Construction Mage - Chapter 63: Afternoon Tea

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“Right, Eban! You helped me out with the oozes that attacked the worksite for the new church out in the fourth ring,” Clay said.

“Uhh, right. Good day to you. Err, do you mind if I go now?”

“Of course. Don’t let me delay you.”

Clay made no effort to hold him up. He was just relieved that the person he had bumped into wasn’t a haughty noble, but an acquaintance. He allowed Eban to head on into the cake shop first, where a waiter who had been watching over the commotion was waiting. 

All the waiters and waitresses in the shop were neatly dressed in fine gray shirts and dresses. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say they were more sharply dressed than Clay.

I should’ve changed into better clothes before heading out to Sylphira’s place. This is what I get for not wanting to make them wait.

They bowed respectfully to Eban and guided him to his seat in the crowded halls within. When it was Clay’s turn, the same respect was inevitably missing. People judged a book by its cover. There was a reason that was a saying.

“How may we help you, sir?” the same man who guided Eban asked politely. “There shouldn’t be any orders coming in today, nor are we hiring.”

Clearing his throat, he placed a hand into his coin pouch.

“I’m here as a guest. Are there any seats available?” he asked as he casually flashed a gold coin to the waiter.

It caused him to freeze for a moment. A lot seemed to have gone through his mind before he slowly nodded. Thankfully, he hadn’t gone with the course of action to reject Clay due to dress code or some other excuse.

“Of course, sir—please come this way.”

He was then brought to a table near the back, which just happened to be right next to Eban. A menu was then promptly placed before him.

“What kind of tea may I start you with, sir?”

Scanning the list on the parchment, Clay found all the names unfamiliar, so he simply picked one at random.

“I’ll have the Redbrush Fragrance. As for cake, you only have these three options?”

“That’s correct, sir.”

“I’ll take one of each, then.”

Before Clay knew it, the waiter’s tone shifted after hearing his order. The condescending tone had mellowed out as he retrieved the menu. 

While Clay waited, he took a moment to count his wealth. He had just delivered two toilets to Sylphira and Dorgan. The latter had given him a gold coin before he left as well. Overall, the short trip into the first ring added an entire twenty thousand Lyons into his pockets. Combined with the small amount he had been earning from the dungeon, he now had slightly over eighty thousand Lyons in total.

The tea and cakes at this shop cost two silvers and four silvers respectively. It was a price he would never have considered just a few weeks back. All it cost him to obtain his newfound wealth was becoming a part-time plumber. It was a strange turn of events, to say the least.

This will be my war chest. Once Sylphira has rallied more people to join my guild, I’ll need to use it wisely to get things set up. First, I will need to acquire a guild building. That means going to the city administration to get the land. There, I can verify that I am authorized to operate a guild, as Lord Varek has promised as well.

I’ll then also need to talk to a bunch of businesses to centralize everything Delvers deals in, too. That will be the first major hurdle once everything else checks out.

I should focus on learning pottery for now, though. Everything else can wait until next week.

Before long, the same waiter came back, carrying a tray. He didn’t stop by Clay’s table, though, instead delivering the order to his neighbor, Eban.

He glanced curiously at the veteran Delver and thought back to when he had saved him against an ooze. Eban was definitely someone strong. Ideally, Clay would want to invite him to his nascent guild, now that he had an opportunity to do so. The only thing that stopped him was their earlier encounter. The man had made it apparent that he wanted to be left alone.

How do I talk to someone who doesn’t want to be bothered? When I saw customers like that, I usually just left them be. Isn’t it too much to disregard his wishes and strong-arm him into a conversation?

As he mused on how to approach the young man, the server finally came back with his order. Three large plates were placed down before him. One had a round, loaf-shaped form, drizzled in honey. The other two were disc-shaped and appeared somewhat plain. 

He tried out one of the plain cakes first, and soon, the scent of cheese hit him. It seemed it had been baked with ‌ample‌ cheese and sugar. Cheesecake was fine and all, but when the cake was already so dense, it became too much. 

Wanting to cleanse his palate, he took a sip of the red floral tea only to realize it had an attractive aroma but was nearly tasteless. He didn’t let disappointment show on his face as he sampled the other two cakes. 

The other disc-shaped one tasted the same as its appearance—plain. Its ingredients likely consisted only of flour, eggs, and sugar.

As for the last one that had honey drizzled all over it, it actually wasn’t all that bad. The texture was still dense and somewhat chewy, like thick bread. The nuts and dried fruits helped balance the heaviness somewhat, but not nearly enough. It was a far cry from the airy, fluffy, and buttery cake he was familiar with. Though compared to the other two, it was more palatable, perhaps thanks to the power of honey.

Overall, Clay couldn’t help but feel disappointed with the quality he received.

This, for over ten silver coins! Not worth it at all!

Shaking his head, he inadvertently caught sight of Eban staring over at him from the corner of his eye.

“Hey, Eban. Are you here alone to enjoy some cake as well?” he asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

The skinny man with curly brown hair gingerly nodded, but said nothing while continuing to stare.

“I see. Um, why don’t you join me? That is, if you want some company, of course.”

His offer made the powerful Delver’s brow furrow deeply, his eyes clouded with uncertainty, as he wrestled with the weight of the decision as if it had a far-reaching impact.

“You can say no, you know?”

This time, Clay finally got a response.

“Um, okay,” the man muttered under his breath as he swiftly took a seat across from Clay. “I––err, wanted to ask. Was the cake—umm—bad?”

Despite speaking, Eban avoided eye contact at all costs, staring into the cup in his hand.

Clay was just about to reflexively answer no when he caught himself a split second before. 

No point in lying about something so stupid to someone I want to form a working relationship with.

“Yes, but that’s subjective. It just so happens I’ve had better, so my opinion is biased.”

“Umm—I see. Thank you for answering.”

A brief awkward moment passed as Clay waited for him to continue, but it never came. Realizing he had to take the initiative in the conversation, he gathered his words.

“Actually, I have a question for you.”

“Err, okay?”

“I wanted to ask if you would consider joining a guild I’m forming for Delvers. It’ll be just like the craftsmen guilds.” The brown-haired boy just tilted his head, so he continued. “We’ll be streamlining how a Delver operates. Ranking members accordingly so that anyone can find new party members easily. If you have loved ones, we plan to implement an insurance policy for our members. If you should ever perish, we will take care of them. You can also do all your trading through us. We’ll handle negotiations with the various vendors regarding the materials you retrieve from the dungeon. It’ll avoid the hassle of having to talk to a dozen different sto—”

“Okay. Um, I’ll join.”

“What? You will? I haven’t fully explained—”

“It’s okay. If you can err—deal with the selling for me, that’s good enough for me.”

“What about your party members? Don’t you want to discuss with them first?”

“I—err—don’t have any. I work with whoever accepts me, but um—it’s usually on a temporary basis.”

With no more questions to ask, Clay was at a loss for words at the immediate answer he received. He never imagined he would get a yes, and before he even finished what he had to say, too. He blinked blankly several times as his brain caught up.

“Okay—happy to have you onboard, Eban. You can find my home out in the fourth ring at any time. Just ask the people at the church’s worksite; they should know where it is,” he explained as he offered the man a handshake.

All the while, he tried to keep a smile on his face, but internally, he was completely bewildered.

Did that really just happen?

***

Clay returned to the second ring once his afternoon teatime was over. Eban ran off like a squirrel not long after their conversation, and he had a lot to do.

The first thing he did upon his return to the second ring was to visit the pottery shop again.

“Ah, sir, welcome back. How may we help you today?” the very same clerk who initially assisted him inquired.

Like he had rehearsed in his mind during his journey here, he shot his shot.

“I wanted to ask if your workshop would sell lessons on pottery. I know it is something you usually have to become an apprentice for, but I am a Delver. I—desire the skills to create utensils while in the dungeon, should what I bring with me get broken.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I do not believe that would be possible. Apprenticeships at our workshop are highly coveted. If we agree to your request, I fear what those prospective candidates would say if they learned of it.”

“So there’s really no way?”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

The clerk’s eyes were resolute, firmly supporting his words.

“I see. Well, sorry for imposing. I’ll come back again when I need to make another order.”

“Have a good day, sir.”

Exiting the workshop, Clay couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

I guess it couldn’t have been this easy. I guess I’ll leave this up to Malik. He may know some people. I’ll ask him tomorrow after our morning delve.

With the dungeon on his mind, he proceeded to his next stop while thinking about what he needed to prepare. Tomorrow wouldn’t just be any regular delve. With his sights on the second layer, he would redouble his efforts to progress through the first layer. At the same time, he would be testing the limits of when the dungeon would disappear manmade structures.

All that was left on the agenda for the remainder of the day was to head to the administrative office and sort out the guild issue. Then, he could finally return home and try out his new kitchen.

Let’s hope Lord Varek did as promised and informed the administration about authorizing me to create a guild. I have enough money now to take out a decent plot of land, but maybe it’ll be a better idea to hold off until this busy week is over, though.

With many matters resting on a hopeful outcome, Clay could only pray for the best.

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