9 A Tough Star (1/2)

Chapter 9: A Tough Start

Translator: winniethepooh, Kris_LiuEditor: Vermillion

It was interesting and confusing for Lucien. The morning was obviously not busy hours for a pub.

A slender blonde girl was peeking inside from the pub door. Then, she sighed and was about to leave, but was surprised to notice Lucien standing there, waiting for her to get out of the way.

”Oh! Lucien!” She exclaimed.

Lucien was already used to the situation. He smiled and greeted, ”Morning! What’re you doing here?”

The girl’s tanned cheeks suddenly flushed, ”I… I am just on my way. I heard there’s a new bard here today in the pub…so…Anyway, I gotta go, Lucien.”

Before Lucien said his goodbye, the young girl rushed away with her cheeks red. Lucien guessed the bard she mentioned should be very attractive.

However, it had nothing to do with Lucien. He was here to work. He gently pushed the door and stepped inside the pub.

Lucien’s first impression towards the pub was not very good: a dusky space, with a strong alcohol smell and messy tables and chairs. It took his eye a while to get accustomed to the dark environment.

Several drunkards were woken by the noise. They emitted a few curses and went back to sleep on the tables. There was an hooked-nosed man in a tight black coat, probably in his thirties, sitting on a bar stool and was sipping his amber-coloured wine. Without saying anything he glimpsed at Lucien.

Lucien looked around. Soon, he found a dwarf snoring loudly behind the counter. He was sitting on a high bar chair with his round head leaning against the wall. His shining saliva was dropping on his blonde beard which was tied into a bow.

Knowing the dwarf would not wake up by himself, Lucien knocked on the counter loudly with his fingers.

The drunkards started swearing in the background. The old dwarf slowly woke up with sleepy eyes, ”Oh, my Lucien! Finally, you’re a grown-up now! Finally, you understand the wonderfulness of wine! Cheers! For our new customer…”

”It’s already morning, uncle… Cohn.” Lucien was hesitant about how to call the pub owner.

Cohn rubbed his eyes and looked around, ”I’m not drunk… Don’t lie to me. What a wonderful night!”

After quite a while, Cohn finally sobered up. When Lucien asked about the jobs, Cohn made a slightly pained look and said, ”Um… I don’t have really good ones now. All I got are some odd jobs. 9 o’clock tomorrow morning… Let me see. Three Fells for carrying stuff from the grocery to the gate zone. But you know, you have to give one Fell to the gangsters there at the end of the day. Then… all you can get from the work is two Fells, only enough for buying an old brown bread.

”Another thing… yes, here. The Musician Association’s gonna do a cleaning today. You can rent a cart and help them with the garbage. You can get eight Fells after the rent. But also… three Fells to the bastards.”

”There is something else too… No, I don’t think you’re qualified for that.”

Lucien nodded, he only had seven Fells with himself. He did not really have many choices. Working for the association was the best one.

”Cohn, do you have jobs with better payment?” Lucien asked again with curiosity.

Cohn laughed loudly, ”Yes, for sure, my boy. But those are for real men, as they require strength and courage, not for a young boy. You don’t even know how to drink.”

Then, he lowered his voice. ”I’ve seen so many people setting off towards the Dark Mountain Range from my bar. They were mercenaries and experienced adventurers. But, very, very few of them came back alive.” Cohn belched and continued, ”Of course they all made a big fortune, though.

”Don’t underestimate them. Many of them were High-Level Knights.” A gentle but attractive voice came from behind Lucien. His tone was lifted slightly in the end, sounding elegant and seductive.

Lucien turned around and saw a silver-haired man walking towards them from one of the pub’s rooms. He was wearing slim pants and a red jacket, covered with a black high-collared coat. Those formal clothes looked amazingly casual but elegant on him. He had quite refined features: silver eyes, tall and straight nose, thin lips…The man almost looked like a charming elf with his silky silver hair, like a full moon at night.

Holding a harp in his hand, the man picked a bar chair and sat down.

”Hey, Rhine! Want a drink?” Cohn grabbed a glass.

”Thanks, but I only drink at night.” He smiled. ”Peace has been prevailing on the continent for almost three hundred years. There are more knights than people need. The Duchy of Orvarit, the closest duchy to the Dark Mountain Range, is full of myths and mysterious treasures. Many new and honored knights come here to seek credits, honor, and fortune.”

He fiddled with the harp and continued, ”Besides, some of them were broken knights, some of them were convicted, some of them were travelers, while some of them were dark knights who were not admitted by the church.”

Cohn was a little bit unhappy with Rhine’s rejection. He murmured, ”Lucien, this is Rhine Carendia. As a bard, he travelled a lot. And he just got away from the passionate Tria ladies in the Kingdom of Syracuse.”

”The Kingdom of Syracuse?” Lucien asked.