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

The Alterrans left the two toolmakers with an invitation, letting them think about it, until the day they'd leave. They did not forget to say, of course, that they're looking into other toolmakers too.

This was a classic way to entice people into making rushed decisions. As long as the offer was tempting, it'd make it more likely for them to accept.

Of course, even if their offer didn't appear completely trustworthy, the Alterrans were confident these people wouldn't regret taking their offers—and that showed in the way they talked and how they handled themselves.

Well, wise men did say: The best salespeople are the ones who are 100% convinced of what they are selling!

…

Meanwhile, at the hotel, the siblings really couldn't sit still. Well, Veronica couldn't, but her brother couldn't leave her roaming around on her own, so he joined her.

To protect their identity as associates of Alterra, they simply didn't work so obviously with Sean and the others. They looked more like two tourists from Towns wanting to know more about Cities. This was completely normal and nothing suspicious at all.

What they found out more about was the 'end' of the Golds, which was still a pretty hot topic. As long as it was not discussed in a tone rebellious or questioning of the lord, the Golds were apparently fine to discuss.

They could hear a bit of pity in their tones—especially when referring to the mess that came after—but no one dared voice it out loud.

Another news was that their target Toolmaker Kalfene had been kicked out! They knew Sean and the others went to him, and it increased the chances of a successful recruitment. Now all they had to do was to extract them safely while keeping their destination a secret.

According to the instructions, the ideal scenario was to keep 'everything under the radar', whatever a radar was.

Anyway, when the siblings headed back to the hotel, they encountered none other than Liaroa, who was waiting in the lobby area with her maids.

She had tea and a basket of biscuits respectfully offered by the hotel management. She was graceful and looked quite at home being served.

Liaroa was never the prettiest in the bunch, but she did have a good face. She also trained herself very well to carry herself gracefully, adding to her charm.

At this time, she was wearing a pastel-colored dress that was somewhat conservative but form-fitting and showed her curves.

"Cousins," she said with a smile, and the siblings realized that she had come here for them.

The two looked at each other, confused. What's the bride doing here a day before her wedding?

Lia could tell what they were thinking and forced a smile. "The wedding has been delayed, my husband was mobilized by the family to look for some people."

"I apologize for the delay and the change of plans," she said. "Let me make your wait worth it. As a future Sephon, let me guide you around, cousins."

Lia went directly because they still represented a useful town in the end, and she needed a good relationship with them. Also, they'd find out about the delay soon enough and she needed to show that she was not affected—that she was a proper noble woman.

Veronica and Vaughn sighed, knowing they couldn't escape this without offending anyone.

It would've helped if Lia had hidden her distaste of Veronica's new short hair, of course. Even when the woman wasn't saying anything, that look of distaste couldn't be missed at all.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Veronica asked, as if just concerned. "Would this affect our Town?"

"Hmn, the Golds have been found, and the two families want revenge on them."

Veronica flinched and acted genuinely surprised. "Why would they want to hunt them?"

"All I can say is that they deserve horrible deaths," she said. They would naturally not spread the fact that the two families' ancestors were missing. "They had also partnered with Holt City, not caring about their home city's well-being."

"I see…" was all she said, even when she knew the truth. "So the wedding will be delayed until he returns?"

"Yes, but all I can do is pray for their safety, for now," Liaroa said with a weak smile, as if she were putting on a strong front. Her brother and the eavesdropping men felt a bit of pity, but Veronica knew very well how poisonous this woman actually was.

She might've fallen victim too though, if she hadn't witnessed Lia's true self with her own eyes.

At the time, they were still small, around 12 or 13 years of age. Veronica, who had always been gregarious, treated this cousin as a friend and followed her like a minion.

One day, Veronica went to visit the city but didn't tell Lia, wanting to surprise her by waiting and hiding near the other's room.

Before she could make her presence known, she witnessed Lia slap her maid and forced her to kneel with such a force that definitely caused internal injuries.

Veronica watched with wide eyes as the "kind" Lia grabbed the maid's hair and made her eat mud.

Why was Liaroa so angry at the maid? It was because she found dirt on her skirt, blaming the woman for not cleaning it up well.

She could still remember the twelve-year-old's words: Since you don't seem to find mud dirty, why don't you eat some yourself?

"Hmn, hopefully he returns soon," was all Veronica said, not wanting a prolonged interaction with this woman. "If he takes too long we might have to go in advance. We'll leave the gifts to you."

"What?"

Liaroa didn't like that they didn't put her as a priority—that they weren't willing to throw away all their plans in favor of hers.

"We will stay for a long time, though," Veronica said. "I'm sure your husband-to-be will finish his mission sooner rather than later.

"I think you should take this chance to make the wedding even more perfect."

Translation: Please Leave.

Lia looked at her, wondering whether to be offended that the other was instructing her to do something, or to take the advice because it wasn't a bad idea.

That said, while staring, she couldn't help but stare at the other's head again. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your hair?" she asked, though her eyes couldn't hide the disdain.

Veronica almost rolled her eyes.

"A monster cut it," was all she said. Liaroa was one of those women (typical type) who would express distaste when other women did 'rough' things.

Lia nodded, her eyes fixed on it. She even walked around Veronica to study it, making Veronica feel like she was some sort of specimen to be fixed. "Hmn, your hair was not bad before. Hopefully, by the time of the wedding, you have already recovered it."

Veronica's eyes twitched. How could she grow her hair so quickly?

To be honest, after everything she had been through she had just cared less. Years had passed and she wanted to snap at this woman.

When she was young, as a townsgirl, she naturally had to succumb to this woman about everything. But…she didn't want to do that anymore.

"Are you done?"

"What?" Lia asked, surprised at her tone. She was half-convinced she had misheard. Even Vaughn flinched a bit.

"Your makeup is being undone from being outside for so long."

"What?"

Like this, Lia rushed away with her servants, leaving the siblings behind.

Veronica smiled.

Ah, peace again.