25- New work?- Part 1

"So, this is the place mentioned in the letter? I suddenly have a feeling that I won't be welcomed here."

Liam looked at the fancy shop in front of him, filled with countless treasures, and he felt underdressed to head inside. But he also knew that he could not keep standing at the entrance and block the way forever.

"Maybe it will be better for me to pretend this never happened. There is no way I will be hired, even with a recommendation letter, and I—"

Liam turned around, but the fancy shop behind him called his name. He could feel how rich the shop was and how much he could get paid here.

So, even when he knew that he should not walk in there, he felt like he had no choice. His feet decided where he would head anyway.

The shop was empty, and there was no customer or owner in sight, so Liam decided to look around. As he did, he understood why Elder Erin had advised him to work at this shop.

It was filled with magical items that looked fragile and needed careful handling. Since that was the case, Liam felt more confident about his chances.

He leaned over a vase with intricate details but not a lot of magical power to observe it. He was so lost in the details that he did not even notice someone walking behind him until it was too late.

"It is a soul-capturing jar. It is often used to keep the souls of loved ones until the user can find a new body for them. It costs around 10 million dollars to borrow for a single day. Are you interested in it?"

The familiar voice caused Liam to flinch and almost collapse with the display shelf holding the ware. But he was able to catch himself in time and fall sideways, not damaging anything.

Well, anything that was not his ankle.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The feminine voice was now filled with concern, and Aria Duskwood's face loomed over him from where he had fallen.

Aria looked concerned, and she extended her hand toward Liam to help him out. But as she did that, she accidentally leaned against the display she was telling Liam about, and the cabinet ended up crashing, causing not only the vase but a lot of other materials to fall on the ground as well.

Crash!

The sound that came from the wares breaking was loud, and Liam flinched as he felt panic fill his mind.

But the female looking down at him seemed almost used to it. She looked neither shocked nor scared of what she had done. She just looked resigned.

"What is going on here? Who caused what…I mean, what can I do for you, Lady Duskwood?"

The shopkeeper came down in a hurry to check what happened, and he looked ready to chew someone out. But as soon as his eyes landed on Aria, he looked like a meek puppy who could not even raise his head.

Aria just blinked as she stood up and also helped Liam up.

"I caused this. I accidentally leaned against this cabinet, and it fell down. Maybe you should invest in better materials for your shop."

Aria spoke with such confidence that it did not feel as if what happened was her fault. Her words caused the shopkeeper to look angry, but he took some deep breaths to calm himself down before looking Aria in the face.

"O-Of course, miss! I understand. Now, what can I help you and…your companion with?"

Liam had a sudden bad feeling that he was being lumped in with Aria, and he had not left the best first impression on the shop owner.

To show that he was not with Aria, Liam quickly stepped away from her and decided to present the letter he brought with him to the shopkeeper.

"I was sent here with this letter. If you would please take a look at it—"

The letter was snatched out of Liam's hand in an instant, and the person in front of him speed-read it with bulging eyes.

Once he was done reading, he looked at Liam, then back at the letter, and so on. After a minute of this, the man finally sighed and forced himself to smile.

"Well, I understand your situation. And since Elder Eryndorius Valtessar, Keeper of the Celestial Codices and Weaver of Timeless Arcana, is vouching for you, I will give you a chance. Welcome to the team, Mister Sanders. I am Lucas Smith, a Warden just like you. And I will be your boss."

The man introduced himself while extending his hand toward Liam.

Once this was finalized, Liam let out a sigh of relief. He finally had a stable job again.

But he could still feel something disturbing his peaceful life. And that someone was glaring at him and the shopkeeper standing in front of him.

Lucas Smith looked uncomfortable, having Aria look at him with that look of concentration, so he decided to ask her what she wanted.

"Miss Duskwood, can I help you out? If you tell me what you want, then I might be able to help you out."

Lucas asked, getting more and more concerned with each passing second. Finally, Aria blinked and decided to tell the pair what she wanted.

"Can I work in your shop along with him as well? I feel like I should repay you with something other than money as well. And physical labor is the best thing I can offer you. Don't worry! I will work without pay."

Aria offered, and the shopkeeper paled, the smile vanishing from his face. Instead of looking happy at the prospect of free labor, he looked like he was hearing about his doom from someone.

"T-That will not be necessary. I am sure I can just have your family pay, and we can call it a day. We don't have to overly complicate things. Just having you worry about me is fine, Lady Duskwood."

The shopkeeper assured, but Aria did not look convinced.