The first place they visited was Harley's place. Since they were going to meet the others, it was better to find out about their locations first to see if they could find someone along the way and make a schedule for them.
So, Noel and Dimitri headed to Eternal Flower Brothel, the headquarters of the major brothel brand in the kingdom.
"Well, well, well… I have never thought that you would visit us again, Master." Harley politely bowed to him. Obviously, he had expected him to come back soon for more information, but it wasn't this fast.
"I need your help." Noel nodded while watching Illia pouring tea for both of them.
"I understand. What kind of information do you need?" Harley complied without hesitation.
"…" Noel paused for a moment, feeling a bit doubtful. "That easy?"
"Is that a problem? Seeing that Dimitri is coming with you means that you've been fully acknowledged as the head of the Ardagan Family. In addition, I've sworn to serve you with my life, so is there any problem with me helping you?"
"No, I just thought that you would think a bit more about this. After all, you should have suspected what I'm going to do from now on, especially in this chaotic situation."
"Yes, Sir, I do. You're planning to take advantage of the chaos to rebuild the family. It will definitely endanger us, but that doesn't really matter." Harley politely bowed. "Please give me your order."
Noel felt blessed to have this kind of subordinate. Hence, he didn't hesitate to give the task to show he trusted them. "I want information about the Ardagan Family's scattered vassals."
"Scattered vassals? I see, you're planning to reassemble them… Are you planning to become a noble soon?"
"Yeah. In four to five months, I will become a noble and rebuild the Ardagan Family from scratch."
"Still, you should be aware of the relationship the family has with the royalty, right?"
"I know. There is a chance that they won't even recognize us and refuse to deliver the noble title for whatever reason. However, with the title from the Demon Banner Army as well as a few recommendations from important people, it should be enough."
"That leaves the problem to the territory. The Royal Family knows that if we regain our former territory, there is a huge chance that the Ardagan Family will prosper again. Hence, they will most likely send us to a dangerous but barren area."
"This will be the first hurdle we're going to take care of. However, I will have someone infiltrating the royal family and make them give us a favorable location. So, while it's still dangerous, we can take advantage of the land to rebuild the family."
"I see." Harley looked at Dimitri. It seemed Dimitri was already convinced as well. "I understand. Before I give you the information, do you know what makes a noble territory?"
"The land, the people, and the lord."
"Indeed. Since the royal family will grant us territory, the land problem should be solved. With Dimitri recognizing you, it means that you can become a good lord. So, that leaves the people. Commoners could be found easily, but that leaves the problem with security. Due to the land being a dangerous area, security is important, both on the inside and the outside."
"I know." Noel took out the rune and said, "I'm planning with this."
"Ah, you're the author of the rune book after all. So, I understand… But experts that can use runes have to be trained for a period of time."
"No. There is one more thing that hasn't been known to the public yet. I can paint the rune in their body so that they can use the rune just by pouring their Spiritual Energy. This way, I can make elite soldiers protect the land until we can stabilize ourselves."
"Is that true? A normal person can use runes… If that's the case, security is not a problem. That leaves the development of the land." Harley thought for a moment and asked Illia. "Bring me the kingdom map."
Illia hurriedly fetched the map from the shelf and laid it down on the table so that everyone could see it.
Harley took the pencil on his desk and marked five spots on the map. "These are probably the five destinations you should visit if you want to gather the previous allies. I have investigated all the remnants of the families. Some don't have the intention to rejoin, so I ruled them out in this."
Harley pointed at the first one. "This is the former specialist in farming, which can be our source of food. Her name is Jasmine. She is—"
Before Harley continued, Dimitri stopped him by saying, "You don't have to tell him about her. She has recognized him."
"Ah! As expected of Master…" Harley smiled and continued to the second one. "In that case, you should go to this place. While he is an eccentric person, the fact that you're planning to rebuild the family means that you need him. He is Douglas. I'm sure Dimitri knows him extremely well."
Dimitri's eyebrows twitched. "Well, I can't deny it. Douglas is the one building the city. He creates the city layout so that it can last for a long time. If you want to build the city, then he is someone you should get. However, he is a freak. He won't hesitate to destroy a building if it's not in the right place. The Ardagan Family had to compensate a lot to the people affected by it. Though, I could assure you that he's good."
"While I can amass some funds, I can't raise too much right now due to the limitation of my position." Noel sighed. "Can I even afford him?"
"In that case, how should we procure the funds to build the city?" Harley asked. Noel was the son of the greatest merchant in the kingdom, so he should figure it out.
"I have two ways. The land over there is like a treasure stove, so we can use it to create the necessary funds, but I don't know if they can accept something like that. As for the last one, I have two business plans that can give a lot of profits for a long period of time. The first one is Rune School and the second one is equipment."
"By the way, do you know where we're going to stay?"
"I'm trying to push the royal family to this location." Noel pointed at a certain location near the border.
"Seriously? The location is right beside the border. In fact, we might be the border itself at this point. There are two active volcanoes not far away from each other, so small movements from the volcano could cause a massive demon outbreak." Harley frowned.
"Yes. But that's the best place we can go. The demons will allow our soldiers to be strong and I said it before, it's a treasure trove if it's governed well."
"I see…" Harley thought for a moment. "In that case, I will handle the third destination for you."
"Who is it?"
"You should know him since he pestered you a lot."
"Ah!" Noel remembered a certain person nagging him to take up the swords all the time when he wanted to just relax. "Vice Captain of the Ardagan Family's garrison, Howard, huh?"
"Yes. He might be a Spirit Master, but coupled with your runes, he can become even stronger. And he is the one in charge of the training."
"But will he come?"
"That's the problem. He is currently hiding as a bandit, biding his time for the revival of the Ardagan Family. If you go there, you might have to fight him. But as I am the master of brothels…"
"You can use the women to approach him?"
"Yes."
Noel frowned. "But won't the women be harmed like this?"
"Your thoughts alone are enough. But you don't have to worry, I know how to do it. So, no people shall be harmed. And to look like a bandit, he has been getting a lot of money. In addition to the brothels and your fund, we can use it as the initial fund."
"I see." Noel thought for a moment and asked, "How about the construction of the city? We need a lot of workers. By the time we get to our new home, it should be spring, so it's a good time to start a new life."
"We can use the money to hire workers. Though, Dimitri should handle it."
"Yes, as the butler, I have a lot of connections to the workers. I can pull some people, but…" Dimitri looked at Noel, concerned about his safety.
"In that case, you can remain on my side until the Greenwood Kingdom. With my grandfather there, do you think anyone can harm me?"
Dimitri pondered and finally agreed with him. "Alright then."
"As for the fourth and fifth destinations, you could find Balott and Charlotte. Balott was the accountant and Charlotte was your father's previous secretary. They hadn't done much other than spending the money they had, so it was clear that they were waiting for your visit."
"Then…" Noel created a line on the map that passed through the destinations and several others, including the Demon Banner Army Headquarters. "I will travel through this route."
"I see. You're planning to visit the army… wait a minute, isn't this place where a Master Blacksmith resides?" Harley was stunned, never thinking Noel was so ambitious that he planned to invite a Master Blacksmith.
Dimitri smirked and said, "We've gotten his agreement. Besides, his children are setting up a merchant family, so we can use them to bring necessary goods to the area."
"I see. In that case, you only need the people to fill up the town and the construction workers. I can manage the people, but the construction workers… I think I have heard of a new group filled with women. They can do almost everything, including constructing buildings. They are even more efficient because I heard the women can understand each other, leaving no gaps in their movement. I thought they were a former Demon Relief Squad, but they turned out to be commoners."
"Huh?" Dimitri made a wry smile, remembering something. "Does that group consist of nineteen people?"
"Huh? How do you know?" Harley raised his eyebrows. Since he was the one gathering information, there was no way Dimitri and Noel knew about them.
"Master saved them and encouraged them to be like that…"
"…"
Harley was speechless. But looking at how Noel's father saved people during his time, the son should do the same. It seemed that all the pieces required to create a city had been assembled.
