It was nighttime and the La Mesa Inn was merry as usual. Instructor Martins, having drunk a little too much, was telling Pella all about the plan for him to make tons of gold coins. The fatty's eyes instantly gleamed as he gave Martins another jug of ale to shut him up, after which he dragged Uriel and Rahman to a corner and started whispering away.
Just as Larne pushed open the door and greeted Aswan, who was manning the counter, he sat beside Instructor Martins. Having spent the afternoon with Matriarch in the sauna, he felt a little worn out and decided to take a nap in his room, only to wake up when the sky was already dark and rushed over right away.
Instructor Martins looked at Larne in his drunken state and drunkenly said, "Brother Landon... Yo-you're late... Here, have a cup of rum..."
"Brother Martins, how much did you drink? You're totally wasted!"
It's over... I'll definitely be nagged at by his wife when I send him back... Lorist tried to dismiss that thought and called the serving girl Maria over to take his order as he had yet to have dinner. As she took his order, Maria also complained to Lorist about how he hadn't been coming over to the inn to spend the night with her and asked if he would want to do just that tonight since he was the man of the hour, the Undefeated Lion.
Larne was definitely moved after seeing Maria's splendid figure. It has been almost a month since he last had any nighttime action as he really has been too busy in recent days. He wouldn't have come over to the inn either if it wasn't payday. He also recalled that Aswan and Alice would be getting married within a month and he still hasn't prepared a gift for them yet.
However, looking at how wasted Instructor Martins was, Larne turned down Maria's offer. "I'm sorry, Maria. I've really been too busy recently. I have to send this guy over here back to his home later so I wouldn't be able to stay the night. Maybe in another few days..."
Maria humphed with a tone of dissatisfaction. "Just you wait," said Maria coldly, before she turned and left.
Even so, Maria didn't forget her place as a serving girl and quickly sent the food Larne had ordered to him. After getting a few bites, Pella sat in front of Larne and swiped a piece of roast goose from his plate and started chewing away.
"Oh, the gods! Did you wash your hands? Don't dirty my food like that," scolded Larne.
"If you're not going to finish it, let me help," said Uriel as he came over. He was even worse and took the whole plate of roast goose away from Larne.
"I bet you guys are just here to make me pay for you again. I'm telling you beforehand that all of you aside from Martins will have to settle your own bills."
"That's no issue," said the fatty as he spit out the bones of the goose before waving at the serving girls and pointing at Instructor Martins, who was lying flat on the table. "Brother Martins here still wants... one, two, three... six, six more cups of blackcurrant fruit wine and another two barrels of blackcurrant ale. Oh, and let Chef McCarthy make him a few more delicious dishes to go with all the Liquor."
Upon hearing his name mentioned, Instructor Martins who was lying flat on the table raised his cup and said, "Alright, let's drink..." before falling flat onto the surface once again.
"Sol, I never knew that would work... It's your win, fatty..." said Larne with his mouth agape with the half-chewed food nearly falling out.
"Yeah!" Having successfully taken advantage of Larne once again, Pella, Uriel and the gang clapped their hands in celebration.
In the midst of all the merrymaking, a person suddenly rushed over in front of Larne and kneeled down. Very much stunned at this sight, Larne asked, "What's going on?"
That person said loudly, "I want to be your disciple! Please let me learn the way of the sword from you!"
...
Pella and the gang were totally flabbergasted. What was this situation about?
Having seen all your battles within the past month, I really want to learn swordsmanship from you. Before, it was totally my fault for saying that you didn't qualify to teach me for just being an Iron rank. I am deeply sorry for that!"
"Brother Landon, that is the kid I was talking about. He's regretting his decision terribly right now," said Evans, who suddenly appeared beside Landon like a ghost, but Landon was used to it by now and swiped a bottle of fruit wine from one of the serving girls' trays. "Get us another bottle."
"I'm not paying for that, alright?" clarified Larne. It was troublesome enough for Pella and the gang to have managed to order six more bottles of fruit wine which cost one large silver each under the name of Martins.
"He's just joking. Put the bill on his tab," said Evans to the serving girl before patting Larne on the shoulder as he pointed at the kneeling youth. "Sit down, old friend. Let's first talk about whether you will accept him as your student."
'Sigh, I really can't do anything about the bills', Larne thought, before turning his attention to the youth on the ground. Hmmm, Evans was right about him having a rather nice physique. He's only 17 and yet he looks so well-built and tall. I would have thought that he was 20 if I wasn't told of his age beforehand... With blonde hair, a straight nose and clear eyes, he actually looks pretty decent. At this moment, the youth on the ground had a perplexed expression as he clenched his lips and awaited Larne's decision.
"What's your name?" asked Larne.
"I... I'm called Randy Bydlinski" said the youth nervously.
"Hmm, then I'll call you Randy. Randy, having watched my battles, you should know that I'm both a swordsmanship and CoreEnergy instructor at the Orca Academy. As long as you enrol over there, I'll naturally be able to teach you swordsmanship without you having to kneel here like that. Also, I'm only seven years older than you, you know. I don't plan on accepting a personal disciple just yet. I think it's better if you attend an elementary academy before applying to the Orca Academy the next year," said Larne.
Randy was disappointed at the response, but he remained kneeling. "No, I don't want to attend school. All the people there laugh at me for being a country bumpkin and look down on me. I only want to learn swordsmanship from you..."
Having had vast economic development over the last twenty years of peace, Nornak City has become one of the most advanced merchant cities on the Elysium Continent. Gradually, its citizens began to develop arrogance and pride for being born in the city. Just like how people in Larne's former life would look down on foreign labourers, many citizens of Nornak City would berate outsiders for being country bumpkins and assume that all of them fit under the stereotype of thieves and robbers. It could be seen that the attitude of the trade union's people has become intolerant and materialistic.
This kind of discrimination wasn't too uncommon at the Orca Academy either and it was usually the main cause for disputes between local and non-local students in the academy. Larne was surprised at how Randy had already experienced such a thing at an elementary academy. It's no wonder Evans said he had beaten up all the students in the whole class in one of the academies he had attended before.
"Brother Landon, just take him it. He's just that stubborn and wouldn't get up if you don't accept him as a disciple. Well, it's not like you have to actually teach him. Just treat him as your personal attendant and give him pointers from time to time. Since you're still a person with a noble status, nobody would say anything if you had a retainer or two following you around," encouraged Evans as he sipped the wine from the bottle in his hand.
"This..." Larne sometimes actually forgot that he came from a noble family. Even though he had been exiled from the family, he still bore the family name and had the right to use the Ruslan family insignia as proof of his noble status. If he were to mingle in high society, he would receive the treatment and service of a nobleman. It's just that Larne had never paid much attention to matters such as these.
"Oh," Evans sounded like he just remembered something. "Didn't you just buy and move into a new place? I've been thinking quite hard about what to give you as a housewarming gift. It so happens that a guy who owed me money went bankrupt and is auctioning his possessions away to pay back the debt. Jarrsaid already went and collected his horses and carriage as collateral. Since you don't have a carriage yourself, I thought that I'd give that to you since I won't be using it anyway. That's why I think you should accept Randy as he can help you take care of the carriage and the Sugo Horses."
Larne gave a bitter laugh. Since Evans is going out of his way just to make him take Randy in, he says to the youth kneeling in front of him, "Randy, I'm sure you've heard what Evans just said. Would you be willing to be my attendant for now? If not, you had better get up as I won't be taking in a disciple in the near future."
Randy instantly got up and said, "Of course I'm willing. I'll make sure the horses and carriage receive the best of my care! I'll be bringing my stuff over now."
Seeing Randy run off to pack his belongings, Evans nodded and said, "This fellow will make a good attendant given his hardworking attitude and abundant energy. He's also a pretty good coachman as well. I'll be leaving him in your care, Brother Landon."
Pella looked at them with an expression of envy. "Evans, why did you gift Larne a horse carriage but nothing to me? I was even your classmate at that time! Was our relationship that shallow?"
Hey, Brother Larne has given me a couple of great ideas for businesses that are worth thousands of gold coins. Jarrsaid said that if I didn't give him anything, I would lose all my face. As for you, what have you done for me other than taking advantage of me? You still dare to demand gifts? Dream on," said Evans.
Still not convinced, Pella said, "I refuse to believe that Landon comes up with any ideas for a business that's worth that much."
Evans told the whole thing about repackaging and selling the Tiger-donkey whip to the group since it wasn't that much of a secret, to begin with, and managed to convince Pella.
Uriel nodded and said, "This business really is quite profitable."
When Evans had heard about the idea from Larne, he had someone sent to purchase all the Tiger-donkey whips available from the Treasure Islands right away. The shipment will be arriving in another month and the medicinal wine and glass bottles were all prepared. Without the power and connections Evans's syndicate has, no normal businessman would be able to prepare all that within a short period of time.
Pella said bitterly, "This bastard really has a brain that's much more witty than most..."
Seeing Larne about to finish his meal, Evans placed the wine bottle back on the table and said, "Come, Brother Landon. Let's go check the carriage out. I've parked it in the back alley."
The group then went as a group to go see the horse cart. Its design wasn't like that of the normal coaches that one could rent on the streets. It was a four-wheeled cart that boasted a completely dark brown-coloured carriage which was suited for long-distance travel with four green glass windows that helped the interior of the carriage to gain some illumination during the day. The roof and back of the carriage were fitted with bronze racks on which luggage could be placed. At the front of it was a seat that could fit two coachmen.
Evans kicked on the cartwheel for a bit before he gleefully said, "This wheel, axle and bearing were all made in the dwarven kingdom from fairy steel and are incomparably tough and long-lasting. The metal bracket that secures the carriage is also fitted with a large shock absorber that will minimize the shakiness of the ride. With this carriage, you will no longer have to worry about transportation or shelter when you go on mercenary missions in the future."
"Good gods, who would use this kind of carriage for mercenary missions? Only nobles use carriages like this," Pella interjected.
Ignoring Pella's comment, Evans said to Larne, "Come, let's check the interior out too."
The carriage itself was fitted with two grey leather seats on the front and the back which faced each other. The back seat can also be folded downwards into a makeshift bed. Below the seats were four small drawers that could be used to store small items. The walls of the carriage were fitted with a light purple velvet cloth with two lamps on either side to help light up the interior at night.
Evans knocked on the walls and said," There's a thin steel plate within these walls and over here..."
Evans pointed towards the roof and continued, "Above are six pieces of light metal plates that are fastened by a velvet string that can be released to cover the parts where there are windows and provide some temporary defence towards any potential threat from the outside. There is also a trapdoor which is hidden under the carpet. You can use it for an emergency escape if the situation is dire."
Rahman was full of praise for the carriage. "The designer of the carriage has clearly considered most of the scenarios that one would encounter during long-distance travel and has outfitted it adequately with certain necessary precautions. It must have been a pretty expensive one."
Pella looked at it full of envy. "It should cost no less than 100 gold coins. Including the price of those two Sugo Horses, I believe the actual price is even higher."
Sugo Horses were the most famous kind of mount on the Elysium Continent and were quite well known for their endurance, making them suited for long-distance travelling even though their maximum speed was slightly slower than other kinds of horses.
Uriel asked sheepishly, "Evans, how much did you say that bankrupt merchant owed you?"
Evans scratched his head in thought and said, "Should be about 30 gold coins, if not 40."
"Ugh..." Everybody was speechless.
Larne didn't really mind whether the horses and carriage were taken by force since that was what the syndicates usually did anyway given their forceful management approach. Patting on the horse cart, he said satisfiedly, "Thanks, Evans. I'll take care of it well."
Seeing Randy carrying a rucksack on his back as he came over, Larne called out to him and said, "Randy, put the stuff into the carriage and prepare the horses. Fatty, come with me to get Instructor Martin. I need to send him back."
Pella asked, "Will you be coming back to drink?"
Larne shook his head and said, "Nope, I won't be. I still have to duel tomorrow and it's getting rather late. Oh, and, are you leaving as well?"
Pella said, "No, we'll be staying here for a bit more. The food still isn't served yet."
Larne just remembered something and said, "Oh, I better go settle the bills lest you put your orders under my tab."
"gods!, You're so stingy, Landon. Didn't Evans just gift you a horse cart worth 100 gold coins? Surely you wouldn't mind treating us something to commemorate that!"
"No way," replied Larne.