I have been quite stupid

The laugh was quite loud, and it took him some time to calm down. Aric remained calm the entire time and just waited for Gopher to explain himself.

"You have quite the courage to invite a stranger to your place at night, 10 pm, especially someone who has a bad reputation," Gopher said.

"I have asked Uncle Albert about you. You are grumpy to everyone, and that isn't some kind of metric to judge if you are bad or not. So I can invite you at night. That is not a big deal," Aric said.

In response, Gopher raised his palm with a silent command. In the stillness of the shop, Gopher's palm began to emit a soft glow, casting eerie shadows against the timeworn walls. Suddenly, a gentle breeze stirred, causing the ancient artifacts to tremble ever so slightly.

Aric's breath caught in his throat as he beheld the spectacle unfolding before him. The wind, guided by Gopher's silent will, swept through the shop with a gentle whisper, causing the delicate trinkets to sway in its wake. It was a sight both enchanting and surreal. Though the wind did not strike Aric, it enveloped him in a cocoon of wonder and awe.

"Now are you scared?" Gopher asked.

"What... What was that?" Aric asked. He was really in awe of what just happened.

"I am an Acolyte of wind magic," Gopher said. He didn't expect this at all. An Acolyte? Here? In this city. He had heard that the city mayor was an Acolyte as that was one of the requirements to sit in that seat. And the other Acolyte, which he had heard from, was the mercenary guild of the city. Apparently, one could hire the Acolyte from the guild if one paid more than 5 gold coins.

That in itself was a huge amount, and very few people could afford it. These were the only two Acolytes that Aric had known to exist in this city. And now there was a third one? Why hadn't he heard of Gopher being an Acolyte before?

"Why does nobody in the city know that you are an Acolyte?" Aric couldn't help but ask.

"Hahahah... You really are not afraid of mages, are you?" Gopher asked.

"Why do you say that? I am just amazed to see an Acolyte for the first time," Aric said, and he actually meant it, but it didn't mean he would have to be scared of him or fawn over the man.

"Most of the time, when a regular person sees an Acolyte, they fawn over or at least show some respect. But your eyes are filled with curiosity. I like it," Gopher said. "At least better than those rich kids who just want to fawn over an Acolyte in order for him to mentor them." Those last words were almost whispered, but Aric was able to hear them clearly.

"You have been honest with me, so it's my duty to be honest with you. Are you still confident of inviting me? I can rob you of your stocks or even force you to give up your secrets, and even the city administration wouldn't touch me and just let me go away with a small prison time or some kind of fine that I will have to pay. Nobody would miss a child like you," Gopher said. And this time, his words became more ugly and menacing, almost spine-chilling for Aric.

He said all of those words while looking deep into the eyes of Aric, trying to peer deep into the soul of Aric and gauge what his thinking was.

"Someone doesn't declare if one wants to rob the other or not. They will just do it and leave no traces. And you can't kill me," Aric said with a smile. A smile as sunny as the warm sun, which seemed to cut through the depressing atmosphere the Acolyte tried to bring forth.

"Hahahah..." Gopher laughed again for some time and then said, "I like your confidence. I will be at your place at 10 pm, and you are right, I already know the address."

Aric nodded and was ready to leave but then stopped and looked at some of the items that were on display. The items looked to be silver in color but somehow looked weightless. He could easily tell that these were not silver, and each of the items was finely built and had vivid designs on them, seeming to make the items more gorgeous.

Gopher saw his eyes roaming on the particular section and said, "These are aluminum items. They are quite costly. If you want them in exchange, I am willing to part with them."

"How much does this pot cost?" Aric asked curiously since they were kept in such a way that they looked costly.

"For this pot? 1 gold coin. These are 70 silver coins... That is 1 gold and 20 silver..." Gopher went on to quote the price, and Aric felt like his world was moving fast. These flimsy aluminum items cost that much. He had forgotten that in the old ages, aluminum was quite the costly metal to make since it wasn't in abundance. It was only after the 1850s that one could extract aluminum from other ores, and the prices of them went down significantly after that.

Aric stopped his blabbering and said, "I don't want to buy them. Pay me by coins, and I will be happy." Gopher seemed to be a bit sad and disappointed when he said that because these items were costly, and this city didn't have enough people who could afford to buy them. He was actually thinking of selling them to caravans and 'breaking even' with these items.

Keeping them here wasn't doing him any favors. Though it did add to the 'aesthetics' of the shop, and the presence of aluminum in the shop meant the shop was quite rich. Aric left promptly after looking around for a bit and found nothing of interest.

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Read 6 more chapters on my p@treon,com/thelightedghost