“– Frostguard Dominion really is that insular,” Cal muttered.
“Indeed. I doubt there is anybody who could remember those barbaric isolationists having open borders. Though all things considered, they are still surprisingly stable in their power.” Benan seemed grudgingly impressed.
“If the most aggressive Guild closest to the Celestial Order has no interest in starting a conflict, which one do you think has the most incentive, regardless of distance?” Cal sounded like he was asking something out of idle curiosity.
Benan chuckled. “There shouldn’t be any that I’m aware of. The Celestial Order might be impressive to someone like you, but hundreds of guilds of similar size and strength exist. There is nothing that could attract the attention of the stronger powers.” He looked at Cal. “This is not an insult to you. By ‘someone like you,’ I mean someone who has not seen any lands outside this territory.”
Cal hummed in thought. He had been hoping that there would be some hint that would clue him to who attacked the guild and his past life. On the bright side, this could mean the attack was entirely preventable.
As long as those higher beings do not intervene. But that is entirely out of my control, so I have little reason to even think of it.
They approached the boardwalk, and there were even fewer people than when they left. Cal immediately picked out where Tavia was, and in turn, she was able to do the same to him.
Tavia gave him a look that was peculiar as he approached.
Cal felt a little uneasy, like she was unhappy for some reason. He put on a smile and asked, “Did you find anything?”
“I did.”
He waited a second for her to expand, but she was apparently finished speaking. He took the initiative, “Oh! What is it?”
“Just some artifact,” Tavia glanced at Benan for a moment. “Are you done? I was thinking we should get something to eat.”
“Eat? Here?” Cal thought about the restaurant he had just gone to. The only restaurant that was open in the town. “There aren’t many options here. How about we save that for Lumina?”
Cal heard Benan chuckle next to him when Tavia’s expression became blank. She shrugged without care and said, “Sure. That sounds fine.” She immediately left to browse another stall.
He could tell that she was uninterested in the items being offered at the stall, but she still insisted on looking at them intently.
“Let’s finish our business, Apprentice Cal,” Benan was still chuckling. He led them to word a small dingy at the port. “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone quite this clueless.”
Cal was still thinking about Tavia’s attitude. He had a suspicion about the reason, but logically it made little sense to him. She had gone with Vaela to do her business, and he had done the same but Benan. There should be no conflict.
“No, I do understand why, but at the same time, I really don’t.”
Benan’s chuckle turned into straight-out laughter. After it died down, he asked, “So what will you do to fix this?”
Cal knew that Benan was only asking to reinforce his friendliness, but it was a legitimate question that he needed a legitimate answer to.
I wish she would just say what she was mad about so I don't have to guess. I’ll do the same as I did for Seris.
He wouldn’t buy desserts like he did for Seris, but he would take a similar route. The storage pouch he swindled out of Benan would come in highly useful. He imagined that Tavia would feel the same if she got her hands on one too.
Cal felt confident in his plan to obtain another storage pouch.
Benan didn’t push for an answer, most likely because he didn’t really care, but that worked out perfectly. It gave Cal and of time to think of scenarios to dodge when it came time to swindle another storage pouch out of him.
They reached the small dingy at the port. Benan motioned for Cal to wait as he went up the plank and entered the dingy. A few minutes later, he returned with a small storage pouch in his hands.
“Here you are. All you have to do to use it is link it to your mana core.”
Cal did as Benan instructed, and his interface immediately appeared.
Storage connected.
Basic Storage Pouch:
Current capacity: 2/20
Inventory:
2 Unknown Gems
“I already added your gems to it. Using it is simple. Tap whatever you want to store onto the storage pouch. It will automatically appear in your inventory if it can store the item. Removing items is even simpler. You just need to think of what you want to remove from the storage pouch.”
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“Thank you,” Cal said sincerely.
“As I said, apprentice Cal. There is no need for that. I consider you my friend, and this is just the start of what I hope is a long friendship.”
You sleazy little snake.
“And I hope for the same, Benan,” Cal matched the exuberant warmness Benan gave off. “I hope this isn’t too presumptuous, but I have another favor to ask you.”
Benan’s expression broke for the slightest of seconds. The smile that showed after made it all seem like an illusion. He laughed lightly, “I hope the favor isn’t anything as big as a storage pouch.”
Cal winced theatrically. “It just so happens…”
The smile on Benan’s face slowly dimmed.
“I would like another storage pouch for my friend, Tavia.” Cal put on an earnest face.
“My friend, I wish I could afford to help you in your apology to your ‘friend,’ but I’m not nearly as wealthy as you seem to think I am.”
“Apology?” Cal looked horrified. “I would never involve personal matters in business. Tavia is a mage. She is highly regarded in the celestial order. If she helps me introduce the gems to people in the guild’s hierarchy, I imagine it would be much more effective than when I try.”
Benan looked suspicious of his explanation but didn’t immediately shoot Cal down. He thought about it for several seconds before slowly shaking his head.
“This is too much of a cost to bear based on an ‘if.’ I would be more comfortable if we waited for her to use the gems before committing further.”
Cal sighed as he nodded reluctantly. “I understand your view. Unfortunately, Tavia is very good at holding grudges, so it will probably take months instead of days to get rid of her anger towards me.”
Benan’s expression flickered rapidly before it settled on a subtle amusement. “And here I thought you wouldn’t involve your personal matters in business.”
“… Well, maybe I should modify that statement a little. I won’t involve personal matters when it doesn’t benefit both of us,” Cal said wryly.
“You win, my friend,” Benan chuckled. “However, I’ll need you to do something for me next week. You will still owe the ten guildmarks, but I’ll need something extra to give you all of this upfront. This is a fair deal, is it not?”
Cal hesitated to take it, even though he got precisely what he wanted from Benan. He didn’t know how much personal power Benan held, but he was almost certain that it was far greater than his own. He was confident in dealing with that since the first storage pouch didn’t involve calling in a favor anytime soon.
That obviously changed with the second storage pouch.
Benan raised an eyebrow when he saw Cal hesitating for longer than a few seconds. “My friend, you should have been a merchant instead of a farmer. You drive a hard bargain, but I can’t budge on the favor. How about this to sweeten the deal for you? I’ll include five more gems for free.”
Cal made sure to show a flash of greed before he made it seem like he forcibly stamped it down. “This definitely is tempting. But I need to know what this favor would be.”
“It’s nothing that will put you in danger. I would never do such a thing to my friends.”
I know I won’t be in danger, but not because of some silly reason like friendship. This snake needs me to spread the gems through the guild.
“I’ll do my best to help you in any way I can, but I would be more comfortable if I could say no to this favor if I feel it is too much.”
“That is more than enough for me,” Benan beamed as he held out his hand for a shake. Cal took it, and they sealed the deal.
Your skill [Master Negotiator] has increased by 1 level.
Interesting. Benan is confident I won’t reject doing the favor.
Cal watched as the sleazy man returned to the dingy before quickly coming back out with an identical storage pouch in his hands.
“Here you are, my friend. Here’s to a long and fruitful partnership.”
They clasped hands and gave each other overly sincere smiles, both thinking of how much of a fool the other was.
***
Unfortunately for Cal, Tavia was still in a terrible mood when he returned to her. She was a little mollified when he told her a white lie about Benan being an old friend, but it was not enough to matter.
“I wasn’t just catching up with Benan. I saw that he had a ridiculously good deal on something even the Masters in the guild would drool over.” They were going back to the port where they left the cart.
Tavia glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, silently asking him to expand.
“I got two of them,” Cal said slyly, pulling out his storage pouch. He wanted her to break her silence, so he shook the pouch before her.
“… A coin bag?” Tavia didn’t believe her own words. “I know you wouldn’t be excited for something so simple, but I can’t think of anything else that it could be.”
He blinked, disappointed when he remembered that storage pouches were not common knowledge. He would have to show her how it worked to let her know that it wasn’t a regular coin pouch, but the only thing currently inside were the gems that Benan had given him. And this wasn't the best place to show off.
“I’ll tell you on the way back to the farm.”
Tavia simply raised her brow before shrugging casually. She clearly did not expect anything mind-blowing.
Cal spoke to Drex and hired another part in addition to the one they rode on to town. The second batch was going to be ready for harvest very soon, and he would require both carts to bring the crops to town in one trip.
Tavia looked equal parts of highly unimpressed and highly amused when he told her to drive the second cart back to the farm.
“So, what's so important about the coin pouch,” Tavia said as she directed the second cart beside his own on the dirt path.
Cal still didn’t want to touch the gems with his bare skin. It didn’t escape his notice that Benan avoided getting his fingers into direct contact with the gems.
He took out a gold coin and tapped it on the side of the coin pouch. It disappeared, and the interface showed its addition to his inventory.
Tavia’s eyes grew wide when the goal coin appeared in Cal’s hands without him opening the pouch and reaching into it.
“How did you do that?” She asked with awe.
“The storage pouch is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. Much larger,” Cal tossed the second storage pouch he got from Benan.
Tavia caught it with wide eyes and played around for a few minutes before looking back at him. “I can’t take this for free. But I have no idea how I could pay you back. This had to be exorbitantly expensive.”
“I’m not selling this to you. It's a gift,” Cal saw that Tavia was about to say something but he interrupted her. “More importantly, are you still angry at me?”
Tavia’s expression became a little odd. “You got this for me because I was angry at you?”
“Not entirely, no. I knew this would be useful to you, but if it happened to make your anger towards me disappear, it would be a happy side effect.”
She almost looked disappointed at his response. “Cal, all you needed to do was set a time to have dinner in Lumina. Buying me something probably cost several guildmarks was completely unnecessary.”
This is probably not a good time to mention that it would usually cost twenty guildmarks. Not just several guildmarks.
“Let’s go tomorrow.”
Tavia looked surprised at the sudden statement before smiling. She nodded and said, “I look forward to it.”
“… But you do like the storage pouch, right?”
Tavia rolled her eyes before she brought the storage pouch closer to her body with a smile. “Don’t even think about taking it back!”
All things considered, Cal would call this trip to Mariner's Rest a massive success on all fronts.