Chapter 5: Little Adda's Treasure Trove

Antique Avenue was situated in the southernmost corner of Bailu Streets. Though in a corner, it occupied over two thirds of the whole area. The entire avenue was divided into eight lanes, with roads going between each one. Every lane is farther divided into 12 plots of land. Every store here is occupying a plot each. The plots are even numbered from 1 to 96 so that customers can distinguish between stores and decide where to go.

Even though there are a handful of low ranked Elementalists in Marshal city and the demand of Relics are not that high, the Antique Avenue also sells historical antiques along with Relics. There are a few famous archeological sites within 20 kilometers of the city and every few days there will be something new that's added to the collection of the stores in here.

The store that Aamon was looking for had the number of 76. He went to the seventh lane and stopped in front of the fourth plot. Every plot was uniquely decorated, some with flashy lights and banners, some with moderate and ancient decorations. But he was speechless after looking at this particular shop.

In front of him stood a four feet tall wooden fence with a gate in the middle. Beyond the gate is a small lawn, the green grasses adorning it with a breath of life in the middle of this metallic forest. A few small plants and bonsais were placed on the sides, decorating it. There was a cobblestone paved pathway separating the lawn in two equal sections. It also connected the fence gate and the two story building that stood at the end of the lawn.

The building was made out of stone, not the usual metal bars and concretes. The design resembled an old-fashioned house and it even looked very old. It was painted brown and had a roof made of clay tiles. There were two balconies in both sides of the door on the second floor. It had large glass windows with a few apertures on the top. There was a even a small roofing above the front door and held a small signboard that said, "Little Adda's Treasure Trove"

Aamon speechlessly stared at the house. 'Isn't this a freaking residential house? There is not even a distant resemblance of an antique shop, or a Relic appraising shop in here,' he thought. He checked the paper slip that had the address a few more times, but didn't find anything. 'Looks like it is really the shop before me. Sigh, lets get inside first.' He pondered for a few moments before pushing the gate and approaching the house.

There was no one on the gate, the lawn was also empty. He directly went to the front door. It had a bright orange door mat with the word 'WELCOME' on it. He stood on the mat and admired the intricate and complex design on the wooden door for a few moments before ringing the old styled doorbell two times.

After two seconds of silence, there was feint sounds of footsteps. Aamon waited patiently for the door to open as he tidied his clothes and hair. He pushed his glasses back with a finger and stood there with a smile on his face.

The footsteps stopped on the other side of the door. With a cracking sound, the door was open wide as a voluptuous woman wearing a long-sleeved black gown with a white apron and a gentle demeanor came out .

"This shop even has maids!" Aamon couldn't help but exclaim. Old style house, bonsai decoration, stone path and now a maid. Aamon wondered if he somehow did the legendary time travel and went back a few thousand years ago. You can't find these aristocratic stuffs anywhere now-a-days after all.

The woman was taken aback by his remarks. She was even more surprised to see a little boy wearing the uniform of Marshal City General Academy standing there. This not a place where little kids usually find exciting, so she was a little curious about him. She looked at him with a gentle smile and asked,

"Little brother, are you lost? Or do you want to buy something? You can tell me if you are separated from your parents. Come inside and call your parents, I can also take you to them if they are nearby."

Aamon looked at her and calmed his mind. She seemed like a beautiful lady with a motherly charm so he didn't feel any ill intentions from her. He let his guard down and spoke seriously, "Big sister, I am here for the interview. The advertisement you posted on the internet, that you are looking for a curator, I came for that one."

The lady was speechless. She glanced at him up and down for a few more times and spoke seriously, "Little brother, how old are you this year? Work should be left to the adults. You have to study more before your academy session ends. Otherwise, how will you get a job later on? And also, a curator is a very sensitive profession. You will need to be at least a graduate to even apply"

Aamon shook his head and said with a solemn expression, "I know that studying is important. But I need this job. I am perfectly capable of balancing the work and study. And also, don't worry about my knowledge, big sister. I have been very smart since I was little. I already know everything about relics below the fourth grade."

The woman was slightly surprised seeing Aamon's prideful posture while talking about relics. She can see a certain fanaticism in his eyes. She was also like that when she was his age, that is the reason why she works here. Despite the shabby atmosphere, the things present inside the store are the real deals. But when she thought about Aamon's age, she shook her head in disappointment. 'He is too young. If only he was five-six years older, then maybe... Even I stared working when I was sixteen.'

She then spoke, "Little brother, we do have a post available, but I can't let you take the interview. You need to be at least 16 for the job, there was an age restriction on there, wasn't it?"

"No, sister. There was no such thing. I only came here because there was no restriction, otherwise isn't that meaningless? Please cheek another time. Maybe it slipped your mind," he said in a firm tone.

The woman looked troubled. If it was someone else, she would've 'politely' sent them off. But the one stood before her was a cute looking little boy. Her heart didn't agree to resort to such means. Then she released a long sigh and said helplessly, "Alright. Come in and sit down, I will check the advertisement once more." She then took him inside.

*****

The decorations inside of the shop were just as much ancient as the outer appearance, truly complementing it. The flooring was done with black and white marble slabs, just like a chessboard. The celling was whitewashed and had a chantecler hanging from above, illuminating the whole room. The ground floor was a large hall room with a pair of spiral staircases going up. In the middle of the two staircases stood a large bar, with wine bottles neatly arranged on the shelves. There were glasses on one corner of the long table and a few stools placed for people to seat. There was two large sofas right in the middle of the room, on the both sides of a rectangular tea-table. On the both sides of the hall room were multiple small rooms side by side. And below the staircases, there was two milky white curtains that covered whatever was in there. The lady told him to sit on a stool, served him a glass of juice from the bar and went behind the curtain.

He sat there for a while as he sipped on his juice. He was thinking how hard the interview would be when the woman came back with a middle-aged man. The man had neat blonde hair, but his bangs were white. He had a western type face, blue eyes and a french-cut beard. His eyes held a playfulness that can be found within a teenager, but the slight wrinkle on the corner of his eyes showed his age and experiences. He wore a navy blue trouser with an oversized t-shirt. He came to the table and looked at Aamon with some curiosity.

"Little guy, what's your name?" He asked with an interested face. This little boy saw their post and came here alone to take the interview? He has some guts. And there was indeed a mistake on their part, not mentioning the age of the participants. But he was the only one who actually took advantage of the flaw.

"My name is Aamon Nabu, grandpa. I live in the Shibley Streets," Aamon spoke in a mature tone, as if trying to sell his wisdom to them.

"Shibley Streets!" The man clicked his tongue. Although it wasn't very far from here, the road was quite complex. A little boy came alone all the way here without getting lost, it is indeed worthy of praise.

"My name is Alex, little Aamon. You can call me grandpa Alex if you want. I heard you came here to take the interview?" the man named Alex asked?

Aamon's eyes lit up hearing him. 'He seems like a good guy', he thought and spoke, "Yes, grandpa Alex. You need a curator who is knowledgeable, right? I know many things about Relics by reading a lot of books. Although I don't know many things about archeological stuff, I am sure I can learn it very quickly. So can you let me take the interview?"

Alex thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Alright, little Aamon. It was indeed a mistake on our part. And you even came all the way here, so you deserve to take part in the interview. Come on, give me some information about you and I will fill the form, okay?"

Alex then proceeded to ask Aamon about his family members, their contact number, his address, what class he is in, etc. Upon learning that he is 10 and in fact he failed his baptism ceremony, Alex was somewhat confused. He again asked, "Aamon, are you absolutely sure that you failed in the baptism? There must be something about it, right? Tell me about it."

Aamon thought for a moment and said, "There was something unusual, but I did fail. When I entered the Elemental Field, all the elements seemed to push me away for some reason. I was knocked back and hit the wall. I was even unconscious for seven days, sigh, that's it. There is nothing more to it, grandpa."

Alex seriously listened to him, his brows furrowed. He fell into a deep thought. But seeing Aamon was here, he didn't show it too much and said, "Is that so, little Aamon? That is indeed something." Then he changed to his usual playfulness and pointed towards a room in the distant. "Go to that room and wait for us, okay? We will come after we discuss about your interview questions."

Aamon nodded and happily went to the room. As soon as he departed from their sight, the lady couldn't help but ask, "My Lord, why did you take interest in his awakening so much? He said his parents are civilians, so isn't it normal for him to fail his awakening?"

Alex looked at his maid and mysteriously said, "Little Kate, have you ever heard that someone was pushed out of an Elemental Field? There is something that is missing here, something that maybe even we don't know."

Kate asked with an astonished expression, "Something that you don't know! Is there such a thing, let alone in this remote Marshal City. How is that Possible? You are hailed as the most knowledgeable curator in the entire continent, after all."

"Ha-ha, you give me too much credit. But you are forgetting something, Kate. Let me ask you, what is the source of the Elemental powers that an Elementalist possess?"

"Naturally, it's bloodline. The more potent the elemental bloodline is, the more talent is there to be awakened during the baptism. Wait... are you saying you can sense his bloodline, but isn't that only people with the same lineage can do? He is not from your lineage, he can't be."

Alex shook his head. "No, he isn't from my bloodline. But I can see something different within his body, I just don't know what it is. And did you forget, every person on this planet have at least a single elemental bloodline. Its just that the concentration needed to awaken is very rarely found within civilians. Apart from those who have a richer bloodline inheritance or those who were blessed by the Element itself during birth and enriched their bloodline, there is no way any other person can awaken. So tell me, Kate, why is it that he was repulsed by the Elements? So much so that he even was knocked backwards and was unconscious for a week? I, personally have never heard of such a thing, neither have I read something similar in the family records. So, I am also kind of confused."

Kate was startled. Indeed, there was such a thing taught in the Advanced Elementalist Academies. She just never thought a simple topic of someone failing the baptism will lead to such a complex conversation. She sighed, "Lets go to the appraising room first, my lord. Aamon is waiting for us there."

Alex suddenly remembered that he was supposed to prepare a test for Aamon, but he just wasted time on idle chatters. He looked at his surroundings and noticed a bracelet lying randomly on the corner of a table. He picked it up as he strode to the room, "Let's go"

Kate saw her lord's deeds and understood the 'devious' plan he formulated. There was no way Alex would be willing to recruit a child. But he was unable to say it on his face and picked up a 'hard' question for him. She only prayed that Aamon won't be discouraged after a failure. She then sighed once and followed Alex to the appraising room without saying anything more.