Durian (Part 2)

Amalia double-checked. The cracks in the handle had completely disappeared. She passed it to the boy, saying, "Take a look and see if there are any issues."

Taking the artifact, the boy felt it was not only aesthetically better than before, with a shiny surface replacing the previous roughness, as if it had been re-polished.

Moving in closer, the boy clearly saw during Amalia's repairs that some black substances seeped out from the surface of the artifact, like impurities from within the artifact.

"Thank you, the artifact is great, I really like it." The boy had formed a bond with the artifact and could easily perceive the immense changes in the artifact.

Normally, when an artifact is damaged, its functionality is affected. If it were rated out of a hundred, even a good Artificer, during repairs, would typically incur a loss of at least five or six points, while a poor repair could lead to a loss of more than ten points, rendering it far from perfect.

However, as soon as he took the artifact, he discovered that his artifact not only hadn't lost five or six points but was even better than before.

The boy's expression of genuine gratitude left the three stall owners stunned. Could it be that Amalia truly possessed skills that they had underestimated?

"As long as you like it," Amalia said while tidying up the remaining debris.

After the boy paid, he couldn't resist glancing at the beautiful profile of Amalia. His heart was raced, contemplating asking for her contact number. But feeling hesitant, he changed his words, and said: "Shop owner, will you be setting up your stall here every day from now on?"

"Not necessarily. It depends. However, I've been here recently," Amalia replied, unaware of the boy's thoughts.

Feeling reassured after hearing her response, the boy left, saying, "Shop owner, you're really skilled. I'll definitely bring my friends here next time."

Amalia glanced at him and said, "Thank you for that."

"Not at all," the boy shyly replied, then turned and hurried away with the repaired artifact in his arms.

This scene naturally caught the attention of passersby, and the way they looked at Amalia suddenly seemed pensive.

The thin stall owner's expression was beyond being described as merely dark. He gazed coldly at Amalia and said, "This boy you brought in was a setup, right? No one came to you for repairs for two days straight, so you got desperate and had this boy play along in this act. After all, you don't look like someone with experience at all."

The onlookers suddenly seemed to grasp the situation.

"Lysandre," the chubby stall owner reminded with a furrowed brow.

Although competition exists wherever people gather, saying these things seemed excessive.

The thin stall owner remained silent, wearing a grim expression.

"Little Sister, don't mind it," the chubby stall owner said to Amalia.

Glancing at the still displeased thin stall owner, Amalia responded, "There's nothing to mind. Let's compete fairly based on our abilities."

The thin stall owner couldn't restrain himself and coldly snorted, "Let's compete fairly, but don't resort to using setups later."

"Then kindly keep quiet at that time," Amalia suddenly remarked, her gaze turning slightly sharp as she looked at him.

The thin stall owner was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Amalia to respond this way. At first, she appeared somewhat like a soft target that could be manipulated at will.

She hadn't fought back initially, but now it seemed this person might be a prickly durian, instantly wearing a stern expression.