Chapter 81: Count Brant Khalodian’s Territory (Khaloda Village)
Norman opened his mouth again as Joseph seemed to be finished with his interest about the n.o.ble.
“Are you not going to meet with the Ainos?”
Joseph looked unconcerned.
“They will come soon. I will meet them when they do.”
“But- I think it’s better for you to go and greet them…”
“No. They’re too stubborn. What do they think they are? Huh? They’ll starve without us and they still think the potions will give them the upper hand? I’ll teach them a lesson this time.”
“But…”
Norman stopped and looked down.
‘Shouldn’t I report this to the main group? I don’t think they will be okay with dumbing down the price more than what we have done.’
The Ainos were not easy people. Norman knew that they did not raise questions because they were holding back.
‘He’s so full of himself. He thinks he can make a profit from them and move up the ranks.’
Joseph wanted to move out of the countryside and join the main group in the capital. However, that was jeopardizing their stable trade.
“Are you done?”
Norman bowed and left the room.
‘I guess that’s about far as you can go. I should report this to the main group before I get mixed up in the mess.’
*
The Ainos arrived at the campsite that had been prepared for them. They began parking their carts as they were used to the place.
“What do you think?”
Joonb.u.m shook his head as all the attention was off of him as they entered the site.
“It’s too much attention.”
“Yeah, they always do that when we first get here. It wears off in a week though. Oh, but not you.”
“Why?”
“You’re a knight! n.o.body will dare to stand in your way.”
Doral grinned as he pointed at Joonb.u.m’s armor. Joonb.u.m also grinned.
“Haha. How did I do?”
“Oh, sure. You, sir, put up a wonderful show! You really looked like one when you threw that pouch. Haha.”
Doral bowed gracefully as he shouted and the others laughed at Doral’s exaggeration. Young warriors put their thumbs up at Joonb.u.m.
They quickly set up the campsite. All of the carts were parked to the side and the Galims and Durans were tied nearby. The center had leather tents set up in a circle. In the middle of it all was a big tent in the shape of a tepee with a large opening at the top so that they could start a bonfire inside it. Joonb.u.m’s red and white carriages were also parked to the side.
“Look at that!”
“How does it do that?”
Some onlookers in the distance seemed to be shocked as Joonb.u.m’s RV began expanding itself.
“That’s unbelievable!”
“Did you see that?”
“Is that magic?”
“The carriage expanded!”
More people gathered at the news and it was already night when they disappeared. All of the people were shocked by the sight of the expanding RV.
*
“Are you going out?” Mayze asked as Joonb.u.m was looking at himself at the mirror.
“Yeah, I want to take a look.”
“Want me to go with you?”
Joonb.u.m shook his head at the offer.
“No. I can’t wear this if I go with you. You’ll draw attention right away.”
“Hmph. Okay.”
“Yeah. I’ll take you and Mom out soon.”
“Okay. You promised.”
Joonb.u.m checked his leather armor. He also had a shabby-looking sword on himself. After he covered himself with a ragged cape, he looked just like a common mercenary.
“I’m going out.”
Doral waved without a word. Joonb.u.m walked out as the sun began to set. He moved out to the direction where people were not gathered. There were many smells mixed on the road. It wasn’t a good smell since a lot of people were walking by and the road was full of Galim and Duran feces.
‘It’s so dirty. I understand why the boots are a must.’
Joonb.u.m walked carefully, avoiding the piles as he began looking around. Most of the structures seemed like single-story homes or stores with the occasional two or three-story buildings in between. Some were made with bricks while some were made with logs. As he walked onto a wider road, he found many stores selling various foods.
“Hey! You b.u.ms, go away! Please! Go away!”
A group of kids gathered in front of a store and the owner screamed at them, apparently annoyed by their presence.
“We’ll leave if you give us one.”
“Yeah! Just one!”
“You keep doing that for a month! I won’t give you a single crumb anymore!”
One of the kids spat on the ground as the owner shouted stubbornly.
“Heh! Nevermind then. I hope you rot while selling your little skewers in your entire life!”
“You evil man, you- ugh! RUN!”
“What? I fed you for a month and you call me evil? Sure, I’ll show you what real evil is!”
The merchant threw his rag at the kids and began chasing them with a club.
“RUN! The evil merchant is coming!”
The kids ran as they shouted and the owner followed them. At that moment, another group of kids quickly ran toward the store, took a bunch of skewers, and then ran away.
‘Oh, that’s interesting.’
Some noticed Joonb.u.m was watching and they glared at Joonb.u.m to threaten him to not interfere.
‘Brats.’
The owner realized what they had done and began screaming at them.
“You piece of- I will get you someday! You d.a.m.ned orphans!”
As he saw the events unfold in front of him, Joonb.u.m thought, ‘Wow, never seen such a thing apart from the movies.’
“Dammit!”
“Gen, are you doing that again? Stop pretending to be robbed. They’re not worth the trouble.”
An owner from the next store spoke to Gen, but the man screaming in anger didn’t seem to bother.
“Hah! You mind your own business.”
“I know they remind you of your childhood, but they are different now. You will end up like them if you keep doing that.”
Joonb.u.m walked past them as he heard what they were saying.
‘So, was that a charade?’
It seemed like Gen knowingly let those kids steal his skewers.
*
After he walked past more stores, Joonb.u.m stopped in front of a store with a good smell. It was a saloon. The sound of drunk people cheering and shouting inside was heard. He realized the alleyway was full of those kinds of stores.
“We have beer! We have all kinds of liquor! And a night of your dreams!”
“We have girls here. Come in.”
“Nice dinner. Today’s special is stew with fresh Brix meat.”
“Come here for a special night!”
Most of the stores were out of lights, but not here. Kids ran around, calling for customers as merchants and mercenaries entered stores to their liking.
‘I heard merchants from all over the country gathered here, but mercenaries and workers also do too.’
“Mr. Mercenary! Come to our Khaloda’s Night! We can provide food, drinks, and a bed! Beautiful ladies sing all night long too.”
Joonb.u.m realized there was a kid looking up to him in front of him.
“Guide me there.”
“Oh, so did you touch her?”
“Of course! I got laid!”
“And then?”
“Hey! One cup of honey beer here!”
“Me too!”
“I want a regular beer.”
“Coming!”
“Bring some food!”
“Welcome! Jon, here’s your tip.”
“Yay!”
A plump woman in her thirties handed a blackened coin to the kid who guided Joonb.u.m into the store. The kid ran out excited.
“Haven’t seen you around. Did you arrive here today?” The woman smiled as she guided Joonb.u.m to a table.
“Yeah.”
“I’m Siri. Welcome to Khaloda Village. And you are-”
“Tiger.”
“Oh, Tiger eh? So food or drink?”
“Beer please. I would like some simple food too.”
“Sure, I’ll prepare fried Brix.”
Joonb.u.m nodded and Siri quickly walked toward the kitchen. The floor had five women servers busily working among the customers.
“Did you see that today?”
“Yeah. Never saw such a carriage in my life.”
“What is his relations.h.i.+p with the Ainos?”
There were people talking about the Ainos everywhere. They did not withhold what they knew with each other as they were drunk.
‘It’s always the bar for any type of information gathering,’ Joonb.u.m thought as he paid attention to the discussions going around. The beer and Brix meat were served and Joonb.u.m slowly enjoyed the beer.
‘This is pretty nice.’
The beer was lukewarm, but the cold weather made it okay to drink.
‘It would’ve been better if it was cold. I like this dish too.’
The fried Brix had various vegetables and spices mixed together. Joonb.u.m kept drinking as he ordered more beer while he kept listening to the conversations around him.
“Did you hear that? The Donian Group is on to something big time.”
“Vice President Joseph? I heard he’s trying to make a big profit this time.”
“Really? Didn’t they already do it last year? They lied about the grain price that doubled because of the war last year, didn’t they? It did increase, but it wasn’t that much. It was the potion that skyrocketed because of the increased demand by the n.o.ble from the war. They already made fortunes!”
Joonb.u.m carefully listened to what mattered most.
“I heard they’re trying to double it. That man, Joseph Algony, wants to join the main group. That’s why he’s pus.h.i.+ng it.”
“Oh, I see. But that might backfire on him.”
“Of course, but n.o.body would want to rot in this countryside, especially if you rank that high in such a big merchant group.”
“But still, it’s not ethical.”
“Mind your own business! We are not in any position to worry about them. We have our own group to worry about. It’s better for us if they mess up.”
“That’s true.”
“The Ainos are the best people to trade with.”
“Yeah. Let’s hope the Donian mess it up big time.”
“Haha, sure.”
Merchants drank as they laughed it away. Then they moved onto the next hot topic, Knight Joonb.u.m and the countess that arrived with the Ainos. They talked about the amazing carriage he brought and everything else that was fascinating.
‘It’s good that I came here.’
The Ainos usually never left their campsite, so the people did not keep quiet while they were here.
‘I’ve changed my mind. I should cause some trouble.’