NOVEL NEXT chapter 20
20 – Salt Delivery Commotion (7)
“Perhaps it should be a proposal that doesn’t make me feel awkward.”
Upon hearing that, Yeonju burst into laughter.
“Well, this must be so scary that it would make you wet yourself. Come on, listen. I’ll give you the money first.”
Yeonju stood up briskly and took out a money pouch from the safe under the desk.
The sound of it being placed on the table felt heavy, as if the money inside had shattered.
Riana’s eyes sparkled at the sound.
“Take it. It’s the bounty that was hanging around the dragon’s neck.”
Before I could reach out, Riana snatched the money pouch first.
“Oh… Wow… Hm… Ahahahaha…”
Riana exclaimed with strange interjections as she peered inside the pouch.
“Well, Riana, what do you think?”
“Hmm… With this much money… I can play and eat for at least a year, right…?”
“So…?”
Liana showed me the inside of her pocket.
Inside, there were plenty of golden coins that emitted a dazzling light.
The light was so beautiful that even though I am not human, I felt like I understood why humans are so obsessed with gold coins.
“If you mess around with the people who hunted the wyvern, you’ll lose more than just your bones. Isn’t that right?”
“I really intended to do that, but now that I’ve received this money, I’ll withdraw that thought.”
We narrowly avoided a big problem. Anyway… the bounty has been resolved.”
I could tell from the look in his eyes that he had something to say.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Didn’t they call us wandering adventurers?”
“Yes, they did.”
“Do you have any thoughts about earning money on a regular basis?”
Liana interjected at the lord’s words.
“What do you mean? There’s nothing like finding peace of mind as money pours in.”
“Our lady seems to be very knowledgeable about the ways of the world.”
“Well, who doesn’t like gold coins?”
The lord chuckled softly and continued speaking.
“I don’t know what kind of method you used to hunt the wyvern, but it seems like you have considerable skills. I would appreciate it if you could do a simple task for me under my employ. Of course, I will pay you a fair amount.”
“How much?”
When the lord mentioned the amount, Liana looked at me with a surprised expression on her face.
“Lord Elga…”
“Are you giving me a lot?”
“Are you calling that a lot? If it’s that amount… you can just sit down here…”
That’s what he said… What kind of task is he asking me to do?
“It’s a simple task. It’s about distributing products like salt and flour to the cities that need them. Our estate is in the middle of the southern kingdom, so we benefit a lot from distribution.”
“If it’s distribution… it means moving goods from here to there, right?”
“That’s right. It’s just a simple task of loading the goods onto a carriage and delivering them to the destination.”
I couldn’t understand Lord Elga’s words right away.
Just by listening to it, it sounded like a condition anyone would hesitate about, which made me suspicious.
“It seems like you’re hiding something.”
In response to my words, Lord Elga raised his hand in an exaggerated manner, as if he had been struck at the heart.
“hahahaha. You’re quite sharp. If it were just a simple labor, I wouldn’t have paid you so much.”
“What are you hiding?”
“Words are easy, but it’s actually a very dangerous task. As you know, salt is very expensive, so there are many people trying to get their hands on it.”
“So… you’re not asking for a carriage driver, but a bodyguard. Is there a reason you’re paying so much? Is it worth risking your life?”
“That’s right. There are dozens of gangs targeting the cargo, so it’s a very costly task to move mercenaries to counter them. That’s why we can hardly make any profit.”
“But then, two exceptional individuals like us appeared who took down a wyvern, and you calculated that we could protect the cargo and reduce the cost by just sending the two of us, right?”
Lord Elga applauded.
“Do you have telepathy? You hit the nail on the head. Actually, until now, my brother, or rather, the owner of this ring, has been in charge of distribution.”
Lord Elga held up the ruby ring on the table.
“While on the way, I suddenly disappeared and was taken hostage by a group of bandits. But then I heard the news that a ring had arrived at the jewelry store in the territory, and that’s how I ended up meeting all of you. Should I say that my sister’s death brought us together?”
I turned to Liana.
Liana, with her practical mindset, had already reached a conclusion in her head and immediately spoke up.
“It’s alright, Lord Erga. Even if they were dozens of bandits, they are just untrained swordsmen. Lord Erga, you are more than capable, aren’t you?”
“No problem.”
“Then…we’ll do it! My Lord. We’ll take care of it.”
In response to Liana’s words, Lord Erga stood up again from his seat and brought out another pouch.
It was much smaller than before, but it still contained gold coins.
“Here is the upfront payment. Let’s start working from tomorrow.”
Liana couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear.
I, too, felt a sense of joy as things were going so smoothly since I arrived in the human continent.
“So, what will you do? Will you stay in the castle and use a room? It will be much better than an inn.”
They must be monitoring us, afraid that we might run away with the money overnight.
But it doesn’t matter what their intentions are.
I have no intention of running away, and even if I did, I could do it at any time.
“That sounds good to us.”
Lord Erga called for a servant outside to guide us.
“Then, let’s meet tomorrow.”
After bidding farewell to Lord Erga, we followed the servant to another floor of the castle.
* * * * *
The servant must have misunderstood us as a couple or lovers, as they gave us a room with only one large bed.
I was about to say that we should have separate rooms, but Rihanna took me by the hand and led me into the room.
“Don’t humans usually not share the same bed unless they’re a couple?”
“Well, that’s true, but I think it’s safer for us to be together with Erga.”
As she said that, Rihanna looked down at her ample chest.
Indeed, it would be dangerous for her to be alone with a body like that.
“Well, that’s a valid point.”
The room was more comfortable and cozy than any inn room.
Luxurious deep red velvet curtains, silver candlesticks, and a spacious, plush bed.
“Do nobles usually live so extravagantly?”
“I told you. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t be able to live so lavishly. Honestly, I don’t really understand it either.”
“But aren’t nobles the owners of vast lands and can have everything that comes from the land?”
“That’s true, but the size of the land varies depending on the rank.”
“What is a rank?”
“Oh, right. You probably don’t know. Well, you see…”
Nobility ranks are divided into five: duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron.
The size of the fiefdom varies according to the rank, thus affecting the economic scale.
“So, how does one become a noble?”
“If your father is a noble, then you can become one too.”
“Hmm… like a lord, I suppose…”
“What is a Lord?”
Ah, is it my turn to explain this time?
“A Lord is what we call the leader of our bloodline. It’s not just anyone who can become one. It’s because power and strength are inherited through the bloodline, similar to how nobility is passed down.”
“Oh, I see. So, it’s like a noble dragon? That’s incredible. Dragons are already amazing, but if they’re noble dragons, they must be even more incredible.”
“It’s not necessarily like that. Even though I am the successor to the Lord, I had no freedom to do anything.”
“Really…?”
Liana half-opened her mouth and stared at me blankly.
What’s wrong? Did I make a mistake in my words?
“Er-ga-nim… You’re… the successor to this Lord?”
“Is there a problem?”
“No…? There’s no problem… It’s just… you were the Dragon Lord…? Wow… You were an esteemed person…”
Hmm… It’s true that being the successor to the Lord is prestigious.
Because that power is only passed down through the generations, if by any chance I were to die, our parents would have to raise Hetchling with utmost care until it becomes an adult.
But just because of that, it doesn’t mean being a Lord is a good position either.
There is a heavy responsibility and burden of leading the bloodline. The demands placed on it are too many.
Sacrifices for the sake of the bloodline take priority over personal will, and one has to live solely for the bloodline for thousands of years.
So, what about the successor?
One of the main reasons I fled the habitat was precisely because of that.
“Whether it’s a noble dragon or not, it’s useless in the human world.”
“But still, something extraordinary is something extraordinary.”
“So, does that mean being a noble is something that can only be achieved if you’re born into it?”
I changed the subject because it was becoming uncomfortable to constantly talk about the heir to the lordship.
Liana responded with a somewhat disappointed expression.
“It’s not that simple. You can earn a noble title by accomplishing great deeds or by buying it.”
“You can actually buy a title? It doesn’t seem like something you can just buy with money.”
Strictly speaking, that’s true. But it’s not completely impossible.”
“For example?”
“Hmm…”
Liana, rolling her big eyes, spoke.
“The easiest way is to find a bankrupted noble family and pay them money for their title. They need money, and we need a title, so it’s a deal.”
“I see. That’s interesting. But what about lower-ranking nobles? Do they have no possibility for advancement?”
“Well, I’m not so sure. As far as I know, that’s not the case. As I mentioned, if you accomplish great deeds, the country might raise you to a higher rank, or you can increase the power of your territory and raise your own rank.”
“Raising your own rank…”
“That’s right. It’s said that the strong ones can do that. Who would dare to say anything against them?”
I see… The more you know about human society, the more complex and interesting it becomes.
A lord… Hm…
“Oh, right.”
Liana suddenly remembered something and carefully took out the wyvern’s egg from her bag.
“hehehe. I’ll hatch it with my mom’s help.”
She hugged the wyvern’s egg and lay on the bed, grinning.
And in just a few seconds, I fell asleep, snoring.
After wandering around all day today, I must be really tired.
I covered Riana with a blanket and lay down on the bed myself.
As I thought about Youngju, I unknowingly drifted off to sleep.
* * * * *
The next day, we had a simple breakfast and went outside with the red-haired girl, Izano.
Next to Yeongjuseong, there was a carriage pulled by two horses.
The luggage compartment was covered with a tall lid, and inside, wooden boxes were neatly stacked.
I opened the lid of a nearby box and saw that it was filled with salt.
I wanted to taste it, but Izano slapped my back of the hand hard, shrieking.
“It’s expensive! It’ll be ruined even if it gets wet!”
“You didn’t have to hit me like that.”
Riana and I climbed onto the carriage stone together.
Izano handed us a note with the address to deliver the cargo.
“We have to go to this address. If we go to the neighboring house, we won’t get a single penny.”
“Don’t worry. We just have to go and deliver it, right?”
Just as we were about to start the carriage, Azino didn’t move aside and stared at me, gripping the carriage stone tightly.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing. Just go! Don’t be late!”
When I took the reins, the horse started pulling the carriage forward, trotting lightly.