Chapter 52: Collectors Dream
I was waiting in front of my boss's shop waiting for him to arrive. When I had gotten here the doors were still locked so I had assumed I was early.
The sun had just begun to rise, I've been standing here for over 10 minutes now.
I didn't mind waiting at all since there was not a single person walking in the streets, it was like a ghost town. When I was walking through the campus grounds, I had seen only knights making their rounds.
My trip ended up being very peaceful, unlike yesterday's walk.
I started to hear footsteps coming from my right, I turned my head to see it was my boss walking towards me. The man had the same look that he had yesterday, it seemed he really liked that suit.
"Good you're already here which is something I like, tell me boy what's your name again?"
"Azrail."
"Last name as well boy unless you don't have one."
"My last name is Diggory sir."
"Oooo Diggory huh? I'll be calling you that then, honestly Diggory is quite a fun thing to say. Diggory..... man that is funny. Tell me you like digging Diggory?"
"Not really sir." It seemed my boss was quite the jokester.
"Anyone ever tell you that you're kind of boring? Well anyway let's head inside, we don't want to disturb anyone."
My boss had walked up to the class door and simply opened it. This did confuse quite a lot since it didn't open for me, I just assumed the door used the same technology as the academy's front gate.
As we entered the shop, I was quite amazed by the amount of space it had. Although the building didn't look big on the outside, the interior was a different story.
The place was massive, against the walls were shelves that were all spaced out and had objects on them. The shelves went all the up to the ceiling, some shelves were empty, but most had at least one item on them.
The floor was completely red, as were the walls just like the outside. I didn't notice any windows, yet the room was bright.
My boss had walked over to his large desk and took a seat behind it.
There were no chairs for me to sit on, so I just decided to stand in front of him instead of looking around. Afterall I was an employee, not a customer.
"So what do you think of my little shop, it's quite nice right."
"Yeah I do, I've never seen anything like this before."
"Well I'm glad you like it, but let me cut to the chase Diggory. I was not joking when I said I can't just hire anybody. You see my job is extremely dangerous, I've started this business more than twenty years ago and yet I've never had a single employee. Why do you think that is?"
"Considering your job is dangerous I would assume its trust and ability."
"You're absolutely right, you see I have a family that I love with my entire being. I cannot afford to die, my family needs me and I need them. I can't focus on someone else's survival when I have my own priorities. Still there is another problem which is no one wants to work a dangerous job anymore that doesn't give honor.
You know Diggory this Empire has gone through many changes, but the change we are on now is something that I despise. I mean you've probably noticed it as well, everyone looks the damn same. It's like we are all a bunch of animals that follow our damn masters."
I did notice that every citizens clothes were the same color, they were all wearing white.
"I simply noticed everyone wearing the same color, I don't know how that would corollate into them being an animal."
"You'll start to notice what I mean with time, but let's get back to the main topic. I'll be honest, I don't trust you at all. You are probably the same as well, trust is a hard thing to build. So I'll will put down conditions, if you don't like them then you do not have to work this job. Sound good to you?"
"Fine with me."
"Alright then, first let me explain what the job would be. You see how all these shelves are full of items? They are all items that hold great value, they are called relics. I venture out into uncontrolled areas where many great battles have happened, they are like ghost towns yet other Empires still try to seize them. I will also get personal requests from individuals for certain items, these are usually dangerous requests.
The reason why my job is so dangerous is because I'm going into an uncontrolled area, meaning someone or something could easily kill me. With the other surrounding Empires trying to secure these lands it leads to constant battles being waged. Although it recent times its calmed down, still anything can happen. My only condition would be, simply look out for your own life. I won't save you and you won't save me, we will still help each other but never sacrifice ourselves for one another."
While listening the man's explanation and conditions it did seem like this job would be quite the task for myself. I had no problem with his condition, after all I had the same idea as him.
"You said someone or something, who are our enemies?"
"Soldiers from other Empires and their relic hunters, alongside that there will be mutated creatures roaming around. For the most part we will be going in quietly, if we are spotted though then we have no choice but to fight."
"In your honest opinion do you think I am strong enough for this job."
"Yes, you should be fine for the most part. Telling by just your energy levels you'll be okay in most cases. However, there is always a chance your life may be taken."
'I should be fine huh...Well you really never know when you're in an environment like that. Still, this job fits my experience probably better than any other job. It will also give me a chance to improve, there are far too many people here that are stronger than me.'
"Will I at least be getting paid decently?"
"Oh trust me money won't be an issue for you, you'll have a hard time finding a job that beats me in that department."
Although the job did have a risk of me dying, I still decided there were more pros than cons.
I was far too weak, not only that but war might be waged in a couple of years' time. Complacently will get you nowhere, I needed to take advantage of every opportunity given to me.
Regret was something I had a lot of, I didn't need to add more to that feeling.
"I'll do it." I said to my boss with nothing but resolve.
"I figured you would, now tell me how you ended up getting those scars. Why does a child your age have these?"
"There just something I got from the neighborhood I grew up in, you could say I'm use to combat."
"Is this a normal thing for your race? If someone even laid a hand on my kid, I would kill them. How is this allowed to happen? Do your people simply not care about their children?"
"It's just complicated, I don't think about it that much as it doesn't do me any good. I just have to improve myself."
I truly did not want to tell him anything else, I preferred to be vague as he isn't a human.
Just like he said, I don't trust him at all.
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