NOVEL NEXT Chapter 89: Dangerous People
"..." Another three days had passed since I made that relic for Kjori. While he was finishing the weapons for Eve and Syl'Vyr, I kept practicing and created three more rings to give to Kjori as final payment for the items.
One ring shoots a fireball and has 10 uses. Another one shines brighter than 10 torches combined, has 20 uses, and each use lasts 3 hours, which is great for adventurers.
And finally, the most audacious ring I made, a relic capable of generating a small tornado that can destroy a small house. Of course, the logic behind this ring is complicated because it's only useful for an adventurer up to Rank C, but most Rank C adventurers wouldn't buy this kind of thing.
So it's just an interesting item that wouldn't sell well if it were made for the market, but Kjori accepted it readily. And now, Eve, Syl'Vyr, and I are here to pick up their items.
"..." We were calmly waiting for him to come out from the forge area. After a few minutes, he emerged carrying a sword in an elegant waist-sheath and a long, rectangular case that was quite large and probably contained Syl'Vyr's staff.
"Here's your order, girl. And here's the basic tool kit I'll give you as a gift for starting on the path of an artisan," he said right away, placing the items on a table.
"Me first!" Syl'Vyr quickly pulled the case off the table, opened it, and took out a very elegant and beautiful staff from inside that suited her perfectly.
"That's the staff she asked me for. If you look, you'll see the name [Celeste] written in one corner. Since it was less complex, it was relatively quick to make," Kjori explained briefly, unsheathing the sword that had been left on the table.
"And this one here is yours. It's called [Bloody Rose], as we discussed before. Could you hold it and see what you think?" he asked, extending the sword to Eve. Eve's eyes were shining as she stared at the sword.
She soon took it as if it were something delicate, not a dangerous weapon made for hunting monsters.
Eve quickly made a vertical slashing motion, generating a small shockwave that rattled the nearby weapons.
"It's... impressive. Every part has the perfect balance for my body, and the hilt feels wonderful to hold. Using this sword makes the one I used before seem like garbage," she said with a happy smile on her face.
"Naturally. Don't underestimate what the right weapon can do. It's true that what makes a skilled adventurer is their ability, not their weapon. However, the right weapon turns a skilled adventurer into an even stronger version of themselves," he spoke with conviction as Eve took the sheath from the table, attached it to her waist, and promptly sheathed the sword.
"And can I..."
"No, you cannot test that staff here. You're a mage; you'll break my shop," Kjori quickly interrupted Syl'Vyr, making it clear he didn't like her after she had touched various things before.
"...Tsk. You're a petty old man. You'll die alone," she said sulkily, heading outside.
"Evelyn-chan, I'll wait outside," she said, leaving with heavy steps that echoed faintly through the place.
"..."
"Don't mind her, Kjori. She's just happy with the staff," I quickly tried to smooth things over.
"It's fine. Anyway, our deal ends here. As stated before, I'll keep everything you created during your time learning here. I hope you do well as an artisan in the future," he said with a small smile.
"Yes... thank you for your help. Although it will probably be a while before I come here again; I prefer adventuring in dungeons for long periods," I said, taking the three rings I made from my pocket.
"Here they are. These are the last things I created." My voice was full of pride as he took them and placed them on the table.
"Great. Is that everything?" he asked, as if expecting more.
"Hahahahaha, more, right?.." I laughed as if it were a joke, until I saw his serious face.
"You're not joking... are you?" I asked, already starting to feel indignant.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
'Damn greedy bastard!!'
"I don't have anything else!!" I said quickly, while he just shrugged.
"Well, it seems we're done here. I forged the weapons I wanted, and you gave me your relics. With that, if you don't want anything else, you can leave," he simply said, as if expelling me.
I thought about complaining until I remembered we have nothing going on. He barely knows who I am, and I only know who he is because of the game's content. We literally just met less than two weeks ago.
"You're right. We're done here, and I've already paid for the items I requested. And since Eve showed the quality, I think we've satisfactorily concluded this transaction..." I said somewhat coldly, extending my hand for a handshake.
"..." He gave a light handshake and returned to the service counter.
"Eve, let's go. I want to go to the guild and pick a mission that pays a lot of money!" I said, turning to leave. I stored the basic tool kit inside my storage ring as we headed out.
...
...
...
I watch Evelyn leaving with her companions. It's good to see young people interested in creating relics, so I gave her a little push to follow that path. Whether she becomes good at it or not is up to her.
"..." I start gathering the relics she made into a specific box to sell as a set, but suddenly someone comes through the door.
"...?" Somehow, I can't "perceive" the person. I know someone is there, but I can't identify if it's a man or a woman, and I can't even perceive how there is someone there.
It's as if no one exists. I don't hear any sound either. It's like a silent ghost, very well hidden.
'Whoever it is... they're dangerous.' I move my hand beneath the counter, ready to grab an emergency relic.
"Calm down, Kjori. I'm just here to buy something. Don't worry, I'm not here to kill you," the voice speaks, and with that, I know it's a girl.
"..."
"What do you wish to buy here?" I ask, gripping the relic, ready to use it at any moment.
"That set of four rings. A water relic, a fire relic, a wind relic, and one that gives light. I want all four. My mistress will pay 2 million gold coins... for each one," she states an absurd price for these relics which aren't worth that much.
'That's... 8 million gold coins... for a set that's worth 600 thousand gold coins at most, with luck and at an auction...' I look at the relics on the table and then at this suspicious girl.
'From the way she spoke, her mistress is also a girl... Why does she want these?' For a noble, this is trash and useless; it doesn't even work as jewelry, as despite being nice-looking, it lacks the quality nobles prefer.
Everything about this just makes it more suspicious. How could she know I was going to sell these when I just received them? The only answer is that she was already watching, and I wasn't the target of the observation—Evelyn was.
"..."
"Will you take long to decide? You're smart. You managed to hide from your enemies very well... and because of that, you should understand. My mistress doesn't care about you. However, she really wants these relics."
"And if I don't hand them over willingly... perhaps we'll have to make things... unpleasant..." she says, approaching as I return the relic to its place under the counter.
"...Alright. 8 million gold coins then, right?" I don't know what they want them for, but Evelyn gave me these relics as payment for the sword and staff I made. Eight million perfectly covers my costs.
I'd even thought I'd end up slightly at a loss, but with this, I won't have any loss at all. And it's not like she can do anything bad to Evelyn just because she bought these relics.
"May I know what you'll do with these relics?" I say, placing the box on the table. She quickly approaches, picks it up, examines the contents, and stores it within her clothes.
"Of course you may. But only if you want to die."
"..."
"Just kidding, hahaha. I'm just going to get rid of them. You know how it is, right? Nobles love having things just to break them," she says maliciously, as I ponder this.
'8 million gold coins on something just to break...' I don't know what to think, and I don't know if it's true, but I decide not to pry too much because this girl has already made it clear she knows about my enemies.
"Here's your payment," she says, taking something from her clothes and placing it on the table. I look and see it's an anonymous payment relic; the money count is for 8 million gold coins.
It's like a check, but without the name of who's giving the money, and without revealing where the money came from or who it belongs to.
"..." As soon as I pick up the object, I notice the girl has vanished, too fast for me to even perceive.
"...Evelyn, you have some truly dangerous people following you..." I murmur, realizing that girl could have easily killed me before I could even use any relic.