Chapter 44 - Auction Time (1/2)

”Kid, Have you bought everything I said?” Sitreg asked earnestly.

It was extremely important to him that he had all the materials he needed. Otherwise, he would not be able to make Evan's idea a reality.

The young man nodded and said contentedly: ”Don't worry, everything is perfectly fine and more over.”

”А?” Sitreg didn't understand what Evan meant, but the next moment he understood.

Whoosh.

Evan pulled out a small, green hammer with a black handle and said: ”I've decided that you need the proper tools to make good gear, so now it's yours.”

On the one hand, it might have seemed like Evan was being too generous and it wasn`t worth giving such expensive gifts to a man you barely knew. However, Evan didn't buy the hammer out of the goodness of his heart.

For one thing, Sitreg's hammer was no good. Evan didn't want it to fail because the blacksmith had bad tools. This way he could strengthen his relationship with blacksmith, it would boost Sidreg`s spirits and motivation.

Sitreg said nothing for a while, but after a few seconds, he frowned and muttered: ”It was no need to spend the extra money. I've got great tools and don't think I'm going to thank you for it.”

Evan only smiled in response and said one last word: ”Okay, old man. Well, I won't bother you any more. Wait for me tomorrow from the auction.”

After these words, Evan quickly left the old forge and left Sitreg alone.

...

<So, now we need to get more money.> Evan knew that with the small amount of money he had now, there was no point in going to the auction. So, the young man headed straight for Marcel's estate.

He had left less than a day ago and Zak should still be there. Evan was sure that Zak wouldn't mind giving him some gold coins for the auction.

Evan got to Marcel's estate fairly quickly. The guards let Evan through without any problems and he found himself at the grounds of the manor.

Evan didn't know where to look for Zak, so he decided to head for the tea house that was closest to the exit. If Zak got tired of emptying Marcel's kitchen, he would decide to get properly drunk, so that was where Evan went.

The area around Marcel's mansion looked luxurious. Evan could not even imagine how much all those fountains, artificial ponds, intricate gardens and parks cost.

Compared to Zak's mansion, Marcel's estate looked many times more respectable. Of course, the reason was not that Zak did not have enough money or that he did not care about the condition of his house. It was just that Marcel was meticulous and careful about his home.

Oddly enough, Evan's assumption turned out to be correct and there really was someone in the tea party house.

”Evan? You're back so early, have you forgotten something?” Marcel said calmly without distracting himself from reading his book.

”Well... Mr. Marcel, where Zak is? I need to talk to him.” Evan wasn't surprised to find Marcel here, but he was a little confused not to find Zak.

”Unfortunately, he's gone. It's not like him, usually he completely empties the whole kitchen before he thinks about leaving. Nevertheless, this time he came home rather quickly. Perhaps, he had some things to do.” Slowly Marcel said while flipping a page of a book.

<Damn. Do I have to go back to Zak's manor? I'll waste a lot of time... Wait a minute, though. They say cheek brings success, don't they?

”Mr. Marcel, can I ask you something?” Evan said seriously.