Nick sighed as he got into the hot communal bath. It was still a bit weird to him to be in the same bath as around twenty other people but he liked to look at it like it's a really hot swimming pool, only everyone was naked. He has begun taking showers after his bath however, he can't get over the fact that he is basically sitting in the filth of other people. He would have abandoned the bath altogether and just started showering if it didn't feel so nice.
He has been back in the castle for two days now, right now being the start of day three. He had forgotten how nice it was to have a hot bath and a professionally cooked meal. He would love to stay in the castle more if he didn't find it so completely boring. But right now he had plenty to do so he wasn't as bored as he thought he would be. While waiting for word on Dahlia's healing he was making good progress on the pocket watch.
It really surprised him how fast they were able to understand and execute making the pocket watch. The first two days were pretty slow and they had built three failed prototypes but before Nick went to bed they told him they should have a working prototype by the morning. He was excited to see what they have been up to but there was no way he was going to cut his morning bath or his breakfast short. The engineers would just have to wait for him to show up on his own time. Either that or send someone to come get him, but he knew he wasn't so important that he needed to be there early.
After a fifty minute bath and a ten minute shower he decided it was time for breakfast. He loved the breakfast options in this world even if they were a bit strange... They had normal things like bacon and eggs, cereal, and pancakes but there were some animal meats on the menu he had never heard of before. He had yet to see any animals native to this word that weren't on earth. Or if he had he didn't notice if he had seen them, like strange birds or bugs that he paid no attention to.
Well, it was no matter to him, he was open to trying strange new things. Even if he was not exactly sure what he was eating. However, a bad pick would ruin his entire breakfast so he decided to go with what he knew, bacon and eggs with sausage. There were not as many breakfast option in this world as he had hoped. He would have to fix that one day as well, though he would have to learn how to cook first.
After a satisfying breakfast he made his way to the part of the castle that the engineers inhabited. They had their own little corner of the first floor of the castle and that even seemed to not be enough room for them. They seemed to be having about fifty projects going on at all times. However they were focusing most of their effort on making a pocket watch because of how useful it would be and how much income they could bring in by selling it. The king in this world was smart, not only did he get a lot of money from taxes and, well, being king, but he was also a successful businessman in his realm and others.
Having an entire engineering team at his disposal meant that he was able to come up with stuff that he could sell to other kingdoms in order to make a huge profit. Nick was under the impression that as a king he would just tax trade, but it seemed just taxing trade wasn't enough for him so he threw his own hat into the ring. Not that it mattered to Nick, taxes weren't a part of his life because he wasn't a property or business owner. However, some of his income was taken by the guild for their taxes. They don't post the actual gold amount when posting a quest and take a bit for themselves, that is the only reason they are able to keep operating.
As Nick opened the door to the main development room the royal engineer, whose name was Devon, ran up to him with a wide smile. "It's working! The pocket watch prototype! Come, I'll show you!" Devon roughly yanked Nick by the arm and pulled him to one of the workstations.
"Really? You checked to make sure it was working?" Nick asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes! It works like a charm. We still have to make sure that it accurately keeps the time for around 24 hours before we can start developing them for commercial production." Devon stopped pulling Nick and motioned towards two gold pocket watches on a table. "But it would have taken us quite a few more years to develop one of these on our own, maybe even a decade, so we can wait 24 hours."
Nick picked up one of the pocket watches and flipped it open, looking at the clock face and then towards a grandfather clock in the same room. They had the same time. "Huh, guess you really did manage to finish it. I'll be honest I thought it would have taken a lot longer to make the parts and figure all of this out."
"Maybe for most, but we can work really efficiently when we work together. We are the best of the best after all."
"Why did you make two prototypes? Seems like a waste of resources if it turns out to be a flawed model."
"Ah, we made one for you. We will make you a new one if it does turn out to be a flawed model but a free pocket watch is the least we can do as thanks! With our new knowledge about how these work we can work on making even smaller more portable versions! Though it will take a while to make smaller versions that work at the same efficiency." Devon looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Well, I will help you out when I can. But obviously it takes a lot of effort on my part to learn about these things and then give you the information." Maybe I should tell them about batteries... at least simple ones. Maybe later.
"Of course. Oh, by the way, that reminds me." Devon shifted around all of the parts on his table as he looked for something. "Aha!" He nearly shouted as he pulled out an open envelope.
Nick raised an eyebrow as he looked over the small white envelope. "A letter?"
"Better! A royal summons!"
"Royal summons? Well, congratulations."
"It is for both of us! The king is pleased with our speedy development of something that could have taken more than a decade to make otherwise."
The time it would have taken to make this watch seems to increase each time he brings it up. "Why am I being summoned by the king? All I did was give you information that was pretty easily available in my world." Nick felt like he should be more anxious or excited to be summoned by the king, but he really wasn't either of those. He was just confused as to why the king would want to see him.
"Well, even if it is basic information to the people of your world it is revolutionary to us! The king just wants to meet the man who has already done so much for the development of his kingdom."
Nick scratched his head and thought about it for a minute. "I don't know, sounds like a bit of a waste of time for me. I would rather go and exercise or check on Dahlia. I haven't heard anything about her since her treatment began."
"Some people would kill for an audience with the king! Also, when the king summons you it isn't exactly optional."
"Lovely. When do we have to go?"
"The letter say as soon as possible, so right now."
Nick raised an eyebrow and looked down at his clothing. He was wearing blue jeans and a tank top, not really formal attire. "Well, I don't feel like taking thirty minutes to put on a suit so this will have to do."
Devon sighed and rested his face in his palm before speaking. "That will be fine... Man, I expected you to be excited about meeting the king but you act like it is a huge inconvenience."
"I don't know, it just doesn't feel like a big deal to me. Maybe because I wasn't born or raised in this world. Or maybe because I haven't been in this world for that long. Either way, It just doesn't feel like as big of a deal as it probably should be."
"Are you serious?" Devon asked, Nick shrugged in response. "Alright, well, let's get going. Bring your pocket watch." The engineer grabbed his watch and began to lead the way.
Of all the feelings Nick could have as he made his way up to the third floor of the castle, where royalty and high nobility lived, he did not feel himself being nervous, scared, or even happy. He just felt... Irritated. He could be doing something else right now instead of having to attend some meeting with a guy he could care less about meeting. Other people in his same situation would probably feel differently, but he has not had the best experiences with people in positions of power in this world. Mainly the royal guard captain and captain draper, the prince didn't seem to be a bad guy.
When they reached their destination they were met by a red carpet leading up to large double doors. Four royal guards stood on each side of the hallway and one stood on each side of the door with spears in their hands. As Nick and Devon approached the door Devon held out his summons and the guards reluctantly let them pass, keeping a close eye on Nick. Once through the door the two guards on the other side began to follow them as they made their way deeper into the large throne room. At the end of the room sat the king in his throne with the royal guard captain to his left and the prince to his right.
The king looked about as Nick expected a king to look, a white and grey beard and long hair of the same color. He wore extravagant clothes that somehow managed to look both extremely comfortable and extremely uncomfortable at the same time. The only thing Nick didn't expect was for this king to be as jacked as he was, he expected the king to be scrawny. As for the throne room it was massive with marble columns and polished floors, pristine banners of the kingdom hung on the walls and light was shining in through the massive stained glass window behind where the king sat.
"Welcome, Nick Anderson and Devon Durham, to my throne room." The king said, his voice loud and booming.
The hell kind of welcome is that? Was all Nick could think, looking over at Devon as he went down to one knee. Nick just rolled his eyes, he didn't want to kneel in front of the king. He was feeling strangely defiant today, he didn't feel like he was obligated to bow or kneel to the king after they locked him up. As he stood there the King looked at him expectantly before he felt someone kick out the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel against his will.
Nick's eyes began to glow bright red as he stood up and spun around, before he could do anything one of the royal guards behind him already had their sword pressed against his throat. "That's enough! I will not have needless bloodshed in my presence. If the boy does not wish to kneel then I will not force him to. I do not wish for forced obedience, he will kneel for me in time."
Over my dead fucking body. Nick turned back to the king, sneering at the two royal guards as he did so.
"Now, I understand that thanks to both of your hard work we now have a working portable clock, is that correct?" The king asked, the question directed at his royal engineer.
"Is that all you called us for?" Nick interrupted. "You didn't need to call us here just to ask if we are done with the pocket watch. Or at least you didn't have to call me here."
"Insolent little!" Kendra growled, grabbing the hilt of her sword. The king held up a hand to stop her before she did anything foolish.
"That is not all I called you here for, I will get to that in a moment. Please just wait."
"Fine." Nick crossed his arms and waited impatiently. It was out of character for him to be so defiant in the face of an authority figure, but for some reason he had a serious lack of respect for this king.
"Um, well, yes. We have finished a prototype." Devon brought out his prototype pocket watch and held it up, one of the royal guards behind the two of them grabbed the pocket watch and brought it up to the king.
The king opened it and went wide eyed momentarily, as if the thing he was holding was alien technology. "Astounding. At less than a twentieth of the size of our smallest clocks you have managed to make a mobile device to tell the time. If I understand correctly you just have to wind it once every 24 hours?"
"That is correct. We couldn't have done it so soon without the help of Nick, without any help it may have taken more than a decade to develop."
The king looked to Nick before speaking. "It is truly amazing what you can bring us using just a fraction of your knowledge. First you hand us an advanced weapon that could give one of my men the strength of ten and then you give us portable clocks. I can only imagine the wonders you may be able to provide us with in a few years time."
Nick sighed. "Look, I'm glad you appreciate my help but what I've done up until now is purely out of self interest. The gun was both to save my life and give me a room in the castle and the watch was so that I could get a girl medical treatment. I have no plans to become a permanent part of your engineering department."
"Worry not, I would not expect a young man like yourself to want to spend the best years of his life cooped up in a workshop. However, I do wish to provide you with compensation for all you have done."
This caught Nick's attention. "Haven't you already done that? I give you a gun and you let me live and gave me a room in the castle. I give you a pocket watch and you give a girl free medical treatment and a temporary room."
"Yes, well, that is a bit unfair. What you have given us is an edge over neighboring nations as well as boosted trade profit. That is why I feel a reward is in order." The king took out a rolled up piece of paper and handed it to a guard who brought it to Nick.
Once Nick opened it he began to read the paper, though he couldn't really make sense of what it was telling him. "What is this?"
"It is a deed to a house. I felt like the least I could do in return for your contribution to the kingdom was give you property to call your own. It is a modest home in the upper class district of the capital, it is free for as long as you wish to keep it. It is also fully furnished, something like this would usually cost around 100 gold per month."
"I see... Well, I'm not one to turn down free things. Thanks."
"You have earned it, if you continue to provide us with valuable information you have more gifts like this in your future. You help us out and we will help you out, it is as simple as that."
"Alright... Well, is that all? I should probably move into my new house while the sun is still up. I also need to check on Dahlia's recovery progress."
"Ah, Dahlia is the girl you brought in for treatment, correct? I received word not long ago that she finished her initial treatment. She will have to return for additional treatment to fix all of the scar tissue. She should be waiting at your new home."
Nick was so busy reading over the deed that he thought he misheard what the king just said. "Excuse me, what? Did you say she was waiting at my house?"
The king nodded. "Indeed I did. She does not have a home since her parents died, I figured you probably wouldn't mind sharing a room in your new home with her. You have plenty of space."
"I mean, I don't mind... I just didn't expect something like this." If there was thing that did make Nick a bit nervous it was the thought of living under the same roof alone with a girl he barely knew.
"You can always throw her out if you so wish, it is your house so she has no legal right to the property. The second you want her gone she will have no legal right to stay there any longer."
"I'm fine with her staying there this is just a bit unexpected... Well, anyway, thank you for the house. I should get moved in before the sun goes down."
"Alright, you are dismissed. I would like to talk to you for a while longer however, Devon."
"Yes, my lord." Devon replied as Nick made his way out of the throne room.
As Nick left the room he couldn't help but continue looking over the deed in his hands. He never expected something like this, he expected to just move from Inn to Inn renting rooms until he was an adult and could buy a house. He never expected to get such an absurdly expensive gift that he never asked for. My own house and I'm going to be living alone with a girl... What the hell is my life becoming?