A few days ago, when he sought an Artificer to fix his artifact, he was bluntly told that it was beyond repair due to excessive prior fixes, making it irreparable. He was advised to get a new artifact.
It wasn't until last night when Rafael suddenly mentioned that he found a skilled Artificer for artifact repairs, reasonably priced. He had seen the transformation in his friend's artifact, which gave him a glimmer of hope.
"Big Sister Amalia, how much would it cost to repair my friend's artifact?" Rafael, sensing his friend's anxiety, asked on his behalf.
Amalia quoted a price.
The first boy was taken aback.
"What's wrong?" Amalia looked at the first boy, thinking he might find the price too high.
The first boy immediately shook hia head like a tambourine, hastily saying, "No, no, no, the price is great, much cheaper than I expected."
"This is a preferential price, only this time." Amalia raised an eyebrow.
The first boy paused again, lowering his head. "Thank you."
Rafael patted his friend's shoulder.
Twenty minutes later, under Amalia's expertise, the first boy's artifact underwent a remarkable transformation. All the previous repair marks were eradicated, the surface now smooth and devoid of the previous pitting. Amalia found a lot of black impurities under the artifact, more than the combined amount from the two artifacts repaired before. Due to frequent repairs by less skilled Artificers, each fix left behind more impurities, causing the artifact's functionality to deteriorate gradually, reaching a point where getting a new one would be more beneficial.
This time, Amalia extracted the impurities from the artifact. Although the artifact might not reach its peak functionality of a hundred percent, it was restored to about ninety-five or ninety-six percent.
After paying, the three boys thanked Amalia and prepared to leave. The bold second boy approached Amalia, "Big Sister Amalia, can I add your contact information? If anyone needs artifact repairs in the future, we can refer them to you."
Amalia didn't refuse. Repairing artifacts was one of her methods of self-improvement, and the more people sought her services, the better.
Rafael and the first boy also boldly approached to add her contact information.
Before leaving, Rafael suddenly remembered something.
"Big Sister Amalia, this is my token of appreciation. Please don't refuse it."
A packet of milk candies with white rabbit brand was placed in front of her. Amalia looked up in surprise, questioning, "Why are you giving me this?"
Rafael, feeling shy, said, "I accidentally noticed a White Rabbit candy peeking out of your pocket that day. I figured it must be one of your favorites, so I thought this gift would be suit you."
"So, That's the reasons you were searching for this yesterday." The two friends expressed their surprise.
"Thank you." Amalia didn't mention that someone who liked White Rabbit milk candies might have a strange personality.
After the three boys left, Amalia stared at the White Rabbit candy for a few minutes, involuntarily recalling the person's face in her mind.
Lately, this person seemed to appear in her thoughts quite frequently. Amalia shook off the images from her mind and pocketed the candy.