After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

The party was long, with various performances, and flowing food. There were also standing tables and comfortable ones, and the Glens would be seen going from table to table and socializing.

There were plenty of members taking advantage to network well, and they talked as if they had big contributions to the family’s rise when, in fact, they were just as shocked as everyone else.

Cauis decided to settle in one of the tables at the corner, partially hidden by a column.

He was joined by his friends and then by nosy peers. Many of them were from high noble families, who had once treated him at a distance. They were rarely rude, as the Glen family was still decent even before, but definitely not too friendly.

Well, now, they were acting like they were childhood companions or something.

They ate and drank and did small talk, though he could feel some of them were trying to pry information, which wasn’t really disappointing for the most part, except one of his best companions from a mid-tier family was doing the same.

When inebriated, people started becoming more frank. ”Are you really not sharing the source, even with us?” It was half said in jest, of course.

”No, we must protect the sources,” he said.

People seemed to have the impression that he had gotten these things from different places, simply because it was unthinkable to think these were all from one place.

Not to mention, people knew the other cities, and they wouldn’t even think of a ’lower’ territory to be able to make good stuff, and so many of them.

He protected his secret using oaths, of course, but since his men were powerful and high-leveled, they had to be clever and detailed with the oaths. In the end, they simply cannot mention anything about the source for a year.

By then, most people would’ve figured it out one way or another anyway. Alterra...was too noisy and active, even if they didn’t want to.

Sooner or later, they would be known even without him or Holt City, so might as well create a powerful oath with a short duration. Fortunately, he had the advantage, and he could at least get good deals even if (and when) other people discovered Alterra.

Those in attendance at this party were at least a few representatives from the high noble families, and one or two from the middle-ranged ones.

The royal family was also mostly in attendance, with the exception of Prince Ussain, who was still busy hunting some enemy he had been going after since before the Cold Wave. There was also Silas and his group, who were somewhere.

There, he saw Prince Allain and his pages. He blinked when he saw that child—the sand user—appeared even closer to the Prince than the pages who assisted him since childhood.

Cauis blinked. He was naturally unaware of what was happening in the Royal Palace. If he were, then that would’ve been a cause of concern, right?

To be honest, with how busy everything was and how many things had happened, he had actually forgotten about this child.

Now that he thought about it, he was among the people who were sure to be elementalists, wasn’t he? At the time, he just thought the ratio was high, not that it was guaranteed. After spending time in Alterra, he knew that was not the case.

So when they actually approached him, he couldn’t help but blink.

”Your Highness,” Cauis greeted, and the prince nodded while pulling the Terran paige over.

”Cauis, since you travelled a lot, especially in the East, can we ask for a favor?”

....

Later that night, after the party ended, Prince Ussain finally got back, though with a deep frown on his face.

The palaces were large, and each prince had their own, but the central palaces and the amenities were for every royal family member. He headed to the library to recheck their records of half-orcs who caused many of his men to die.

Were half-orcs even capable of such elaborate traps? It seemed that some were, if he were to recount the stories the surviving men told him.

Most of the orcs, especially those with pure blood, were simple-minded and were unable to do complex things despite their strengths. However, that cannot be applied to everyone.

His brother, the crown prince, arrived shortly after that. It was his habit to read a few scrolls before sleeping, and he was a bit startled to see his brother—who famously hated reading—there.

He did not even notice his arrival.

Crown Prince Theron wordlessly found a place on the opposite side of his brother’s table and started reading. Only when the other man flinched and lifted his head did he speak.

”Did you find out what you were looking for?”

Ussain shook his head.

”Why did they attack your party, anyway?”

Half-orcs were rarely so aggressive. They could attack in self-defense, but they would rarely hunt with such strategy.

There were also plenty of forces that were far, far crueler to half-orcs than Ussain’s mercenary team, so it was odd that they were targeted at all.

Sure, they had done some grey area and maybe even unsavoury things, but there was nothing too extreme compared to others. If the half-orcs were to make an organized hunt of humans, Ussain’s organization wouldn’t be the target.

”What were they transporting?”

At this, Prince Ussain immediately felt a bit awkward. ”A few treasures...”

”And?”

How could Theron not know his brother? He was a little greedy and a bit more morally ambiguous, but he at least listened to him.

This time, however, Ussain really was a bit clueless. Forming a mercenary team was exciting at first, but it eventually got boring. He was a grown man with his own responsibilities in the territory, too, so he eventually loosened his hold on the team he created.

Ussain looked at him while he pondered. He didn’t really memorize everything his team did and transferred. He just provided the funds and then received the profit in turn.

He called his assistant to give him a list of the things his team had been trading.

”A half-orc,” he paused, eyes twitching. ”Well, more than one, it seems. It was a flying orc and her children.”