Chapter 45

Barbara was in a guard post located behind the main store. A few other capable men and women were there with her. Although there were guards to maintain order, such preparations were necessary.

"I'm sorry to have brought you here. I did think about going to you to talk, but I didn't have the time."

When Al visited, he was led to a small room. It wasn't as grand as a reception room in a store, but there was a sofa and a table in the middle, and a basket of fruit on the table. Barbara offered one of the sofas to Al and sat down on the opposite one. She looked quite tired. Al sat down as suggested. Seeing this, Barbara took an apricot from the basket and handed it to Al.

"There's no one to make tea, but go ahead and have this. It's sweet and delicious."

She took one for herself and bit into it, skin and all. Al also took a bite as suggested. The sweet and sour taste spread in his mouth, and he couldn't help but relax, savoring the long-missed flavor. He finished the apricot in no time and was wondering what to do with the remaining seed when Barbara spoke, a bit hesitantly.

"I'm sorry, but I need to confirm something. About the time we went to the Bloodied Thieves' hideout..."

They had investigated the hideout about four months ago. Most of the exploration and the fighting had been done by Barbara, while Al had mainly supported her with magic and taken care of the innkeepers, Lars and Tally, who were now taking care of him.

"Remember the spellbook I gave you, the one that said you could do as you pleased with it? That spellbook..."

She paused and looked at Al intently. It was about the Concealment spellbook. Al couldn't help but look away.

"Figures. I had a feeling... It's okay, I've told everyone not to come. Can you return it to me? It's only been four months, so you probably haven't learned it yet. I think that's for the best. I shouldn't have given it to you without thinking, and I don't want to put you in a bad position. If you return it, we can say it was found during the next thieves' hideout exploration. That way, your name won't come up as the owner of the spellbook."

She seemed to think that Al hadn't learned the Concealment spell yet. Generally, it was a third-tier spell that took a year to learn. So, should he pretend to return it, or... As Al was thinking, she continued, seeing his expression.

"Of course, I'm not asking for nothing. In exchange, you can have another spellbook seized from that mage, or one from a previous seizure. How about that? If it remains missing, you'll have to keep worrying about the existence of the Concealment spell. We can't close this case until the spellbook is found and returned to the Mage Guild. I'm counting on you."

Al looked down for a while, then raised his head with a slightly resigned expression. He decided to go along with it, as the other options were too risky. He agreed, and Barbara nodded lightly, looking a bit relieved.

"Thanks. I really appreciate it. There are very few mages who can use the Transparency Detection spell. We only found two in Lester. I was really struggling with the security measures."

From her tone, it seemed they had also considered countermeasures for the Concealment spell. If he had pretended to be ignorant, it might have backfired later. Al sighed in relief internally.

The spellbook would be picked up from the inn where Al was staying in the evening. He would see the seized spellbooks stored in the guard post and receive a different one called the Item Detection spell, which revealed the direction and distance of a registered item. Although it felt a bit dishonest, Al decided to make up for it by helping her in the future.

---

The next place Al visited was Dennis's armor workshop, near the south gate, not far from Cody's dismantling shop. A set of metal armor was displayed at the entrance, making it quite noticeable. Al had commissioned a leather armor from good-quality hides he had obtained from hunting large lizards, as suggested by Orson. It was supposed to take about a month, but that time had already passed. It must be finished by now.

"Hello, it's Al. Is Dennis here?"

When Al called out at the entrance, a young man came out. He was probably in his early twenties, a bit older than Al.

"No, the master is out. Is there something you need?"

Al explained that he had ordered armor from Cody's shop about a month ago. The young man nodded, recognizing him, but then looked a bit troubled.

"I'm sorry, but can you wait for the master to return?"

According to him, since Al's order was placed at Cody's shop, no one in the current shop except Dennis knew Al's face, and Dennis hadn't prepared any documentation for the handover. Therefore, he couldn't decide whether to hand over the valuable armor to Al, who had come unexpectedly. He added apologetically that it would have been fine if he had received the payment or if he had been notified in advance.

The leather armor was worth more than ten gold coins. Al understood the need for caution, but coming multiple times was a hassle.

"How about we go to Cody's shop together, and he can vouch for me?"

The young man nodded, agreeing that this would be acceptable. Al immediately decided to go to Cody's shop with him. She was there and confirmed without any issues that Al was the one who had commissioned the leather armor from Dennis.

"Dennis is as he always is... He's skilled, but only takes jobs he likes. He leaves the shop to his apprentices and is indifferent about receiving payment, even after negotiations. I wouldn't be surprised if his apprentices abandon him and the shop closes soon."

Cody chuckled, and the young man who had come with Al also smiled wryly. According to him, they were barely managing with maintenance work for regular customers, but it was a close call. Indeed, there were no customers in the shop, so it might be true.

"By the way, Orson hasn't returned yet. Do you know anything about it?"

While Al was thinking that he could probably receive the leather armor, Cody suddenly asked. She had left for a job about a month ago and hadn't returned. However, he hadn't heard that the journey was particularly dangerous, so he wasn't too worried. He answered honestly, and Cody looked a bit thoughtful. From their time working together, it was indeed unusual for Orson to be so late.

"Sorry, Al, but can you take on a job urgently? The same job I gave to Orson."

Orson might have run into trouble while on the job. Al was also running low on money and was concerned about Orson's whereabouts. It was a convenient situation for him. He had already made plans with Barbara for the evening, but he could deliver it himself if necessary. He decided to pick up the leather armor later and turned to Cody.

"Sure. Can you tell me more about it?"

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