When Tarnes and Melina arrived together at the marketplace within Stormveil Castle, it still caused quite a commotion.
Two human merchants who first spotted Tarnes were discussing among themselves.
"Wait, could that figure be the mysterious lord of the Golden Tree?"
"Let me see... Hiss, it really seems to be him, identical to the statue I've seen in the city."
"I heard he was previously helping the Dwarves reclaim the Lonely Mountain. Now that he's appeared here, does that mean the Mountain's capture was successful? Was Smaug actually killed by them?"
"It's also possible they failed, right? Look at his hurried expression. But that's a mighty dragon after all. With the Golden Tree territory's military strength, failure would be quite normal."
From the nearby Dwarf shop, the Dwarf shopkeeper, who had been listening to their conversation, finally couldn't help but shout loudly, "Shut your mouths, or I'll stuff my tankard in them! Or would you prefer being thrown into my furnace! I won't allow you to slander Lord Tarnes. He put forth both effort and troops for us Dwarves! Watch out or I'll bash in your wooden heads with my hammer!"
The two human merchants were startled by the Dwarf's sudden booming voice and quickly waved their hands to signal him to quiet down.
People around who had more or less benefited from the Golden Tree territory heard the Dwarf's voice and began looking at the two human merchants with slightly unfriendly eyes.
While they wouldn't resort to violence, these merchants would likely face some difficulties conducting normal trade here.
Tarnes also noticed the commotion and, with the attitude of watching the excitement, walked over.
"Lord Tarnes."
The Dwarf looked up, first pounded his chest, and bowed respectfully to Tarnes.
The two human merchants who had just been discussing Tarnes also trembled fearfully as they bowed to him, while people around saw Tarnes approaching and gathered around with a spectator's mentality.
After carefully observing both sides' expressions and mentally assessing the situation, Tarnes asked, "What happened? I saw you two sides seemed to have just gotten into an argument?"
The Dwarf shopkeeper snorted disapprovingly at the two human merchants. "Will you tell him yourselves, or shall I?"
The two human merchants directly knelt on the ground, saying, "S-sorry, Lord, we... we just spoke presumptuously about your affairs at the Mountain."
"Tsk."
The nearby Dwarf shopkeeper clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, clearly very displeased with the two human merchants' evasive wording.
Tarnes also guessed in his heart that they had probably said something about him that made the straightforward Dwarf shout in displeasure.
"Stand up and speak first," Tarnes said, making the two human merchants stand up trembling.
Actually, he didn't care how others discussed him, but...
Tarnes turned to look at the surrounding onlookers, knowing in his heart that if not handled properly, it would seriously affect his reputation.
What should he do?
Tarnes said nothing, just remained silent, which made the two human merchants' hearts increasingly anxious.
"Why is everyone gathering here? Disperse; be careful not to block others' paths. Ah, Lord Tarnes, what brings you here?"
A patrol squad of Storm soldiers noticed the gathering, and their captain quickly came over to investigate the situation. After the crowd dispersed slightly, he unexpectedly saw Tarnes.
You came at just the right time!
Seeing the approaching Storm soldiers, Tarnes's eyes lit up as he pointed to the two merchants in front of him. "Help me check where they're from. If they're from Gondor, I happen to need to discuss something with Gondorian merchants."
The lead Storm soldier immediately saluted and accepted the order. After commanding his team members to disperse the nearby crowd of spectators, he walked over and politely asked the two merchants, "Please present identification proving your identity and the registration handbook you received when entering the city."
"We... we are indeed members of a merchant caravan from Gondor..."
One merchant complained bitterly. Hearing that Tarnes wanted to discuss matters with Gondorian merchants made his heart sink even more, fearing that his loose tongue had ruined this business.
Otherwise, even if Tarnes wouldn't punish him, the caravan captain would probably skin him alive.
While he and his companion handed over their identification documents to the Storm soldier, he looked bitterly at Tarnes, not knowing what remedial words to say.
After the Storm soldier captain confirmed the documents were in order, he returned the handbooks, then looked respectfully at Tarnes. "My lord, what do you plan to do next? Do you need me to notify the Storm Knight responsible for this market area to accompany you?"
Tarnes shook his head slightly. "No need, just continue your own work. Don't go to special trouble."
Then he smiled at the Storm soldiers. "Nepheli Loux has been praising you to me, saying your patrol duties are very demanding, but none of you complain. But don't worry, there will soon be more personnel to help you, and I'll have Nepheli Loux give you a good few days off."
The Storm soldiers immediately showed happy expressions. The lead soldier thanked Tarnes again, then after also bowing to Melina behind him, led his team to continue patrolling along their planned route.
Tarnes then looked at the two human merchants and said in a flat tone, "Take me to where the Gondorian caravan is staying. I need to discuss something with your leader. As for you two discussing me and the Mountain affairs without permission, it's not a big deal, but not small either. But considering the good relationship between the Kingdom of Gondor and the Golden Tree, I've decided to let your caravan's decision-maker determine how to deal with you."
"Yes, yes, this way please." The two Gondorian merchants nodded like pecking chickens, quickly bowing and leading the way for Tarnes.
Tarnes signaled the two merchants to wait a moment, then smiled and nodded at the Dwarf who had spoken up for him. "The Mountain affair has been perfectly resolved. You Dwarves can go home. But the news will definitely take some time to reach here. You can inform your kinsmen of this news in advance and let them prepare to go home."
Clang!
The iron hammer in the Dwarf's hand suddenly fell from his grip, hitting the ground with a sound.
The Dwarf's eyes were already red, and he held his breath hard to keep from crying, pounding his chest heavily in thanks to Tarnes. "You are a friend the Dwarves will never betray, Lord Tarnes."
The two human merchants, hearing this news, first felt joy in their hearts, thinking of the Lonely Mountain's gold recorded in books.
Knowing this information in advance, they wondered how much profit they could make from this information gap.
But soon the two merchants' expressions fell, because they realized that their earlier loose tongues meant they could no longer profit from this news.