Throne of Magical Arcana - Chapter 137

Chapter 137
"The nightingale is singing . In the air, her voice was floating…"


The bard’s singing, although in that small border town, was actually pretty beautiful and alluring . Thus, when Lucien came to sit down on the other side of their table, the half-elf girl with light brown hair was a bit surprised and her back straightened up immediately .
When Lucien explained his intention, the elder elf-looking lady was amused, "You want to hire us?"
Her fair hand was gently knocking on the wooden table in a fixed rhythm .
Looking at Lucien sitting in front of her, the sophisticated lady also took him as a young noble lord who had read too many adventure novels and was acting on the impulse to explore the continent .
"Yes," Lucien nodded calmly, "I want to go to Korsor . I wonder if you three are willing to be my guards . "
The lady did not answer Lucien directly, instead, she started her introduction, "I’m Joanna, Greatsword Warrior . This is my husband Simon, Sword and shield Warrior . Both of us have the same power of a high level knight squire . This is my younger sister Betty, a well-trained archer . Her rank’s a bit lower than ours, but not by much . So, as you can see, my distinguished client, we’re a bit pricy, but our reputation is pretty good . "
"I heard that from the owner already," said Lucien . "That’s why I came to you directly . "
"Haha, Hansen really promotes us very well . " Joanna laughed aloud .
Lucien could tell that a bunch of the adventurers and mercenaries sitting nearby looked a bit irritated when Joanna was talking . However, they could not deny that they were very good guards and the arrangement of their team was very reasonable — two for the melee, and one for the ranged attacks .
"Joanna… Let’s take the job! I’m planning on going to Korsor myself anyway . " Betty looked pretty excited, "I heard that the talented musician named Burt from the duchy is gonna host a concert in Korsor these days!"
Joanna rolled her eyes toward her younger sister . Betty simply could never tell when she was supposed to talk, and when she must not . Betty stuck out her tongue toward Joanna for a second and then shut her mouth up tightly . However, her eyes were looking at Lucien, and her pointy ears slightly trembled .
"How much do you want, Joanna?" asked Lucien directly . He did not really care about the price since he still had eight-five Thales with him after the two-month travel .
"Umm…" Joanna squinted her eyes a bit when she was considering the price .


"One Nar for each of us a day . " Smiling, Simon represented his wife and stated the price to Lucien .
Staring at her husband, Joanna was a bit choked .
"Simon!" she complained . This price was way lower than what she had thought .
"We shouldn’t charge our client more just because the client’s wealthy . " Simon grinned to Joanna, "It’s about our reputation . "
"Also, my client," Simon turned to Lucien, "I have a couple of requests . "
"Yes?" Lucien nodded .
"You need to pay us on a daily basis . " Simon paused a bit, glanced at Betty, and continued, "And give Betty’s pay to me . She has no idea how to save, and we’re saving for her future knight training in her name . "
In some of the countries in the south-central part of the continent, knight training was not free, as it was in Aalto . Many nobles struggling with their financial problems actually were making money out of it, giving knight training, which was not necessarily a bad thing altogether, since more commoners could get a chance at being a knight squire or even reaching a higher social status .
Betty pouted out of dissatisfaction, but she could not deny what Simon just said .
"No problem," agreed Lucien . , "Let’s get the contract done then . "
All the adventurers and mercenaries registered with the Adventurers’ Association needed to sign a contract with their clients .
Handing Hansen his own identification and documents, Lucien took a glance at the content and then signed the contract provided by the tavern owner .
"Thank you, sir . " Lucien politely nodded toward Hansen .


The moment Hansen looked at Lucien’s identification, he became very surprised, but he instantly hid the different look on his face .
"My pleasure, Mr . Evans . " Hansen then carefully checked Lucien’s documents . The fact that he had a great musician here visiting his tavern was definitely something he could brag in the future in front of his guests and offsprings .

Joanna accepted the three Nar paid in advance and then left her fingerprint on the paper .
"You’re very generous, sir . " Joanna smiled sweetly, "Can I call you Mr . Evans?"
In contrast, Lucien’s three guards weren’t really hyped up due to Lucien’s identity, since all of them were illiterate .
"Sure . " Lucien nodded slightly .
"Another Mr . Evans!" Betty grinned, "You know there’s a talented, young and handsome musician in Aalto whose surname is Evans as well! I heard that he’s traveling across the continent for his music right now . I wonder if he would come here to Djibouti!"
"Dream on! A great musician visiting this remote and poor country?" Joanna said directly to her, "Just get your feet on the ground and awaken your Blessing . When you join the Violet Knights, we can all move to Aalto . "
Lucien laughed, "How do you know this Mr . Evans is good looking, Miss Betty?"
"All the bards say that!" answered Betty cheerfully .
. . .
Outside the tavern, when Lucien was about to get on the coach, a young man quickly walked toward him .
"Wait! Please wait!" The young man was waving his hand .
The man in a white robe was in his twenties . He had blond hair, and on his angular face there was a pair of blue eyes .
"Hi, Mr . Evans! Can I join you folks?" He grinned, "I’m also heading for Korsor, and I’m willing to afford one third of the guards’ pay . "
It was not the first time someone else wanted to join Lucien, and he was always very cautious about this .
"You don’t look short of money . Why you want to join me?" asked Lucien directly .
Joanna, Simon and Betty did not care . They would not make any extra either way .
"Hansen told me that you just got the best guards in the tavern . " The young man shrugged, "As for the rest of the adventurers and mercenaries… They looked more like robbers to me . "
"That’s really true . " Betty laughed .
The young man took out his identification and documents and handed them to Lucien .
"The Musicians’ Association… Burt Wise…" reading the document silently, Lucien learned that the young man was also a musician, and thus he lowered his guard a bit .
"Why are you heading for Korsor, then?" Lucien, however, knew that one could never be too cautious on this continent .
"I’m visiting the Musicians’ Association there," Burt answered, "to, um, to study . "
"All right . " Lucien gave the documents back to him, "Mr . Wise . Welcome . We’re companions now . One thing I need to remind you is that I’m sort of bothered by psychasthenia, so please be as quiet as possible . I need sleep . "
"For sure . " Wise nodded .
"Are you a musician, Mr . Wise?" Betty, on the other side, got excited .
"I’m still learning . " Wise remained rather polite .
"That’s great! Do you know For Silvia? How do you feel about it?" Betty’s eyes were shining with excitement . She kept talking and talking until the coach started to leave .
Wise got on the coach and smiled to Lucien, "Very passionate girl . I actually don’t really know much about music, though . "
"Me neither . " Lucien also smiled, and then he closed his eyes, ready to start to analyze his magic structures .
However, at this time, another traveler asked to join them . This was an ordinary lady holding a baby in her arms .
"Nice to meet you, Mr . Evans . My name’s Lena, and I’m heading for the town named Fog, located between Dragon Tooth and Korsor," the lady said to Lucien gently . "Can I join you? I can afford my own expense . "
Seeing that the lady was with a baby, Lucien agreed . The coach was quite spacious anyway .
Then, the coach finally started moving . Simon was in the front, and the coach was followed by Joanna and Betty on each side .
As soon as they left the town, a short but stout man caught up with them .
"Chris, why are you here?" asked Joanna, completely alert .
"I’m also going back to Korsor! That’s it!" answered Chris aloud, "When you guys save enough money, you can send Betty to me for knight training . You know, I’ve trained a knight before!"
As Chris was bragging, his eyes were peeking at the coach . However, the people in the coach remained very silent .
In the hot sunlight, the coach was smoothly heading for Korsor, raising a trail of dust after it .