Chương 23: The Contract Ends

Arthur went to his house to freshen up. He wore a good attire. He thought of buying new clothes for himself, as most of the clothes were old and color-washed. Once he was ready, he carefully wrapped the sword with a sack and clothes neatly. When he left the house, Geoffrey and Suzie were at the door, planning to tag along with him. However, his mother was against it. Arthur promised them that he would buy some snacks when he returned. Only then did they let him walk away.

After moving towards inner Sector B, he hailed a taxi. He directly asked for the Mawman Materials shop. He was eager to show the swords. Once the old man was impressed with the sword, he could do the future plan based on that. While traveling in the taxi, he opened the Market place. He better browse for a few more Beginner Skeleton workers. For now, he could only try to search for suitable Blacksmith workers. If he could produce more products, he would earn more.

This all depended on the approval of the old man and the sales. If the swords became a hit, he would try to produce the same [Iron LongSword]. If people were not impressed, he might have to choose other Blueprints that had a higher selling capacity. Soon, he found a Beginner Blacksmith. However, he could not see the blueprint details it was capable of forging. He guessed he might have to form a contract to view those details.

[Worker Status] Name: Linda Designation: Blacksmith Specialist: Weapons Professional Status: Beginner Monthly Maintenance Cost (MMC): 500 Credits Contract Payment: Bag of Press Talc Mineral, Laminar Grit Ore, Dozen Blocks of Cleft Chalk'Is the skeleton a girl?' a thought arose after seeing the name. Two things attracted Arthur. One was the Specialist, which mentioned Weapons.

'Does that mean this skeleton could forge any type of weapon like a spear, sword, dagger, or bow?' The other was its MMC. It was very low, requiring only 500 Credits for monthly maintenance. However, the contract payment items were unknown to Arthur's knowledge. The Specialist option attracted him, so he planned to form a contract with this skeleton. He remembered the name and scrolled down the page. A lot of new workers' details loaded, and he selected one worker that was a specialist in armor forging.

[Worker Status] Name: Ribution Designation: Blacksmith Specialist: Armour Professional Status: Beginner Monthly Maintenance Cost (MMC): 3000 Credits Contract Payment: Five Set Copper, Five Drawn Bar, Dungeon Bed Mineral If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Similar to Linda's contract payment, Arthur lacked knowledge regarding Ribution's payment. He would have to ask the old man.

He wondered how much it would cost and if he could manage with the money he currently had, which was around 80, 000 Credits. While he was browsing through the details, the taxi reached Donner Street. It stopped at the Mawman Materials shop. Arthur hoped the old man would be present. He entered the shop and looked around, but he could not find him. He quickly went to one of the salesmen and asked.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Heinrich present at the shop?"

"I'm afraid Mr. Heinrich hasn't arrived yet. If there's anything I can assist you with in the meantime, I'd be happy to help," the salesman said.

"No problem, I will wait for him to come," Arthur said. He stepped towards the waiting area to wait for the old man. However, before he could take a single step, he was stopped. Looking up, someone was standing before him. It was a young girl who looked to be his age, or maybe a few years older. Arthur was a little surprised by the sudden entrance of the girl. Looking at her attire, she must be a customer, as she was not wearing the shop uniform.

With that confrontation, he quickly decided to move to the side, heading to the waiting area.

"You must be Arthur Purchase," she suddenly said, looking at Arthur. Surprised, Arthur stopped his steps and looked at her again. Looking closely now, she had a sharp face and bluish eyes, which he saw somewhere. She seemed to be a little taller than himself.

"Yes, I am Arthur. May I know who you are?" he asked. He was confused because he thought she was a customer in the shop. However, when she spoke his name, he could somehow connect the dots. She was related to the old man.

"My name is Nina Mawman. Come with me. My grandfather will arrive late. He asked me to receive you if you were to show up early," she said, starting to walk towards the private room. Arthur gave it a thought and followed her. Since the old man had informed her, there would not be any issue. His guess was this girl must be a relative to the old man. She might be a granddaughter or a daughter, who knows. The two entered the big room. The girl sat at the main chair by the desk, gesturing to Arthur to sit.

Arthur sat down, placing the swords wrapped in a cloth on the table.

"When will he reach the shop? We planned yesterday to meet this morning," Arthur said.

"I know everything," the young lady said in a rough, condescending tone.

"What innate ability did you use on my grandfather to agree to open a branch workshop at Outer Sector B?" Her voice echoed through the room as she blatantly accused Arthur. Arthur, who was about to uncover the sword, halted his hand. After hearing the terms 'ability' and 'agree', he became confused. He did not use any ability; he did not even have a proper ability to use. What was she blabbering about?

"Ms. Nina, I cannot understand what you are saying. Please speak open-mindedly without any trick questions," Arthur said in a serious tone.

"Our Mawman family stopped doing business other than this material shop. That was how things were for the last two decades. Now, however, you suddenly tricked my grandfather to start this branch workshop. Who told you to approach my grandfather? What kind of ability did you use on my grandfather to sign a contract with you?" Nina listed her accusations. Hearing the girl's words, Arthur became even more confused.

The Mawman family was not doing any business other than this single material shop, and he had somehow tricked the old man into signing a contract? Arthur originally possessed a clear vision to achieve his quest. Now, however, a big mountain had landed squarely upon his path. Arthur let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, his mind racing with a hundred different thoughts. Why did everything he tried always seem to end in a dead end?

'I should do some quest commission work to earn enough to buy the skeleton workers, rather than mingling with these kinds of issues,' a thought entered Arthur's mind. While browsing the marketplace previously, he had noticed a lot of Beginner workers expected very minimal contract payments. Thinking back, he did not need to earn too much to complete his quest. He had a whole month to complete it, so he did not need to overthink things.

Furthermore, recalling the Industrial Regulation Inspection Squad visiting early in the morning, these matters were not simple. It would definitely put his family in danger if he were to involve himself with higher sector people. With that thought, Arthur decided not to involve himself further with the people of the higher Sectors and their politics, which he did not understand. Just by thinking about how those people had visited his shop early in the morning, he could feel the severity of the situation.

Hence, he quickly made a decisive decision.

"Ms. Nina, I apologize if I caused any issue to your grandfather or your family," Arthur explained.

"I did not use any ill-intended abilities to entrance your grandfather into agreeing to this contract. That much is true; you can believe it."

"As for the contract, let us abolish it. I will return the Branch licensing document today itself." he stood up.

"Yesterday, I borrowed a few materials for free; please take this as remuneration." Arthur pushed the sword bundle on the table.

"The licensing document will be on your table within one hour."

"Thanks," Arthur stated. He turned and walked away from the private room. Meanwhile, the young lady stood silently, neither stopping him nor saying a single word.