Did the guards take a risk by letting Garet, who was a newcomer to the Awakened, into the city with such an experienced merchant as Franz?
To some extent, yes. If Franz wanted to, it would be easy for him to deceive Garet, and greatly so, simply because of the difference in their experience.
However, these were the rules the guards had to follow. If they couldn't trust the Awakened of their own city, then who could they trust?
And Franz was too smart to risk his reputation for a small profit.
A merchant who couldn't understand that it was more profitable to trade as much as possible rather than cheat wouldn't last long in the market.
Tap.
Franz pulled a long crate with a handle out of the carriage, divided into several compartments that could hold many boxes of different shapes and sizes. As the guard had mentioned earlier, there were six boxes in the crate, each containing one artifact.
"Alright, I hope we can go to Thornspire right now?" Franz asked, gesturing to his people to go to the warehouse and wait for him there.
Garet nodded as he looked ahead.
"Yeah, actually, I think we're both lucky."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
In response, Garet raised his hand, showing the bracelet on his wrist.
"I was on a mission, I had to return this bracelet, so my dear is going straight to the Thornspire."
A sparkle ran through Franz's eyes as he leaned in to examine the bracelet more closely.
"Wait a moment, is that the Green Flower Bracelet?" Franz asked.
"Yes, is that your artifact?" Garet asked, deciding that it was an incredible coincidence that Franz was the one who had submitted the mission in the Thornspire.
But... Coincidences of this magnitude rarely happen in life.
"Nah, but I know what this artifact is." Franz waved his hand carelessly as they continued on their way to the Thornspire through the streets of the city.
Even now, late at night, the Iron Gate remained as lively as it had been in the morning. Sure, people tried to be a little quieter, no one shouted to attract customers, but the windows in the buildings were lit, people were constantly walking through the streets, and joyful shouts came from the bars.
For Garet, it was a contrast. At the Pit, there were a few gloomy taverns open at night, and that was at best, and no one could feel as safe there as they did here.
"So, the morning caravan, it belonged to your friends?" Garet asked in the middle of their conversation.
Franz nodded. "You could say that. I don't throw around words like 'friends,' but many merchants know each other. They were unlucky, and an opportunity opened up for me."
"That's why you took even the goods you didn't have time to register, right?"
"Exactly. They lost their goods, but the demand remains. So, a merchant like me simply couldn't pass up this opportunity. By the way... How much will they pay you for this bracelet?" Franz asked, his eyes burning with greed.
Garet glanced at the bracelet, seeing no reason not to answer.
"100 shield coins. The same as you're getting for this little job." He nodded toward Thornspire.
"So you understand that 100 coins is not a reward commensurate with your efforts, right? What's more, this bracelet is a Natural Artifact. I know how much it was purchased for, and that any merchant with connections could sell it for at least several hundred or even a thousand."
He stopped and pointed to his chest.
"Of course, I am capable of that too."
Garet continued walking, his gaze unchanged.
"Yeah, for the two quests I completed today, I'll get 100 coins each, the level of difficulty is incomparable. To get this bracelet, I almost died. The monster was dangerous, and I barely defeated it."
Franz stopped in front of Garet and waved his hand.
"I'll give you 300 coins for this bracelet, right now!"
There was no response.
"400!"
"450!"
"500!"
However, none of the offers could bring about any change in Garet's expression.
"I'm sure it's a large sum, but..." Garet looked at the Thornspire. "It's not free money, is it?"
"Agh?" Franz raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Garet looked at him with a serious expression.
"I could accept the offer and earn an extra 400 coins, which is much better than the reward, but then I would fail the mission, wouldn't I?"
Franz slowly nodded as Garet walked ahead.
"I'll sell my reputation for 400 coins, only a fool would agree to that."
Franz stood in the middle of the street for a while as a smile slowly spread across his face.
'Hah, this guy knows what he's talking about. He's right, it was wrong of me to offer that. If he arrived in town only yesterday, then this is his first mission. His initial reputation depends on it. Offering to sell it for only 400 coins was offensive.'
However, that didn't mean Franz had given up on the idea of getting the Green Flower Bracelet.
He couldn't buy it from Garet, but Thornspire might have a different opinion on the matter.
...
Crack.
The door opened as they entered the rather quiet Thornspire. At night, it wasn't as crowded as during the day, but from time to time, the Awakened came here, so the Thornspire continued to operate around the clock.
Since it was late at night, Melisa was not at the reception desk. She was a real workaholic, but even she could not work day and night, so at night, there was another chief agent at the Iron Gate Thornspire, one of two.
A woman with luxurious blonde hair, blue eyes, and an attractive bosom, she drank coffee and stamped documents one after another with an eternally sullen expression.
Strangely enough, even though Garet was an Awakened, Franz stepped forward and waved at her.
"Isabel! Long time no see!" Franz exclaimed as he approached her.
As soon as she noticed him, she frowned even more, slamming the seal down on the table with a crash.
"You... I told you not to show up during my shift!" Isabel exclaimed, but her shout couldn't even shake Franz's silly smile.
Then, she noticed Garet.
"And you are...?"
Garet stepped forward and placed the Green Flower Bracelet and his Awakened Emblem, his shield emblem with a four-pointed star, in front of her.
"I would like to complete the mission."
Isabel raised an eyebrow, but slowly nodded.
"Alright, boy, let's see if it's worth annoying me with this mustachioed bug!" She shot an angry glance in Franz's direction.
Then, she took Garet's emblem and placed it on a special socket in the stone slab.
A blue beam burst out, first showing a number — Garet's ID, and then the missions associated with it.
Isabel's eyes widened in shock, causing Franz and Garet to look at each other, puzzled.