20 Chapter 20 (2/2)

Wilfred bent down and picked it up, examining it for any damage. It seemed st.u.r.dy enough and there was only some small scratches on the surface.

”Right, I should do this outside.”

Using the back door, he exited into the alley behind his house. Wilfred put the drone on the ground and practiced making it hover, strafe and go up. After about an hour of practice he felt like he had the hang of it but that the drone was also almost empty of energy. There was another feeling he couldn't quite describe however. It was very foreign if he compared it to what he usually felt. Like how an arm can go up, down, left, right, retract, extend etc… There was another thing he could do with the drone but it wasn't anything that he felt before. Intrigued, he tried it anyways. Suddenly his vision blacked out and he panicked but he could now see what the drone was seeing. Exiting the same way he had entered, the panic subsided.

”d.a.m.n, that was scary. It was like projecting my consciousness into another body. It felt like my heart was dropping to the pit of my stomach. Well that's how the camera function works I suppose.”

Thinking it would be best to hide this inside before anyone else saw it, Wilfred brought the drone back into the bas.e.m.e.nt.

”This is actually fun though. There are a good number of applications for this too. Great spying tool or for scouting.I don't think I can use it simultaneously as I'm fighting though, it'd be like juggling too many things.”

Thinking back on when he exited the shop and felt like he was being watched gave him an idea. Now was not the right time as he had invitations for tonight and it as already late afternoon as he had woken up past noon. Clocks were not a thing yet in this world so time was a very difficult thing to gauge. Wilfred decided to head out right now in case it took longer than he thought to get there. Included in the letter were directions to the estate and Wilfred decided he would stop by Galerion's shop on the way to see if anyone had been interested in the Mana battery.

Wilfred grabbed some meat and bread from the pantry to put in his bag and headed out. With his money getting a bit low he didn't want to stop to eat on the way and spend more money that way. It would have been a small amount, likely a handful of coppers but why waste them.

While waking to Galerion's shop he couldn't help but shake that same feeling that he was being watched constantly. The drone would be useful in helping him spot who was following him he thought. He'd let it out of his bedroom window upstairs and then go down through the door. He'd walk a bit and switch to it's visions seeing who would try to follow him. The best way to see if someone was following was to do three right turns as that was the least efficient way to go somewhere. Right now he was too busy for that but after this meeting and after he completed the project he had in mind, then he would get around to seeing who's following him.

Reaching Galerion's mystic emporium, Wilfred noticed that he quiet shop was packed full of people and they seemed quite excited, waving their arms as they spoke or rather, yelled. Wilfred made his way inside, squeezing in between people until he reached the counter. There was a heated discussion going on.

”I DEMAND you cancel that sale and sell it to me instead! I'll even offer more than she paid!”

”No! I'll pay even more! Can you not get another one? I want to have the next one!”

A flurry of angry shoppers bombarded Galerion with requests and the old man was moving his head left to right trying to address whoever was speaking but they kept getting drowned out by someone else speaking even louder.

”CALM DOWN!”

Galerion shouted with an enhanced voice amplification spell, shaking everyone and everything in the store. It was like someone used a megaphone directly to everyone's eardrums. The shop then became quiet as people rubbed their ears and paid attention.

”Now as I tried saying before, there's only a single one. I didn't make it, the creator came to me to help me sell it. The next time there is one in the shop, I will hold an auction alright? Now if you're not buying anything, VACATE THE PREMISES!”

Dejected and with sullen faces, the shoppers exited the shop inthrongs and only Wilfred remained with Galerion.

”Thanks for not telling them about me.”

”Bunch of vultures, they'd have swarmed you and ripped you apart by pulling on you in every direction and that's just bad for business.”

”So I take it the battery sold?”

Galerion nodded and fetched a large pouch.

”Exactly the price I asked for and the buyer didn't even try to negotiate me down. Which can only mean I didn't price it high enough.”

Galerion looked really sad, like someone had just killed his dog.

”In that pouch is your 280 gold as we agreed, minus the 25 gold for the book and minus 2.5 % for your friend's inspect fee.”

Wilfred opened the pouch and began counting the coins on the counter. It wasn't that he didn't trust Galerion it was...well actually no, he didn't trust Galerion for a single copper coin. 248 gold coins, 62 silver coins and 25 copper coins, just like they had agreed. Wilfred didn't recall that the fee for Lucius would be taken off his share but since it was for Lucius he didn't mind.

”So when can I expect the next one, one month? We'll make even more with that one, I can't believe I didn't price it correctly, d.u.c.h.ess Helewisa got the best of me. I'm surprised she even knew it was being sold, she must have people combing the market looking for magical items.”

”I'm not sure on the date for the next one but I'll keep you informed. Who's the Helewisa?”

”You don't know? Also always refer to her as d.u.c.h.ess unless you want to spend some time in the dungeons. She's one of the highest ranking n.o.bles in the Kingdom. Her husband is a cousin of the King and she loves magical items. She's also a mage and her her husband is a strong cultivator, around level 40 last I heard. They're the ones that have the contract with the Great Elven Pact to buy Zoidsapite. I suspect she'll want to a.n.a.lyze this thing to death because it might affect her monopoly.”

Wilfred gulped, had he just gotten on the bad side of one of the strongest n.o.ble couples in the Kingdom? Seeing him a bit shaken, Galerion rea.s.sured him.

”Don't worry, I keep my sources secret. The d.u.c.h.ess can be very amenable, I speak from experience. Don't insult her though.”

”Alright, thanks for the warning but I've got to go, I've an invitation tonight.”

Wilfred left the shop not knowing which way to feel about all of these events. On one hand he was now very well financially but on another he perhaps had infringed on someone's business interests and he knew what happened with that on earth which was a rather civilized place to do business compared to this world. His worries would have to wait however as he was expected tonight and hopefully would make a friend out of this n.o.ble.

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