Chapter 3 – Ladies Alighting from the Carriage (3)

Though it was set up like a general store, there was nothing particularly eye-catching, so the three of them looked around awkwardly at the walls and other places while they waited. Just as the awkwardness was becoming a bit uncomfortable, the door on the opposite side opened, and Lagu appeared.

“Please, come in.”

Following his gesture, they entered a small reception room. It was smaller than the small reception room at Count Palatine’s, but it had everything it needed: a large table, a sofa, a fireplace, and more.

But wasn’t this supposed to be Alezio in this direction?

“Where is this?”

“This is the residence for the Mages dispatched to Gotiue Guild. In reality, it’s about 30 minutes away by carriage. Would you like some tea?”

Have we been teleported without knowing it? 

Seeing that the group, still bewildered, did not say much, he waved his hand in the air a few times, placing a teapot on the table. Using magic, he heated the water in the teapot, added tea leaves, and after some time, poured the tea into cups—all with simple gestures in the air.

Mages are fascinating, but magic is even more so. Ryan’s mouth hung open in amazement, and Chloe was busy hiding her own inner thoughts.

“Do you have more gems you’d like purified?”

Straight to the point without any pleasantries. Chloe found it more comfortable to deal with him because of this straightforwardness, which she had sensed from his somewhat blunt manner last time.

Chloe smiled, lifting the corners of her mouth, and had Mirabelle pour out the accessories she had bought from Marcone onto the table.

“I wanted to show this friend directly.”

She nodded toward Ryan. Ryan couldn’t hide his startled expression when the attention suddenly focused on him.

Chloe pointed at the jewels and asked Ryan.

“Look at these. What do they look like to you?”

Ryan, thinking he needed to give his master a sincere answer, quickly erased his flustered expression and studied the jewelry carefully before managing to come up with an answer.

“Earrings, rings, bracelets…? Brooch?”

“Pfft.”

A laugh escaped from Mirabelle, who had been keeping a stern face. Chloe, who hadn’t expected a correct answer, smiled gently.

“These may look like imitations, but they’re actually real gems.”

“What?”

Lagu, watching Chloe and Ryan’s exchange, picked up a ruby ring without asking and said with amusement.

“Where do you get so many tainted gems like these?”

“These are gems?”

“They look dull, so they might seem like imitations. This cloudy appearance, like it’s covered in frost, is generally due to magical contamination. It’s a phenomenon that only occurs in gems.”

Lagu explained to Ryan, who was sitting next to him, showing him the ruby ring he had picked up, and then cleaned it using magic, just like he did last time.

“Wow…”

Ryan’s mouth hung open again, unable to close. Much like Mirabelle the previous week.

However, today’s Mirabelle seemed to have a discomforting aura, either because she was still sulking or trying to act as if she knew everything, keeping her arms crossed and erasing her expression once more.

Lagu seemed pleased with Ryan’s reaction and, without being asked, proceeded to purify the other accessories as well.

“This one isn’t going well. This is the limit of what I can do with magic; you’ll probably need to take it to the temple.”

The lapis lazuli set in the center of the metal bracelet Lagu handed over still had a cloudy aura.

‘Anyway, I had business with Luca, so I’ll ask him then.’

Thinking simply, Chloe spoke the words she had prepared.

“Thanks to your help last time, I sold them well.”

“Did you visit the temple?”

“It seems like appraisers can’t even notice that much. So, about that…”

Ahem, she cleared her throat once more. Somehow, coaxing Ryan had made her a bit more nervous.

“Could you continue doing this work separately from Alezio?”

Lagu maintained eye contact with Chloe, as if waiting for her next words.

“I mean purifying these kinds of gems. The fee from last time must have had a commission deducted by Alezio, so I’m not sure how much was left, but I’ll pay you more than that.”

Chloe spoke with complete reliance on the fact that the magic stone charging fee was at most 5 silver. She thought 5 silver would be enough if no commission was deducted.

“You know Mages can’t be hired, right?”

“Couldn’t it be done like mercenary work, on a short-term contract? You’re not a combat mercenary. Payments would be made per item on the day, and I’ll send this child here.”

“Hmm…”

Lagu rubbed his chin, pondering something for a long time, his lips twitching.

“For now, no.”

“Is it a salary issue?”

Chloe had considered the possibility of being rejected, but since he was crucial to this ‘business,’ she had been trying to ignore that possibility, and now she felt desperate.

“You’ll pay well, I’m sure. I meant he can’t come here.”

“Ah…”

He had only said what he wanted to say. She had only been dealing with him for two days, but she felt like she was already getting used to his way of speaking.

‘They say Mages are so absorbed in their own thoughts because they’re always holed up in their labs.’

Regardless of Chloe’s bewildered expression, Lagu continued his explanation.

“When you crossed over from the guild earlier, you passed through a kind of portal. But since this portal isn’t officially approved, you might be exposed to magic again while coming and going. We can’t have the gems getting contaminated again after we’ve worked to purify them, can we?”

“Approved?”

“All portals need the church’s approval. While there’s nothing we can do about individual Mages casting teleportation spells, it’s hard to manage if portals are installed haphazardly. The portal to the Holy Kingdom is at the main temple, and all the portals to other regions within the castle are managed by the main temple, aren’t they?”

“Come to think of it, that’s true.”

Chloe recalled the times she had used portals. When she went on summer vacation to her maternal family’s territory in Razur, when she traveled back and forth to Count Palatine’s territory as a child, and finally when she left for Scandar.

“When the church approves a portal, it receives the blessing of holy power, preventing magical interference. But the portals used by Mages wouldn’t be approved by the church… This portal is short, so it wouldn’t be heavily contaminated, but you never know, right?”

“Are there many unapproved portals?”

“The teleportation spells used by Mages are also a type of unapproved portal… Mercenary guilds also secretly own portals.”

Given the source of these accessories, it was an understandable explanation. The gems had been contaminated because the mercenaries had used unapproved portals while secretly moving during their assignments. Chloe nodded and murmured.

“Then where should I meet you?”

“How about Yega Cheff? It has partitions, so it shouldn’t be noticeable to others.”

Ryan’s eyes sparkled as he recalled the tea food they had just devoured.

“You can’t go to the 4th floor without me. I’m not sure if it’s okay to use magic in a public place.”

“Only another Mage would feel the magic. Unless they’re a sword master, they wouldn’t know, and it’s not like I’m using attack spells… But there could be misunderstandings. You could invite me to your residence instead.”

“There are too many eyes at the mansion…”

Chloe didn’t have a space of her own. If it were Etienne or Demetrian, they could use their offices at the police department or the Senate. Even at the mansion, she had no space of her own apart from her bedroom.

‘Even at the Shevik Palace, the only space entirely for me seemed to be my bedroom.’

As Chloe’s expression darkened, Mirabelle suddenly interjected.

“Why not meet in Alezio?”

“If I go there, it has to be charged to the family ledger. This is my business that only you know about. And it would be more profitable for Lord Lagu if we didn’t have to pay a commission.”

Mirabelle’s expression brightened a bit, especially at the ‘only you know’ part, as if her doubts were resolved.

Listening to this, Lagu spoke.

“Just come to Alezio. If you didn’t make the reservation through Alezio, there’s no need to pay a commission to Alezio. We don’t mind not taking jobs from Alezio, but Alezio can’t do without us, so they give us that convenience.”

Saying that they would have met there today if she hadn’t said she was coming to the guild, Lagu stretched. Even now, knowing she was from Lacroix, Lagu seemed unreserved about anything.

‘Is it because he’s not from Arthuzen?’

Seeing him act as if the Empire didn’t mean much to him, Chloe’s desire to start this ‘business’ was partly because she wanted to interact with people of such a fresh kind.

Chloe and her party left the Mages’ reception room after Lagu said he would rent a consultation room in Alezio if she gave advance notice. They needed to confirm Ryan’s participation before discussing the details.

“Let’s settle the payment for today’s work next time. Then, I’ll send a letter.”

“Yes, send it to the guild office, not the slave trader hag…… I mean.”

Mages newly ordained had to go through a mandatory guild dispatch period. Lagu swallowed his tears at the 50% commission but thought it was fortunate that he might earn some extra money.

The small Lacroix carriage once again traveled along Angela Boulevard, passing Franz Square and dropping Ryan off near the artisan district on Pedro Street.

“These earrings cost 5 silver, the bracelet and ring 10 silver each, and you heard that you have to pay Lord Lagu 5 silver per item, right? You need to be able to explain why you sold them at that price.”

Chloe handed the remaining accessories to Ryan, except for the ones she intended to show to Luca. Fortunately, nothing had been further contaminated in the return portal, so she could immediately entrust Ryan with a trial run.

“See you on the 4th floor of Yega Cheff next week on the Day of Light.”

“Yes, Master. But the Day of Light is a weekday… aren’t you going to the academy?”