Herald of Steel

“Is this Zanzan? What happened to it?” As Harold’s ship approved the harbor, this question was asked by an elder Caucasian man standing next to him.

And though the question was phrased like something bad had taken place, it actually represented surprise and exclamation.

Because from the bow of the ship, the man was given a clear view of how busy the crescent-shaped harbor was.

Particularly the elder gentleman focused his eyes on the wharf (the place where ships docked), and was astounded to see that was it was so full that only a tiny portion of it was actually available for docking and disembarking.

And though the size of the dock was not that big and amount of ships not that much when compared to the one in his city, it was quite impressive for Zanzan.

A comparison he could make because the man was a long-time navigator and had come to Zanzan several times in the past.

And in all those visits he had rarely seen the harbor so full.

Perhaps maybe during war times when the ships would be used to transport troops.

‘When did Zanzan become such a huge trading hub?’ He hence wondered as he gazed at the huge number of ships.

Now, the man had made a mistake here.

Because the ships he was seeing were all of Lady Inayah’s transport ships that had brought the Thesians.

And not cargo vessels of trade.

But even then it was undeniable that Zanzan was growing at a rapid rate, attracting farmers and merchants from all the nearby villages.

“Indeed, my lord. I too am surprised. It was not nearly as busy when I first came here, haha” Harold had a toady smile as he quite reverentially answered the man, with the words ‘my lord’ being a huge clue why.

The portly man was also happy with seeing the harbor busy because it showed all the hype he had spread about Alexander with the nobility was true.

“I see. It seems it is like you said. Unlike Pasha Muazz, this city lord values trade very much,”

Came the impressed response, just as Harold had hoped.

But then the old man put his chin and changed his tone to a light childling voice, “But even I never thought that this city lord would be rich enough to construct his harbor with marble! *Tsk*, *Tsk*, *Tsk*, it seems looting the Grand Temple has spoiled the little boy.”

The aged man who had a pressed white beard was now speaking like an elder dictating to a naughty child.

“Hahaha, yes, yes, you are correct my lord.” And Harold was there to butter the man up, adding, “I have personally verified that all the rumors about this city lord being young and previously a small mercenary leader as true. So it’s no wonder he would choose to squander his money like this, hehehe.”

“That’s not marble. Don’t talk like you know marble when you have never seen it,”

Suddenly, the pink, amicable atmosphere between the two men was shattered by this high, pitched sarcastic feminine voice, whose owner swaggered behind the men.

And both men instantly whirled around to greet her.

Their eyes met a curvy, mature lady in her early twenties, with sharp eyes, thin red lips, and a pointed face.

Her powdered face radiated an authoritative aura. and her expensive gold and diamond jewelry meshed perfectly with her lavish green gown to show off her status.

But those were not her most distinguishing features.

For that would be expressed by the following words,

“My lady, you should be careful. The doctors said too much moving is harmful to the child,” The older gentleman said this laced with caution, for the woman was visibly very pregnant.

“I wanted to get some fresh air. And besides, we have arrived, haven’t we?” The lady brushed off the concerns and spoke in a tone that seemed to suggest she was the person in charge there.

‘Ahh, yes, Your Grace. We should be docking anytime now. Within a bit,” Harold quickly endeavored to answer with a nod.

And then quickly ordered the crew to prepare the ship to dock and anchor.

Soon these were done and after Harold quickly finished registering his ships with the authorities, that fortunately did not take too long as Alexander had given Harold a special pass to cut through all the red tape, and the two nobles were ready to disembark.

“It really is not marble,” The elder gentleman exclaimed in surprise as he tapped his foot onto the concrete harbor, and when looked at Harold inquisitively, asking if the merchant could give some insight.

“I’m sorry Lord Junus, but the harbor was made of stone when I came in January. So I have no idea,” But Harold could only ruefully shake his head.

After the battle, Alexander had decided to give the harbor a thin layer of concrete as there were a lot of holes, while also making it very nice to look at, with the intent to impress new merchants coming to Zanzan.

And the evidence of its efficacy seemed to present itself.

“Whatever it is made of can wait. Let us meet the city lord for now,” This sharp tone again belonged to the noble lady, who said so the moment her feet landed on the docks, seeming to not want to waste a moment of her time.

And she urged the two men to not dilly-dally either and pushed them to move faster.

“Yes, yes, Lady Miranda. The city guards have promised to hire a carriage for us. It is coming right away,” Harold then quickly spoke to placate this current in a foul mood lady, and so until the carriage could make it through the huge crowd, the trio was required to wait.

“This port is not half bad,” Lord Junus half-mindedly commented as he took in the sights, observing how the white cement floor glowed like marble under the summer sun, and people from all walks of life appeared to be flowing from one side to the other like busy bees, with dock workers tirelessly working, hawkers peddling their produce, and customers buying goods.

While Lady Miranda was more concerned about her purchasing list. 𝘰𝑣𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“Harold, are you sure the city lord will be able to sell us the iron we need? In that quantity?” She asked, for that was the main thing she was here to buy.

“The city lord has admitted he has that much iron. But he was not willing to sell it then because he said he wanted to equip his army and did not have enough stocks. So if my lady can convince him now, I can guarantee we can get the iron we need,” Harold repeated the answer he had given probably a million times by now.

A subtle point to note here could be them addressing Alexander as city lord and not pasha, which was simply because they did not recognize him as such for the territory he controlled was too small, around the area a small Jamider (Earl) controlled.

“You said he had asked for food, slaves, and animals from you. So we bought seven ships of all those things. Why would he not sell?” Lady Miranda posed this not as a question but as a way to bolster her spirit, as they were really desperate for iron.

And with this hope in her heart, she boarded the carriage.

This carriage would not take her not directly to Alexander’s mansion, but to one of the many noble residences Alexander had remolded as personal villas for his guests to stay and rest, until Alexander could clear his schedule and was able to make an appointment.

This Alexander did the moment a messenger came to him to inform of the merchant’s arrival, as was he currently in his study, in the midst of lamenting that Mithras had not bought any food with him.

So quickly, only a bit later, Alexander was greeting the finely dressed merchant in his outer hall, moving his arms animatedly and smiling, “Mister Harold, it is a pleasure to see to again. How are you?”

The man seemed as large and portly as ever, with his stubby, fleshy fingers decorated with gemmed rings holding a milkshake.

“Ahhh, my lord, greetings. I’m honored that you decided to meet us so quickly.” The man quickly got up to give a full bow, while Junus and Miranda gave a polite nod.

After which Harold quickly got to introducing them, gesturing with his palms and saying,

“My lord, let me introduce you.”

‘This is Baron Junus. He leads the fleet of the Margrave family.”

“And this is Earl Miranda, now the eldest daughter of the Margrave family.”

“Their fiefdom is in Galosos and have ruled there for three hundred years.”

Alexander was certainly surprised by the arrival of such relative bigshots, for he did not think people would come so quickly.

And had both a good and a bad feeling toward it.

Good because of more business, bad because of fear of attracting jealous eyes.

But whatever the reason, he remembered to present himself as cordially as possible, giving a large smile and joyously saying, “It is a pleasure to meet you, my lord, and my lady. This is my first time meeting nobles from Sybaris. Honored, I’m honored.”

“Hahaha, Lord Alexander is too courteous. In fact, it is we who should be honored,” Lord Junus replied equally humbly, saying,

“After all, you winning against Pasha Djose’s Jahal mercenaries makes us stand in the presence of a legend. Hahaha.”

It seemed news of his victory had even crossed the seas.