Chapter 61: Deal(2)

Luke looked at the golden sign on top of the door. He heard Nash's excited voice.

· Hey! Are we going to eat here again?! I can't wait! The food here is so yummy!

Luke ignored his excited ramblings and entered the restaurant with Liam. He then saw three, no, ten restaurant staff greeting him inside. They then bowed 90 degrees to him and spoke altogether.

"Welcome to our humble restaurant, esteemed guest."

Luke was taken aback by the warm reception and simply waved his hands at them as if to say, 'Don't mind me.'

"Why are so many of you are in here? One staff is enough. Just get back to work; the customers are waiting."

The staff flinched and then nodded with energized expressions as they then spoke again altogether.

"Yes!"

The staff immediately went back to work and only one person remained. The remaining staff smiled brightly at Luke.

"How can I help you today, young master?"

"Can I meet Sir Timothy Cheylin?"

"Oh, I am sorry, but Mister Timothy is out right now. But he said that he would come back soon. Would you like to eat while waiting for him?"

Luke smiled.

"That's perfect."

"Okay! Please follow me."

The staff then excitedly guided them to a round table for two people. Liam and Luke each sat in their seats and looked at the menu.

· Oh! I want this, this, this, this, oh! And this! I haven't tried that yet!

Luke blindly nodded to Nash's requests and ordered his and Nash's orders. It was also the same for Liam. While they were patiently waiting, Luke could see Liam nervously looking around. Luke then asked.

"What's wrong? Are you nervous?"

Liam nodded.

"When I was on the streets, I always dreamt of eating here at least once. I thought it was just a stupid wish, but now I am sitting here, ordering food."

Luke stared at Liam's flustered face.

'Living on the streets for years must be hard.'

Luke sighed and then spoke up.

"Don't worry, after everything is over, we'll come here more often with others."

Liam's face brightened.

"Really?"

"Really."

Liam smiled brightly as if he was never nervous before and Luke just quietly waited for their food. After five minutes, their orders finally arrived. Luke asked in surprise.

"Wow, that was fast."

The waiter heard him and smiled.

"The chef is really enthusiastic about cooking when he knows that you'll be eating his food."

"....Me?"

Luke pointed at himself in confusion and the waiter just smiled brightly at him. Luke then awkwardly smiled back.

"Well, tell the chef that I appreciate it. He definitely worked hard to make this."

'Really, Nash ordered a lot of food but the chef managed to cook all of this in five minutes. Kudos for him.'

The waiter smiled and replied brightly.

"Yes! I will!"

The waiter then excitedly ran back towards the kitchen. Luke thought that it was weird at first, but he ignored it and passed Nash's food underneath the table where Nash was currently sitting. Luke and Liam then also started to eat their food. After a while of peaceful eating, Liam, Nash, and Luke finally finished their food. They all used a white cloth to wipe their mouths.

"Ah, it is an honor to meet you, young Master Luke."

Luke looked at the man greeting them. It's Tim, the man he's been looking for. Luke put down the cloth in his hands and smiled at Tim.

"Perfect timing, Sir Tim, I have something to discuss with you."

Tim's smile widened. When he heard that Luke was in his restaurant looking for him, he immediately came back. He could sense that a lot of benefits would be brought to him just by hearing the word 'discuss.' He could tell as his experience and guts tell him so, and they never fail.

"It is a pleasure to speak with the hero of the kingdom."

Tim could see Luke frowning, which made him nervous.

'Why is he looking at me like that? Did I said something wrong?'

Tim started to panic. He could not let this opportunity pass, so he needed to be mindful of how Luke would see him. He then heard Luke's voice.

"Don't call me a hero. It's Liam who is the hero here, not me."

"Ah."

Tim gasped. It seems that the rumors about Luke being a humble man are true. He seems to not like it when people call him a hero. Tim slowly bowed.

"Please accept my apologies; I'll just refer to you as young Master Luke from now on."

Luke smiled and nodded.

"That's more like it; now, where should we have our meeting?"

"This way."

Liam and Luke were guided by Tim and the restaurant's staff. They just quietly walked and finally arrived in front of a door on the top floor. The staff bowed and quietly left. Tim then opened the door and smiled at Luke.

"Now then, why don't we start our discussion?"

Luke and Tim went inside while Liam was left outside to guard the door.

Luke took a seat across from Tim on the opposite couch. He then seriously looked at Tim and crossed his arms and legs. Tim saw this behavior and started to get nervous. Luke saw this nervousness and started to speak.

"I want you to sell something for me."

"H-huh?"

Luke didn't answer and threw a pouch on the table. Tim blinked at the pouch and slowly grabbed it and opened it. His eyes opened wide and he looked at the contents of the pouch with extreme shock. He feels like he'll have a heart attack. He then looked back and forth at the pouch and Luke, who was blankly looking at him.

'God, these are highest-grade magic devices. How could he just throw it like that?!'

Tim looked at Luke in disbelief. Luke, on the other hand, ignored him and spoke up.

"I get 70 percent and you get 30."

"H-holy, I will get that much?!"

"Why? You don't want it?"

"No! I absolutely like it but why...?"

Luke smiled at Tim. Tim thought that he was looking at the devil, rather than at a hero, for a second.

"Partnership and trust are important, right? And besides are you satisfied by just being the third place?"

Tim's face hardened. Luke has just said something that is very personal to him. Tim is an ambitious man; when he first started out as a merchant, he promised to be the richest and most successful merchant on the entire continent, if not the entire world.

"...What do you want from me?"

Luke smiled mischievously. Which made Tim more nervous than before. Even though Luke was very young, he felt like he was the baby here. He then saw Luke lift up three fingers.

"First is your guild's cooperation."

Tim gulped, a guild's cooperation means that Luke is basically the second in command of the Cheylin Guild. Tim frowned, dissatisfied with the direction this was taking.

"Second, is your trust."

Tim frowned, first is the guild's cooperation and now the guild's trust. Luke seemed to read his mind and shook his head.

"I'm not talking about the guild's trust. I want YOUR trust."

"Me?"

Tim pointed at himself and Luke nodded, which made Tim confused. Luke just smiled at him.

Timothy Cheylin is what you call someone who is always looking for the best deal. If he sensed that the deal was impossible and would bring him a failure, he'd immediately try to move to another deal, which often makes him a backstabbing, trustless guy. Luke needed his full trust for him to never see that side of Tim since they would always do business together.

And what he'll say later will need his full trust and attention to be believed in.

"Third, I need you to buy me some supplies that witches use."

"Excuse me?"

"You hear me, I need those fast. Oh, and also, buy some magic tools used for experiments while you're at it. Bring it to me in a month."

"B-but that is impossible! Even though these are the highest grade magic devices, it'll take a month max to sell all of them! I won't have time to buy it at all!"

Luke smiled at him. He then pulled another pouch out of his pocket and threw it at Tim. Tim caught it and his eyes widened. He felt like he was going to die at this point because of the number of surprises Luke could pull off.

"T-this, so much money...!"

"Money is not a problem. Now there are no problems in buying witch supplies now right? Buy the highest grade one, and also the ingredients. All of them."

"God..."

Tim appeared to be in a state of bereavement. He looked like he was a robot trying to process the information being dumped into him. Well, throwing the money so casually into his face is indeed really shocking. He then heard Luke's expectant voice.

"Can you do it?"

Tim snapped back to reality and smiled brightly at Luke. The sight of a large amount of money and the highest grade of magic devices makes his heartbeat so wildly. He had the sensation that a golden apple had fallen on his head. He should grab it tightly and never let it go.

"Of course! I can do it!"

Luke smiled brightly.

"Then we have a deal then."

"Yes!"

Luke and Tim shake hands. While Tim is thinking about his guild's rising ranks, Luke is just glad that he passed some of his work to someone else. When he considered searching for the witch's supplies, he felt his headache. It is better to pass it to an expert than to struggle. Luke smiled brightly at Tim.

"Then, our conversation ends here."

"Yes, yes. Let me escort you outside-"

"No need, you should focus on your other matters. I could walk by myself."

"O-okay, then take care young master Luke."

Luke nodded and left the room. He then saw Liam diligently waiting for him outside. Liam saw him and then smiled brightly.

"Is your conversation done?"

"Yeah, now for the other matters...."

Luke sighed. Liam looked at him with worry and asked.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"...I am fine."

'Not really.'

· Luke! Can we now buy some wings and coats?! Hurry up! I'm excited!

"Haaa... Liam, take this money and go buy whatever you and Nash want. I don't really care.

anymore."

· Yay! We are finally buying!!!

Luke threw a money pouch at Liam and Liam caught it. Liam looked inside and gasped.

"S-so much money! Brother-"

"Just go and buy what you want. Go buy wings or something, I don't even care anymore. When you're done, go to the royal palace."

Liam stopped and asked Luke, who was heading out of the restaurant.

"Palace? What are you going to do in there?"

".... Didn't I tell you? I need to discuss something with his highness."

Luke just walked with his shoulders slumped down. He felt so exhausted. What he wanted was a peaceful life, but now he noticed that he needed to climb numerous dammed mountains to get there.

'All I wanted was to be unemployed, wealthy, and at peace. Is that too much to ask?'

Luke just sighed. He then heard Nash and Liam's voices.

· We'll come back soon!

"We'll immediately go to the palace after shopping."

Luke just waved his hands and kept walking without looking back at them.

"Yeah, yeah, have fun."

Luke just continued to walk, causing him not to see the bright smiles on Nash and Liam's faces. Even though he seemed to not care, he gave them a ton of money to spend and also told them to have fun.

Luke didn't notice this and headed towards the palace. People were staring at him as he walked forward, but Luke just didn't give a damn. He has a lot of things on his mind right now and before he could even know, he already arrived in front of the palace.

This palace is much more bigger than the crown prince's palace. This is where the king and most of the royals live, after all.

Luke saw the guards flinching and turning stiff when they saw him. Luke just smiled brightly at them to not scare or agitate them.

"Excuse me, but I need to speak with His Highness, the crown prince."

The guards looked at each other. He is the kingdom's hero, so everything should be fine, right?

The guards decided not to think too much, since the man in front of them had saved all of their lives. An entry pass is the best they could do for him. They then bowed towards him and opened the gate. Luke gladly walked inside. While walking towards the palace, he thought.

'Wow, that was easy. I expected them to be stingy, just like the guard on the estate. Is the palace's security lacking nowadays?'

Luke decided to just shrug it off and entered the palace. He then looked around at the extravagant interior of the palace. Everything is white, gold, and red velvet. A cliché color suited for royals in fantasy novels. He then saw a maid and gently approached her. The maid seemed to be shocked at Luke's unexpected appearance. Luke just smiled at her.

"Excuse me, I would like to see His Highness, the crown prince."

"Looking for me?"

Luke slowly turned around when he heard the voice of a man he hadn't heard for a while. He then brightly smiled at Lance, who was already smirking at him.

"Yes, I am looking for you. Your highness."

"Just call me brother."

"Oh, how could I call the future sun and glory of the kingdom as my brother? It is too-"

"Stop."

Luke stopped talking and smiled at Lance, who seemed to be in a bad mood. Lance just sighed in frustration.

"Follow me."

Luke nodded and followed behind Lance, who was talking to his butler while stepping up the stairs. He seemed to be ordering food from the butler. The butler nodded and bowed. Luke and Lance left him behind and arrived at Lance's office in the palace. Luke felt like he would have a heart attack when he saw countless papers stacking each other in every corner of the room. The height of the stacked papers is no joke.

'Jesus, what type of hell is this?'

Luke felt like he had found his worst nightmare just by looking at this office. He felt sorry for Lance, who had been trapped in this hell for years. He then saw Lance moving some papers and sat on the couch while sipping some tea. Luke sat on the opposite side and looked at Lance. Lance noticed his stares and asked in a stressed voice.

"What is it? As you can see, I am pretty busy right now."

"... It's nothing, your highness."

Luke sighed and frowned. He wanted the production of wings, purple blades, and black coats to stop, but his conscience pricked at him, signaling that he shouldn't add more work to this pitiful and stressed-out prince. Luke simply ignored the childish matter and drank the tea Lance offered him. He then heard Lance's voice.

"You won't come here for nothing. And by the way, how did you easily enter here? Even Noah needed inspection and identification to enter. "

"I don't know either. They just let me in with no questions asked. They also bowed 90 degrees towards me. Weird, right?"

Luke sipped his tea and Lance looked at him in disbelief. He feels like Luke is just treating this as a visit to his neighbor and not a visit to a prince. He was so casual and he looked like he owned the place. Lance just sighed.

"I think I know the reason."

"Hmm? What do you think is the reason for your highness?"

Lance put down his tea and looked at Luke, who was staring at him with a clueless face. He doesn't seem to really know.

"You are the hero of the Reece kingdom. You saved many lives in the terrorist incident. Even the King can't look down on you now."

Lance could see Luke's face crumpling. He looks constipated. Lance smirked at him. He then heard Luke's tired voice.

"... How come I'm still a hero? I thought we talked about this?"

Lance sighed at Luke's betrayed expression. He feels like he is dealing with a child questioning 'why did you give him gifts and not me?' at him.

"Look, I tried my utmost best but your name is so widespread now that it is beyond my power to stop it."

"Haa..."

Lance could see Luke sighing in frustration. He then began to consider what his goal was. He wanted to be not recognized but continued to help with some affairs. He even saved a village and a city, but it is said that he didn't even ask for any rewards. He just left. Lance couldn't keep it to himself anymore and asked.

"You... Just what do you want? You are so complicated. I could read you, but not at the same time. Just what are you aiming for?"

Lance could see Luke smiling and looking out of the window as if he was looking at the far future.

"All I wanted was to be unemployed, wealthy, lazy, and at peace. The one where you don't need to do anything and just sit around all day looking at the clouds. Eating three times a day and sleeping all the time with no mental concerns. That is what I have been aiming for since I was a child, your highness."

Lance could feel his mind blanking out. That's it? That is what he wants?! Nothing more, nothing less? What kind of goal was that?!

"...You seem to be thinking of a very impossible dream here."

Lance could see Luke frowning deeply. Lance then realized he had made a mistake. He then heard Luke's stern voice.

"Oh, it's not impossible. If it isn't possible, I might as well kill myself rather than go through all of this."

Lance was stunned by the extreme seriousness in Luke's eyes. He could see it. He could see that Luke would do anything for his dream to come true. Lance found this resolve very funny but admirable at the same time. He then chuckled at Luke.

"Alright, then, after all of these damn disasters are over, I'll help you. Unemployed, right? I might be able to assist you with that."

Lance could see Luke's face brightening. Lance just smirked. He thought that Luke was a man who was very hard to read, but it seemed like he was just a simple man. He then heard Luke's serious voice.

"Your highness, about the war."

Lance's face then turned serious. The pleasant and peaceful atmosphere had almost completely faded. Lance then spoke in a serious voice.

"Speak."