As called, the guards quickly came running. They surrounded Gerald and the biggest among them stepped closer to restrain him.
"Pah! What a great welcome, is this how you do business?! Good, good! Le's see what you ants can do!" Speaking with anger, Gerald turned around and punched with his right hand.
Bam!
The fist landed on the chest plate of the guard, and at the moment of the collision, a Wind Blast was triggered and the guard was blasted backward for a few meters, before falling to the ground in pain.
"Get him!" The remaining guards shouted and tried to pile on Gerald.
"Useless!" Gerald waved his hands and a powerful wind was generated on his palms. With a flick of his wrist, it expanded outward in a circle, bringing furniture and people with it.
He alone was left standing in the middle, meanwhile, the room looked like a hurricane just passed through.
The commotion attracted a lot of attention from outsiders, but also from people working in different parts of the building.
"What is going on here??" An angry shout came from the top of the stairs leading to the upper floor. It was Arthur Rosecloud, Emily's brother.
"Young master! This person made unreasonable demands and then attacked us for no reason! We were not his match. Please avenge us, young master!" the receptionist cried from under the table. His hair was all messed up and he got a few bruises on his face from flying across the room.
Arthur frowned and looked across the room. His gaze landed on a cloaked hunchback in the middle of all this mess. It was obvious that he was the person the receptionist was referring to.
"Who might you be, sir? Why did you attack my men?" he slowly asked. He wasn't sure who he was dealing with yet.
"What, I'm gone for a month and you already forgot about this godly master here? You really are not showing any hospitality at all!" Gerald, instead of answering, berated him in front of all the gathered people.
It was all part of his plan, showing off his might, but not going too far. It was necessary if he wanted to establish himself as an eccentric old man, and so he could get better deals later.
Arthur furrowed his brows, thinking, trying to remember how this person might be. Then he suddenly remembered, "Ah! Master G? How could I forget your excellency? Welcome, welcome, haha…"
Gerald quickly changed his tone, from an angry one to a happy one, "Hehe, I knew sir Arthur wouldn't forget this old man. Apologies about the furniture, it was so hot in here, I had to air it out."
'Hot?! What bullshit is this? It's chilly in here! Just because you control something that I want, you think you can just act as you please and bully my people?!' Arthur roared in his heart, but on the outside, he just laughed, "I don't mind it at all, master G. We are all friends here, it's just a small matter. Come, let me invite you to a more private room where we can discuss in peace." He respectfully invited Gerald to follow him.
But before that, he turned to the guards groaning on the ground, "Get up you! Fix this place before I get back and remember to act with more respect towards our guests!" He gave an especially stern look to the receptionist before turning around.
Gulp!
The receptionist swallowed hard. He felt like he just messed up big-time. How could he know this weird old man was master's friend?!
He was not, but the poor guy didn't know any better.
***
Arthur brought Gerald to Emily's office.
She was currently leaning over the table, completely focused on the documents in front of her.
"So..." Arthur cleared his throat, "Emily, we have a guest here. Master G blessed us with his presence once again."
Emily lifted her head in confusion, "Huh?" but then her eyes landed on the cloaked figure, "Oh, master G! Welcome! What brings you here? Please sit," she quickly stood up and invited Gerald to sit on a comfortable sofa.
"Oh, miss Emily you are too kind! I couldn't possibly intrude on your precious time with my old self," Gerald made his voice sound softer and happy, but he still arrogantly sat down first.
Both siblings followed suit and sat down around the tea table as well.
"So, what brings you-" Arthur wanted to begin the conversation, but Gerald quickly interrupted him.
"I'm a bit short on time I'm afraid, so let's do this quick. I have here a few potions you might be interested in," He opened his pouch and a dozen vials floated out and landed on the table.
He could have easily picked them up with his hand, but he just had to show off a bit.
"They are an improved version of Swiftness Potions I gave you last time. Since your people are so weak that they hurt themselves when using them, I made them so that they now contain a regenerative property as well…" he continued to explain the workings in detail.
Miss Emily picked up a vial and said, "Really? That's amazing!"
"Of course, it is, after all, it was I who made them!" Gerald continued to stroke his own ego, "But that is not all! If a man drinks them he can stay strong in the bedroom for as long as the potion lasts! I call it the Stamina Potion!"
Miss Emily blushed and quickly placed the vial back on the table, meanwhile Arthur's eyes started to shine as he immediately recognized the potential value of this potion.
But then he quickly restored his poker-face of a good businessman and simply stated, "This is all fine and well, master G, but if you are trying to exchange it for herbs like last time… Well, I'm afraid it's going to take some time, after all, they aren't exactly commonly sold in the market."
Gerald snorted, "Heh, I know you aren't the most reliable person when it comes to resource gathering, but no worries! I'm actually giving you these for free!"
Free? Arthur and Emily immediately became suspicious. Nothing in the world was free.
"Oh? Do tell." Emily made a surprised sound, she was intrigued.
Gerald then started to spout nonsense once again, "You see, I have an apprentice, but I'm currently unable to take care of him as I'm leaving this kingdom for about a year. I'm giving you these potions in good fate as I hope you could take care of my apprentice in the meantime. You don't have to do much, just get him a place to stay, he can do the rest by himself."
"Err, what?" Arthur was shocked, 'Taking care of a kid? What kind of joke is this?!'
Clang!
Gerald threw a silver token on the table, saying, "Here, this token represents me and after one year you can exchange it for a favor from me."
He squinted his eyes and slowly continued, "No matter what it is, magic knowledge, potion recipes, even death or destruction of someone… As long as it's in my power you can request one thing from me in exchange for this token!"
"I…" miss Emily tried to say something but Gerald interrupted.
"I trust you will do the right thing! My apprentice will come to you in the following days, I'll give him one of my tokens so you will be able to recognize him." He made a move as if he was thinking, "Oh, if he brings any friends, please take care of them as well."
Gerald then stood up and walked to the window. With a wave of his hand, the window opened and he jumped up on the ledge.
"I'll see you in a year! Take care, hahaha…" He then jumped, or actually, more accurately it would be to say that he flew.
He straightened the space around him, removing the planet's gravity, and then with the help of the Wind magic, he flew away like a bird. His figure slowly shrunk on the horizon, before completely disappearing behind the city walls.
Arthur and Emily Roseclound were just sitting on the sofa, completely stupefied with eyes wide open and unable to comprehend what just happened.
"What the fuck just happened?!" Arthur roared after he came back to himself.
Meanwhile, miss Emily was still in shock, "He… He flew!" she finally mouthed. She still couldn't believe her eyes, "How can a human just fly?!"
Arthur frowned and looked at the potions and the token on the table, "I think I finally know why he casually beat up our guards… All of the things he did…it was to show off his power. I think it would be unwise to decline his request."
He sighed, "Well, maybe this is for the better. If we can get the Stamina Potion recipe by taking care of a brat for one year, so be it. Order our alchemists to stop wasting their time and resources researching Swiftness Potions… Also, get me someone to test this new potion."
He squeezed the silver token in his hand and squinted his eyes, looking through the window, "Hmph, master G, we'll play your game…for now!"