Construction Mage - Chapter 53: Demonstration Pt. 2

AN: As promised, another chapter! With all eyes on the Third Prince, he knew he had to make a decision soon. No one knew w

AN: As promised, another chapter!

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With all eyes on the Third Prince, he knew he had to make a decision soon. No one knew what he was thinking but himself. With his reputation, there were numerous possibilities. His concerns could be either political or whimsical. A wildcard like him was hard to predict, which made Clay more nervous.

Falling short of the prince’s expectations was fine as long as it wasn’t too egregious an error. He was fine with failing to persuade the prince to back his cause, but the last thing he wanted was to have punishment meted out to him. It wasn’t just him on the line this time; he had pulled Malik into his affairs as well. Before coming, he hadn’t even considered the possibility of angering the prince. He had been too friendly on the first visit for it to have even popped into his mind.

Afraid of having dragged the young teenager into his mess, his heart fluttered when the royal member’s gaze locked onto Malik.

Prince Caelan’s eyes widened for a split second before taking a deep breath, but he still didn’t say anything, and that was the last straw for Lord Varek.

“My prince. What say you about this toilet? While I believe it is quite interesting, I’m curious if you are satisfied with it.”

As if waiting for the question, Caelan immediately nodded and came over to Varek’s side. 

“Yes, of course. It is as I ordered, and more.”

“Haha, congratulations, Clayton Stratton. You seemed to have satisfied the prince,” the man chuckled as he grinned at the man in question. “I am sure you will be well compensated for your achievement.”

“That’s correct,” Caelan proclaimed as he glanced over at his head attendant. “Agra, please fetch me the reward I had prepared for Mr. Stratton.”

“Of course, my prince.”

The older woman swiftly took out a maroon coin pouch made of velvet. Taking it into his hand, the prince jiggled the pouch around and peered at its contents before looking up at Clay.

It was at this moment that he knew it was time to intercede if he was to make his request. He quickly pulled out the line he had perfected with Thalia the previous night.

“Milord, the previous payment of coins is more than enough. I can not bear to take any more coins from you for simply doing as I should.”

“Oh? You would like to forgo my reward, you say?” Caelan asked, with a warning underlying his words.

It was to be expected, as Thalia had predicted. Refusing a reward from a noble as a commoner was an exceptionally disrespectful thing. Clay had to choose his next words carefully.

“Of course not, I would never want to diminish milord’s goodwill. I simply mean to say it would be too greedy of me to take advantage of your noble character.”

“And what exactly are you proposing then?”

“Milord, if I may be so bold as to ask, could I have your support in a venture of mine instead?” Clay paused for a moment, but seeing how no one interrupted, he continued. “I plan to establish a guild, similar to those the craftsmen have, for Delvers.”

“For Delvers?” Varek cut in only to realize he had misspoken a second later. “Apologies, my prince. Please ignore my outburst. I was simply curious.”

Caelan nodded and turned back to the Delver.

“A guild for Delvers, you say? And what purpose would a guild for Delvers have? Last I recall, the items Delvers produced are mostly unique items, and they cannot be mass-produced. There is no need to regulate the quality, price, or production of such items as we do for normal crafts. And training is not required for these Delver craftsmen, thanks to the Goddess’ blessing. The only merit I see is for mutual aid, but no entity can effectively enforce that once they enter the dungeons.”

“That may be true if you look at it through the traditional perspective, milord, but not if you consider beyond what Delvers craft. Our greatest value to the country is in retrieving the rich resources from within the dungeons. Most of the resources in town come from the dungeon.”

Prince Caelan furrowed his brow as he turned to Hal. The man in question quickly approached and whispered into his lord’s ears. Nodding his head, he urged Clay to continue.

“Currently, most of the resources coming from the dungeon are being sold through various merchants. They set up stalls within the Greymark’s Bastion’s enclosure to procure these raw resources from the Delvers. With all these individual transactions, I hear the price of the most desirable resources can fluctuate due to merchants intentionally deflating or inflating prices to line their pockets.

“The worst part is that it isn’t something that can be easily caught. It allows them to run rampant, forcing Delvers to have to shop around for the best prices, but most of them don’t have the time or are too tired to do so after risking their lives all day. I believe that if we can establish a guild for Delvers, we can standardize these prices for everyone, keeping the economy stable, while we can bring our full attention to the dungeons. 

“This could be applied to all facets of activities Delvers are involved with, too, including escort jobs between cities. We can even use the craftsmen guild’s system of centralising technology, sharing useful information about the dungeon among Delvers. It could aid top-level Delvers reach deeper into the dungeons.”

“Interesting. Very interesting, indeed!” Varek said as he slowly clapped. “In fact, on behalf of my father, the Count Talon, Lord of Ravenhold, if such a guild is possible, I can give the official consent to do so right now. However, I have a few doubts.” 

The noble paused, a pregnant silence hanging in the air as he looked over to the Third Prince, giving him a chance to chime in. When Caelan didn’t react, he continued.

“First, what makes you think it is possible? My father has tried something similar before in order to simplify the registration and tax collection process, but most Delvers are, unfortunately, an unruly bunch. It isn’t easy to get their cooperation on anything, and using force against them is unwise. Second, why would we entrust the running of the guild to you? You say you are a Delver, but forgive me, I do not believe I have heard of you before. How far has your party reached before, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Here come the hard questions, but from someone unfamiliar. All I know about this guy is that his father is of the neutral faction among nobles.

Naturally, Thalia had grilled Clay with obvious questions like this one, and it undoubtedly troubled him a lot. After all, he couldn’t exactly come out and say he had a plethora of ideas he wanted to implement that were all based on his experiences with video games similar to the dungeon’s system. 

The current world was so new to the concept of magic and levels that they hadn’t discovered the concept of experience points yet. To them, fighting often in the dungeon made them stronger in its system. Just like how a seasoned blacksmith would pick up the skills required for their job the more they worked in a forge, but at an accelerated pace.

One of the first things Clay planned to test with the help of other Delvers was to compare how fast groups with different numbers of party members would level up. It had been nagging at him ever since he had a more in-depth talk with his veteran Delver friends, who each had taken a full day or two before their first level up, while it only took Clay a single encounter. To him, it became blatantly obvious that it was due to other people having to share their experience points while he didn’t have to. However, he would need to test it out for confirmation.

“I believe I am the ideal candidate because I am both a Delver and someone with experience with the administrative side of guilds.”

“Oh, you are?” Varek skeptically muttered in surprise.

“Yes. Even during my short stay in Ravenhold, I’ve been helping out a friend who does a lot of work for the city administration. I am pretty familiar with the workings of the other guilds that report to the administration, so I can easily bridge the gap between Delvers and the authority in charge. Give me a chance, and I may be able to surprise you.”

“Oh, I am not the one you have to convince. I was simply voicing my concerns. My prince here is far more astute when it comes to reading character. I dare not contend with the wisdom of the royal family. If you have his support, then you naturally will have mine,” Varek said, flashing what Clay perceived to be a shit-eating grin.

He quickly turned away from the haughty noble as all eyes rested on the prince, awaiting his decision.

“I have heard enough,” Caelen announced as he turned to Clay. “I have come to a conclusion. Your idea is commendable and is something I do plan to suggest to the king upon my return. However, I unfortunately cannot offer you my support in this matter. I hope my answer hasn’t soured the mood, because I would still like to reward you for your job well done on this toilet. Why don’t you join us at the table for some refreshments as we discuss further how I can reward you through other means, Mr. Stratton?”

“Yes–of course, milord. It would be my pleasure.”

Every muscle on Clay’s face tensed as he struggled to keep a neutral expression as he spoke. 

His plan had failed.

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