Today was the arranged time that Carman would be meeting with the Head of House Engrenage. Since he was the head of the company responsible for the creation of the Guitar, Carman would be the one taking point in negotiations. Livere would be there, and had already fed Carman tons of advice and tips, but he would only step in if Carman was being overwhelmed as he was still Carman's Father.
As they walked through the halls, escorted by an elegant butler named, you guessed it, Gideon. As he lead them through the halls, Carman could not help but notice the mechanical hand attached to the butler's wrist, it seemed rather limited, relying on mechanical input, but it moved smoothly, and it's lessened dexterity compared to his remaining hand did not seem to hinder the man at all.
Carman was tempted to ask about it, but held himself back, as he was able to deduce the mechanics that the hand worked on by himself through observation, and because it would probably come across as rude to ask him about it.
Soon, they reached a room with two red couches on either side of a small coffee table.
Sitting on the chair opposite the door they had entered from was a man with short Blonde hair, his piercing grey eyes meeting Carman's as he entered.
"Ah Mr. Lepaute, welcome to my family's abode. Please, make yourselves comfortable, I have a feeling this will be a long discussion." Said Mr. Engrenage.
As Carman and Livre took a seat, Mr. Engrenage motioned for his butler to pour out three cups of tea.
Picking up a freshly poured cup, the liquid still steaming, Mr Engrenage spoke. "Your "Guitars" have been causing quite a stir. I ordered one myself under an alias, and I daresay it has been a while since Fontaine has seen such craftsmanship. I believe, given the proper avenues, that the popularity of your instrument could spread beyond our borders, to Liyue, Sumeru, Monstat, and even Inazuma should fortune favor you."
"Thank you, in fact it is one of my long term goals to expand my business beyond Fontaine." Said Carman, picking up his own cup and taking in a breath of it, it was fragrant, a complex profile of smells that melded together into a pleasant symphony within his nose.
Mr. Engrenage chuckled, "Ambitious, I like that, but with the name you chose for your company, I guess that can be expected. Please take this warning from an old hand, do not let your ambition blind you to what you hold dear… often when you notice you have messed up your priorities, all that is left is regret." He said as a solemn look briefly came over him, then he continued, "I can arrange secure transport for your Instruments to Liyue Harbor and Sumeru City. Through some networking, I could get them to Mondstat as well. I have connections to trustworthy curriers able to use the established routes safeguarded by the military of the countries I have mentioned. My contacts are trustworthy, as they have as of yet, never failed to transport their package to its destination, all I would ask in return is a modest transport fee dependent on the nation the package is sent to, significantly lower than any offers you can find elsewhere, I assure you."
Carman eyed Mr. Engrenage carefully, "That seems… Quite generous, are there any other conditions?"
Mr. Engrenage Shrugged, "I am a businessman, and businessmen make investments where they see potential. And your company Mr. Lepaude, has a lot of potential…"
He paused slightly before adding, "However you are correct, there is a small request that I would ask of you, not a condition of the deal I assure you, just a personal request I was hoping you may consider."
Carman raised an eyebrow, silently motioning for the man to continue.
"My Daughter Camille," Said Mr. Engrenage, "She is an exceptional young lady, intelligent, talented, and much sharper than most people give her credit for. Unfortunately due to these traits, and her.. main focus, she finds it difficult to connect with others in her age range. From what I heard about you, I felt that you might have been able to relate."
Carman stood there silently, he had seen that Camile did not spend much time with the other students while at school, but he had thought it was just because of her looking down on everyone else. He motioned for Mr. Engrenage to continue.
"Despite the fields being quite different, she has taken a shine to your work." said Mr. Engrenage, "She was confused that you would use cogs and gears to make such a simple gyroscope toy, but not even ten seconds after receiving one, she spent the next 20 minutes just staring as it spun around, fascinated by the precision and craftsmanship."
"Yes, most children and even adults comment on that aspect of the fidget spinners." Said Carman, "can she not connect with others through discussion of the simple toy?"
Ah, thats the problem, said Mr. Engrenage, " while she can often start a conversation or contribute with what she knows when asked, most children are not interested, perhaps even scared of the topic my daughter researches for fun."
"Most children that my daughter has interacted with are friendly but then were scared off when she started talking about her interests. She is particularly fixated on machines built for battle, Gardemeks, in particular. She has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of their specifications, capabilities, and combat records. While impressive, this has made it difficult for her to form friendships with others her age."
Mr. Engrenage continued. "The children find it unsettling when she eagerly discusses how efficiently a particular model can clear out a criminal den or how quickly one can dismantle an opposing force. She does not mean harm, she simply finds the engineering and strategy behind them fascinating."
"I hope you are not trying to incentivise me to become her friend." Said Carman, "Relationships like that are more likely than not to backfire, if not immediately, then in the future whenever the other party learns that their friendship started out as a job rather than through chance."
"No no, goodness. I was simply asking if you would reach out and connect with her based on your shared knowledge of Clockwork Engineering, whatever comes of it is entirely up to both of you, all I ask is that you help bring my girl some normalcy. Some human connection."
"I see." said Carman curtly, pausing a bit to consider before responding. "I will consider it. From what I have seen, she seems to see me more as an intellectual rival. I will approach from that angle to start."
Mr. Engrenage nodded. "I am happy with that."
Soon they finalized their deal, writing up a contract with Livre's supervision, and brought it to the courthouse to be notarized, and to have copies made for the both of them to hold onto for later.
-To be continued
A/N: This is an extra chapter to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of this story. To my new readers and the OG's, thank you for reading, offering advice, posting reviews, and just helping me make this work the best it can be.
So, though it is a bit belated, Happy Birthday Carman! (3/18)
Thank you all for reading, and I look forward to seeing/talking with you all moving forward.