However, those two gold coins only covered the passage. The ship provided only basic meals to keep passengers from starving to death.
Surviving a voyage that lasted four months by bringing your own food was simply unrealistic. Even if you did, it would probably go moldy in the damp, sweltering conditions at sea.
Although the ship made unscheduled stops to restock, they were at least a week apart, so spending money aboard was unavoidable.
According to Ariel's letter, she had tried her best to economize, making sure to eat only two meals a day, but had still spent nearly fifty silver coins.
When Colliver heard his daughter say that, he nearly burst into tears. He wished he could immediately go fight the dragons in the Ambrisset Mountains, take their magic crystals, and send them to his daughter.
Renard felt sorry for the girl, too. After all, when he had sailed to Constantinople two years ago, he had spent nearly five gold coins on food and drink alone, and that had only been enough to scrape by.
If the cost of travel wasn't an issue, the tuition at Constantinople Academy was enough to make an ordinary noble family bleed.
As one of the few top academies on the entire continent, it charged a hefty tuition. The academic year consisted of one semester, and a semester's tuition cost ten gold coins. You read that right—ten gold coins.
Renard looked at Colliver, still unconvinced that he was the sort of man who could produce ten gold coins.
Colliver noticed his look and immediately understood what he was thinking. "What, you don't think I look like a rich man?"
"Not at all," Renard replied without the slightest tact.
As they chatted, they reached the nearest drainage tunnel. Its entrance was sealed with an iron