Chapter 42. Aristocrat (3)
'I should hurry.'
Ian rushed to Count Ravenstein's estate after getting the quest. He didn't want to waste more of his time talking with Gran.
Another reason was that he quickly wanted to finish the quest given by Lanson.
The hatching method of his pet egg was also on the line here. With all these things, Ian couldn't help but rush a little.
The Count's estate wasn't far away and Ian was able to find it quickly.
It was a big and grandeur estate that could be properly described as a mansion. It was enough to show the prominence of the Count rank.
"What do you want?"
As Ian reached the entrance of the mansion, some guards blocked his way.
It was understandable since ordinary people couldn't enter noble's houses without permission. Ian knew that too.
That's why, he didn't panic and said.
"I'm here to meet with the esteemed Count Ravenstein."
"Why do you want to meet him?"
The guards were more suspicious when Ian said that he was here to meet with the Count. For the guards, Ian was just a hillbilly wearing a black cloak.
"Gran told me about the illness of the former Count and I thought that I would be able to help."
"Gran told you about it?"
Ian nodded his head and the guards frowned. The topic of the former Count's illness was a sensitive one for them.
"Wait until I talk to the knight captain."
One of the guards quickly went inside and after a while, he came back with a bearded burly man who was wearing a chain armour and had a Greatsword on his back.
The bearded burly man was the knight captain here. He introduced himself as Vlass.
"Gran is my friend. I told him to introduce me to a capable mercenary to go get the antidote for the old Count. If he told you about this, then, you must be capable. Come follow me!!"
Vlass said in a slight rough tone and gestured for Ian to follow him.
'I didn't know Gran's friend was a knight captain.'
It looks like Gran would often come here to meet with Vlass and because of that, most of the guards knew of Gran.
At the same time, Ian thought that Gran was more than just a simple employee in the Mercenary association.
A knight captain was a high class job among the commoners.
There was even a possibility of getting promoted to a lower noble. Gran knowing Vlass made Ian doubt his identity.
As Ian was thinking about all this, Vlass led him to a room on the third floor of the mansion.
It was actually Count Ravenstein's office.
"Did something happened, Vlass?"
Count Ravenstein raised his face from some documents and looked at his knight captain before asking.
"Yes, this is a mercenary recommended by Gran. I think we can trust him on this matter."
Ian moved a step further when Vlass said that. He then lowered his head in a bow and introduced himself.
His back was straightened despite him bowing. It was a position which is often used by nobles when greeting other higher nobles.
"My name is Ian. I'm just a mere mercenary but I will do my best to fulfil the job, given by the esteemed Count Ravenstein."
Count Ravenstein eyes shined when he heard that. It was because Ian's posture and way of talking was unusual for a commoner.
It was almost like he was a noble.
"Have you taken any etiquette classes?"
"Yes. Before coming to meet the Count, I took some etiquette classes. I did not dare to show any unsightly behaviour in front of the Count."
Count Ravenstein nodded his head with a satisfied expression.
It was not the first time he was meeting with a mercenary but he had never seen a mercenary like Ian before.
Other mercenaries were rough and blunt, but Ian was elegant and smooth. If he said that he was a noble, then the Count would even believe it.
'My experience from the fantasy world is working here too.'
Ian had a small smirk as he thought about his time in the fantasy world.
As a famous mercenary, he often used to take request from nobles. He got familiar to their antics pretty soon.
He even went on to learn some etiquette as it was easy to deal with nobles this way.
His experience was working on Count Ravenstein now.
"I will go straight to the point. You already know about my father's illness. Recently, one of our informers reported that an old alchemist has found the antidote of the poison."
"I know about that."
Count Ravenstein nodded and continued.
"The old alchemist lives in a village called Ale, not far from the capital. I wish you to go there and bring the antidote as soon as possible."
When Count Ravenstein finished his words, the quest The cure for the Count changed to The cure for the Count 2.
Ian didn't received any rewards despite completing the quest but he didn't think too much about it.
The cure for the Count was also a chain quest and sometimes, rewards would be given after the completion of all the quest in a chain quest.
"I will go to the Ale village as soon as possible."
"I expect good things from you."
Ian accepted the second quest too. Then, he was led to the horse stables by Vlass. It was to give him a horse for his journey.
Ian had ridden many horses in the fantasy world.
So, he was even more familiar with horses than a horse trainer.
Literally, every mercenary would use horses to travel in the fantasy world. As there were no cars and bikes, horses were the staple means of transportation.
"Will you be able to ride a horse?"
"Yes, I have ridden one before. So, I'm familiar with them."
Vlass nodded and handed Ian the rein of one of the horses. It was a healthy-looking horse with brown fluttering hair.
"I hope you will be fast as the old Count's health isn't good."
"Don't worry. I won't disappoint you."
Ian quickly got up on the horse. Then, he straightened his back and tried to balance his body. He was soon able to control the horse.
"It looks like you are really experienced."
Vlass nodded with a satisfied expression. His friend had recommended a capable mercenary.
'I will have to hurry.'
Ian thought as he left the Count's mansion and headed towards the Ale village in the east.
It was the start of his next adventure!!
* * *
"My back hurts…"
Lu Fei muttered as he lifted his head up. His back was hurting because he was just riding his horse for the last two days.
Although he didn't have any problems riding the horse, his current body was not familiar with it at all.
Because of that, he felt like his back was hurting.
Ark was a realistic game. So, if one would work really hard in Ark, then they would also start feeling the tiredness in real life.
Honestly, it was more of a mental state than a physical one.
"Brother Lu!!"
Lu Fei turned his head to the side when he heard that voice. A chubby guy with a lot of fat quickly came to his seat.
He was the fatty Lu Fei had saved from the bullies, Xiao Ming.
He had once helped Lu Fei when he was pondering on how to defeat Krysil. After that, they became good friends.
"Brother Lu, let's eat lunch together?"
"Ah, it's already lunchtime?"
Lu Fei was sleeping since he came to school and no one bothered to disturb him. So, he didn't even know what time it was.
"You are really awesome. You sleep the whole day in class but teachers will just ignore you."
Xiao Mind laughed when he heard that and said in admiration but Lu Fei just smiled embarrassingly.
Sleeping in class wasn't a particularly good thing. Getting ignored by the teachers simply mean that he was a troublemaker.
It was not a thing to be proud of.
"Brother Lu, last time we met, you said that you were playing Ark, right?"
Xiao Ming suddenly said.
Xiao Ming already knows of Lu Fei's background. He was in tears when he heard that Lu Fei was taking care of his sister alone.
He also knew about Lu Fei playing Ark to earn money in it.
"Yeah, I'm indeed playing it."
"Well, I found about a method that can help you earn money and you will even get fame if you are successful."
Lu Fei's eyes widened when he heard that.
If there was a method that will help him earn more money, then he would of course do it, no matter how difficult it would be.
"What's the method."
"It's called paid videos…"
Creak!
As Xiao Ming was explaining, the door to the classroom suddenly opened, and a female teacher walked inside.
She was obviously Fang Xue.
"Lu Fei, come with me."
She immediately pointed her finger towards Lu Fei and gestured him to come with her.
It was too sudden that everyone in the class was confused.
"Brother Lu, did you make any trouble?"
Lu Fei shook his head and replied.
"No, I don't think so."
After replying, Lu Fei quietly left with Fang Xue in front of him.
'What does Ms. Fang want with him?'
Standing alone, Xiao Ming thought to himself.
* * *
'It's just like the first time I was here.'
Lu Fei thought in his head, as he stared at Fang Xue in front of him. He recalled the incident that happened a month ago.
It was also the first time Lu Fei had talked to Fang Xue.
Although, their first talk hadn't ended in good terms, the relationship between Fang Xue and Lu Fei has grown since then.
"Why was I called here?"
Lu Fei calmly asked but Fang Xue was just staring at her laptop. After a second she raised her head and looked at Lu Fei.
"You were skipping school again."
Fang Xue's face was calm, but Lu Fei was able to see some traces of anger and dissatisfaction on her pretty face.
'Will she be angry if I told her that I was busy fighting with a lizard?'
Lu Fei thought but as he was about to answer, Fang Xue sighed and spoke.
"Let's leave that. The reason must be something like you were busy with that game called Ark or something."
Lu Fei scratched his head when he heard that. Fang Xue's guess was right.
"What are your thoughts on university?"
Fang Xue suddenly asked and Lu Fei quickly replied.
"I think it's necessary for everyone to attend an university. In this age, without university, people can't get a good job and not getting a good job means that one would not earn much and money is the most important thing to sustain life."
Lu Fei said without stopping and Fang Xue furrowed her eyebrows when she heard that.
She touched her forehead and leaked out a frown. She was contemplating on whether Lu Fei was joking with her or not.
In the end, she changed her question.
"What are your thoughts on entering a university?"
'Will she lecture me about going to a university?'
Lu Fei thought in his head but he knew that he couldn't run away from it. That's why, he replied honestly.
"I don't have any thoughts on entering an university. I can't pass the entrance exams even if I want to enter a university."
Lu Fei suddenly recalled the conversation he had with his sister. His sister was still angry about it and they even have some arguments about it.
'Why do all the people around me want me to enter a university?'
Even Zhao Na was asking him if he was preparing for his university entrance exams some days ago, when he was at work.
Lu Fei couldn't enter university even if he wanted to. That's the truth that he had already accepted from a long time.
But Fang Xue next words stunned him.
"What if I said that you still have a chance to enter a university?"