Chapter 431: Goldenveil’s Growth

Ethan finally slipped out of his wives’ arms, their warmth still lingering on his skin.

A relaxed expression settled over his face as he strolled through the palace at his own pace, his footsteps echoing softly down the quiet corridors.

Word had already reached him from the Golden Rose Guards that Ron had arrived, and, naturally, the news delighted him.

A massive stock of green fairy wine and a considerable amount of magic grains were already waiting for the merchant.

Better still, Ron would be bringing at least four or five thousand new citizens in search of work—people who would soon be integrated into Goldenveil.

With a broad smile on his lips, he left the palace and made his way through the bustling streets toward Ron’s Chamber of Commerce.

He could hear the commotion long before he arrived.

Hundreds of workers came and went, hauling boxes, barrels, and sacks toward the city warehouse. The creaking of cart wheels mingled with the shouts of the foremen, and the air smelled of dust, sweat, and freshly cut wood.

It was mainly a shipment of consumer goods—merchandise that would be sitting on the shelves of Ron’s store within a few days.

A little further on, thousands more people stood in long lines while the guards organized and sorted them so they could receive documentation, housing, and jobs.

Their faces were weary from the journey, but their eyes shone with hope.

Parents kept a firm grip on their children’s hands, and young people craned their necks to get a better look at the city that would soon be their new home.

More than a few stared open-mouthed at the wide, clean streets and the grand buildings around them.

In the midst of it all stood Ron, dressed in opulent clothes and overseeing every detail.

Now that his Chamber of Commerce had its main branch in Goldenveil and he himself held citizenship, entering and leaving the city was far easier.

He no longer needed to wait for Ethan’s approval. The guards checked nothing but his cargo, searching for contraband such as illicit drugs and prohibited magical artifacts.

The moment he spotted Ethan approaching, the merchant flashed a bright smile. He bowed slightly, then seized the lord’s hand and shook it vigorously.

His hand was soft, without a single callus, and the heavy rings on his fingers pressed cool against Ethan’s palm.

"I can see the wine and the magic grains sold well," Ethan joked, his gaze sweeping over Ron’s lavish clothes and the jewels glittering all over him.

Gold chains hung around his neck, rings adorned nearly every finger, and a brooch studded with precious stones was pinned to his cloak. Ron looked like a walking showcase.

The merchant was quite different from Raynar Drakenoir.

Raynar had been a warrior hardened by war who only later turned to trade, and he had never cared much for opulence, jewels, or luxury.

Ron, on the other hand, had been a merchant from the very beginning. He was deeply attached to such trivial things and never passed up a chance to wallow in luxury.

"Oh, these little things?" Ron glanced down at his elegant robes and the jewelry weighing down his neck and fingers, letting out a dry laugh.

"Just a few gifts from some new friends of mine. They’re all absolutely in love with green fairy wine and magic grains."

Ron’s eyes drifted to a tram packed with passengers as it rolled through the city at a safe but considerable speed, its wheels humming along the rails.

Trams like that existed in the capital of the Kingdom of Burning Ice, but they were so rare and expensive that only the upper-middle class used them.

Here, one passed through the streets every few minutes, carrying everyone from wealthy merchants to ordinary farmers.

Ron had already counted at least twenty different trams.

By comparison, the wealthiest city in the Kingdom of Solene had only ten trams in operation for a population of nearly three million.

Seeing so many of them here made Ron’s heart race, and a smile tugged at his lips.

Ethan was truly incredible.

Ron shook his head, as though he still had trouble believing what he was about to say.

"I tried some of the Goldenveil grains and compared them to the ones the nobility of the Kingdom of Burning Ice usually eat. The difference is absurd."

Ethan nodded.

He had eaten only a handful of magic grains during his time with the Darkwall family, but the gap in taste, magical density, and effects between those and the ones grown in Goldenveil was indeed enormous.

Ysara and Amelia, both high-level experts, had noticed the same difference.

Soon, the two men entered the main building of the Chamber of Commerce and climbed the stairs to Ron’s office on the top floor.

The commotion of the courtyard faded with each step until all that remained was the comfortable silence of a spacious room.

Through the large window, they could still see all the activity below, though the noise reached them only as a faint murmur.

Ron gestured for Ethan to take a seat before settling into his own chair behind the desk.

The meeting lasted about an hour and covered a variety of topics.

They discussed the political situation in the Kingdom of Solene and the Kingdom of Burning Ice, the integration of the territories of the former Merchant Confederation, and, of course, the fallout from what had happened to David Darkwall.

The whole affair had cost the Darkwalls a great deal of prestige, but David Darkwall and the Royal Family had contained the damage and hushed it up well.

Beyond that, the two kingdoms remained stable and thriving.

With those matters settled, the two began negotiating what Ron would take back to the Kingdom of Burning Ice on this trip.

After settling on the supply of wine, magic grains, and various other items, they arrived at a total of one hundred thirty million gold coins.

Ethan knew he could try to squeeze even more money out of Ron, but that would eat into his winter reserves, so he held back.

Ron, for his part, looked more than satisfied with the deal, his rings clicking softly as he rubbed his hands together.

Shortly after the newcomers Ron had brought were officially recognized as citizens of Goldenveil, Ethan left the Chamber of Commerce.

He had barely stepped onto the street when a notification appeared before his eyes.

[Congratulations! Goldenveil has reached 100,000 residents!

You have received: Golden Lord’s Random Skill Chest!]

Ethan read it, and his eyes sparkled brightly. Without wasting a second, he opened the city’s status screen.

He didn’t open the chest right away, leaving it in his system inventory.

[Name: Sacred City of Goldenveil

Type: Large City

Population: 101,332

Population Loyalty: 75%

Homes: 40,000 (26,751 occupied)

Prosperity: Prosperous

Attractiveness: Extremely Attractive

Population Growth: +456/week (Increase attractiveness and prosperity to gain more residents)

Lord: Ethan Goldenveil

Orders: 2

Knights: 350

Average Level: 40

Stationed Army: 15,000 soldiers

Average Level: 36

Guard Loyalty: 86%

Status of the ’Goldenveil Divine Wall’: 3,120,990/3,120,990

Treasury: 132,157,000 gold coins (-155,500 per month)

Requirements for advancement: 40,000/50,000 houses, 101,332/250,000 inhabitants, 1,000,000 gold coins, Lord at the rank of Count or higher]

Seeing that, he could only smile.

Goldenveil was growing fast.

The next phase would simply be about consolidating what he had already achieved, but Ethan was confident that, even during this consolidation phase, he would be more than capable of reaching two hundred fifty thousand inhabitants.

At that level, Goldenveil could already stand alongside some of the major cities of the Kingdom of Burning Ice.

His eyes drifted from the reward to the still-pending mission to advance to the fourth stage.

His fingers moved, selecting the mission and clicking on the Infernal difficulty.