywhere. In the mainland, the princes are fighting each other, while the enemies are attacking our borders from all sides,” I replied.
 
“Yes, there is a risk, but unlike the undead. The enemies won’t kill us all once they conquer the city,” she countered, and I couldn’t help hearing that.
 
“It is the risk, but there are also the opportunities. I think you can all see, the opportunities Greltheaven represents due to its unique location and laws.” “The opportunities will become greater with Lord Silver leading the city.”
 
They looked at me in silence, some talking to each other in the privacy skills.
 
I could see some were being swayed by my words, and I had yet to reveal my biggest weapon. 
 
“What you said is all good, Miss Ina, but the risk of staying is too big,” said Reed, and I smiled in my heart because now, I could use it.
 
“I will not deny it, but let me say it. There is no city better city better than the Greltheaven for the small business, and it is not just my mouth speaking.”
 
“There will be big changes in the coming days and weeks, that will benefit the small business owners like you a lot. The biggest one will be the change in the merchant guild.” I said and could see their eyes turning sharper.
 
Especially of the Reed.
 
“Lord Silver is trimming down the merchant guild to make it more efficient. There will be one leader, four vice-leaders, and twelve deacons.” 
 
“To him, small businesses are more important than the middle and big business. That is why, two of the four Vice-Guildmaster will be from small businesses. The same with the deacons, half of them will come from your numbers,” I said.
 
The huge shock appeared on their faces, which isn’t surprising.
 
There were seven Guildmasters before and no one was from the small businesses, despite them having paid more than half of the taxes.
 
Among the twenty-four deacons, only two were from them. Reed was one of them.
 
It is all due to the influence. The small business may pay most taxes collectively, but they have the lowest influence. It is through this influence and a little money; that the people were able to get the position into the merchant guild.
 
There will be a complete overhaul of the merchant guild, and many will lose their position. 
 
They will be replaced with the better people.
 
“You are not joking, are you, Adviser Knox,” said Reed, with his voice shaking faintly. He is excited, with his eyes shining with ambition.
 
He is not the only one; many had that light in their eyes.
 
“I would never lie about what, Lord Silver says, Mr. Reed,” I replied with a smile, and the man nodded.
 
“Please, think about what I said and give the city another chance,” I said to them.
 
The meeting ended and people began to leave one after another. Soon, there is only one person aside from me remained.
 
“It may seem forward for me to say, but I will say it. I want Lord Silver to consider me for the position of the Vice-Guildmaster,” said Reed, not hiding his ambition.
 
Hearing that, I turned my expression serious.
 
“It is not beyond the realm of possibility for you to gain that position, but you will have to earn it, Mr. Reed,” I said, and the man smiled excitedly, understanding the meaning behind my words.
 
“Please rest assured, Adviser. I will try my hardest to make all small business owners stay,” he said and walked out of the hall, with fire burning in his eyes.
 
I am too familiar with it. People, like us, got trampled too many times. Most gave up, but some did not.
 
So, when they find an opportunity to rise higher; they will give their all for it.

An.

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