Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

Zach's familiars made progress. The talks between the representatives of the Empire and the Sesha progressed. They also regressed at times, but everyone wanted to find a way forward. They compromised, argued, discussed, and argued some more about everything and nothing.

They talked about the distribution of the land and resources, who would be in charge of what, and even about trivial things like who should be responsible for building Zach's statues.

Fortunately, there was an easy solution, at least to that last issue. Everyone who wanted to build a statue of Zach could do it as long as they had permission from the owner or overseer of the location where they wanted to build it.

Derot was a little slow to join the discussions since he needed to manage the guild as well and start shifting his responsibilities to his subordinates.

He was a little doubtful about his appointment as one of Zach's proxies. But he realized that this was an opportunity to make up for having to leave Zach among the thorns back when the entire Empire thought he was a traitor. He hadn't had a choice back then since it would have been the end of both of their dreams if he chose to keep Zach as the owner of the guild.

Derot knew Zach understood. But he also knew that Zach would have been hurt nonetheless. Derot felt guilty. If the guild had been successful and powerful enough back then, it wouldn't have been an issue. They could have weathered the storm or even swayed public opinion.

Thanks to the bloody efforts of the guild's army of alchemists during the war, the guild now had that influence. There was no way Derot was going to let it slip.

Derot found himself patting his stomach more and more often lately. He had managed to find the time to put on some weight again once things stabilized.

He was going to miss it.

He was not going to refuse the position of being Zach's proxy. It was a way to right a wrong. It was also a potential source of incredible wealth. He would control the territory home to the wealthiest Labyrinth. The East, although scarred by flames and war, was also a rich land with bountiful natural resources.

They would be in the red for a couple of years as they worked to restore everything that had been ruined by the war. But after that, money would be flowing like spring water.

However, he didn't want to give up the guild or let someone else take the reins too much.

Derot was greedy. He wanted both. He wouldn't have much time left to eat.

Fortunately, Borso seemed sensible with a decent head on his shoulders. And if Derot had read him right, it seemed like Borso considered Zach a great benefactor on a personal level, not just as a hero.

He was smart but not wily and full of nasty schemes. It was perfect.

Derot was going to raise the East to unimaginable heights. He couldn't do that if Borso had his own plans.

But the greater the condition of the East, the better it was for Zach, and the more Derot and Borso could repay him. As long as Derot framed it like that, he was confident he would get Borso's full cooperation.

He would need it.

The other three dukes were not overly interested in the East. They had their own share of troubles to deal with and areas to handle. Some of their residents might not like that Zach's title outranked their lords, but the trouble they caused would be minimal and easily solved once the East was up and running and exporting goods again.

No, the main trouble would come from the greedy nobles and merchants in the central region who would want a piece of the barren pie.

Many businesses had gone under during the war with no hope of returning. That left a lot of vacancies. Since there would'nt be as many competitors as in the capital, many from there would lunge at the chance to make a fortune and build something for themselves.

Derot could tolerate a little. After all, he wouldn't be able to handle everything in the East on his own, even with everyone he had recruited through the guild.

But the more others took, the less he got. He did not like that. He didn't need a hand in everything, but he was going to control it so that things didn't go overboard.

He would be rebuilding, protecting his interests, and managing the guild all at once. It would be a lot.

He did not make a gentle start.

As soon as he joined the negotiations at the palace, he went at it hard.

He reached agreements and made deals with Borso and the other Sesha behind closed doors.

The residents of the east and the nobles of the central region and so on all had stakes in the Empire as a whole, especially the nobles. The Sesha didn't. They only cared about the East. It was in their best interest to side with Derot, just like how it was in Derot's best interest to get them on his side.

Their united front made it much more difficult for the central nobles to find a way in. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough to finally start moving money and resources around.

The first stop was one of the border towns.

Derot had a grand vision, and he wasn't going to wait with it.

The East would have two major cities. One would be the capital built beside the Labyrinth. It would be focused on extracting as much as possible from the Labyrinth of Jira, including the building materials for the cities and buildings of the East.

The other city would be a trade city on the border to the rest of the Empire. It would be a hub of trade, shuffling everything that the East had to offer to the Empire and everything that the Empire had to offer to the East.

It would take a lot of time.

That was why Derot was the only one who wouldn't mind it if Zach stayed asleep. Maybe the East would already be restored and revitalized by the time he woke up.

However, that was only possible as long as nothing else hit the economy hard.