Manela, the tall woman, walked up to Wyntor and nodded in greeting.
Nick looked with quite a bit of awe at the woman.
She was so tall and strong, and her demeanor seemed so confident.
Nick had never seen someone like this in the Dregs.
"I presume you had your fun?" Wyntor asked with a sigh.
"Yes," Manela said with a confident nod, "but your guards are no good. They didn't even notice me until I voluntarily showed myself. You need better ones."
The guards heard Manela. Usually, they would have protested, but this time, they kept quiet.
Yes, they were very good at what they did, but this was a Veteran from Kugelblitz!
Of course they were not up to her standards!
If they were, they wouldn't be working for a small client like Dark Dream!
"They are more than good enough for what I pay them," Wyntor said with a friendly smile. "If I were to hire guards that you would be fine with, I would be losing more money than I would make."
Manela had an unimpressed expression on her face, but Nick could also see that she understood.
The next moment, Manela glanced at Nick.
Nick raised an eyebrow.
Manela furrowed her brows.
"Is that the guy?" Manela asked.
"Yes, this is Nick, my Chief Zephyx Extractor," Wyntor said, gesturing to Nick.
"Chief Zephyx Extractor," Manela repeated with disgust.
When she heard Chief Zephyx Extractor, the image of her own Chief Zephyx Extractor in Kugelblitz shot through her mind, a level six Zephyx Extractor, a Hero.
Compared to that person, Nick seemed like a child.
"Officially, I guess the title is accurate," Manela said.
Nick took a deep breath.
Silence.
"You're not going to ask?" Manela asked.
"No," Nick said. "I know what you mean."
"Hmph," Manela uttered as she looked at Nick for a bit more. "Well, money is money, I suppose."
Nick nodded and held out his hand for a handshake. "Nice to be working with you."
Manela looked at the hand with furrowed brows. "What are you doing?"
"Shaking hands," Nick said matter-of-factly. "Isn't that how you people from the Inner City greet each other?"
Manela's eyes narrowed.
Nick raised an eyebrow.
Did he do something wrong?
Wyntor awkwardly cleared his throat. "Nick, a handshake is more for interactions between businesses. Unless they are in an official meeting, Extractors generally don't greet each other like that."
"You can tell him," Manela said. "You don't need to lie for me."
Wyntor awkwardly coughed again. "And Manela is not from the Inner City. She used to live in the Outer City."
"Oh," Nick said, pulling his arm back. "I didn't know."
Manela just looked at Nick. "You smell of chicken," she said.
Nick wasn't sure where Manela was going with this. "Yes, I eat them every day."
"Are they good?" she asked.
"Very," Nick said. "They are the best thing I have ever eaten in my life."
Manela raised an eyebrow.
Nick didn't seem to be lying.
Then, a casual smile formed on her face. "Thanks. My mother raises the ones they sell here, and my father slaughters them. Your appreciation for the chickens is why they are still working to this day."
Nick blinked a couple of times in surprise as he thought back to the chickens he had eaten.
Manela's parents were the ones who raised and slaughtered them?
"The chickens taste amazing," Nick said with a nod.
"Thanks," Manela said with a small smile.
But then, her face immediately turned into a solemn frown filled with seriousness.
"We don't have time for this," she said.
Nick nodded.
They were not here to talk about chickens.
"Get your spears," Manela commanded.
"I have one," Nick said, taking out one of them.
Clank!
Manela slapped the spear to the side, and it fell to the ground.
"Get your entire set," she ordered. "I heard you got a set of five. Get them all. Leave your vambraces in your room."
Manela had already noticed the reason why Nick wasn't carrying all of his spears with him.
The single spear she had thrown to the side was already way too heavy for someone like Nick.
A set of five would be absolutely brutal to carry, and if Nick also wore his fist weapons, things would only become more troublesome.
"Of course," Nick said as he turned around to leave.
"Take your spear with you," Manela commanded.
Nick furrowed his brows. He would come back here anyway. Why should he take the spear with him?
"Show respect to the craftsmanship," Manela explained, seeing Nick's expression. "A spear is only ever supposed to remain in three places when not being used."
"On your back."
"Stabbed into something."
"Or lying on a clean surface."
"You can stab your spear into the warehouse floor since that is what a spear is supposed to do, but you are not allowed to leave it lying on such dirty ground."
Manela flicked her fingers, and the spear on the ground flew into her hand by itself.
CRACK!
The next moment, she flicked Nick's spear downward, and it perfectly stabbed into the ground.
"That's okay," she said.
Then, she kicked the spear, and it fell to the ground.
"That's not okay."
'Show respect to the craftsmanship?' Nick thought.
At that moment, Nick thought about how he would feel if he produced something with all his passion and love and then saw it getting thrown in the dirt with disregard.
'I most likely won't mind, but I can see how someone can view this as disrespectful,' Nick thought.
"Okay," Nick said, bending down and lifting the spear.
After putting it on his back, Nick left the warehouse.
Meanwhile, Manela looked at Wyntor. "He's malleable," she said. "That's good."
Wyntor nodded. "I see a lot of potential in him."
Silence.
"You don't agree?" Wyntor asked.
Manela looked at the exit with furrowed brows.
"I don't know."
"He is malleable, and I can see a fire burning inside of him."
"But on the other hand, he also gives me this certain feeling that I have felt from many of my colleagues."
"It's like he's fighting a hopeless battle, and he knows it deep inside."
"He seems too idealistic."
"People like this don't tend to live long."
