Chapter 259: First Word Of Stark City (Bonus)

"Yes." Ethan said simply, "maybe call it Stark City? Mini City?... i don’t know , we can work out the name later"

The man looked up at him, slightly taken aback by how casually he accepted that.

"That scale of development," he began carefully, "would require far more than structural adjustments. You’d essentially be creating something that operates on its own. Infrastructure, governance, maintenance systems—"

"And revenue," Ethan cut in.

The man paused.

Ethan finally looked up fully. "If I’m going to hold land of this size," he continued, "then it shouldn’t just sit here and serve one purpose."

He gestured across the spread.

"It builds, It produces. It houses. That’s fine. But—" his finger tapped the residential section once, "—it should also earn."

The room stilled.

"You’re already planning to house thousands of workers," Ethan went on. "That alone creates movement, trade and demand. People need services, supplies, somewhere to spend what they earn."

Valerie had slowed her writing, listening more closely now.

"If this place is built well," Ethan added, "it won’t just be somewhere people work. It becomes somewhere people stay."

The developer nodded slowly. "...Internal economy."

Ethan gave a slight nod. "Exactly. And it doesn’t stop there."

He leaned back just a little. "If the layout is clean, and the roads are proper, with an additional level of refinement to it..." He paused briefly. "It stops being functional. It becomes attractive."

The elf’s pen resumed immediately. "Visitors," the developer said.

"Eventually," Ethan replied.

The man exhaled slowly. "This changes... uh, Mr Stark We would need to change a considerable amount of what’s already been drawn up."

"Do it," Ethan said. With absolutely no hesitation in his voice.

The man nodded. "We will. I’ll have the team rework this into a dual-purpose development plan. Industrial and civic."

Eduardo leaned back on his seat with a satisfied look on his face.

"i want updated drafts," he added. "A few days from now."

"Of course. We’ll prioritize it." Mr Change answered, as a brief pause settled over the table.

Then Ethan’s gaze returned to the plan. "Tell me something."

The man straightened. "Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"How fast can we build it?" Ethan asked

The developer glanced briefly at his colleagues before turning to respond, "The full development?"

"No." Ethan tapped the industrial section. "How fast can we get this operational." His finger moved slightly. "And housing for working men."

The man looked thoughtful for a brief moment.

"That would depend on several factors," he said. "Material supply, labor force scaling, transport..."

Ethan said nothing, letting him continue.

"But... if everything is properly aligned and we push for speed without compromising structural integrity..." there was another pause.

"The fastest we could establish a functional industrial core with supporting residential capacity..."

He looked up. "...would be within one to two months."

"Good," Ethan said. "Our current facilities are already pushing their limits with space."

Eduardo gave a small nod in agreement.

The developer let out a slow breath, then nodded. "Understood, Mr. Stark."

The boardroom began to settle as the estate developers gathered their documents.

The lead developer rose and extended his hand across the table. "Mr. Stark."

Ethan shook it firmly.

One by one, the others followed as each offered a handshake and a respectful nod before filing out.

The orc was last. He shook Ethan’s hand, then Eduardo’s.

As he turned to leave, his eyes moved briefly, just once, toward Valerie. But he had thought better of it immediately and kept walking.

Hayley watched him go with the same unimpressed expression.

As the room cleared, Ethan turned to Valerie.

"Contact House Marden. Let them know their first aircraft units are ready. They can decide on delivery location or collection method. Also ask if they’ll require pilot training support."

Valerie nodded immediately. "Understood, Master Ethan." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"No fair." Hayley cut in, turning toward him. "What about ours?" She was referring to the aircraft order connected to her father.

Ethan smiled. "Don’t worry. Yours are on track. They’ll be ready soon enough."

Hayley nodded, satisfied with that. She actually just wanted to make small talk at that point. It wasn’t anything serious.

Eduardo slid an envelope across the table toward Ethan. "This came in earlier, Master Ethan."

Ethan took it, broke the seal, and scanned the contents.

"From House Desdemona," Eduardo added.

Ethan sighed quietly. "Of course it is."

The letter was formal and direct. In summary, it was basically Lady Audrey Desdemona pledging three million gold grits and expressing interest in discussing airplane models.

Ethan closed the letter slowly, then set it down.

"I’ll have Lucy handle the correspondence," he said. "She understands our systems well enough to negotiate without needing me in the middle of it."

With that, the meeting came to an end, and the room gradually emptied as everyone filed out of the boardroom.

Ethan remained at Stark Industries for most of the day, with Hayley trailing closely behind him wherever he went.

——

Later that night...

A sparing session was currently holding between Mr Stark and his wife to be.

Chunks of rocks had torn free from the ground and traveled towards Ethan. This was Isabella’s earth spell pulling debris upward and launching it toward him in a tight cluster.

He extended his hand, and three controlled bolts of lightning cracked out in quick succession, shattering the projectiles mid-air as fragments scattered across the yard.

He was still tracking the last piece when she closed the distance.

She was quick for a Guardian, lunging her fist forward with the full weight of her class behind it. But Ethan caught her curled fist with one hand, absorbing the force into his palm and bringing her momentum to a dead stop.

As a result, a subtle shockwave spread from their point to all directions.

But Isabella didn’t look surprised. If anything, she looked like she had expected exactly that.

"My father," she said, already pulling back and resetting her stance. "And Andrea." Her eyes stayed on him. "What are you going to do about it?"

Ethan rolled his shoulder. "I don’t know yet."

She swung her foot to deliver a roundhouse kick, but he stepped back. "What’s on your mind?" She asked again, following up with an dash while swinging her fist

He ducked beneath and adjusted his weight to the side. "Going to your father with this, feels kinda weird"