Chapter 35: The Squire and the Carriage

That night, the Red Crow Tavern was bustling with activity.

Instructor Marlin was already drunk, with his arm around Fatty Shi, rambling about his grand plan to strike it rich. Fatty Shi's eyes lit up. Before Instructor Marlin could continue his drivel, Fatty Shi shoved another mug of ale down his throat, then dragged Yuri, Terman, and the others off to the side to whisper among themselves.

Lorist pushed the door open, greeted Garrilando behind the counter, and sat down next to Instructor Marlin. After spending the afternoon soaking in a steam bath with President Peterson, he'd felt a bit tired, so he'd gone home for a nap. By the time he woke, it was already dark, and he'd hurried over.

Instructor Marlin looked up with bleary, drunken eyes and slurred, "Rock, you're late. Have a drink first…"

"Brother Marlin, how many cups have you had? How did you get this wasted?"

Great. He'd have to deal with Instructor Marlin's wife nagging at him again tonight when he dropped him off. But Lorist decided to put that out of his mind for now. Filling his stomach came first—he hadn't eaten dinner and was starving. After calling out a few times, Molly, the new tavern maid, came over. Her face lit up when she saw Lorist. She asked what he wanted while also complaining that he hadn't come to visit her in so long, and whether he planned to stay the night.

Looking at Molly's increasingly alluring figure, Lorist felt a stirring. It had been about a month since last time, hadn't it? He'd been swamped at the academy. If today wasn't payday, he probably wouldn't have remembered to come to the tavern at all. That meant Louise and Old Gar's wedding was only about a month away, and he still hadn't figured out what gift to get them.

But seeing Instructor Marlin slumped over the table, Lorist shook his head. "I'm sorry, Molly. I've been incredibly busy these past few days. I brought this big brother here for drinks tonight, and I'll have to take him home later. I can't stay. Maybe another time."

Molly let out an unhappy "Hmph," said coldly, "We'll see," and walked away.

But Molly hadn't forgotten her duties as a server. Before long, the grand meal Lorist had ordered was delivered. He'd only managed a few bites of fried rice when Fatty Shi plopped down across from him, casually grabbed a leg off the roast goose on the table, and started gnawing away.

"Damn, did you even wash your hands? How am I supposed to eat after you've grabbed it with those filthy hands?" Lorist cursed.

"If you're not eating, I'll take your share," Yuri said, coming over. He was even worse—he just picked up the entire plate with the roast goose and walked off.

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

"That's easy enough." Fatty Shi spat out a goose bone, waved over a server, pointed at Instructor Marlin slumped over the table, and said, "Brother Marlin wants more. One, two, three… five, six—six people, so six bottles of blackberry fruit wine. Also two casks of blackberry ale. And while you're at it, ask Chef Mai to send a few more dishes to both tables—something to go with his drinking."

Instructor Marlin, face-down on the table, heard his own name, raised his head, lifted his cup, and said, "Cheers… cheers…" before face-planting back onto the table.

"Damn, that actually worked? You're ruthless, Fatty Shi." Lorist stared, dumbfounded, a grain of rice slipping from his mouth.

"Yeah!" Having successfully swindled Lorist once again, Fatty Shi and Yuri clapped and celebrated…

While the commotion was in full swing, someone suddenly charged straight over. The person skidded to a halt in front of Lorist and dropped to his knees, startling Lorist into jumping to his feet. "What's wrong with you?"

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

…

Fatty Shi, Yuri, and the rest were stunned. What was going on?

"I want to learn swordsmanship from you. I've watched your duels for the past month. I was wrong before—I shouldn't have said you were only at the Black Iron rank and not fit to teach me. I was wrong, and I apologize!"

"Little Rock, this is that little bastard I told you about. Now he's changed his mind." Somehow, Elle had appeared at Lorist's side, casually helping himself to a bottle of blackberry fruit wine from the tray Sara the server was carrying. "One more bottle."

"That one's on your own tab." Lorist said it quickly. He was still smarting from Fatty Shi ordering six bottles of blackberry fruit wine in Instructor Marlin's name—each bottle cost a full silver coin.

"No problem, we'll split the bill. Little Rock is just saying that." Elle dispatched server Sara with a casual wave, then clapped Lorist on the shoulder. "Sit down, little brother. At least consider whether to take him in."

He pointed at the boy kneeling on the floor.

Sigh. There was no dodging this one. Lorist sighed inwardly and studied the boy on his knees. Elle was right—the kid was only sixteen but had grown tall and broad, with a powerful build. Anyone who didn't know better would've guessed he was close to twenty. He had golden hair, a straight nose, a square jaw, and earnest eyes—quite good-looking, actually. The boy kneeling before him had his lips pressed tight, his face set in stubborn determination, yet his eyes betrayed both hope and anxiety.

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

"I—my name is Reidi Jizeizidorf." The boy was a little nervous.

"Alright, then I'll call you Reidi. Reidi, if you've watched my duels, you should know I'm an instructor at Dawn Academy—a swordsmanship and Combat Force instructor. As long as you enter Dawn Academy as a student, I'll naturally teach you swordsmanship. There's no need for you to kneel here and beg me. Besides, I'm only eight years older than you and I'm not looking to take on disciples right now. Why don't you get up? Just study hard at the junior academy for one semester, and you can enter Dawn Academy next year," Lorist said.

Reidi was visibly disappointed, but he remained on his knees. "No, I don't want to go to school. They all call me a country bumpkin and look down on me. I only want to learn swordsmanship from you…"

Years of peace and economic development had turned Morant City overnight into the largest commercial metropolis on the Galentea Continent. Unknowingly, its residents had developed a peculiar sense of superiority and pride. Just like the white-collar workers of the major cities in Lorist's previous life who looked down on migrant laborers from the countryside, they always spoke condescendingly of people from other nations, calling them yokels. They had even begun to reject mercenaries and commoners from other countries who came to Morant City, convinced they were all thieves and robbers drawn by the city's wealth. The Commercial Alliance had long since lost the magnanimous spirit it had possessed at its founding. As its power expanded, so too did its greed and pragmatism.

This kind of discrimination also existed among the students at Dawn Academy. Many disputes were triggered by local students looking down on students from other countries. Lorist hadn't expected that Reidi would encounter such treatment even at a junior academy. No wonder Elle had said the kid beat up an entire class.

"Little Rock, just take him in. This stubborn brat won't take no for an answer—he won't get up if you refuse. And don't worry about the whole master-disciple thing. Just let him stay by your side as a squire. When you have free time and are in the mood, give him a few pointers. You're a knight aspirant anyway—having a squire follow you around won't raise any eyebrows." Elle took a swig straight from the bottle as he made his case.

"Well…" Lorist sometimes truly forgot about his own noble status. Though he'd been exiled by his family, he was still born into the nobility. Even without a formal investiture, he still had the right to bear the Norton Family crest to signify his status as a knight aspirant, and to receive noble treatment at upscale establishments. Lorist had simply never bothered with any of it.

"Oh, right." Elle suddenly remembered something. "Didn't you just move into your new house? I've been racking my brain trying to think of a housewarming gift. As it happens, a wealthy merchant owed us a debt and went bankrupt, so he started selling off his assets. Lerdos went and picked up his carriage and horses to settle the debt. The carriage looked nice, and since I figured you didn't have any means of transport, I decided to give it to you as a housewarming gift. We don't need it anyway. So go ahead and take him—at the very least, you need someone to look after the carriage and those two Zeno horses pulling it."

Lorist smiled ruefully. What could he do when Elle had put it that way? He looked at the boy in front of him. "Reidi, you heard what Elle said. Are you willing to stay by my side as a squire for now? If not, you should still get up. I won't be taking disciples."

Reidi sprang to his feet. "Of course I'm willing! I'll take good care of the carriage and the horses. Let me go get my things."

Watching Reidi's retreating figure, Elle nodded. "That boy will make a good squire. At the very least, he's hardworking and strong, and he's got a knack for driving… He's in your hands now, Little Rock."

Fatty Shi wore an expression of envy, jealousy, and resentment. "Elle, why do you give Little Rock a carriage but won't give me even a gift? You and I were classmates back in the day! We're old acquaintances!"

"Little Rock gave us a business idea worth a fortune. Lerdos said it would be unconscionable not to show our gratitude with a proper gift. You, you fat bastard—when have you ever done anything to help us besides mooching? And you want a gift? Keep dreaming," Elle said.

Fatty Shi wasn't convinced. "I don't buy that Little Rock could come up with anything that brilliant, worth a fortune…"

This wasn't exactly a secret, so Elle went on to explain the whole scheme—taking Terence donkey pizzle, slicing it, bottling it, and selling it as a premium product at exorbitant prices. Everyone had to admit it was clever.

Yuri nodded. "That's definitely a profitable business."

Knowing about it didn't mean they could copy it. Elle had chartered an entire ship over a month ago to sail to the Ruins Archipelago and buy up Terence donkey pizzle at premium prices. In another month or so, the ship would return, and here the bottles, medicinal wine, and everything else were already prepared, waiting for the pizzle to be sliced and bottled. Besides, without the backing of Elle's organization, an ordinary person taking on this trade would be taking quite a risk.

Fatty Shi grumbled bitterly, "That kid just has a sharper mind than everyone else's."

Seeing that Lorist had finished eating, Elle set the wine bottle down on the table. "Let's go, Little Rock. Let's go check out the carriage. I parked it in the back courtyard."

And so the whole group swarmed out to see the carriage.

This was no ordinary lightweight rental carriage that plied the streets of Morant City. It was a four-wheeled carriage with a fully enclosed body, built for long-distance travel. The exterior was dark brown, with four half-meter-square green glass windows set into the upper portion that let in plenty of light during the day. The roof and rear featured luggage racks made of brass, and up front was a two-person driver's seat.

Elle kicked one of the large rear wheels and said proudly, "These wheels, the axle, and the bearings were all custom-made in the Dwarven Kingdom. Pure refined steel—sturdy and durable. And underneath, there's a large spring plate supporting the entire carriage body. Even on rough, bumpy mountain roads, the ride inside is perfectly smooth. With this carriage, Little Rock, you'll never have to endure sun or rain on your mercenary missions again."

"Damn, who goes on mercenary missions in a carriage like that? That's not a mercenary—that's a noble lord," Fatty Shi said.

Elle ignored him and said to Lorist, "Come on, let's look inside."

Inside the carriage, two gray leather sofas faced each other. The rear sofa's backrest could fold down to form a small bed. Four small drawers beneath the sofas held miscellaneous items. The carriage walls were lined with pale purple velvet, and two wall-mounted oil lamps with glass shades were fixed to them.

Elle rapped on the wall panel. "There's also a thin steel plate sandwiched in here. And this…" He pulled down a heavy curtain. "Drop this and it covers all six glass windows—front, back, and sides—turning the carriage into a temporary solid room, protecting the passengers inside from outside threats. There's also a hidden trapdoor underneath the carriage. Lift the carpet and you can see it—allows you to escape from under the carriage in an emergency."

Terman marveled, "This carriage has accounted for every situation you might encounter on a long road trip. The decorations, the layout—it must have cost a fortune."

Fatty Shi was green with envy. "At least a hundred gold coins, right? And those two Zeno horses pulling it would be worth even more…"

Zeno horses were one of Galentea's most renowned riding breeds, famous for their long-distance endurance—though their sprint speed was a bit lacking.

Yuri asked tentatively, "Elle, how much did that bankrupt merchant owe you guys?"

Elle scratched his head and thought. "Should've been about thirty-something gold coins. Less than forty."

"Uh…" Everyone was speechless…

Lorist couldn't care less about whether the carriage Elle had given him had been strong-armed out of someone. They were an underground organization, after all—this was practically part of the job description. He patted the carriage body, thoroughly satisfied. "Thanks, Elle. I'll accept it without standing on ceremony."

Seeing Reidi approaching with a bundle on his back, Lorist called out, "Reidi, put your things in the carriage and bring the horses over to hitch up. Fatty, come with me to get Instructor Marlin. I need to take him home first."

Fatty Shi asked, "Are you coming back after that?"

Lorist shook his head. "Nah, not coming back. I've got a duel tomorrow—I can't stay out too late. Oh, are you guys heading out too?"

Fatty Shi said, "We'll hang around a bit longer. The dishes haven't all arrived yet."

Lorist realized, "Right, I should go settle the bill first, before you stick some random charges on my tab again."

Fatty Shi said, "Damn, you're so cheap, Rock. Elle just gave you a luxury carriage worth a hundred gold coins! The least you could do is spring for a few coins to celebrate."

"Not a chance," Lorist replied.