City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

Orwin Dunwall

I opened the door and walked into the café; it was filled with people, more than I had ever seen, even on a busy day.

The servers are busy running to serve the customers, and there seem to be more of them.

The shelf is also looking filled with more stuff than I had seen in the past year. It had been only five days, but every day, more and more goods were entering the city.

It had started to look lovely, with clean streets and no addicts lying around on the streets.

They have burned the drugs, not just the goods, but the whole damn warehouse as a symbol, and taking the addicts to Greltheaven to heal them.

I pushed those thoughts away, looked around, and heard the conversations all around me.

This is the café preferred by the officers, and I could see a lot of familiar people, but there were also many unfamiliar ones.

They are from the Greltheaven’s army—humans, as well as the orcs.

Even after nearly a week, I couldn’t fully get used to it. In the Empire, they are our enemy. There are only three places in the whole empire that employ the orcs.

Greltheaven, Deerpond, and Namdar all did it after the emperor died.

I spotted the table and pushed Veyra’s wheelchair toward them. There are three people there, Birrows, Hadil, and Nivera.

All of them were Lt. Colonels, like me. Currently, our positions have been under suspension till they finish the investigations.

However, informally, all of us have been cleared.

“Veyra, it’s good to see you well,” said Birrows. He, too, is in a wheelchair, along with Hadis and Nivera.

“Thank you, Birrows,” Veyra replied.

It had been five days, but she had yet to recover fully. She is still pale, but not as much as when she was at the battle.

She could walk, but only for a few minutes at a time. It will take her another week before most of her injuries heal.

I sat down on the chair as well, and a few seconds later, the waiter arrived, taking our orders.

Nobody spoke; we just sat there in silence.

“They have not put us in prison,” said Hadil, and we all laughed.

“We were spared. Many were sent into the dungeons. Earlier, I saw them taking Bilmir,” replied Nivera, turning the mood sombre.

“He deserves it!” said Hadil, gritting his teeth.

When I heard about the investigation, I thought it would be just a formality, like it usually happens in the empire.

As long as one is powerful enough, they could be spared the consequences with a slap on the wrist, but here, they are picking people.

I have seen people taking from the hospital beds.

It was a despairing period, but some revelled in it. Doing all sorts of things. Things that would be punishing elsewhere, but here, all they got are a few words, most of the time, not even that. 

Nobody talked for another minute; it was hard after what we had experienced.

“I believe all of you got the offers?” I asked, and they nodded.

It isn’t just the army and guards, but mercenary companies based in Greltheaven that are making the offers to take us.

Usually, only the army does it, but here everyone is doing it.

We also didn’t have a choice but to select one, because since we were associated with the undead, nobody would trust us. There is a good chance the Empire will arrest us if we step out of Greltheaven’s influence.

It is surprising that Greltheaven not only takes us, but also nearly the entire army.

Not many nobles would take such risks.

“I am going to join the army. General Cardin had promised the same rank and promotion to Colonel within a year, if I did a good enough job,” stated Birrows, looking down at the stump of his left hand.

It is a miracle that he survived. Given his injuries, I thought he would die.

“Me too,” added Hadil.

“I am thinking about joining a mercenary group.” Added Nivera, surprising us. I might have expected Hadil, but not her.

She is a pure army woman.

A moment later, I began to understand. These past two years have changed things. Even I am not the person I had been two years ago,

“Which one?” Birrows asked. “Vandal,” she replied.

“Is it true that he advanced to Lv. 40?” asked Veyra, to which she nodded. “Yes, he showed it to me,” she replied.

We are hearing things; it is said that several people in Silver’s army have advanced to Lv. 40. His elderblood General, and General Cardin.

Some are even saying General Azalia and Hiren had also advanced.

The number is shocking. That is why I don’t believe it, but I kept that to myself.

“I am joining the Police,” blurted Veyra, surprising me and everyone.

The army is a natural choice; mercenaries pay well, but guards, or Police as they’re called, are hard to understand.

The pay isn’t as good as the army’s, and it isn’t that respectful.

The army didn’t seem to like them either. Seeing how the soldiers talk about them. Which is not surprising, seeing that they think those people took what is theirs.

In most cities, it’s the army that has control of the cities. Even if the guards aren’t under the army’s control, they still exert some influence over it.

In the dominion of Greltheavn, they do not. The city guards, or Police, as they are known, are independent of the army.

The army didn’t have even the slightest control over them.

“Why? The Army is good with all the privileges, like a good salary and those essence potions,” he said.

Essence potions are a unique feature of Greltheaven. Others have it, but only the highest-level officer. Even among them, a very few have it.

Here, however, as long as they become a colonel, they get an essence drop potion.

The higher they reach, the purer the potions become, and their numbers also increase.

“Yes, the salary is a little lower, but other perks are the same, including the essence potions. The reason I am taking this job is that I like what they do.”

“My father is a city guard, and he is immensely proud of the work he does,” she replied.

The conversation at the table stopped for a few seconds before all the eyes turned to me.

“What have you decided?” Birrows asked. “I haven’t made the decision yet,” I replied truthfully.

All of them have made the offers, but some are outstanding ones, but I am hesitating.

“Well, you should decide quickly. Places are filling up. If you are too late, you might have to settle for less,” advised Hadil.

He is right, I didn’t have time. Many are getting offers, and there are not unlimited places. It would be wise for me to make a decision quickly.

“I wish I could return home,” said Nivera suddenly, and all of us sighed.

It won’t be possible, at least in the short term, or even in the long term. It is something I have yet to come to terms with, even after a year.

We were busy with our own thoughts when I noticed the whole café went quiet.

I turned and saw the woman in a wheelchair coming inside, pushed by the two people, a man and a woman. A woman is wearing an army uniform, while the man is an orc.

He is the same man who came to me with an offer to join the police.

The woman in a wheelchair is wearing a simple white dress and looks harmless.

“That woman scares the hell out of me,” said Birrows, shaking, and I couldn’t help but nod.

All the officers were interviewed by her, including me. She never raised her voice, nor did the smile on her face disappear during the questioning.

The whole experience was pleasant. It didn’t feel like the interrogation at all.

It was only after she left that I noticed my sweaty back, and I shook in fear.

“When she was questioning me. I felt like I was talking to an old friend, the words just slipped out of my mouth,” muttered Veyra, with us nodding.

When she met me, she said she was from the city, but I heard whispers that she is from intelligence.

A few weeks ago, in a briefing, they had mentioned that Greltheaven had established an intelligence department and asked us to be careful.

“She is Silver’s,” said Nivera.

I didn’t have to ask what she was talking about. The governor and this woman are both from Velvet Garden, the brothel.

Something, I would have thought, impossible a year ago.

The three of them ordered and talked. We could hear them, but couldn’t understand them.

“I think it’s time to leave. I have a physical therapy in half an hour,” said Birrows as he got up, leaving a few coins. The others also got up and left.

Leaving only Veyra and me at the table.

“Are you sure about joining the police?” I asked her and she nodded. “I think it will be suitable for me,” she replied after a moment of silence before looking at me with questioning eyes.

“I am not sure what I want to do. Though I am sure about one thing, I don’t want to be in the same position I was in for the past year,” I replied.

I have done things, and I am not proud of them. I was ordered to do it, and it nearly broke me.

I don’t want to do such a thing ever again. If I join the army or police, I will have to do things that I am unwilling to do; it is part of the job.

Veyra seemed to understand it. She is the reason I remained sane during that period.

“Start a mercenary company then,” she said, and a laugh escaped my lips. “I am serious,” I replied, shaking my head.

“So, am I,” she said, and she is.

It’s not easy to start a mercenary company. Many of the officers who started it left, but many failed. It’s not easy, and besides, who will join me?

It requires money, which I don’t have much of, and most importantly, people. The life of a mercenary is filled with risk.

There is no pension or official death benefits. It’s a hard life.

I will not ask Veyra, I know how much she liked the order that the organisation provides.

More than that, they provide the resources: spells, tools, and other things. Commander Daphus had only a few effective spells for High Mages.

If she had the proper resources to grow, that assassin wouldn’t have been able to do what he did to her.

She didn’t say anything further, and we moved on to other subjects, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Soon we finished and paid our bill, before I got up and pushed the wheelchair.

I was near the door when suddenly a piece of paper flew in front of me and seemed to come to a stop. I hesitated for a moment before picking the paper from the air.

There was writing on it. When I read it, I shook.

Lerman Mozil

Department of Martial Services.

I froze for a moment before slowly turning my head and seeing the woman looking at me with that pleasant smile on her face.

It shook me.

She shouldn’t have been able to hear us; our conversations were cloaked in Privacy.

“What happened?” asked Veyra, breaking me out of my spiralling thoughts.

“Nothing,” I lied and pushed her wheelchair forward, wanting to get out of this place as quickly as possible.

Too excited to wait? Jump 50+ chapters ahead on Patreon and read what others haven’t even reached!