"That's a long story, but..."
Gray looked at his chest in surprise:
"Oh, there's still half left... It doesn't matter, it's unusable anyway if there's only a little less."
He deliberately avoided the topic of his wife, trying to get her to start repairing him as soon as possible, but Nora remained unmoved and repeated the same question.
This made Gray's expression somewhat awkward, because the question was as frustrating as a patient's family member asking a doctor at the hospital, "My dad was perfectly fine when he came in, how did he die after coming to your hospital?"
Who goes to the hospital when they're not sick? Which merchant leaves the corridor unscathed?
Seeing the mixture of reproach and worry in his wife's eyes, Gray said:
"... That's already pretty good. At least I didn't come home halfway there, right?"
Are there really people in this world who can survive with only half a life remaining?
"Who knows if there's anyone in this world who can walk on their hands while their butt is stuck in a tree?"
"Stop spouting nonsense and tell me what happened."
"Oops, I ran into a trainee knight from the Eternal Domain, and got stabbed."
Nora rubbed her ears in surprise:
"Are you sure you're a knight from the Eternal Domain? Your route should be quite far from the battlefield, right?"
"That knight has some mental issues, maybe he got separated from his group or something... Anyway, I'm not entirely sure. We'll install two layers of protective plates on the engine compartment this time, so next time we encounter him, we'll just run him over."
"Okay, don't say anything yet."
Nora easily discerned which parts of Gray's words were true and which were exaggerations.
Ever since Gray inherited his master's small mobile fortress, the couple has started a long talk like this every two months.
One person was going on and on about what he had seen and heard over the past sixty days, while the other, while doing repairs, acted as the best listener.
The weather in the Graycast Corridor was always hot and humid, and in the somewhat enclosed space, a thin layer of sweat quickly appeared on Nora's forehead and neck.
Gray, who was telling a story, saw this scene and casually asked:
"Are you still not going to undergo the modification surgery?"
"No, I think it's fine as it is."
"I still don't understand why you, as a mechanic, would refuse to make modifications..."
You'll understand.
"What if one day the fluid flowing in your veins turned into engine oil..."
"We'll talk about that later."
Nora looked up and pointed the tweezers at Gray's eyes:
"Go on, I want to hear what happened after you ambushed that ugly guy."
"Ah, did I just get to that point? Let me continue. At the time, I thought those people were some kind of savages who had begun to degenerate, so I planned to scare them a little. Who knew they weren't afraid of me at all, and didn't even feel any pain."
"So I immediately realized they must be professionally trained guys, and a force with members like that can't be weak, so I plan to meet their leader..."
Gray's storytelling lasted for hours, and Nora finally installed the last part before dawn.
The sky was a deep blue before dawn. Nora tapped Gray's chest.
"Give it a try. Now you have two mechanical hearts. If everything works properly, you won't need to wind them up anymore."
Lying in his hospital bed, Gray gave a thumbs up:
"I knew you were the best."
"Enough talk, the best mechanic is going to sleep now."
Nora yawned widely, put her hands on Gray's shoulders, and said:
"Promise me, next time you won't use your heart to take a bullet's head."
You think I want this?
Gray helplessly shrugged and watched Nora go upstairs into her bedroom.
Looking at the morning light filtering through the cracks in the window, Gray closed his eyes and began to sort out his thoughts.
Starting from now, he has a total of five days of vacation.
Today and tomorrow I can spend some time with my family and visit the old man with some gifts. On the third day, my share of the profits from this business trip will be distributed, so I can buy some personal goods to take with me on my next trip.
On the fourth and fifth days, we'll need to do some large-scale purchasing in preparation for our next trip...
Sigh, life is just an endless cycle like this.
With that thought in mind, Gray's thoughts gradually quieted down, and he enjoyed his best sleep in over two months.
"Knock knock knock!"
A sudden knocking sounded at the door, and Gray jolted awake from his sleep.
Although his breathing was still a little rapid, he no longer had and would never again experience that palpitation that made his heart race.
Who is it?
He sat up on the bed and shouted something.
"Is Gray Gris at the Great Labyrinth City Notary Office?"
Gray's sleepiness vanished instantly, and he looked towards the door in confusion:
"That's me."
Nora, her hair disheveled, peeked out from the stairwell. Gray waved for his wife to go back inside and then walked towards the door.
"What do you want? Payment is due the day after tomorrow..."
The door opened, and a man dressed similarly in a tuxedo looked at Gray. His prosthetic eye, which had a slide inserted in its right side, automatically rotated and focused.
"Confirmed, Gray Griss, here are the documents from the notary office."
"What for?"
Gray asked instinctively.
The man shook his head:
How would I know?
After handing the letter to Gray, the man headed off to his next destination, while Gray closed the door and went to the long table on the first floor.
Nora then came downstairs and asked:
"What happened?"
Gray opened the envelope in his hand, read it twice, and said with a mixture of joy and guilt on his face:
"This was a good day; the notary office needs me to explain it in detail."
"I see."
Nora shrugged:
"Then you go ahead, I'm fine on my own."
Gray said somewhat embarrassedly:
"I'll take care of it as soon as possible and come right back."
"Whatever you want."
Nora sighed and climbed the stairs again. Gray checked his current physical condition, then got dressed and went out.
Soon, he arrived at the notary office and found the notary who wanted to talk to him.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Bobby. I will be the one to review your mission report."
Gray extended his right hand, and the two mechanical arms collided in mid-air.
Which part is causing the problem?
Gray asked in confusion:
"I had never been summoned before."
"Oh, this..."
Bobby found Gray's mission report, pulled out a page, and read it aloud:
"... The regional leader promised that he would include the grain in the market as long as a stable trade relationship was established between the two sides..."
Are you sure there's no exaggeration involved?
Gray recalled when he had written this part and what he and Ed had talked about, then nodded firmly:
I confirm there was no exaggeration.
"Alright, then please describe in detail the characteristics of this settlement in various aspects. If your statement is reasonable and truthful, then..."
The notary rose and approached Gray, whispering:
Your luck might be about to change.