Volume 5 Chapter 2 Confirmation
Barbara sat in a small room behind the store with a few strong men and women. Although guards were there to maintain order, extra precautions felt needed.
"I'm sorry to call you here. I wanted to talk to you before, but I didn't have the time."
When Al arrived, he was led into a small room. It wasn't as fancy as a reception room, but there was a sofa and a table in the middle, with a basket of fruit on the table. Barbara offered Al one side of the sofa and sat down heavily on the other side. She looked quite tired. Al sat on the sofa as she suggested. Seeing this, Barbara took an apricot from the basket and handed it to Al.
"There's no one here to make tea. Well, just eat this. It's sweet and delicious."
As she said this, she took one and bit into it, skin and all. Al followed her lead. The sweet and sour taste made him smile--it was a flavor he knew well. He finished quickly, holding the pit, unsure what to do next when Barbara spoke up, a bit unsure herself.
"I'm sorry, but I need to confirm something. It's about the time we went to the Blood-Soaked Bandits' hideout..."
It had been about 4 months since the two of them investigated the hideout. Most of the exploration and fighting had been done by Barbara, while Al mostly remembered helping her with magic and taking care of Russ and Tally, the owners of the inn he was staying at.
"Remember the spellbook I gave you to use freely? That spellbook..."
She looked closely at Al's face. "Is it about the 'Conceal' spellbook?" Al instinctively looked away.
"I had a feeling this might happen. Don't worry--I told them not to come. Can you return it, please? It's only been 4 months, so you likely haven't learned it yet. That's actually good. I gave it to you without much thought, so no hard feelings. If you return it, we can say we found the spellbook during a bandit hideout search. This way, your name stays out of it."
She still seemed to think that Al hadn't learned the 'Conceal' spell. Generally speaking, the 'Conceal' spell is a 3rd Tier spell, and it usually takes a year to learn. So, should he just pretend to return it, or...? As Al was deep in thought, she continued speaking.
"Of course, I won't ask for it back for free. Instead, I can give you another spellbook that was seized from that magician, or even one from before. Let's trade something else. How about that? If it stays missing, we'll always have to worry about the existence of the 'Conceal' spell. We need to make sure the spellbook is found and returned to the magician's guild to wrap up this incident properly. Please."
Al looked down for a while, thinking, and then raised his face with a slightly resigned expression. He decided that he should go along with the conversation; the other options were too risky. "I understand," Al replied.
"Thank you. That really helps. Is it the 'Detect Invisible' spell? There are really very few magicians who can use that. Even in this Lester, I can only find 2. I was having trouble with the security plans going forward."
From her tone, it seemed they were also considering countermeasures for the 'Conceal' spell. If Al had acted too clueless, it might have led to trouble later. He sighed in relief in his heart.
Barbara would come to Al's inn in the evening to pick up the spellbook. He planned to show her the confiscated spellbook stored in the station and exchange it for the 'Locate Object' spellbook. This spell could tell him the direction and distance of a registered item. Al felt a bit guilty for tricking her, but he thought he could make it up to her by helping with something else later.
* * *
Next, Al went to Dennis's armor workshop near the south gate, close to Cody's shop. A full set of metal armor was on display at the entrance, making it easy to spot. Following Orson's advice, Al had asked Dennis to make leather armor from the high-quality hide of a Big-Mouthed Lizard he had hunted. The process was supposed to take a month, and that time had already passed, so it should be ready now.
"Hello. I'm Al. Is Mr. Dennis here?"
When Al called out at the entrance, a young man came out. He looked to be in his early twenties, a bit older than Al.
"No, the master is out. Do you have something you need?"
Al explained that he had ordered armor from Cody, the dismantler, a little over a month ago. The young man seemed to remember and nodded, but then he looked a bit troubled.
"I'm sorry, but could you wait for the master to return?"
Al had ordered leather armor from Cody's shop. However, only Dennis knew Al's face, and since there was no receipt, the staff couldn't be sure if they should give the expensive armor to Al when he came unexpectedly. If they were paid or had prior notice, it wouldn't have been an issue.
The armor cost over ten gold coins, so it made sense for them to be careful. But for Al, having to return multiple times was annoying.
"How about we go to Ms. Cody together, and I can have her confirm that I'm Al?"
Al suggested going to Cody's shop, and the young man agreed. They went together, and at the shop, Cody confirmed that Al had ordered the leather armor from Dennis.
"Dennis is still the same... He's good at his craft but only takes jobs he likes. He leaves the shop to his apprentices and is careless about negotiating payment. At this rate, his apprentices might abandon him, and the shop could go under."
The young man who came with Al, a disciple, smiled wryly at Cody's words. According to him, they were somehow managing with maintenance for regular customers' armor, but it was a tight situation. There were indeed no customers in the shop, so it might be true.
"By the way, Orson still hasn't come back. Do you know anything?"
While Al hoped to get the leather armor, Cody asked him a question. Al remembered Orson mentioned being away for a month due to work, and he hadn't come back yet. Al wasn't too worried because he hadn't heard that the trip was risky. When he told Cody this, Cody paused to think. After working together for some time, it did seem odd that Orson was taking so long.
"I'm sorry, Al, but could you take on a job urgently? It's the same job I asked Orson to do."
Orson might have gotten into some trouble while he was away for his job. They were also running low on money, and he was concerned about his whereabouts. It was convenient for Al. Although he had a promise with Barbara in the evening, he could possibly deliver it himself if needed. Deciding to pick up the leather armor later, Al turned to Cody.
"Okay. Can you tell me more details?"
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