Amelia and Ophelia: The Former Grand Duchess and Saintess.

About two weeks after their little testing of the ships of their brand spanking new navy, the duo monarchs were busy doing stuff on their own, with Ophelia making a trip to the largest city of the dwarven clan high in the mountains to the west of Olertin City while she was here directly south of the city in the largest refugee town known as Callipsburg. Amelia had come here to meet a certain former official who was part of the Adventurer's Guild back in the Hillsbrooke Empire, and she was going to use them to get her plan into motion. 

She was currently riding inside her carriage with her papers and with a contingent of her own Black Guard bodyguard who flanked her in two small columns on either side plus a row in the back to cover her. Sifting through the reports, Amelia's eyes reviewed the information repeatedly, noting down the amounts of money she had, the equipment that was at the ready, and the construction site for the whole thing, she was going to show all of this to the person she had arranged to meet and she was going to do her best to entice them into joining along with her plan. 

{!} 

Suddenly, the carriage stopped and one of the Black Guards, a young human man named Beck, tapped on the window of the carriage and then opened the door. 

"Your Majesty, we have arrived" Beck stated, his young voice cutting through the air, his eyes looking at her 

"Thank you Beck" Amelia nodded as she exited the carriage and stepped onto the well-paved concrete road of Callispburg. 

Callipsburg was a thriving town that regularly had caravans filled with goods and supplies flowing to and from Olertin City, many of the shopkeepers from the Erstad Duchy had set up shop in Olertin City or in one of the other major cities of the empire while sending money to their families that lived in the towns. It was already a good few months ever since they had arrived so everyone was able to comfortably settle down into their new livelihoods. By this point, they were no longer referred to as Refugee Towns but as proper towns that were here before them. 

Stepping off the carriage, Amelia found herself outside the largest building in town, the Mayor's Office which was in the middle of a large square. Given her status as the woman who led them out of the former empire and as their empress, many of the citizens who were walking the streets and inside their houses along the square were all looking at her and bowing their heads in greetings as they saw her. Amelia smiled back at them and gave waves to the people who greeted her and after spending a few minutes exchanging pleasantries with the people of the town, she entered the mayor's office with her Black Guard waiting outside. 

Entering the large building, she saw several government workers stop in their tracks as they turned to her and bowed their heads as they gazed upon her. 

"Greetings Your Majesty. Mayor Windel is waiting for you upstairs, first door you see when you head up" The soothing voice of the head receptionist who was a kitsune and was at the desk on the left of the entrance greeted her with a deep bow 

"Thank you very much" Amelia replied with a nod before heading upstairs, waving at the people who were still bowing at them to get them to stop 

Reaching the top of the stairs and entering the room with the double doors right at the top, Amelia entered a large office filled with shelves containing books and stacks of paper that lined either side of the office, at the far end was a large desk right behind a large window and in the middle of the room was a pair of couches and a coffee table in between them. Sitting on the couch facing the doorway, was a man dressed in a white polo with black slacks and suspenders that clothed his rugged yet aged body, his hair was graying out and was slowly whittling away as his hairline receded, he had a smile on his aged face and cup of tea in his hands was Mayor Wendel, formally known as Guild Master Richter Wendel who was in charge of the Erstad Duchy's Adventurer's Guild. 

"Your Majesty. It is a pleasure" Wendel said as he rose from his seat and walked over to his monarch 

"The pleasure is mine Guild Master" Amelia replied, the former adventurer in her addressing him with the respect she had for him back in their former home 

"Ahh no need to call me that anymore Your Majesty, after all, you are in a much higher position than me" Wendel replied with his deep voice and a small smile 

"All right then, Mr. Wendel. I am here to ask you for something?" Amelia stated as she sat on her couch opposite the mayor 

"Uhuh, I take it the thing you are here to discuss is related to the adventurer's guild plan I have most likely read and heard during the Imperial Council meeting about two weeks ago" Wendel replied with a smile as he took a sip of his tea 

"Yes, about that. I know that you most likely have read it already and know all the details, but I must ask beforehand, do you really plan on leaving your position as Mayor of this town and becoming a Guild Master once again?" The blonde empress asked with a curious expression 

"Indeed Your Majesty, I was serious when I sent my letter asking to be the one to be considered for the position of Guild Master, and I was actually hoping I was your first choice as well, considering that you accepted it" Wendel answered with a wry smile 

"Yes, you were my first choice, and I would have asked you if there was anyone else you could recommend if you declined. But now that you are certain of becoming the Guild Master of this empire's first-ever Adventurer's Guild. I am pretty happy" Amelia added with her own smile 

"Aww, that means a lot coming from you Your Majesty. In fact, I am touched both of you have trusted me in this endeavor" The bald man added as he took another sip of his tea 

"Well, you were the Guild Master when both of us were working and you are the most knowledgable about how to run a guild second only to me and Ophelia so, it was a no brainer really" Amelia said as she leaned into the couch 

"Hehehe, I am flattered. Right, I will inform you now that emergency elections were held and that a new mayor has been chosen to take over my position once the guild is up and running. Her name is Faircrest, Josphine Faircrest and she was also a former adventurer, an A-Rank if I remember correctly. She is a good leader and administrator, apparently, she used to be some secretary of some noble before becoming and adventurer and working in our guild a few years before our escape, plus she knows how to handle politics better than me so I will endorse her" Wendel added as he pulled out a folder and handed it over to his empress

"I thank you for this, we will keep and eye on her to see her worth. Anyways, pushing past all of that, let us get to the main topic of today, the establishment of the guild" 

"Right" 

After a nod, Amelia pulled out blueprints and a map while Wendel immediately took the tea set and placed it on the side, making sure that the papers were not soaked or damaged by anything that was still on the table. When the map and the blueprints were set on the table, his expression turned to surprise when he saw the location drawn on the map where the headquarters of the guild would be built, inside Callispburg itself, specifically in the southern tip of the town near a river. The blueprints of the building he saw were that of a three-story building inside a larger complex that comprised two smaller single-story buildings, with what appeared to be a large training area for future adventurers. An impressed smile on his face as he then took another sip of his tea and then locked eyes with his monarch. 

"This is quite a step up to the old guild I will tell you that" Wendel began as he looked back down at the blueprints 

"Well, since it will be the headquarters of the Guild, of course it had to be a step above the rest" Amelia replied with a smirk 

"Hehehe, I understand that Your Majesty. But may I ask, when am I going to meet the people who are supposed to become adventurers?" The old guild master asked with a curious expression 

"Ah, that. Actually, it will be right after this meeting. I just wanted to see if you had any qualms about the building schematics and the location we are going to build it, on that note, do you have any questions or concerns?" 

"Nothing more Your Majesty. I am fully committed to supporting this plan" 

"That's good to hear. Now we shall head to where the construction is to be started. It is a small walk from here so let's get to it" 

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A few minutes later, the duo and the Black Guard contingent were standing in front of a large plot of land on the southern tip of the town, with the sound of the flowing river mingling with the sound of construction workers hammering away as they were building the guild. The duo saw engineers of different races, dressed in their tribal robes with aprons that housed tools and equipment, walking around carrying beams of wood or using their magic to help make the concrete that was common in the buildings of the empire. There were also construction workers prepping the foundation for the secondary buildings, pouring in cement within the ironwood frame dug into the ground, the grey substance slowly filling up to the brim of the frame before construction workers sprayed it with controlled bursts of earth and water magic that helped the concrete set faster and still maintain its strength and durability. 

Then there was another group of workers setting up the wall that faced the river in order to protect any training adventurers from falling into the running body of water, while others were setting up the drain exit that would lead into the facility's drainage system that was connected to the rest of Callipsburg. Although many would think that since the drain would transfer possibly harmful waste into the clean river, it was quite the opposite. The sewers around the empire had specially designed crystals based on the knowledge Spithe had imparted to the HRD (Halkare Research Department) which would purify the waste and then turn it back into clean water that would then lead back out into the various rivers or even the ocean, and even connected to the larger waterway project across the empire that would serve as a reliable source of water if the water crystals were unavailable for reasons. 

There was also a group of workers setting up the training area, with workers setting up the various target dummies made of ironwood fibers on large spots marked with an X, plating about sixteen of them before placing targets for archers and other dummies. Finally, there was the main two-story building that was to serve as the headquarters, unlike the rest of the buildings in the complex, the headquarters was partially finished with the foundation already laid and the walls of concrete and wooden beams already set up and taking shape. The building was almost finished as there were still some walls left to be made but the structure of the building had been already placed, with engineers and carpenters were busy walking around the structure trying to ensure that it was all good so far. 

"Wow, this is...quite the construction" Wendel remarked as he and his monarch walked through the site, both of them covered by Amelia's invisible barriers to protect them, from any falling debris 

"It is, in fact, it is leagues above the construction back in our old home, what took months can take a day at the least or a few weeks at most" Amelia added as she agreed with a nod, waving at the numerous construction workers who saluted and bowed to her 

"Indeed. Plus, the buildings in this empire is much more sturdy than the ones back then, I remember getting mad once and then being able to punch through the wooden walls, when I got mad last week, I punched the concrete walls and although it cracked, it gave me much more pain in return" Wendel added as he clutched his right hand 

"I expected as much, the concrete mixture is apparently able to withstand even a blow from a lower S-Rank, something about the mixture and the use of magic in its construction, I do not understand it much, but considering its strength, I do not need to" Amelia stated  

After walking around the site, the duo then found the main construction tent, where the chief engineer was with his staff and overlooking the plans. His dwarven face showed a thinking expression as he stroked his ginger beard and scratched his head, the other dwarves and elves inside the tent were also looking over other reports, being caught off guard when their monarch entered the tent, causing them to drop their reports and stand at attention. 

"Your Majesty! Forgive us for not greeting you immediately upon your arrival!" The chief engineer named Thrask stated as he looked up at her 

"It's fine Thrask, it was a surprise visit anyways, I just wished to see the site while I was here, plus, I brought along the man who will soon be manning it, so it was a good idea to let him see it being built" Amelia replied as she nodded at the dwarf 

"I...I see, well. Has everything been up to your standards so far Your Majesty? We have been following the blueprints handed over to us and I believe we have been doing well so far in following them after you gave them to us" Thrask asked as he gestured at the blueprints on the table 

"I am, I was the one who asked you to construct it remember? I believe you are all doing a great job so far, in fact, even Wendel here, the man who will become guild master, also thinks the same" Amelia answered as she gestured towards the former guild master 

"I agree, the construction work you have finished so far is amazing, I was already impressed by the buildings we live in when we arrived here, but to see them constructed, oh that is another level of amazement" The bald guild master added with a genuine grin 

"Thank you for the kind words, I am glad we did not disappoint. We construction crews have been hard at work ever since our clans flocked under the imperial banner, pushing ourselves to complete the next project, so hearing that our work is great or amazing is truly something that brightens my day as well as the rest of the crew, so thank you. And I promise that this guild headquarters will be even more amazing once it has been finished" Thrask stated with a determined and confident expression, with the same confidence in his eyes

"I shall hold you to that eh? I am quite excited now" Wendel replied with a grin 

After a few more minutes of listening to Thrask give detailed reports to his monarch, the duo left the construction site with smiles on their faces. The time was still around noon and the day was still bright, 

"Alright, let's head to where the people who are going to be the new adventurers have gathered" Amelia stated as she looked at the guild master, a smile on her face as she finished her words 

"By all means Your Majesty, lead the way" Wendel replied with a nod, with excitement in his veins to see who these people were

A/N: And here we go! A new arc. There will be two arcs before we switch back to the duo monarchs setting sail towards the Kingdom of Amma, and I must apologize for not posting for the last few days. College exams and projects for me midterms have been kicking my asss as of late, so apologies for that. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and the rest of the arcs coming up, I put a lot of thought into making sure they expand on somethings I glanced over earlier in the volume, like the logistics and the construction of the empire during the 4-month period. Anyways, if you got comments or reactions, grammatical corrections or even questions, leave them below for me to read. And as always, Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day!