In theory, Vicente and Rory's idea could work very well at first. But two things could happen once people realized the danger of causing trouble in the establishments their people guarded.
One, there would be fewer incidents, which would cause their financial returns to plummet. The other would be more trouble, and a higher level crisis would hit them.
In the first case, Vicente's group could continue to operate only by adjusting the monthly fee. In the second case, they would have more work and, therefore, more income.
Stronger enemies usually had more resources, so as the risks increased, so did the returns.
In this situation, they would either be able to withstand the pressure or not, which would lead to the extinction of their group or to peace and a consequent increase in the price of their fees.
Vicente made it clear that this would happen eventually.
He wasn't going to plan for his demise, so he could only plan how his business would work.
"How much would the adjustment be?"
"We'll see about that when we go to renegotiate. But don't worry. It won't be anything you can't afford." Rory replied.
If their service worked and the time came to renegotiate this agreement, then these brothers could work longer hours and have fewer losses from bandits and troublemakers.
Some of the savings would have to be used to pay the guards in the future.
But that would be the cost of making a different profit than they currently had.
The two brothers looked at each other and realized there was no hitch in the two boys' proposal. It would cost them very little in the short term, but eventually, they would have to pay fair value for the service.
But that was not a bad thing. With this arrangement, they could continue to have their tavern as long as things went well!
As for the dangers involved, if they did nothing and lost their business, they could face much greater dangers.
There was slavery in this society. If someone could not pay their debts, the one behind the loan could file a claim with a royal guard post and take the freedom of those in arrears.
It was easy for someone with large debts to lose their freedom, but the opposite was highly complex.
Knowing this and their debt, Zander and River were more than willing to go through with Vicente and Rory's proposal.
"Very well, I agree." The older brother said. "When do we start? What about the payments?"
"We'll start tomorrow. Your opening hours are almost over today, so let's leave it until tomorrow." Vicente expressed. "As for the payment, that can be done after the service. That is, at the end of each month of service, you must pay us for the continuity of our operations."
"Oh? That's fine then." River smiled, glad he wouldn't have to hand over a gold coin right away.
A gold coin might not be much for nobles or successful magicians, but for ordinary, low-level people, it was an amount that could take weeks to gather.
Even if these brothers had a trade, they still had their debts to pay, so not having to worry about this amount right away would be a relief.
With that decided, they soon signed a Magical Agreement between the four of them, sealing the terms and conditions already discussed.
After that, Vicente and Rory left the tavern and went to the second place they wanted to try. But unlike Zander and River's shop, the other place had not experienced the help of one of their men...
...
By the end of the day, night had taken over the sky above Millfall as Vicente and Rory finished their attempts at local businesses.
They couldn't find the second shopkeeper they were looking for, so they only had the deal with Zander and River for now.
On their way back to the Fuller residence, Vicente and Rory were walking through downtown Millfall when they came across the Millfall Blacksmiths Association building.
The association was an institution present in several states of the continent, a non-military, non-profit organization whose purpose was to develop blacksmith's art in the Polaris Realm.
But there was no charity in this world. To join this institution, one could not simply ask to learn.
The association did not teach its members how to forge but rather helped them develop by providing an environment of dialogue, books that could be rented or purchased, and access to resources that were difficult to find.
To become a member of the association, one would first have to find a master, learn the art, and then be recommended by their master. If one passed the membership test, one could enjoy the benefits of being recognized as a de facto blacksmith not only within the group but also in society.
A blacksmith could not sell their services without membership because no one would pay for an unclassified blacksmith.
Seeing the place and already knowing about it, Vicente paused for a moment and thought about how he could get into such a group.
"You will have to show your skills to a blacksmith, Vice. Without that, it will be difficult for someone to take you as a student." Rory realized what his friend was thinking.
Just like ordinary professionals like Vicente's father, blacksmiths wouldn't take just anyone as a disciple, and they usually wouldn't have many students under their tutelage.
A blacksmith would never call youths to be their apprentice if they didn't see their skills, so potential students had to run after the masters and try to catch the attention of one.
Thinking about Rory's words, Vicente was sure of that. "Not exactly my skill, but the result of it." He said in a low voice.
"What will happen if I ask a local blacksmith to evaluate my armor?" He smiled, knowing his creation would catch someone's eye since it had not been handcrafted using the usual forging techniques.
"That's a good alternative... But who? Having a famous teacher can get you into trouble, as masters usually want their students to follow them and compete.
On the other hand, a little-known, low-level master might not be enough for you to learn what you need." Rory raised this question.
"We will look for the blacksmith Aaron told us about. We'll ask him about the best blacksmiths in town and see if we can find one that would best help us with our plans." Vicente muttered as he walked back to his house.
But as soon as they started walking again, a voice called his name.
"Vicente?" A voice that the black-haired boy had heard before came from the association building and caught his attention.
"Hmm?" Turning to see who it was, Vicente saw the young man, Lukas, who had exchanged a few words with him during Rory's awakening. "You... You were that person in the Awakening Temple!"
"Yes, Lukas." He said, helping Vicente to remember his name. "It looks like you awakened your powers, huh?"
The blond young man looked closely at the gem on Vicente's forehead, ignoring the color and concentrating on its unusual shape.
"Interesting... I've never seen a gem like yours before." He muttered before saying. "Vicente, how about we take a walk around? You were looking at the Blacksmith's Association, right?"
