After talking with Gabriel for a bit more regarding the instructor position that was offered to him, Valyr eventually left the room and bade farewell to the man before making his way to where Arcenne was.
While doing so, he could not help but recall the deal that the two of them eventually agreed upon. According to Gabriel, he would hold three sessions a week in the combat training hall, with the main focus of each session being to teach combat to people for four hours. For each session he taught, he would be paid 40 gold coins, which Valyr thought was a hefty sum for city standards.
Of course, the original offer Gabriel gave Valyr was lower, with him having to hold two sessions per day, only to be paid five gold coins for each session. Knowing how his reputation as a Rank 1 Combat Elite would definitely make more people come to the combat training hall, he used that as leverage to sweeten the deal for himself.
"Then again, I guess my only choice is to ask Arcenne regarding that matter." After finalizing the deal regarding his instructor job, Valyr then asked Gabriel if he knew anything about setting up a business in the city.
Surprisingly, Gabriel shook his head in response to the question, telling him that he would have a better chance knowing the requirements from Arcenne rather than him. He also told Valyr that he was already satisfied with what he made as an instructor and proctor of the combat training hall, which Valyr quickly understood.
Opening the door that led to the room where he fought against Arcenne for his spear proficiency test a couple minutes later, Valyr was instantly greeted by the sight of Arcenne sparring with her father with a wide grin on her face, not holding back on her power.
On the other hand, Aster defended against all of the attacks his daughter sent his way with the sword he was wielding, casually flicking them away with a light smile on his face. At times, he would return the favor and retaliate, though most of the time it ended up with him having to reduce the momentum behind his blade to a halt, teaching Arcenne what she could do to retaliate.
Sensing that a person had entered the room at some point, both Aster and Arcenne shifted their gazes towards the entrance, only to have smiles at their faces as they realized who it was.
"We meet again, young man." Aster lightly nodded at Valyr, to which Valyr nodded in response back, thanking him once again for his earlier words.
"So, you're here to ask me something, right?" As for Arcenne, she recalled the words Valyr had mentioned to her earlier. Though she still had a bit of an urge to ask Valyr what he and her father talked about earlier, after being unsuccessful even when both her and Aster were alone in the room, she eventually gave up.
"I tried asking Gabriel about it when we were finalizing the job offer, but he told you probably knew more about the matter than him." Nodding, Valyr glanced at Aster for a bit before returning his gaze to Arcenne. "In any case, I was wondering if you knew the requirements needed to establish a business in this city."
At that moment, both Aster and Arcenne's eyebrows raised in curiosity, not expecting a question like that to come out of Valyr's mouth at all.
Naturally, Valyr had an idea as to what they were thinking when he said that, but he ignored it. "So, do you know the requirements?"
Being brought back to reality by the question, Arcenne looked at Aster, to which the latter nodded back at her. With that, she looked back at Valyr before nodding. "What kind of business are you planning to establish in the first place? After all, the requirements differ for every type of business."
"I'm planning to set up a smithy," Valyr said in response. "As far as I've checked, there's not much competition for a new smithy in this city."
Hearing that Valyr was planning to set up a smithy, Arcenne's interest could not help but be piqued, curious as to why he would set up one. As for Aster, who already knew of Valyr's current class, remained silent. Nevertheless, a smile still adorned his face as other thoughts went on in his mind regarding the situation.
"Hmm…" Pondering over what she could recall regarding the requirements to establish a new smithy, Arcenne spent quite a bit of time in silence before opening her mouth. "Well, first and foremost, for you to set up a new smithy, you must already have a location for where the smithy would be built."
"Do you have a location in mind already?" Asking this question to Valyr, Arcenne was not surprised when she noticed Valyr slowly shaking his head in response. With that, she thought about possible locations Valyr could take in the city, using the information she had compiled about the city in the past as reference.
However, just as she had narrowed the possible locations down to a couple places, Aster placed his hand over her shoulder, causing her to lose her train of thought as she looked back at him with a slight frown. Though, once she heard the words that came out of her father's mouth, the frown on her face was replaced with a light gasp as she gazed back at Valyr.
Once more, she could not help but wonder as to what the two talked about for their relationship to become this close this quick.
"I'll take care of the location," Aster said, which was heard by Valyr. Naturally, Valyr thanked Aster for his help, to which the latter only laughed in response.
At this point, Arcenne could not help but scratch her head as she continued enumerating the requirements. "Aside from the location, you would need an official permit from the city to run a business."
"Since it'll normally takes a long time for a permit to be signed by the mayor, I'll help you out on this one," she said to Valyr soon after, though the latter told her it was fine if the permit was processed the normal way. Nevertheless, Arcenne insisted, telling Valyr that since her father was helping him out, then it was natural for her to help him as well. With that, Valyr was left with no choice but to thank her.
"Aside from the location and the business permit, you need a supply chain for raw materials, especially metals since you're running a smithy." Arcenne pondered in silence for a bit before looking back at Valyr. "I know a few people you could talk to regarding that, so it's up to you to strike a deal with them."
After that, Arcenne told Valyr all of the people and stores she knew that could possibly supply him with raw materials, prompting the latter to keep all of it in his mind as he made a mental note to ask them later. "Anything else aside from those three?"
Seeing Arcenne nod in response to his question, Valyr went silent, wondering if the next requirement was difficult to procure, just like the previous three she mentioned. However, all of those thoughts instantly disappeared once he found what the next requirement was, lightly smiling with confidence instead.
"There's only one more requirement, but it's probably the most difficult to procure in short notice," Arcenne told him. "The final requirement is basically to show proof that the owner is a certified blacksmith. Preferably, that proof would be a badge from the Blacksmith Guild, though a badge from one of the Production Training Halls showing your forging proficiency would also work."
"Though, considering how you're incredibly proficient in spearmanship and combat, you're still in the process of acquiring one of the two badges, right?"
In response to the question, Valyr let out a light chuckle before lightly shaking his head. Just as Arcenne was about to ask if he hadn't begun the process yet, he brought out the copper identification badge he received as a reward for finishing top 10 in the Fledgling Forgers' Tournament.
"You're talking about this, right?"
