The Artificer's Apprentice: A Low-Stakes LitRPG (Small-Town Crafter Books 1 -3) by Tom Watts

Author:Tom Watts [Watts, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-08-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Jester joined the four of us in the King’s Head the next day, where we had a Sunday lunch. Sundays were a popular time at the tavern, with Zakariya often busy cooking up carvery dinners for the hikers and tourists who came to town. We had arrived late and it looked like we might not get a table. But when Zakariya saw Cooper, who was halfway through designing their artificed self-serving system, he made sure there was room for us.

With five of us squashed around a table that should have fit three, it made for a cozy lunch. The tavern air was thick with the aromas of roasted beef and chicken sitting on the carvery board, perfectly cooked and ready to be served. The scent of bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme wafted through every time Zakariya opened the kitchen oven. The overworked serving staff hurried in and out of the kitchen like ants working in a busy colony.

“Will they lose their jobs when you make that new system of yours?” I asked Cooper.

“Not at all. The system’s there to make their lives easier. It’s none of my business, of course, but Zakariya said the landlord’s already agreed to keep them on.”

“Will he keep his word?”

“Alec’s a trustworthy man. If he says they’ve got jobs, then they’ve got them. A self-serving artificed system doesn’t do all the work, after all. Anyway, Jester. Let’s talk about you. I want to pick your brains about a little tax issue.”

“Go ahead, Mr. Cooper,” said Jester.

My new accountant friend had a way about him that made people like him if not instantly, then certainly very soon after they met him. He did this in a very clever, yet simple way: he just asked people questions about their interests.

Soon, Paisley had told him all about her store, Chris had explained how his class earning project was going, and Cooper had treated him to an in-depth explanation of how the tavern’s self-serving system would work. I found this last discussion very interesting.

“So, your store, Paisley,” said Jester. “Does it happen to sell hiking equipment?”

“Sure! Made by our very own artificer novice, the honorable Mr. Lewis Cooper.”

Jester gave me a knowing look, and I just shrugged.

“I’ll stop by before I leave,” Jester told her.

My friend soon took a cart back to Hattersley with the promise that he’d be back the next weekend. I decided that by the time he returned, I would have at least the beginnings of an answer for him. Though, following Cooper’s advice about customer expectations, I didn’t actually say this.

Nevertheless, maybe Jester had been hoping I would carry on working on his mystery. “Here’s a spare key to the cottage,” he said, handing me a worn, brass key. “If you want to take a look around again, if you have the time I mean, then feel free.”

For the next few days, while I busied myself with a few simple projects that Cooper assigned to me, I found my thoughts straying again and again back to the cottage.

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