Arthur noticed the slow shift in Sergi’s eyes from confusion to realization, to understanding, and then to an incomprehensible expression Arthur couldn’t read. However, he immediately felt something was off.
Still, he didn’t bother to keep hiding it anymore as he had more important matters to deal with, and pretending he was a new recruit was just not one of them. Whatever the reason Deka tried to hide his identity, it was not relevant at all to him.
“I’m here.” He said as he stood up.
The entire table went completely silent as they all shifted their gaze to Arthur. The shock in their eyes was as clear as day.
“Y-You’re… You’re the gifted one they’re talking about?” Kierra asked.
“Yeah, sorry to hide that from you. To be honest, I know why I did that.” Arthur shrugged casually.
The rest of the tavern heard that and their gossip exploded even louder. All the eyes stared at Arthur as if he was some kind of alien.
“A kid?”
“What?”
“He said he’s the Gifted One.”
“Is he lying?”
“I have never seen him around before.”
“I heard the Gifted Ones look like monsters. That’s just a kid.”
Arthur noticed all kinds of reactions and expressions from all the different people there. Some seemed quite confused, some were excited, and a very small minority frowned visibly.
“My deepest apologies for taking so long, sir. We just received information that you have arrived. Please follow me. The settlement chief is waiting for you.” The man approached Arthur and made a respectful salute.
“Got it, lead the way.” Arthur nodded his head before he turned around to look at the rest of the group. “Well, sorry to leave so early, gentlemen. I have some stuff to do. Enjoy your meal~”
With a simple wave, Arthur walked after the man and left the confused tavern. Nobody could really grasp what just happened.
At the table, Deka exhaled a small breath as she looked up.
“Did you know that he is one of those people, Deka?” Fangs asked coldly.
“No, I didn’t.” She replied. “He told me he’s a new recruit.”
“Interesting… Who thought we would meet one of them so suddenly? Not to mention that he looks like a normal kid.” Kierra muttered while looking at the closed door of the tavern.
“He looks very seamless, that’s for sure. I would’ve never known he is a Gifted One unless I saw him do something impossible.” The old man replied as he sipped his drink.
“But, the fact is… They are starting to show up at the capital one by one. Soon, the entire capital will be filled with them.” Deka muttered.
“Yeah, I heard there are millions and millions of them so it’s safe to say things are about to get pretty chaotic soon.”
As the group discussed the topic, the only one to remain silent was Sergi. He was staring blankly ahead of him as if he was completely lost in his own thoughts. Nobody knew what was going through his head at that moment. The only thing visible to him were his hands, which slowly clenched into tight fists.
***
*Knock* *Knock*
“Come in.”
Arthur heard a voice replying to his knocks. He was now standing inside one of the smaller buildings of the settlement. The entire place was like a minimal office place with minimalistic design and furniture.
However, surprisingly, in this place was the highest authority in the entire settlement. The settlement chief was the one in command above everyone else. He is the one to receive orders from outside and the one to make decisions in matters related to the settlement and every mercenary working there. He was basically the man to go to in every situation.
Arthur opened the door slowly and peeked inside. The chief’s office was a copy of the outside, very simple and quite messy with stacks of paper and files and the strong smell of coffee and cigarettes filling the entire place.
Behind the desk, sat a rather scrawny man with formal attire and glasses. He didn’t look intimidating in the least, as Arthur assumed. In fact, he looked as if a salary man had become a fantasy creature with a touch of medieval aesthetics.
“Are you the settlement chief?” Arthur asked.
“Yes, of course.” The man quickly looked up and adjusted his glasses. “Please, take a seat. Give me a moment to finish this paperwork.”
“Of course, take your time.”
‘Talk about a normal office worker.’ Arthur laughed to himself as he sat down and crossed his arms. ‘It is quite funny how he looks nothing like I expected. This game keeps defying expectations in all kinds of ways.’
A few minutes passed before the man finally looked up from his piles of paper. “My apologies for making you wait. Ehem, my name is Logus, sir. I have been told a lot about you.”
“Oh?” Arthur raised an eyebrow. “A lot? Like how much?”
“Enough to say that I’m very much honored to meet you today,” Logus replied as he rubbed his hands together. “His Highness had repeatedly told us to make sure you are as comfortable as possible in your stay here. So, we are ready to fulfill any request you have within our abilities.” Stay tuned for updates on empire
‘… He really ignored my question so skilfully. What a sneaky bastard.’ Arthur thought to himself.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, do you have a piece of paper?” Arthur asked. “An empty one.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good, grab a pen and start writing down my list of requests.”
“A list? Haha, you are really organized, sir.”
“Of course.” Arthur grinned. “I like to take full advantage of everything given to me. So, start writing… First of all, I need your most precise map…”
After that, for the next few minutes, Arthur made Logus write down several requests he had. One of them included being provided a free piece of land he can use however he wanted. The sole reason he had that request was for Isla and the others to be able to build some kind of base on the first floor of the tower.
That is going to be very crucial for their plans in the future as being very close from the tower will help accelerate their growth.
After listing everything, Arthur stopped to think for a moment before he said. “That’s it for now.”
Logus adjusted his glasses and read the list again. “That’s quite the extensive list. But… We shall fulfill all these requests. Leave it to me.”
“Good.”
“However, some of these requests will require a few days to fulfill.”
“No harm, just don’t take too long,” Arthur replied as he stood up. “If that is all, I’m going to leave now. I want to explore the area.”
“… One last thing, sir!”
“Hm? What is it?”
“If your intention is to simply explore, then I suggest heading down south near the lake. It’s considerably safer than going deeper into the woods or close to the Frozen Peak.”
“…” Arthur stared at the man for a second before he nodded his head. “Ok, I will take your word for it.”
Then, he turned around and left the chief’s office.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3