Construction Mage - Chapter 43: Commitment

AN: Happy Fourth of July!

Google Docs Link

Two days passed by in a flurry, as Clay resumed his usual routine as if nothing had happened. Unfortunately, he knew it wouldn’t last. The day to pick up the S-traps he ordered had come, and he would soon be working on toilets and water heaters for his Delver acquaintance and, more importantly, a suspected member of royalty. 

Even these past few days, he felt some curious gazes directed his way whenever he walked through the dungeon enclosure. It might have just been his imagination, though, seeing how they were from unfamiliar faces, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched.

Regardless of whether his suspicions were right or not, it didn’t change what he had to do. He had Malik tag along with him today after their delve, so he could help carry his order back to his place.

As soon as they placed down the carefully wrapped ceramics, the young man plopped himself onto the ground with a haggard breath.

“Sir, I think you may want to consider investing in a wagon if you’re going to be doing this often in the future.”

“They go for at least four to five thousand Lyons for a used one, right? Hm, I’ll consider it, but I’m not sure if this will be a recurring thing.”

“What are you doing with these weird vases, anyway? Did you really need four of them?”

“They’re for the toilet,” he explained, pointing over to the bathroom.

With no obstruction between the living room and bathroom, Malik could directly peer over. He furrowed a brow as he turned back to his employer.

“You plan to have multiple toilets in your house?”

“What? No! They're for my acquaintances.”

Malik blinked blankly for a few seconds before his eyes widened.

“What?! The rumors are true? Are you really the one they’re talking about?”

“Talking about? Who is talking about what?” Clay muttered in confusion.

“Rumors have been going around that some Delver came up with some interesting contraption that even a member of royalty wanted! All the other Delvers have been asking around about it.”

Clay grimaced. Somehow, things had been blown out of proportion, and his gut feeling had been correct. People were watching him!

Instead of continuing the conversation with the teenager, he anxiously brought one of the S-traps along with him to the bathroom and began chanting.

“By Lestionora’s name, heed my call,

Let your power take shape for me.

By sacred vow and binding light,

Rise from the void and lend me your might.”

He held the ceramic piece in place as he commanded the elemental to begin stacking bricks around it. As these toilets were going to be transported later, he had to be more careful with the base, ensuring the drainage would be unobstructed while the entire thing held together during transport.

“Sir?”

“Good work today. You can go home. Don’t forget that we will be on break tomorrow and the day after, so see you in three days.”

As someone who loved his weekends and was also in charge of the schedule, Clay naturally implemented them.

“Umm, okay,” Malik replied and gingerly walked away, glancing back at him several times.

As soon as the young man was out of sight, Clay pressed a hand against his forehead as he tried to sort out the headache of the situation he somehow got himself into.

My plan has always been to become known to all Delvers as someone reliable but as a Delver, not some inventor of toilets of all things. How did it end up like this?

Can I still gain enough respect and dignity to become a guild master this way? Or will I become something akin to a plumber?

Several dreadful possibilities ran through his mind as he looked for ways to salvage the situation. Any publicity was good, but it looked bleak when the first impression he would have on people had been irreversibly ruined. It would be a Herculean task to disassociate him from toilets and associate him with a Delver according to the current trajectory.

Well, there’s no use crying over spilled milk. I’ll have to play into it. All or nothing. Move first before the public can spin it however they want.

He wore a complicated expression as he stared at the golem putting the toilet together before him, but he knew there wasn’t any point in hesitating. Redoubling his focus, he devoted himself to the task at hand.

[Ding—Skill: Summon Elemental(I) has leveled up!]

[Ding—Skill: Spell Manipulation(I) has leveled up!]

This—is this the universe’s sick way of telling me that becoming a plumber is the right direction for me? There’s no way in hell I’m going to spend all my time working in the gutter handling shit all day! Especially not with how filthy this city is!

***

After working on the set of the toilet and water heater for most of the afternoon, he ventured out of his home to procure materials. Before that, however, he made sure to visit his friend before the day’s work at the worksite was over.

When he arrived at the construction site, he noticed the church had progressed along quite nicely, with one of the statues at the front already complete. The engravers did a fine job with the intricate details and fine curves. Despite being made of stone, it depicted a graceful woman in robes that he almost believed were fluttering. The slate at the base of it read ‘Myrilune, the Goddess of Water, and subordinate to the Goddess of Life.’

“Interested in the theology, are ya?”

Clay turned to find the familiar burly man with a fine red mane. He was grinning at him mischievously, even more so than usual.

“Just checking to see if the foreman here is as good as he claims.”

“Ha, I’ve already got the people from the church and the city administration to worry about, and now ya want in, too? Get yer arse in line!”

“Doesn’t sound like a very long line, so why not?”

“Aye, maybe ‘tis quite short compared to some others,” Garrick teased as he raised an eyebrow. “Got something ye wanted to share with me?”

“Yeah. What kind of materials do you think I should buy to make a better toilet? Oh, and the type of wood I should get for some doors and windows as well. It’s about time I add them to my place.”

“Why don’t ya add kitchen stoves and supplies to the list? Thalia has been making jokes at yer expense recently. A grown man who doesn’t even know how to feed himself, ye hear?”

“I do know how! It’s just that it’s time-consuming, but I guess things have calmed down now, and I do need to be more mindful of my diet.”

“That’s right, ya do. You’ve lost quite a bit of meat on yer bones since we met. Anyway, if it’s wood ya want, you should check out old Haron’s shop. It’s near the gates you usually take to get into the second ring. My recommendation is Ironbark for your doors and shutters, and Stillwood for your special commission. Be sure to do the usual wax finish we use at the worksite. You just need to mix the beeswax with some linseed oil. You should be able to buy everything there if you tell them I sent you. Be warned, though, that stuff ain’t cheap. Don’t expect any discounts.”

Clay nodded along as several unfamiliar names were mentioned. He held back his questions for the store employees later, but it didn’t escape his notice that his friend had been hinting at the royal order.

“What special commission are you talking about? It’s just for a few Delver acquaintances.”

“Sure, sure. Half of Ravenhold has heard it by now, so who do you think you’re fooling?” The large man pulled Clay into his grasp and leaned closer before continuing in a quiet voice. “Do tell me, though. Will this job of yours be trouble? Thalia has some connections if you need help. They may be able to smooth things over, but you need to be honest with us. The white-haired family is not to be trifled with.”

“Relax. It’ll be fine—I think. It’s nothing formal like what you think. Whoever they are, it seems more like they were just doing things on a whim.”

Garrick shrugged. “Well, if ya say so. It’s yer arse that’s on the line,” he said before slapping his friend in the rear.

A crisp sound rang out through the worksite.

***

“Excuse me, I wanted to purchase some Ironbark and Stillwood. Oh, and some beeswax and linseed oil, as well. Can you bring me some samples?” Clay asked upon entering a fine establishment with finely polished wooden walls. 

There wasn’t anything in the store itself except for a few counters and employees standing behind them, so he went straight for one of the unoccupied staff members.

The pale and skinny clerk lifted the corners of his mouth at him, but it looked more like he was crying rather than smiling.

“Welcome. I can definitely do that for you, though I’m not sure how much stock of Stillwood we have left. Allow me to go check.”

“If it helps, Garrick, the foreman sent me. I’m not looking for much of it either.” 

“Understood, sir. I’ll be right back,” the man replied without even bothering to turn back at him.

Such customer service was something he dreaded. Whenever one of the new hires was like that, he shook his head. ‘Why in the world would you enter the retail industry if you were so bad with customers?’ he thought. However, he wasn’t able to muster up the same complaint in this world, as the job opportunities were likely nothing like the modern world.

He resolved himself to ignore the man’s poor customer service as he patiently waited. 

“I’m back. Here are the samples,” he said upon his return.

Two small wooden boards the size of a hand were laid down on the counter. Alongside them was an earthenware jar and a block of pale yellow beeswax that seemed strangely familiar to Clay.

These—are the same material as the candles from the kobolds! So they’re not only used as candles, huh?

Glancing up, Clay waited for the employee to introduce the products, but was left hanging.

“Um, do you think you can explain the properties of each one?” he urged the man to do his job.

In return, he only got a confused look, as if asking him questions about the product from his store was strange in any way.

“Ironbark is ten silver coins per plank, Stillwood is a gold coin per plank, and the oil and beeswax you see here are twenty silvers in total.”

“Per plank? How large is a plank?”

“Um, about this tall and this wide, with the same thickness as the pieces here,” the employee flailed his arm around, speaking in vague terms.

How in the world do they do business like this? Are there no measurements here or what? That can’t be true. Garrick always gives precise instructions at the worksite, though he does do things by eye a lot…

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter