Extra Luggage
The Morning of the second day, Mr.Mageless leading three of his workers, appeared at the door of the ‘Mercenary’s Home’ just as promised.
“Thank you for your patronage, we wish you a safe journey, viscount! It is an honor to have a client such as you, please you must come back again.”
When he saw the elf, he spoke a string of well wishes, before jumping aboard the carriage, starting to instruct his workers to unload the goods, securing them on the back of the horse.(1) A moment later, of the three grown horses, the back of one already had a small mountain of items piled on top, but there were still several more items being taken from the carriage. Even without the three packaging boxes, the remaining things would definitely exceed the weight this horse could carry.
The knight frowned, just when he was about to start questioning, Mr.Mageless was already speaking, “Since this tent is a little large, I took the initiative to bring a horse. This is the shop’s horse, you are free to use it. Just bring it back when you return.”
“Mr.Mageless, this…”
“Please don’t worry, there is absolutely no added rental charges. Since the Legendary Era this shop, has operated under the philosophy of trust.”
As he was speaking, the three workers had already finished loading the goods, and Mr.Mageless bowed deeply, thrusting the reins into the knight’s hands, “Not to mention it’s such a generous and forthright client as the viscount, how can I fuss over such a small thing, hahaha.”
Without waiting for a reply, Mr.Mageless had already jumped onto the carriage, before sticking his head back out again, saying to the elf, “Viscount, your order list is inside the box of gear, I have already personally checked, nothing is missing. – Of course, if there are anything else you need, please visit our store at any time!”
“Forthright? Generous?” The elf watched as the carriage went further and further away, “I clearly remember I didn’t pay a single coin. – Military stipend should only pay the base cost of the items, why does Mr.Mageless speak as if I had spent a thousand gold at the shop?”
“The Mr.Mageless today seems a little different than the one yesterday.” The knight said, “Doesn’t he have more wrinkles on his face? Although I’m not an expert in differentiating the features of dwarves, at least the three workers looked the same to me.”
“That’s not my expertise either,” the elf shook his head, “but one thing I can be certain of, is that ‘this’ Mr.Mageless, did not mention a single word about ‘magic’.”
“There has to be some secret hidden in these things,” the knight grinned, resting his hand on his sword, “time to open some presents.”
There was nothing wrong with the horse, it was in good shape, even a little stronger than the three horses they had chosen.
The box of gear was carefully opened, in case some sort of catch was triggered, but there was nothing to be discovered. As for the gear itself, the knight used all the appraisal magic in his a.r.s.enal, and still did not find anything irregular.
The travel rations followed, a little bit was taken out of every pack and appraised by the sparrows and crows at the door of the ‘Mercenary’s Home’(2), there was no poison. The elf even borrowed someone’s silver broach to test it, the results were still the same. And just from looking, the items were definitely not normal military grade munition.
All that remained was the tent. Taking a whole horse to carry, it seemed to be the same size as a normal tent. The order list said, ‘magic tent with super large s.p.a.ce setting, attachment: four hammocks, one set of folding desk and chair, one set of self-erecting frame(3), pegs with guy ropes(4),damp-proofed flooring (including special heavy weights)’.
“There aren’t any fire crystal showers,” the knight shook his head, “I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.”
The elf took everything down one by one.
When he opened the double layered canvas, the hammocks and folding table were at the very top, below that was a box with frame pokes and pegs, and below that the floorboards were tied tightly together along with a bucket the size of a wine barrel.
The knight knocked the outside of the bucket, a deep sound came out. Other than three holes, the outside was smooth, without any seams, it seems to be solid.
“So that’s probably… the heavy weight…right?” the elf came back to compare the items on the order list, “We could have found a few stones of the same size outdoors. What type of tent needs ‘special’ weights.”
The knight casted ‘Holy Eye’, carefully inserting the tip of his sword into one of the holes. An opening silently appeared at the barrel. The knight took one look inside, and smiled somewhat helplessly.
He reached his hand in, taking out what was inside, placing it in front of the elf.
“—The type that has a dwarf attachment.”
The dwarf wore the uniform of Mageless’s Workshop, and seemed to be sleeping soundly before this. Currently he was sitting on the floor, looking around, although it seemed he was not completely awake yet.
“Magic Academy… are we there yet?”
The elf also smiled, bending down, he said to the dwarf, “Not yet.”
“If you still want to go there, best give us an explanation.” The knight added from the side.
The dwarf looked at the sword that was still unsheathed in the knight’s hands, the blade reflected the sunlight, giving off a dangerous feeling. Then he lifted his head seeing the walls of the ‘Mercenary’s Home’, then released a sign of despair.。
“Oh Lord, am I going to be locked up?”
“That depends on how reasonable your explanation is,” the knight said, “you might just be tied to the back of your horse and returned to the shop.”
“If I had to choose one, please just lock me up,” the dwarf replied in depression, “my life will be over, if you send me back.”
“Cain, stop teasing him.” The elf grinned, nodding to the dwarf, “Let’s introduce ourselves first, ‘Mr.Mageless’?”
The knight sheathed his sword, the dwarf looked back at the knight and elf, finally decided to start speaking.
“I’m Julian · Mageless Jr, the son of the current Workshop owner Julian · Mageless.” He removed the white powder in his beard, lifting his sleeve to wipe his face, revealing a face that was clearly much younger, “Of course, when I’m in the store, I pretend to be my father, this helps gain client trust more easily.”
“My father gave me his name, in the hopes that I could be the next him. Honestly, I respect my father a lot. I’ve never done anything rebellious growing up. But this time, I can’t stand it, he… wants me to get married and take over the family business!”
“Let me guess,” the knight grinned, “She has a long beard, and a temper like a mother bear?”
“No, Sir Knight, you are mistaken,” the dwarf pressed the bridge of his nose, “she is a lady from an impoverished n.o.ble family, beautiful, gentle. My father wants me to marry her, this way we can officially merge into human society, and no longer find marriage partners within the clan.”
“That’s pretty creative thinking, but you don’t want it?”
“That’s what I’m afraid of…” the dwarf shuddered, “I’m afraid that I will want it.”
“I’m a normal dwarf, I like money, treasures, food, good wine, a soft bed – but that’s all secondary. I know what I really want, ever since I read that diary I had known. It was a diary left by my ancestor, he wrote about his adventures there. In the past he traveled with a group that deals specially with cases to do with magical creatures, and traveled throughout this continent.”
The elf noiselessly drew in a breath.
“Since reading that diary when I was ten, till now that I am twenty eight, almost reaching the age of thirty. I invented all sorts of magical tools, helped the workshop continue to thrive. My father thinks I have the potential to surpa.s.s him, the clan respects me, human merchants envy me. In these eighteen years, I have spent them well, if someone were to say I was unhappy, I will definitely say ‘nonsense’.”
“But it’s not the same,” the dwarf shook his head, “I like this sort of life, but it’s not enough. In the eyes of the people who struggle just to eat, I am probably a greedy person.”
“But, his blood runs in my veins, I want to become …an adventurer.” The dwarf lifted his head, saying in a shaky voice.
“I’m weak, cowardly, without self-control, even having dreamed for eighteen years, I still haven’t really been striving for it. I cling to the current peaceful life. That’s because I know I’m useless, so I run away. But I’m scared that if this continues, I will really become Julian Mageless the owner of the Workshop, and not…”
“The descendant of the Merchant adventurer Todd · Mageless.(5)”