Attendant and Carriage

Chapter 35: Attendant and Carriage

The Red Raven Tavern was bustling with activity that night.

Instructor Marlin was already quite drunk, regaling Fatty Shi with his grand plans for getting rich. Fatty Shi's eyes gleamed. Without waiting for Instructor Marlin to ramble on, he poured him another mug of mead, then pulled Yuri and Telman aside for a huspired conversation.

Lorist pushed open the door, greeted Garilando behind the counter, and sat down next to Instructor Marlin. He'd felt a bit tired after accompanying President Peterson for a steam bath that afternoon, so he'd gone home for a nap. He'd woken up after dark and hurried over.

Instructor Marlin, with his blurry, drunken eyes, slurred, "Lorist, you're late. Have a drink first..."

"Brother Marlin, how many have you had? You're completely plastered."

Great, I'll get nagged by his wife again when I take him home tonight. But Lorist decided not to worry about that for now; filling his stomach was more important. He hadn't eaten dinner yet and was starving. He called out a few times for Molly, the tavern's new waitress. She was delighted to see Lorist and, while asking what he wanted, complained about how long it had been since he last visited the tavern. She even asked if he wanted to stay the night.

Lorist's heart skipped a beat as he looked at Molly's increasingly alluring figure. It's been a month since the last time. I've been swamped with work at the academy. If I hadn't gotten paid today, I wouldn't have even thought of coming to the tavern. Speaking of which, Louise and old Gall are getting married in about a month, and I still haven't figured out what gift to get.

But looking at Instructor Marlin, who was slumped over the table, Lorist shook his head. "I'm really sorry, Molly. I've been incredibly busy lately. I'm here to treat this big brother to a drink tonight, and I still have to take him home afterward, so I can't stay. Maybe in a few days."

Molly let out an unhappy "Hmph," said coldly, "I'll be waiting," and left.

However, as a waitress, Molly hadn't forgotten her duties. Lorist's large meal was soon served. Before he'd taken more than a few bites of fried rice, Fatty Shi plopped down in front of Lorist, casually grabbed a leg from the roasted goose on the table, and started gnawing on it.

"Damn it, did you even wash your hands? How am I supposed to eat when you're grabbing it with those dirty hands?" Lorist cursed.

"If you're not eating it, I can help you out," Yuri chimed in. He was even more audacious, outright taking the entire plate of roasted goose.

"You guys are trying to freeload off me again tonight, aren't you? Let me tell you, except for Brother Marlin's tab, you're all paying for yourselves tonight."

"That's easy," Fatty Shi said, spitting out the goose leg bone. He waved to a waitress and pointed at Instructor Marlin, who was passed out on the table. "Brother Marlin wants more. One, two, three... five, six. Six bottles of Blackberry Mead, and two barrels of Blackberry Ale. Also, tell Chef Mai to make a few more good dishes for these two tables to go with the drinks."

Instructor Marlin, slumped on the table, heard his name and looked up, raising his mug. "Alright, cheers..." He then face-planted back onto the table.

"Damn, you can do that? You win this round, Fatty Shi." Lorist was dumbfounded, his food falling from his mouth.

"Yay!" Fatty Shi and Yuri clapped their hands in celebration, having successfully scammed Lorist again...

As they were joking around, someone suddenly rushed over and knelt directly in front of Lorist, startling him. "What's wrong?"

The person said loudly, "I want to become your disciple! I want to learn swordsmanship from you!"

Fatty Shi and Yuri were also stunned. What's going on here?

"I want to learn swordsmanship from you. I've watched your duels for a month. I was wrong before, saying you, a mere Black Iron rank, were not qualified to teach me. I was wrong, and I apologize!"

"Brother Lorist, this is the scoundrel I told you about. He's regretting it now." El appeared beside Lorist at some point, casually taking a bottle of Blackberry Mead from a tray held by the waitress Sarah. "Another bottle."

"You're paying for this one yourself," Lorist quickly declared. The six bottles of Blackberry Mead Fatty Shi had ordered under Instructor Marlin's name were already making his wallet ache; each bottle cost a large silver coin.

"It's fine, we'll pay together. Brother Lorist is just saying that," El said dismissively to the waitress Sarah, then patted Lorist on the shoulder. "Sit down, brother. Consider whether you'll take him first."

He gestured to the youth kneeling on the ground.

Sigh, I can't get out of this. Lorist sighed inwardly and carefully examined the kneeling youth. Hmm, El is right. This kid is only sixteen, but he's tall and strong. You wouldn't know he's not twenty or so. He has blond hair, a straight nose, a square mouth, and clear eyes. He's quite handsome. The youth kneeling before him now had his lips tightly pressed together, a stubborn expression on his face, yet his eyes held a mixture of hope and anxiety.

"What's your name?" Lorist asked gently.

"I... I'm Redi. Kexsidov," the youth said, a little nervously.

"Hmm, so I'll call you Redi. Redi, you've seen my duels, so you should know I'm an instructor at Dawnlight Academy, teaching swordsmanship and Battle Qi. If you join Dawnlight Academy as a student, I'll naturally teach you swordsmanship. You don't need to kneel here begging me. Besides, I'm only eight years older than you, and I don't intend to take on any disciples right now. You should get up. If you study diligently at the elementary academy for a semester, you can enroll in Dawnlight Academy next year," Lorist said.

Redi was very disappointed, but he remained kneeling. "No, I don't want to go to school. They all call me a country bumpkin and look down on me. I just want to learn swordsmanship from you..."

Twenty years of peace and economic development had propelled Molent City to become the largest commercial city on the Galintea Continent. Unconsciously, the residents of Molent City had developed a strange sense of superiority and pride. Just like the white-collar workers in the big cities of Lorist's previous life looked down on migrant workers from other regions, always condescendingly calling people from other countries "hicks" and even starting to ostracize mercenaries and commoners from other countries coming to Molent City, believing them to be thieves and robbers who were after Molent City's wealth. The Commercial Alliance had lost the magnanimity it had when it was first founded. As its influence expanded, it had also become greedier and more pragmatic.

This kind of discrimination also existed among the students of Dawnlight Academy. Many disputes were triggered by local students looking down on students from other countries. Lorist hadn't expected Redi to encounter such things even at the elementary academy, which explained why El said he had beaten up an entire class of students.

"Brother Lorist, just take him. This stubborn kid is a hard nut to crack. He won't get up unless you agree. Don't even talk about taking him as a disciple. Just let him follow you as an attendant. If you're in a good mood and have free time, you can give him some pointers. Anyway, you're a quasi-noble, so no one will gossip if you have an attendant by your side," El advised, drinking from his bottle.

"This..." Lorist sometimes truly forgot his noble status. Although he had been exiled by his family, he was still from a noble background. Even though he hadn't received a formal enfeoffment, he still had the right to use the Norton Family's noble crest to display his quasi-noble status and receive noble treatment in high-class establishments. Lorist just hadn't paid much attention to these things.

"Oh, right." El seemed to remember something else. "Didn't you move into a new house? I've been thinking about a housewarming gift for you. It just so happens that a big merchant owed us a debt and went bankrupt, starting to sell off his assets. Ledos went and got his carriage and horses to settle the debt. I thought the carriage was nice and remembered you didn't have any transportation, so I decided to give it to you as a housewarming gift. We don't need it anyway. So, brother, you should take him. At the very least, you'll need someone to manage the carriage and take care of the two Zino horses pulling it."

Lorist gave a wry smile. El has said so much, what else can I do? He looked at the youth in front of him. "Redi, did you hear what El said? Are you willing to be an attendant by my side for now? If not, you can get up too. I won't take disciples."

Redi jumped up. "Of course, I'm willing! I'll take good care of the carriage and horses for you. I'll go get my luggage right now."

Watching Redi's retreating back, El nodded. "This kid will be a good attendant. He's diligent and strong, and a skilled driver... He's yours from now on, Brother Lorist."

Fatty Shi looked envious and jealous. "El, why did you give Little Locke a carriage, but not a single gift for me? We were in the same class back in the day! We're old acquaintances."

"Brother Lorist gave us a business idea worth a thousand gold coins. Ledos felt he couldn't thank us properly without a substantial gift. You fatso, when have you ever helped us besides taking advantage of me? And you want a gift? Dream on." El said.

Fatty Shi retorted, "I don't believe Little Locke could come up with any good ideas, let alone one worth a thousand gold coins..."

There was nothing to keep secret about this. El recounted how he sliced the Terence Donkey Whip, bottled it, and sold it as a precious gift at a high price. Everyone was convinced.

Yuri nodded. "This business certainly has potential."

Even if they knew, they couldn't replicate it. El had chartered a ship over a month ago specifically to run to the Ruins Archipelago to buy Terence Donkey Whip at high prices. In another month or so, the ship would return. They already had the bottles and medicinal wine ready, just waiting for the sliced whip. Moreover, without the influence of El's guild, ordinary people would face considerable risk doing this business.

Fatty Shi said dejectedly, "This kid's brain is just sharper than others."

Seeing that Lorist had almost finished eating, El placed his bottle on the table and said, "Let's go, Brother Lorist. Let's go take a look at the carriage. I parked it in the backyard."

So, the group swarmed out to see the carriage.

This wasn't like the light, easily maneuverable rental carriages that ran on the streets of Molent City. It was a four-wheeled carriage with a complete cabin, suitable for long-distance travel. The exterior of the cabin was dark brown, with four half-meter square Green Glass windows embedded in the upper section, allowing ample light into the cabin during the day. The top and rear of the cabin had brass luggage racks, and the front had a two-person driver's seat.

Er kicked the large wheel of the rear carriage and said proudly, "These wheels, axles, and bearings were custom-made by the Dwarf Kingdom, all forged from fine steel, sturdy and durable. There's also a large spring washer underneath that supports the entire carriage. Even on rough, bumpy mountain roads, the carriage remains incredibly stable. With this carriage, brother Locke won't have to suffer through sun and rain anymore when he goes out on mercenary missions."

"Damn, who takes a carriage like this on a mercenary mission? That's not a mercenary, that's a noble lord," Fatty Shi said.

Er ignored him and said to Lorist, "Come, let's take a look inside."

Inside the carriage, two gray leather sofas were arranged facing each other. The rear sofa's backrest could be lowered to form a small bed. Beneath the sofas were four small drawers for storing odds and ends. The carriage walls were covered in light purple velvet, with two wall lamps featuring oil glass shades fixed to them.

Er tapped the wall panel, "There's a thin steel plate sandwiched in here, and here..."

Er pointed to the ceiling inside the carriage, "These are six thin steel plates covered in velvet. When you move them, they unlock and can be lowered to cover the six glass windows in the front, back, and sides, turning the carriage into a temporary, sturdy, enclosed room that protects passengers from external threats. There's also a secret door underneath the carriage; you can see it by lifting the carpet, allowing for an emergency escape from beneath the carriage."

Telman exclaimed, "This carriage has considered all possible situations for long-distance travel. The decoration and layout must be incredibly valuable."

Fatty Shi was so envious, "It must be at least a hundred gold coins, and that's not including the two Zino horses pulling it..."

Zino horses are one of the famous riding horses on the Galintea Continent, known for their excellent long-distance travel capabilities and endurance, though their sprinting speed is a bit lacking.

Yuri weakly asked, "Er, how much did that bankrupt merchant owe you?"

Er scratched his scalp and thought for a moment, "It should be over thirty gold coins, less than forty."

"Uh..." everyone was speechless...

Lorist didn't care if the carriage Er gave him was acquired through force or not. After all, they were a criminal syndicate, and this was their business. He patted the carriage's body, very satisfied, "Thanks, Er. I won't be polite and will accept it."

Seeing Redi approach with a package, Lorist called out, "Redi, put the stuff in the carriage, bring the horses over and hitch them up. Fatty, go with me to get Instructor Marlin; I need to send him back first."

Fatty Shi asked, "Are you coming back then?"

Lorist shook his head, "No, I'm not coming back. I have a duel tomorrow, so it can't be too late. By the way, do you guys want to leave together?"

Fatty Shi said, "We'll stay a bit longer; the dishes aren't all here yet."

Lorist realized, "Right, I'll go pay the bill first, so you guys don't put any more miscellaneous charges under my name."

Fatty Shi said, "Damn, you're too stingy, Locke. Er just gave you a luxurious carriage worth a hundred gold! You should at least spend a few gold coins to celebrate."

"No way," Lorist replied.