Red couldn’t help but be taken aback, but he didn’t let it show through his actions.

He nodded at the merchant. “It’s fine.”

Gustav vehemently shook his head. “No, no, it’s not fine! Truly, the guild has been a mess these last few weeks. We shouldn’t make such important guests wait to be tended to.”

The merchant sounded genuine, yet Red knew better than to take his words at face value.

Gustav sat on the bench across from him with a huge sigh of relief, plucking some dried grapes from the table and unceremoniously throwing them into his mouth. There was little regard for manners in his actions, but a second later, he looked over at Red with a jump.

“Ah, pardon me! I haven’t even introduced myself, have I?” The man patted his hands on his pants and stood up, bowing to the youth. “I am called Gustav Angelo, a master of the tradecraft. Most people refer to me as Master Angelo, but you may feel free to call me by Gustav.”

‘Master Angelo…’

This was the first time Red heard of the man’s surname. In Bestrem, he was always known as Gustav, and nothing more.

The merchant sat back down, the mere act of standing up taking some effort from him. “So, I hear you are recently arrived in our fair capital. Is that correct, sir Viran?”

“It is.” Red nodded. “I’m surprised news has reached you that quickly.”

Gustav chuckled. “It’s our job to be aware of the ongoings of the city, sir Viran. Besides, you did cause quite a commotion at the gate.”

“That wasn’t my intention.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t. You weren’t the first one that happened to, funnily enough. In the past, the guards weren’t so uptight about security, but these days… Tsk, tsk, what is the world turning to, anyway?”

Red frowned behind his mask. Gustav spoke as if he had been in the city for a long time, but as far as the youth know, it hadn’t even been a month since he left Bestrem.

“So, am I to understand you are a guest at mister Emer’s house?” the man asked.

“For now, yes.” Red nodded.

“I understand. May I ask how the two of you met?”

“You may ask him yourself the next time you meet.”

That, of course, would never be happening.

Gustav kept a smile on his face, despite Red’s response. “Hmm… So I suppose the thing that brings you to our city is business, then?”

“It is.”

“And where did you reside before this?”

Red sighed. “Is it your job also to ask as many questions as possible of your clients?”

The merchant chuckled. “Of course it is, but I prefer to think of it as friendly conversation. Regardless, it’s also not my intention to push others when they are not comfortable sharing, so let’s get to the topic of your visit.”

The man opened a file he had brought with him into the room, reading it out loud.

“Am I to understand you are here to ask for a loan from our guild to open a business?”

“That is correct.” Red nodded.

“I see.” Gustav close the file and looked back at the youth. “May I ask what business this is you intend to open?”

“Arcane Scripture.”

“… Pardon?”

“Arcane Scripture. Formations, talisman, and runes.”

“… You plan to sell all three of them?”

“On an initial level, yes. I can’t promise to make anything too complex, but things around the Lesser Ring Realm should be fine.”

Formations, talismans, and runes also had their own distinct strengths. The weakest talisman, for instance, was still equivalent to a simple Spiritual Art from a Lesser Ring Realm cultivator, and runes and formations were similar in that way.

For the first time since they met, Gustav seemed to be a bit at a loss for words. “I-I understand… Might I ask you a question first?”

“You may, but I can’t promise I will answer.”

“Are you part of an organization?”

“I am not.” Red shook his head.

“So you’re a rogue cultivator?”

“That’s correct.”

Gustav furrowed his brows, seemingly in deep thought.

Red could guess what bothered the merchant. The training of arcane scripture was an expensive endeavor. Even to reach basic proficiency, it was still an effort an individual alone would struggle to fund by themselves. In such scenarios, an organization would probably be behind them, and if there weren’t any, it probably wouldn’t take long for someone to recruit them.

It was no wonder then that Red’s claim would make Gustav skeptical.

He looked over at Red. “I’m sorry to presume, sir, but… Do you have a sample of your work?”

“I do not.”

Actually, he had the parting storm formation, but there was no way he could show that to anyone.

Gustav’s frown deepened. “I see… Well, sir Viran, I mean no offense, but I have some concerns about this loan you are proposing.”

“You mean you don’t believe that I know arcane scripture.”

Red could guess his thoughts.

Gustav smiled. “You need to understand my position too, sir. There certainly are rogue cultivators with mastery over scripture, but those are rather rare, and even then, they only specialize in a few things. You, however, claim to be proficient in all three main areas of arcane scripture, so I can’t help but feel skeptical.”

“My abilities can’t be called proficiency.” Red said. “I have only started on this path, and the recipes I know are rather limited.”

In truth, he never even carved a rune or wrote a talisman before. It didn’t mean he had no confidence in doing it if it came down to it, though.

The merchant nodded. “I understand that, but still…”

“You need proof, right?”

“It would certainly help.”

“Then give me the materials and I will make you a talisman right here.”

“This…” Gustav hesitated.

“You have two of my Spirit Stones as collateral. It should be more than enough to cover the ingredients should I fail.”

In fact, two Spirit Stones were enough to make quite a few talismans.

The merchant nodded. “That should be enough, but this is not a matter I have the skills to oversee.”

“What do you mean?”

“We have an arcane master in our guild. I will call upon him to oversee the matter.”

“… That should be fair.”

This was the first time Red met another master of the arcane scriptures, but for a guild the size of the Golden Hand, it shouldn’t be a surprise they had someone like that.

Gustav stood up and left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Red alone once more.

“Aren’t you going to kill him?” Aurelia asked.

Red frowned, but he didn’t respond to her out loud.

Since the moment the youth came to Bestrem town, he learned Gustav was the enemy of their Water Dragon Sect. The merchant did everything to make trouble for them, sometimes going even as far as to threaten them directly. Yet, never once did he make an attempt on their life, at least not in a way that could be linked back to him.

He probably communicated with imperials often, and left Bestrem before it was besieged, but it was hard to say whether he was involved in Bernard attacking their town. Could a weak merchant like him even compel a general to move? It was unlikely, so at the end of the day, the only thing connecting the man to his sect member’s demise was indirect actions.

This didn’t mean Red believed him to be innocent. Quite to the contrary, he didn’t doubt the man and his guild probably had a deeper connection with the Empire than they let on, and the youth wouldn’t mind getting the answer out of him. However, the real question was, would he be able to?

‘No, not right now.’

It was too risky. It was one thing to mess with a weakened demonic cult that had to stay in the shadows to survive, but it was another to provoke the local power that didn’t need to be covert in their actions. If they tried to act against Red, was there anything he could do to stop them?

The youth wasn’t afraid of provoking others to get what he wanted, but he knew the extent of his abilities. He needed more knowledge of the capital, more proficiency with his skills, and, most important of all, an opportunity.

‘Still… Gustav should know something about Rimold’s sister.’

He was deep in thought when the door to his room opened again. Gustav walked in with an old man in tow.

“Sir Viran, this is Master Heryd, our official Arcane Scripture master.” the merchant pointed to the man. “Master Heryd, this is the cultivator I told you about.”

Red examined this stranger. This Master Heryd was completely bald, with a long and scraggly beard, and sporting a long brown robe that didn’t seem to fit with the environment. He seemed to carry a permanent frown on his face, which only deepened as he looked at Red.

He snorted. “Why is he wearing a mask?”

Gustav shrugged. “It’s his choice, master.”

“Bah, his ‘choice’!”

The old man walked forward, right up to Red.

“Let me see your hands.”

The youth frowned, but he still put his palm forward. Heryd looked down and shook his head.

“Too smooth! Too young! Are you sure you know Arcane Scripture?”

Red nodded. “I am.”

His palms weren’t this smooth naturally, but his magical disguise hid away the true appearance of his hands.

“We’ll see.” The old man looked back at Gustav. “Bring the treated leather and magical ink.”

Gustav seemed surprised. “Just that, master?”

“We don’t need him to make anything big just to test his abilities, now go, shoo!” Heryd waving him off.

The merchant nodded and walked away, leaving Red alone with the old man, who was staring at him as if trying to see through his face.

“You seem confident.”

“I am confident.” Red nodded.

“Can you make any basic talisman?”

“I know all the symbols, so as long as I have the recipe, it won’t be an issue.”

The old man snorted. “I want to see how much someone as young as you knows. If you can make this talisman with no mistakes, then I’ll have to bow to your teacher in respect.”

Red, of course, didn’t mention the fact he learned Arcane Scripture mostly on his own.