Chapter 141. Negotiations (1)

Chapter 141: 141. Negotiations (1)

The old man stopped clapping when Carlos looked at him. For a few seconds, the room was silent again.

Carlos kept one arm around his mother. He did not move away from her. The man had already taken enough of their reunion by sitting there and watching it.

"I am glad you got to remember good memories" Carlos said but did not smile, "May I know who you are?" He asked with a neutral tone.

Evelyn kept looking at Carlos and then te old man, Evelyn gave a slight nod to him and te man’s eyes went abck to Carlos.

The old man stood slowly from his chair.

He was not tall. His suit was plain except for the green button on his chest, and he did not have the stiff posture of the guards outside. But the room changed when he stood. Evelyn lowered her eyes. Even Carlos’s mother straightened beside him.

"My name is Arthur Goldwin," the man said. "I am your mother’s cousin."

Carlos looked at his mother. She gave a small nod, though she did not look comfortable doing it.

"You should have told me I will be in the presence of our family, mother. I am not dressed well for this meeting." Carlos said with a smile.

"I wanted to," she replied quietly. "But there was no time before they brought me here"

"Oh, don’t worry about clothing. We all know how a man comes back from the lord’s world." The man spoke.

Arthur held up one hand. "I asked Evelyn to bring your mother here because the return square was already full of people looking for names. Your name has already been circulated the moment you came back to Earth, if I had not made you both come here, strangers would have started swarming at your home’s gate, trying to speak with you. Thats not safe for the one holding the Goldwin name, is it?" He said.

Carlos controlled himself when he said that, to not get support this whole time and only now frustrated him.

His mother touched his arm. "Carlos, your uncle here is a good man. he was looking out for us" She spoke with a smile.

But that smile only Carlos knew, that was a poker smile her mother made when she was not telling the whole thing or she was conveying a message secretly.

"That’s great, mom"

She looked at the low table instead of answering but nodded. Carlos understood enough, they needed to be polite here no matter what.

Arthur walked around the chair but did not come closer.

"Your mother was worried about you. I am truly happy you came back safe, Carlos" he said.

"I told you mother" Carlos spoke again "Thereis no need for you to worry about me. I am strong." Carlos spoke and he looked at Arthur wit a confident expression.

Arthur’s smile widened as he noticed Carlos trying to indicate his worth.

"I will be direct, Carlos." he said. "As much as our reunion was long overdue. You have been brought here for the future." He spoke and Carlos nodded right away.

"I did not just ask to meet you because you carry the Goldwin name. We have many people who carry it. Most of them live perfectly good lives and never need to come through these doors."

Carlos nodded to that too, "And I have been brought here because you heard some rumors, Uncle." Carlos spoke and the man smiled yet again.

"Smart boy" He spoke. "Out intel made us know that you returned with 1st rank in Beginner production."

Carlos said nothing to that but nodded which made Arthur chuckle.

Arthur’s gaze did not leave him.

"But before I get to know the details of your 30 day trip, what I am curious of is a different matter." He said.

"Why did you not hide your name when you saw yourself moving up the rank?" He asked.

Carlos thought about the question for a few seconds, it was the same that Cosmic has asked.

"I don’t like hiding my name, Uncle. Thats it."

Arthur kept looking at him and thistime didn’t look that impressed.

"That was a very dangerous move, dear Carlos. But since you have already passed the beginner period peacefully, its fine."

Carlos smiled, "It wasn’t that easy, Uncle. I had my fair share of attacks on my extended territory. Though it was nothing but fruitful." This time, carlos showed a grin Arthur had not expected at all.

He looked at his mother who just smiled normally without saying anythinga s if she was okay with it.

"Didn’t you worry about your mother while tackling these dangers, Carlos?" He asked to pry further but Carlos shrugged his shoulders.

"With the domain I was given, it was either I take risks and get further, or I be mediocre for a long time. I know my mother had confidence in me, and I decided to make her proud. That was all." He spoke.

Arthur kept looking at Carlos and then nodded.

"I see. I can guess your personality a little now. Let’s have some business talk now. Please, be seated."

Carlos sat opposite to Arthur with his mother to his side.

Arthur held a book in his hand with pen and looked at Carlos, "For starters, tell us about your territory. What domain did you get?"

At this time, even his mother showed curiosity.

Carlos smiled, "As you may have already guessed, I have a production domain, Uncle" He spoke making Arthur nod.

"As for the specifics, I have the agricultural domain with me." He spoke.

Arhur wrote it down first and looked at his once, "Thats quite the production domain you have. Many can farm on their lands but not all have this domain. It is considered rare so congratulations."

"Thank you, Uncle."

"But..." He spoke again, "At the same time, I can see that it can lack in military strength more than the other production domains, my boy. What was your starter barrack?"

Carlos didn’t dilly-dally, he had no intentions to hide anything, not from this family atleast.

"I got the Farmer’s lodge, Uncle. It summons farmers that can cultivate the land for you." He spoke.

Arthu wasn’t that impressed with that answer but still nodded. He brought out the electronic tab and searched for the barrack and nodded.

"It’s considered useful, that I can tell you" He spoke, "So, did you farm all day, these past 30 days?" He asked jokingly.

But Carlos’s smile just widened, "Yes, I farmed a lot, Uncle."

Arthur wasn’t too happy with the small explanations but he nodded.

"Did you complete any conquest levels?"

Carlos looked at him and nodded. "Five."

Arthur’s pen stopped above the page.

"Only five?"

Carlos’s mother turned toward Arthur, but Carlos did not react.

Arthur cleared his throat. "For a Lord who reached first in Beginner production, I expected you to have cleared more. There are Beginners who rush Normal conquests simply for the rewards and summoning materials."

Carlos looked at him for a few seconds.

"I did not choose Normal difficulty, Uncle" he said.

Arthur waited, as if wanting him to explain. And he didn’t withheld anything.

"The first two were Hell difficulty. The third was forced Hell because it attacked my territory. The last two were Hellbound."

For the first time since Carlos entered the room, Arthur did not answer immediately.

His mother stared at him. "Hellbound?"

Carlos’s expression softened when he looked at her.

"I came back from them, Mom. That is what matters."

Arthur placed the pen down on the book. He looked shocked.

"No, Carlos. That is not the only thing that matters." His voice had lost its earlier amusement.

"Hellbound conquests is the situation when you cannot choose your difficulty anymore, it had killed more than I can remember. All hellbound ones die within their first year, nobody wants to put money on them..."

Carlos did not look away.

"I had reasons."

Arthur watched him for a long moment, then gave a slow nod.

"I can see that." He looked down at the notes he had written. "An Agriculture Domain. A Farmer’s Lodge. Five completed conquests. First in Beginner production."

He tapped the pen once against the book.

"You did not spend thirty days farming, Carlos. You built a territory while fighting for it."

Carlos smiled at that.

"I told you, Uncle. It was fruitful."

Arthur let out a quiet breath that almost sounded like a laugh, but his eyes remained serious.

"Then tell me what you gained from those conquests. Not every detail. Just enough for me to understand what kind of Lord you intend to become."

Carlos looked at his mother first. She was still worried, but she was listening now with a different expression.

He had kept Ironroot away from her for thirty days.

Maybe it was time to let her see a small part of what he had made.

Not the hidden things. Not the Warden’s Eye, the chains, or every troop he had gained through blood. But enough for his mother to understand that he had not spent thirty days lost in another world. He had built a place where people worked, ate, fought, and trusted him to return.