67 Chapter 67: Deal
With arms extended, Roberto said, "Welcome to my workshop."
I have to admit it was an incredible presentation; this place is definitely impressive. The lamps on the wall give a feeling of mystery.
"Come in, come in," Nicol's wife said.
The air inside has a slight smell of metal, rust, and smoke, an atmosphere that every workshop should have. Coming up to the gigantic furnace, I can appreciate more closely this piece made of dark metal where the light does not reflect at all.
Ema ran through the workshop to reach my position, her eyes beginning to sparkle with excitement.
"And how do you like my workshop, young man?" Roberto still has the same arrogant voice since I entered the workshop.
"Not bad, to be honest," I was very surprised. I never imagined it so imposing and gloomy at the same time, seeing it in the house they live in, I thought it was going to be much simpler.
"Hmph, boy, you don't know how to appreciate the good in my workshop. Wait, you haven't told me your name," he says, raising an eyebrow.
Damn, I completely forgot it. Coughing a bit, "My name is Bryan, I'm a D-rank adventurer," pointing with my finger at Elsa, "She is my younger sister, Angela."
"Hmm, so you're siblings, huh. For a moment, I thought you were a couple..."
I saw Elsa's face turn as red as a tomato, quickly covering her face in embarrassment.
"No, no, we're not!" Elsa puts her hands on her hips and shouts with all her might, but her face still remains red.
"You heard her," I said with a smile. It's always fun to tease her a bit.
"Mmm, I see, brothers, huh? So, since you saw my workshop, what do you want?" Roberto asked.
Looking around, ignoring Elsa murmuring nonsensical things, I see Nicol starting to sweep this place and Ema helping her.
"First tell me, who are the bastards going after your daughter?" I ask him seriously.
Roberto's expression of happiness disappears completely, and a deep anger emerges from his blue eyes. "They're slave traders from the black market, they're very popular in that place because they always auction off high-value and rare species. At first, I thought they presented themselves as good people with good intentions. They gave us food and bought some weapons, but they always talked about how bad we had it, sympathizing with our situation. I let my guard down. Up to that point, everything was fine, they gained our trust, but with my daughter, it was different. They always brought gifts for her. One night they said they wanted to buy Ema in exchange for many gold coins. Obviously, I would never sell my daughter. I rejected them with some annoyance."
Reflecting on what Roberto said, I asked, "Why go to such trouble? Wouldn't it be easier to just capture Ema and be done with it? I'm a bit confused. Right now, wouldn't it be much easier?"
"You're right. In fact, it would have been much easier, but it doesn't work like that. Being very rare and exclusive species, they need to have a mana contract affirming that their parents or representatives sold them. If they don't have this document, they can't auction them. This contract allows them to do whatever they want with them," Roberto says.
I see, so that's how it works, huh? In fact, it's very curious and effective at the same time. It's like giving a premium label to a unique and valuable product.
"I understand, but they never stopped bothering you, right?" I say.
"No, the kindness at the beginning disappeared completely. They were aggressive and evil. They couldn't do anything to us because we didn't leave the house... but one day my wife got sick and the little money we had slowly disappeared. We're desperate. But one day meat appeared at the doorstep. At first glance, there was nothing wrong, so we decided to prepare and eat it. But the next day, I also fell ill."
This is strange from start to finish, considering that they couldn't simply capture Ema without their parents' signature. So why not kill them both? Remembering the conditions they were in, then they were poisoned through the food. As he couldn't protect his daughter due to the poison, they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to capture Ema and simply lock her up until her parents die. Looking at Roberto strangely, deciding whether to tell him or not.
"Kid, why are you looking at me like that? I know they're the ones who poisoned us. I'm not stupid," Roberto says, irritated.
Almost choking on my own saliva, "I understand, but what do you plan to do now? They'll somehow know that you miraculously recovered. They won't leave you alone. They might even go further, killing both you and your wife directly," I say seriously.
Everyone has a limit and more when it comes to money. They undoubtedly tried something like that.
"I don't know. I don't have significant strength to protect them," Roberto grits his teeth, lowering his head.
The helplessness of not being able to protect your loved ones is the most desperate feeling any being can have.
Stroking my chin, I think about his situation. To be honest, I have no obligation to help them. I already fulfilled my promise to Ema by helping her parents. Looking at the section where the armors and weapons were found, suddenly an idea occurs to me.
Walking slowly to that section, Roberto asks, "Where are you going, kid?"
Depending on your job, I decide to give you a hand with this problem. So I can get a discount and not end up in poverty.
Arriving at the place, I see all kinds of weapons; all of them were gleaming, as were the armors. They all look pretty good and elegant. My gaze roamed all the weapons, but my gaze stopped at a sword. The hilt was made of dark metal with small stones that shone. It had the shape of a straight sword; the blade itself was long, about 120 centimeters. It was divided in half; the upper part was black as night, on the other hand, the sharpened part was red. It was very beautiful, it was simply elegant and lonely.
"Old man, what is this sword?" I ask with curiosity.
Roberto walked over to me and looked at the sword, sighing. "That's my greatest creation. I made it a few months ago. The hilt is made of a fine and resistant silk. The sword itself is made of the same stone as my oven, but the red part is a mixture with the blood of a rank 7 creature, or so said the man who gave me the blood. I think he was a bit crazy."
"What was the man like?" I asked.
"I only remember he wore clothes that completely covered his appearance and face. But when he pulled out his hands, they were so dry and old, full of wrinkles, and the skin was so stuck to his skin. After collecting the blood, he simply disappeared completely," he said, shrugging.
My mind sank into memories of that old man who read my destiny. The only clue I have is his extremely thin hands and the way he dresses. It could just be my musings and speculations but at the same time it couldn't be, but you never know...
Looking back at the sword, if it's true that it contains the blood of a rank 7 creature, this sword, besides being very powerful, is too valuable for the empire. Weapons and armors created from creatures of the highest level can be counted on one's fingers. If the empire finds out about this sword, they will undoubtedly come and take it.
With a big smile on my face, I mock, "Yeah, right, as if I would allow that," I think to myself. "Old man, how about you sell me that sword? Besides that, I'll help you with your problem with those bastards from the black market," my smile expands even more. It's the perfect moment right now to do business. Not only will I buy the sword, but I'll also help with his problem. This sword will definitely cost much more than what I have right now, but he's desperate at the moment. I have to take advantage of that advantage I have over him.
Extending my hand, I open my palm. "What do you say? Do we have a deal?" I ask with a smile. I know I'm despicable right now. Taking advantage of others' misfortunes is very frowned upon, but things always change when there's something much more important than average ethics and values. There are always things that will be worth more than others, and this case is no exception. Do you accept my kindness or I'll take the sword by force? I don't want to have to go that far, but if you don't leave me any options...
"Kid, you're very astute. As the creator of that sword, I know it's very powerful, although I'm not really sure if the blood belongs to the rank 7 creature. It's very powerful. Taking that into account, that sword can be sold for 5,000,000 gold coins, it can even reach a million. I don't think you have that amount of money at your disposal. Only the most powerful ducal families and the royal family itself can have that value to pay. But... right now they can't save me from my situation, so I propose a deal. I can sell you that sword for 60 gold coins, but in exchange, you have to get us out of this place and protect me, my family, and me, besides only buying weapons in my workshop," Roberto says.
Laughing with amusement, "You know, Roberto, I like talking to intelligent people. You have my word. I'll take care of you and your family. I, Anthony Von Valeriano, don't break my promises," I say with a smile.
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