[Comprehensive Anglo-American] Gem Merchant

Waited for about ten minutes.

Friday, another smart butler far away in Stark Industries, and its owner, were silent for more than ten minutes, which was so long that Tony Stark began to wonder if this guy had gone to something dangerous again. place, and fell asleep directly after returning from exhaustion.

In fact, according to the data sent back by Friday, the alchemist's pulse is pulsating steadily again and again, very healthy.

He was just sitting on a recliner in the jewelry store, and he was plastering a piece of newly traded amethyst back and forth in his hands. The clerk looked at him several times, but he couldn't tell whether it was the boss injecting power into the gem, or he was simply in a daze. .

As an ordinary person, he can't see the flow of magic power, and only when a large amount of power is needed, the boss's body will appear the kind of light blue and shiny marks called "magic circuits" .

To be honest, as a pure layman, the term "injecting power" into gemstones made him only think of the steps of sprinkling salt on cooking videos on some barrage video sites, and everyone would say that this process can be regarded as injecting soul.

Of course, according to personal preferences, it may also be to squeeze tomato sauce for French fries, seasoning powder for barbecue, and sauce for pasta... The clerk patted his cheek, thinking that it was because it was almost time for dinner, and his mind was full It's all food.

And it seems that the dazed process of the store manager may continue indefinitely——

"The store manager."

The clerk rubbed his eyebrows: "I'm going to order takeaway, do you want to eat? If you don't plan to accept Mr. Stark's invitation."

The blond-haired alchemist raised his head as if he had just woken up from a dream, his lake-green eyes focused on the clerk, and he subconsciously let out an "oh".

"...So, Al, do you want to book together?"

The clerk shook his phone and slid his fingertips across several popular restaurants near Brooklyn. Just as he was about to place an order, he found that the screen went black, and when he clicked again, the phone screen stopped responding.

Shop clerk: "..."

Broken screen?

He tapped the phone lightly and shook it, but the screen didn't respond at all.

Undecided to try restarting, the clerk was about to press and hold the power off button when he saw the Stark Industries logo flashing across the black screen.

"..."

So in order not to order takeout, his phone was hacked?

Friday pretended to be deaf and dumb on the boss's mobile phone. After seeing the sad and angry eyes of the clerk, he reminded at the right time: "Sir, your favorite store is closed today. According to the data analysis, the following stores are recommended for dining , the specific content has been sent to your mobile phone."

Alphonse turned on the phone following Friday's prompt, and there were a few shops with poor quality that he was usually a little picky about.

Alphonse: "..."

Always feel that something is wrong.

Friday chased after the victory: "Sir, Mr. Stark's electronic invitation letter has been sent to your mailbox, and the banquet will start in 10 minutes. If you need it, Stark Industries will send a car to pick it up. The estimated time of arrival will be……"

The alchemist finally realized, and covered his face speechlessly.

"Have you made friends in the atrium?"

Loki's casual question seemed to fall on his ears.

Aum and himself are indeed very familiar, but this kind of relationship is still separated by a layer of ocean and continent. Both the crown prince and the alchemist stepped on their respective bottom lines with a clear mind, and never crossed half a step.

He has a good personal relationship with El-Melloi II, but the other party's heart is full of the Holy Grail War, and he has no time to look after too many things.

The magicians of Weishandi's origin are all vigilant against the repeated erosion of the dark dimension.For them, it is an abyss that needs to be watched but cannot be deeply immersed. It is necessary to prevent themselves from slipping and falling into it at all times, and they must also set up high fences to resist attacks from within.

And Tony Stark...

Alphonse thought, he is the much-anticipated former arms dealer, now Iron Man.The leader of the science side, the first genius that everyone expects.

He is clearly a person with a mission and responsibility, but he is a little different.

What is the difference?

"Sir."

Friday reminded: "You have been thinking for more than 5 minutes. If you try to continue to procrastinate, you will miss the dinner party."

Alphonse woke up like a dream, thought for a moment, and nodded.

Friday silently sent a data packet to Stark Industries. In the underground laboratory, the bearded businessman and the robotic arm he made excitedly clapped hands: "The restaurants nearby should have been closed long ago!"

This is what Pepper Potts saw as he walked down the lab with a stack of papers.She took the opportunity to stuff several documents in front of Stark for him to sign, and asked, "Did you invite Alphonse to the dinner later?"

"And the busy Mr. Alchemist agreed."

Tony Stark raised his chin proudly: "It turns out that no one can refuse me, neither an alchemist nor a great magician."

——As if you weren't the one who allowed Friday to hack that S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's phone, Pepper blinked, deciding not to spoil her boss's interest at this time.

"It's almost time, I think you won't be late this time, right?"

Pepper raised her eyebrows, thinking about how many people's jaws would be shocked by the presence of Tony Stark himself on the scene tonight, and how many urgent tasks she could fool her boss into zeroing out this night .

She almost wanted to applaud Mr. Alchemist in her heart.

……

Brooklyn, Edfield Jewelry.The clerk just mentioned that "this kind of dinner requires a change of clothes that suit the occasion", and saw his boss put on the white robe again.

"Boss, do you want to go to the banquet like this?"

The clerk covered his face, and began to reflect in his heart, whether the gathering of magicians is this kind of "formal attire".Alphonse smiled and shook his head. His fingertips ran from the collar to the sleeves. With the flow of magic power, the large white robe was gradually gathered and stuck to his body. turtleneck trench coat.

Clerk: "...!!"

He suddenly realized: "Boss, so you don't usually change your clothes?"

So all the clothes come from this one?Thinking about it this way is a bit frightening... The clerk glanced at Alphonse and fell into deep thought.

Alphonse: "...It's not what you think, this dress will become clean after being burned."

He touched the collar again in the mirror, and the collar of the windbreaker slowly collapsed and closed, turning into a black suit.

...It's so convenient, no wonder I haven't seen the boss buy clothes in the past two years...

Since the other party will open the portal, Tony Stark is not worried that a certain alchemist will be late, and as he expected, when the dinner party is about to start, the magician with lake green eyes is wearing a An emerald in the form of Asscher, leaning against the door frame waved him across the group.

He didn't know where it came from. He looked at the signal interruption record sent by Friday, and he definitely didn't take the car honestly anyway.

As a well-known focal point, Tony Stark was surrounded by flashing lights and crowds of people as soon as he appeared. He himself is obviously used to and enjoys such a scene, and he opened his arms towards the camera, like a The look of embracing the whole world.Alphonse was carrying a glass of juice and started looking for food at the banquet. Just as he picked up the plate, he was patted on the shoulder from behind.

Pepper blinked at him: "I was really surprised that you would come to this occasion...Although it may be presumptuous to say so, I thought alchemists were reclusive scholars."

Alphonse held up the sparkling juice and pointed at Tony who was in the spotlight: "Your boss is also a scholar in a sense."

"You are joking."

Pepper showed a flawless smile, lowered his voice and approached Alphonse: "When will the next time we can provide new spinels? You know, he has been using the suit a little bit recently..."

The alchemist's brows frowned: "Pepper, although I'd be happy to make extra money, it's not a good sign to rely too much on alchemy products."

Pepper shrugged: "If I can persuade him, I won't bother you so much."

The cooperation between Stark Industries and S.H.I.E.L.D. is closer than most people imagined. Even if the munitions research and development department has been shut down, some technical overlaps still give her the opportunity to learn some secrets of the alchemist in front of her— — For example, Alphonse, who runs a small shop, is actually very busy in nature.

In addition to the spinel that her boss needs to buy regularly, the alchemist has customers all over the world-Iron Man may be the richest one among them, but to a special extent, it may not be ranked in the top three.

With a smile in his lake-green eyes, Alphonse looked around and found that there were quite a few acquaintances——Nick Fury was sitting in a corner with a dark face, gobbling, the food on the plate was decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the other A red-haired female agent who had a relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. was dressed as a secretary at this time, standing behind Tony Stark with a cold expression.

Leaving Fury aside for now... Alphonse pouted in Stark's direction in a low voice: "Who is that?"

"His newly hired secretary can knock down Happy in three seconds."

Pepper followed Alphonse's line of sight and looked at the past: "What's wrong?"

"...No, nothing."

The blue and green magic eyes returned to a harmless appearance, and Alphonse looked away. It seemed that no matter what the other party's purpose was, it was certain that there was no malice.

Then there is no need for him to interfere with the normal work of S.H.I.E.L.D.—after replenishing the food on the dinner plate, the alchemist spread butter on the bread with ease, pushed aside the crowd pushing cups and changing glasses, and sat in the seat of Nick Fury's side.

"..."

The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed to be in a bad mood visibly: "Long time no see, I didn't expect you to attend a party like this, Al."

"To be honest, it's quite surprising that you can come."

His eyes turned to the focus of the banquet. The two of them were holding a plate and eating, chewing while looking at Tony Stark. The latter crossed the obstacles and threw it in the direction of Al and Fury as if he had sensed the sight. Blowing a kiss, successfully making Nick Fury's expression even uglier.

Look, what kind of attitude is this? ?

Nick Fury gasped, but the alchemist seemed indifferent.

Facing Alphonse, most of the insiders felt a little cautious.A steady stream of reports gathered on his desk, who did Mr. Alchemist meet today, what kind of goods he sold, what was his mental state, did he seem troubled—and did that trouble symbolize mystery? What troubles have arisen in the world that need to be solved... S.H.I.E.L.D. has an entire team of mysterious affairs to analyze this, but when it comes to this person, it always feels like a heavy punch on cotton.

Whether it is places that cannot be reached by current scientific and technological means, or those enemies that are unknown or even impossible to detect, they are clearly proving that this is not something you should intervene in.

Fury thought so, his mind full of complicated thoughts, until a pair of arms embraced him and the alchemist——Tony Stark finally finished dealing with a long list of dinner invitees, and he had time to spare To deal with the guests who he sent invitations himself.

Say hello to Fury, by the way.

A weight was suddenly placed on the shoulders, and the blond jeweler looked back in confusion. Through the red sunglasses, there was a pair of coffee-colored eyes full of pride.

"Friday's signal was interrupted for three hours, and Stark Industries' technology is impossible to lose contact as long as you are still on Earth."

He said: "Where did you go? Is it the dark dimension again?"

Alphonse shook his head, and replied honestly: "The rift in time and space, my master's coffee shop. Some customers are not suitable to meet them on Earth."

"Whoa, cool, aliens?"

Tony raised his eyebrows: "When it comes to selling gems, you really don't refuse anyone."

"...I'm short of money."

The alchemist gave a very simple reason that made it impossible to complain.Asgard's amethyst of the same grade is of better quality than that on Earth, and it is also more convenient to accommodate magic power, probably because of the higher concentration of mana (Mana) in the air on that land.

But frankly confessing that I am short of money...

Nick Fury fell silent, Tony Stark raised his glass and laughed.

He smiled so much that he took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes: "So Al, if you are willing to sell me a few more gems to study, you don't have to bother so much."

"It's a matter of principle."

The alchemist refused to budge: "I can't just sell you things outside the range, even if you are a consultant approved by S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Oh well, so what did you sell to the aliens today?"

Tony Stark quickly dropped the subject and moved on to the next one.

"A diamond is used as a gift."

Alphonse answered honestly.

After listening to the whole process, Fury: "..."

He began to think that the S.H.I.E.L.D. had been a little nervous before facing this guy so cautiously. This guy obviously seemed to be answering questions, okay?The attitude is so good that it can be called Steve Rogers doing a tactical report!

So in fact, it has always been the communication method of S.H.I.E.L.D. that is not right!

"Is the magician's banquet different from this scene?"

Tony touched his chin and guessed: "It's not like in the story, everyone wears a gloomy cloak and hides in the shadows, and burns a guy who goes beyond words to ashes if he doesn't agree with him."

Fury: "...where did you hear this story?"

Tony takes it for granted: "Harry Potter."

Fury: "...I don't remember how there is such a bridge section in "Harry Potter" that is not suitable for children to watch. What kind of strange version of the spiral are you watching?"

After all, the alchemist always had a reserved look, and he choked back the motherf... that he almost blurted out.

"I'm not a necromancer who has fallen into madness."

Alphonse raised his forehead: "The gathering of the magician's family is very troublesome. Every time you go, you have to be fully armed. The means of anti-curse, the glasses of the magic eye killer, etc., cannot be taken lightly."

"Death Eaters."

Tony commented.

"..."

Alphonse thought for a while about how to explain the necromancer, thinking about the character of Lion Jie, um... it's better not to explain it.Nick Fury rolled his eyes directly to show his attitude. Anyway, Natasha is doing the work of collecting Stark's information, and he just needs to keep an eye on the other people at the banquet.

The wealthy businessman in New York glanced at the sparkling juice in Alphonse's hand, and smiled indistinctly. He didn't ask him to drink, but leaned closer to the alchemist's ear: "Then guess, is there any fruit in it? How many people hate me so much that their teeth itch, and hold their noses to participate in this kind of banquet?"

The opportunity for Tony Stark himself to be present is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As a public figure whose frequency of being violently insulted online is the same as that of the President of the United States, his every move will be over-interpreted, and even some unintentional actions will be over-interpreted. It has caused changes in the interests of various forces.

And among this group of people, there should be quite a few who thought he was dead from the bottom of their hearts.The alchemist's lake-green eyes squinted, and he suddenly felt that being an Iron Man was a hard job.

And this person is still enjoying it.

So he calmly said, "Do you need me to check?"

Tony: "..."

No, I'm just talking casually.Is this kind of thing really detectable?

Can people brag happily.

But the curiosity about the "detection method" still prevailed. Nick Fury didn't say anything, apparently unwilling to miss this great opportunity to learn more about the alchemist.

Tony glanced at Alphonse in surprise. The other party took out a single-sided glasses from someone's unknown pocket. The transparent lens was surrounded by a silver frame, and the thin silver-white metal chain hung loosely. It looks like it came out of a Renaissance mural.

"This is a magic dress that can detect maliciousness, a crystal lens made by myself."

Alphonse explained, putting the lens on the right eye and adjusting it.

"Is this what you wore when you first came to S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Nick Fury guessed, but the impression Alphonse was in the S.H.I.E.L.D. office building without any decoration on his face.

"There's also a version with contact lenses."

The alchemist waved his hand: "It is very convenient, but it will affect the use of the magic eye, so I only wear it when I am sure that I will not use the magic eye."

It doesn't make sense for the magic eye to control one or two people. There are as many sniper masters in S.H.I.E.L.D. When they are the first to show their unfriendliness, there are probably countless red dots symbolizing scopes gathered on their bodies.

Fury nodded, understanding.

Everyone at the reception has entered the stage of pushing each other to exchange glasses. Even if Stark himself is not very interested in this, the participants present have their own social goals for each other.The back showing the butterfly bones and the fluttering skirt flew together, and the smell of alcohol filled the night. Nick Fury frowned slightly, noncommittal about such a scene.

Alphonse tapped the frame with a finger, narrowed his eyes, then tapped again in disbelief.

"Al?"

Tony Stark drank the sparkling wine in his glass, obviously feeling the muscles of the alchemist beside him tense.

In the next second, Alphonse stood up abruptly.