"Monsters knew when to retreat, and if only humans did the same," Arthur leaned back in his chair with leisure. "Since the monsters' issue has been resolved, I believe that there is no reason for you to refuse?"
The marchioness seemed to brood over the matter as if it didn't sit quite well with her plans. Unfortunately, however, there was nothing that she could do to hinder Hidden City's route trades.
"Could you tell me how you managed to achieve such a feat?"
"A chef never gives his recipes, and a magician never reveals his tricks."
"And what's your price?" the marchioness squinted her eyes, but Arthur dismissed it by shaking his head.
"That will be like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs," Arthur smiled as he gestured for Ma to come forth with the proposal. "This will be our new proposal, and it will include all of my fees."
"What fees?" the marchioness frowned as she subconsciously took the proposal, skimming through it. Her eyes widened as Arthur leaned back with a smile.
"I took the commission to clear the monsters. The fees listed are the fees to hire a lord. After all, you mobilized the most valuable asset of Hidden City. You can't expect to do that for free, did you?"
"This is unreasonable," the marchioness of Aquamia threw the proposal, which got suspended midair in between the two glaring people. "I have no intention of paying that amount of money."
"The issue with the Mernars isn't one to be resolved with money only, and it would have taken you a few months if not a year to win against them. Not to mention, their lord."
"You can't have defeated her!" the marchioness gasped in surprise at him, and it was enough to tell Arthur that she knew about the existence of the woman-with-sea-serpents-looking monster.
"Whether that happened or not is a different tale." Arthur simply pushed the proposal back toward her. "If you choose to refuse this offer, I'll make sure that all of my work will be undone. I have a method of keeping the monsters away, and I don't intend to keep using it. Their attacks this time won't be limited to certain routes, but all of Aquamia's trade routes."
"Are you threatening me, Seika?" Marchioness Amaya's words were laced with rage. "If you think that being a city's lord allows you to throw your weight around here, you are very mistaken."
"I have no weight to throw, for I come as lightly as a breeze. This breeze happens to deter monsters away from you. You gave me a task, and I fulfilled it. Time has come for you to pay up."
"The price you are asking for is not something I could so easily fork out," she was silent before finally saying. "If you truly want our cities to keep being on good terms, then you need to compromise on this."
Arthur pondered about the matter as he knew that the marchioness was lying. The fees mentioned were ten thousand gold and a treasure from within Aquamia's vaults. That wasn't a difficult sum to obtain for the lord of a city.
"If you are that unwilling, then I'll make them five thousand golds, but we will take away the free artifacts. We wanted to strengthen your ships as a gesture of goodwill, but your actions repeatedly proved that you had no intention of accepting them."
The marchioness gritted her teeth as Arthur kept pressuring her using his wealth. However, it wasn't actual wealth but the ability to mass-produce artifacts.
The Lord of Aquamia seemed to realize that Arthur's earlier feats have succeeded in sprouting greed in the hearts of many, including herself. His existence was the sole promise that their trade could grow and their citizens could get better.
No one wanted to fall behind when Hidden City began selling its artifacts again. So they brought out heaven-shaking artifacts on the first day of their debut, and anyone with a brain knows that their city will be soon named the City of Artifacts.
"No, I don't wish to antagonize the Ghost Runemaster," Lady Amaya sighed and leaned back. "We will accept the proposal, and your ships are welcomed in my harbor. I will make sure to tell the Merchants Council that the routes are now safe to travel through. You will have no lack of resources."
"Thank you, marchioness," Arthur smiled as he watched the fisherwoman grab the proposal and sign it. Ma hurried to take it with a broad smile, knowing that another obstacle had been removed. "Now, can I know which nobles are responsible for the land between my city and yours?"
***
It was no easy matter to find the sea child, but Arthur knew he would have to start somewhere. A good place for that would be to investigate the nobles responsible for the area.
They were bound to be aware, or at least have a clue. Arthur himself wasn't a noble or anything, but he was the Lord of Hidden City. Anyone of a lesser rank or a smaller estate needs to, at the very least, show respect to his wishes.
'I thought it would be less complicated to build a city,' Arthur mused to himself as he looked through the harbor. 'Why can't I just throw many at the land and see it turn into a city?'
Arthur knew it was wishful thinking because of how tired he was. A problem followed every solution, and Arthur felt tired from constantly going forward and solving everyone's problem.
'I'm not playing a role-playing game for all I care,' Arthur sighed as he looked at the endless crowd. 'I need an ending, no matter how undesirable.'
His thoughts started taking a darker turn into a lonesome and dark feeling. It might be the impact of Dia's absence after meeting her again, or it might be Gala's death finally being processed.
'I need to stop wasting my time,' Arthur thought to himself as he walked into a carpenter's shop. This street was specialized in shipbuilding, and Arthur needed to find workers who weren't affiliated with the association.
"Greetings, dear customer," the carpenter welcomed him with a respect that far exceeded the one shown by Rony, even though Arthur has yet to reveal his identity.
"Hello, I want to hire some workers," Arthur greeted as he looked around the giant workshop, which had a wide range of creations.
"For what exactly, dear customer?" the man asked, looking at Arthur's missing arm with suspicion.
"I want to build a few ships and a dock," Arthur revealed, and the man's face grew pale before he bowed down heavily.
"I'm sorry, My Lord. However, I received instructions from the association to refuse to create anything for you, as there is a pending agreement in place. Therefore, please show mercy to my workshop."
The man seemed genuinely frightened by Arthur's visit, as he was put between a hammer and a hard place. After seeing the man's frightened attitude, Arthur sighed and left the shop, not wishing to give them any trouble.
The words that Rony left seem to be more than empty threats. Arthur never expected the shipbuilder association to be such a united entity, but it seems they had to fend for themselves with the increased demand.
'How am I going to find shipbuilders now?' Arthur wondered to himself as he walked out of the workshop into the crowded street again.
As he made his way with a mind full of worry, Arthur passed by countless strangers, all running to earn their next coin. The diversity in the crowd made Arthur feel out of place, even with his uncommon features. The Demis and humans dressed and acted differently than he did, and it worked well to enhance the differences between Earth and Alka.
'I need to find someone to build me ships or build them myself.' Arthur was sure that Rumi could design ships for him, even if he had to go through trials and failures.
Adrian would have been the best person to build his ships. Arthur would have tiny little vessels in his pocket, which he would throw into the sea to build a fleet.
However, the whereabouts of that carpenter was unknown. So Adrian worked restlessly to prepare for the ending of this world, tasked with an ancient being who seemed to have planned it all.
As his thoughts grew more distant, Arthur's body brushed against someone. For the briefest second, a feeling of recognition dawned on him that released him from the chains of being an outsider.
"Who?" muttered the Seika as he turned to look at the moving crowd, full of endless people. His body moved on its own to seek the familiarity again, but the crowd was endless.
As his feet carried him to the end of the harbor, Arthur stopped to stare at the countless ships leaving the dock. The lights reflected from the surface of the water to light up the darkness of the night. But then, Arthur saw that person again.
