When Arthur and Melina arrived at the market within Stormveil Castle, it still caused a stir.
Two human merchants who first spotted Arthur began discussing him.
"Wait, is that figure the mysterious Lord of the Erdtree?"
"Let me see... *hiss*, it really looks like him. He's identical to the statue I saw in the city."
"I heard he was helping the dwarves reclaim the Lonely Mountain. His presence here means the Lonely Mountain was successfully reclaimed? Smaug was actually killed by them?"
"It's also possible he failed, isn't it? Look at how hurried his expression is. But that was a powerful dragon after all, so it's normal for the Golden Tree Territory's forces to fail."
From a nearby dwarf shop, the dwarf shopkeeper, who had been listening to them, finally couldn't help but shout, "Shut your mouths, or I'll stuff my goblet in them! Or do you want to be thrown into my furnace instead! I won't allow you to speak ill of Lord Arthur! He put in both effort and troops for us dwarves! Be careful, or I'll smash your thick heads with my hammer!"
The two human merchants were startled by the dwarf's sudden loud voice and quickly waved their hands, motioning for him to be quiet.
More or less, people around who had benefited from the Golden Tree Territory heard the dwarf's voice and looked at the two human merchants with a hint of displeasure.
While it wouldn't escalate to physical violence, it would likely be difficult for them to conduct normal transactions here.
Arthur also noticed the commotion and walked over, curious to see what was happening.
"Lord Arthur."
The dwarf looked up, first pounding his chest, then respectfully saluted Arthur.
The two human merchants who had just been discussing Arthur also trembled with fear as they saluted Arthur. The surrounding people, seeing Arthur approach, gathered around with a 'watching the show' mentality.
After carefully observing the expressions of both sides, Arthur pondered internally while asking, "What happened? It seems like you two just had an argument?"
The dwarf shopkeeper snorted in dissatisfaction at the two human merchants: "You say it yourselves, or should I?"
The two human merchants immediately knelt on the ground and said, "S-sorry, Lord, w-we just spoke presumptuously about your matters concerning the Lonely Mountain."
"Tsk."
The dwarf shopkeeper next to them clicked his tongue in displeasure, clearly very dissatisfied with the two human merchants' evasive wording.
Arthur also guessed that they had said something about him that caused the straightforward dwarf next to him to shout in displeasure.
"Stand up and speak first," Arthur said, making the two human merchants shakily stand up.
In reality, he didn't care what others said about him, but...
Arthur turned to look at the surrounding onlookers, knowing that if he didn't handle this well, it would severely affect his reputation.
What should he do?
Arthur didn't speak, remaining silent, which made the two human merchants even more anxious.
"Why is everyone gathered here? Disperse, be careful not to block others' paths. Oh, it's Lord Arthur, why are you here?"
A squad of Storm Soldiers patrolling the market noticed the gathering here, and the leading captain quickly came over to investigate the situation, unexpectedly seeing Arthur's figure after the crowd slightly dispersed.
You've come at just the right time!
Arthur's eyes lit up when he saw the approaching Storm Soldiers. He pointed to the two merchants in front of him: "Help me find out where they are from. If they are from Gondor, it's perfect, I have something to discuss with the Gondor merchant convoy."
The leading Storm Soldier immediately clasped his fist and accepted the order. After ordering his team members to disperse the onlookers, he walked over and politely asked the two merchants, "Please present your identification documents, the registration booklet you received upon entering the city."
"W-we are indeed members of the merchant convoy from Gondor..."
One merchant was in great distress. His heart sank even further when he heard Arthur wanted to discuss matters with the Gondor merchant convoy, fearing that his talkativeness would ruin the matter.
Otherwise, even if Arthur wouldn't punish him, the convoy captain would probably flay him alive.
As he and his companion handed over their identification documents to the Storm Soldier, he looked bitterly at Arthur, unsure what to say to remedy the situation.
After confirming the documents were in order, the Storm Soldier captain returned the booklets, then looked respectfully at Arthur and said, "Lord, what do you plan to do next? Do you need me to notify the Storm Knight in charge of this market area to accompany you?"
Arthur slightly shook his head: "No need, you just continue your work. No need to trouble them especially."
Then he smiled at the Storm Soldiers and said, "Nepheli Loux has been praising you all, saying that your patrol duties are very heavy but not a single person complains. But don't worry, more people will come to help you soon, and then I will have Nepheli Loux give you a good few days off."
The Storm Soldiers' faces immediately showed happy expressions. The leading Storm Soldier thanked Arthur again, then saluted Melina behind him, and then led his team to continue patrolling along the planned route.
Arthur then looked at the two human merchants and said in a calm tone, "Take me to where the Gondor merchant convoy is staying. I have something to discuss with your leader. As for you two discussing me and the Lonely Mountain without permission, it's not a big deal, but it's not small either. But given the good relationship between the Kingdom of Gondor and the Erdtree, I've decided to let your convoy's spokesperson decide how to deal with you."
"Yes, yes, please follow this way." The two merchants from Gondor nodded like pounding garlic, quickly bowing and leading the way for Arthur.
Arthur motioned for the two merchants to wait, then smiled and nodded at the dwarf who had just spoken up for him: "The matter of the Lonely Mountain has been perfectly resolved. You dwarves can go home. However, it will take some time for the news to spread, so you can tell your compatriots this news in advance and let them prepare to go home."
"Clang--"
The dwarf's hammer suddenly fell from his hand, hitting the ground with a sound.
The dwarf's eyes were already red. He forcefully held back his tears and heavily pounded his chest, thanking Arthur: "You are a friend the dwarves will never betray, Lord Arthur."
Upon hearing this news, the two human merchants first felt a surge of joy, and the gold of the Lonely Mountain, as recorded in books, flashed through their minds.
Knowing this news in advance, they wondered how much profit they could make from this information asymmetry.
But soon, the expressions of the two merchants fell, as they then realized that their earlier talkativeness had made it impossible for them to earn that money.