Last one before I sleep.

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Back in Lavinia City...

It took Cavaron almost an hour to arrive at the Merchants' Quarters in the second ring. Here, only the most affluent of Lavinia's citizens are allowed to take up residence.

The directions he received from Myrn led him to a ridiculously decorated shop filled to the brim with expensive trinkets, clothing, and other merchandise.

'Maximum Import Center? This it?'

Figuring that he arrived at the right place, he entered the shop.

*t-tring* the doorbell rang as he opened the door.

"Greetings, dear customer! How may I serve ye?" a fat man spoke.

"Are you Max?" Cavaron asked.

"Why, yesiree. I am he who you seek."

Max was a fat man at a height of five feet and five inches with a purple beret on his head and a face full of hair. He was wearing a typical merchant's attire that helps identify him as one. He looks like he's around 40 years old, and despite his age and build, his voice's pitch is fairly higher than normal.

"Do you know Myrn from the third ring?"

"Oh, yes, yes, yes. Is she well? Does she need something?"

"Erm, I was told to give you this letter, first."

Cavaron handed Max the letter from Myrn.

"Ooh, I see. I see. Excuse me for a moment."

The letter was rather short and it only took Max around a minute to read through it. As he read the letter, his face dynamically changed from happiness, to disbelief, then to horror, and lastly, his jaw just dropped. Cavaron raised a brow as to what made Max do so.

Putting away the letter neatly into his breast pocket, Max then inspected Cavaron carefully making him flinch at how fast Max became serious.

"You have a Pyrocite?" Max asked in a serious tone.

Cavaron silently nodded.

"Come."

Max went further inside the shop, and Cavaron followed. They walked downstairs into a basement with a locked door made of metal.

As Cavaron saw the metal, he was surprised. He was familiar with the material so very much that he almost always encountered it in the other worlds.

Adamantium.

This merchant has an underground vault made out of the hardest metal ever found. Whatever is behind that door must be extremely important for a merchant to spend that much to protect it.

Max then pulled out a key, but it was no ordinary key. The key had no teeth and was just a metal rod. Max inserted the rod into a hole and produced mana from his body.

Cavaron went wide-eyed at the merchant before him. Even in the other worlds, he has yet to meet a merchant with this much capability.

The door silently opened despite its size and material. When it fully opened, Cavaron was able to see how thick the door was.

A seven-inch thick adamantium door. Not even a meteor could punch through it, you need to rip the space to cut through... which he could do but he has enough ethics not to do so.

"Enter with me." said Max as he went inside, and Cavaron silently followed.

After passing through, the door shut itself in place as it was before.

Within the room was a table and two chairs.

"Sit." said Max as he sat on a chair.

Cavaron sat across Max.

Max just stared at Cavaron making him uncomfortable.

"It has been a long time since Myrn wanted something from me." Max suddenly spoke.

"Are you familiar with blood contracts?"

Cavaron nodded.

"A Pyrocite costs a lot of money, and this money is hard to earn. What we will do is to undergo a blood contract that will have both parties sign an agreement of silence regarding the flow of money. I will keep silent as to where I got the Pyrocite from, and you will keep silent as to where you got the money from. Deal?"

Cavaron thought for a while before answering.

'Hm... blood contracts are powerful in any world I have been to. Neither of us will get hunted down by curious people...'

"Alright. I'll agree." Cavaron affirmed Max.

"Good. Now hold out your hand over the center of the table."

Cavaron and Max held out their hands over the center where a magic circle was found, and Max released some mana. When his mana touched the circle, it glowed bright red and tore open their hands for their blood. Although the wound was big, it was painless and immediately closed after it was enough to fill a bowl. Their mixed blood then became a crystal and flew to a nearby wall making the end of the ritual.

"Contract signed and completed. Here is your 18 Delns."

Cavaron received the money and produced the Perfect Pyrocite.

"A pleasure doing business with you."

After that, they both backtracked to the shop, and bid farewell.

---

'I should probably head back to the castle.'

After leaving Max, he headed off to the castle gates where one of the guards recognized him and called for the escort.

His escort led Cavaron to the West Tower where the sleeping quarters for the guests and royalty were. After two floors, his escort brought him to his room where Cavaron dismissed and thanked his escort.

'This is a nice place. Ooh, it also has a bath.'

Seeing that a personal bath was available, he wasted no time to magically remove his equipment into a rip in space. Buck naked, he took a bath.

"Ahhhh... ooh yeeaahhhhh... that hits the spot."

It seems that the bath was heated as his fatigue gave away and made him relax.

'How long has it been since I've had a hot bath? Ahh... so heavenly~'

It took him 30 minutes to bathe and get dressed. Instead of his armor, he wore casual clothing: a silk shirt and cotton pants. Utterly defenseless.

'Nothing beats silk clothing.'

After a while, he heard a knock on the door.

Opening the door, he was greeted by Ritna.

Nope.

It was a servant who just came to tell him that the Queen is inviting him for dinner in the dining hall.

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As usual, thanks for the support!