9 A Tough Star (2/2)
Cohn burst out laughing. His long, blond beard swayed with his laughter. With an ambiguous smile on his wrinkled face, he replied. ”Yes, The Syracuse. A passionate, romantic nation where love is the top priority.”
A drunkard joined them when they started talking about Syracuse. He loudly burped, and asked with eagerness, ”Rhine, the la… ladies and madams… there, there in Tria, were they really that beautiful… and... hot?”
Rhine smiled casually and answered with his unique tone, ”Yes, they were. Their eyes were like morning stars, hair like silk, lips like roses, and their fair skin like milk. I can still remember the perfumes they wore and their wet, warm breaths. A few ladies and duchess even invited me to their secret manors…”
The drunkard cut in with excitement, ”Did you go then?”
Lucien knew the most common topic within men was women. While he was listening, he was also thinking about his learning how to read.
Rhine, with the same smile, answered, ”I told them I did not like dirty things that had been used by someone else. I love beautiful, clean, and pure lives, no matter men or women. They’re the tastiest things in the world.”
”Bullshit, Rhine. There was no way you dared to speak to them like that.”
”Right, if you had answered like this, you would be in the famous jail in Tria by now! Come on, Rhine!”
”Those ladies, many of them could compete with the knights. Dare you!”
Rhine shrugged his shoulders slightly facing Cohn and the drunkard’s laughter, ”That’s why I’m here now, not in Syracuse.”
Pounding the counter, Cohn was laughing so hard that he almost got choked. Drunkards there were all wakened up by his pounding, looking angry but confused, ”Such… such a good story from our beloved Rhine!” Cohn’s face turned red, ”Cheers! For the wonderful story!”
All the drunkards knew was ale. They pushed their ways to the counter to grab the free drink.
”Cheers! For… Rhine, the blowhard!”
”The blowhard!” They laughed and shouted.
A while later, when the pub finally quieted down again, Cohn was very surprised to find that Lucien was still there.
”What else? My boy?” Cohn asked.
”Um… yes. I’ve got a new idea. I… I’m thinking about…learning how to read.”
”Ah? Read?” Now Cohn was even more surprised, ”You talked with Rhine? You two are dreamers.”
Several guys in the bar started heckling.
”Wooo… What a magnificent, glorious dream for our brave little pauper!”
While some showed their support, ”Lucien, good for you! Dreams make a real man!”
Cohn laughed with them for a while and then turned to Lucien, ”Two years, Lucien. It’ll take you at least two years to learn how to read. You’ll start from scratch. Do you have any idea how much money and effort it will cost you?”
Lucien looked into his eye, nodded firmly, ”I understand. So many people tell me I’m too old for this or that. But Cohn, as people said, better late than never. If I don’t make up my mind, there will never be a start.”
As a university student in his original world, Lucien was confident that, with the all the knowledge he mastered before, he would be able to understand the language rules and start reading very soon.
Twirling his big beard, Cohn nodded, ”I see… You’re too old to enter the church school… that’s for sure. Then… There are two ways: either you become an apprentice for ten years, or you pay for a teacher. But, the first way… you know, it depends on whose apprentice you want to be. I don’t see the necessity for a blacksmith to learn reading. They won’t pay you for that. If you can afford a teacher… it will be five Nars a month. Five silver coins! And the price is same in the whole city.”
Lucien did not want to become an apprentice. Ten years was too long, but he also had to make sure no one would possibly find out that he was trying to learn magic. Being an apprentice meant he had to live in his master’s place. That would not be good.
”Five Nars. It’s probably gonna take you half year to save five Nars if you work from day to night and eat the cheapest brown bread.”
”And how much can you learn within a month?” Cohn added, ”Are you still going?”
Lucien answered firmly, ”Yes, I am.”
A hundred Fells equaled to one Nar. It was a tough start. But still possible.