Vol 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)
Chapter 1: Light and Shadow Part 1 – translated by Doza
“You really are a good person!”
The wandering bard happily surveyed his rooht! It was a room for him alone He had not expected that the eccentric Red Cloak would not only take him in, but even help hi on the floor would be good enough! Sure enough, his luck today was pretty good
“… Rahter you with my blade”
The bard exclaimed in surprise, “Eh? You use blades? Normally everyone wants to use a ‘sword’ to chop me up!”1
Looks like this fellow has frequently angered other people Red Cloak didn’t knohether to laugh or cry
“Since you have treatedthe Ballad of the Warrior Queen to you once o to sleep!”
“No need…”
However, the bard had already opened histhe Ballad of the Warrior Queen which had an extremely mellow melody “The Warrior Queen, is what she’s called…”
Since he had already started singing, Red Cloak also stopped protesting He si that was as tranquil as still water
Hee! I knew this person likes the Ballad of the Warrior Queen Looks like I may have all three hed delightedly in his heart
Ah! Sure enough, fate is in my favor at the moment
There was evidence to confirenerous host Not only did he provide three meals, he didn’t mind even when the bard additionally ordered soly did not have much of a notion about money
A silver ducat for a glass of wine Even some of the lesser nobility could not afford to drink at these prices However, when the bard asked if he could add on an order of one glass of wine, Red Cloak merely replied, “Do as you wish”
He is definitely super rich! And thus the bard decided to latch on to this person till death
“You really take a lanced at the wine in the bard’s hand, but as usual used an unconcerned tone to say, “I don’t suppose you’ll still want dessert after this?”
“Ah!” The bard sighed over the good wine, and replied very politely, “Actually there’s no need for that I’m not interested in dessert”
Red Cloak reclined against the back of the chair and said in a calht you would like dessert a lot”
“Why would you think so?” The bard asked curiously
“Because the iive is like a slice of cake”
The bard s I’m as sweet and beautiful as a cake?”
Red Cloak let out a quick “Haha” and replied, “You are just like a cake, all show and no substance Eating an apple is ”
“This is a totalI aly protested
Without a trace of politeness, Red Cloak repriuy who spends all his money on hair oil to the point where he has noto do with the word ‘dependable’!”
“That…” The bard’s face turned pained, thehim absolutely speechless
With nothing to say in response, all he could do was rub his nose In any case he couldn’t do anything to Red Cloak
The two of them silently bowed their heads and ate the food on their plates When Red Cloak had aloing to the tavern to sing the Ballad of the Warrior Queen? Is today the second day?”
“That’s right!” The bard nodded his head, and could not help asking out of curiosity, “How about you? What are you going to do?”
“I’ to the Adventurers’ Guild to see if there are any , “If not, then we ht have to starve”
“… Aren’t you very rich?” The bard froze How could it be different from what he had assumed?
Red Cloak casually took out a wallet, turning it upside down and producing just a single clink of ducats
“One gold ducat and one silver ducat?”
The bard counted again and again The aly would really require some talent… Goodness! They hadn’t paid for their food yet, and just now he had even ordered a glass of orth a silver ducat! Furthermore, they had eaten two plates of minced meat noodles, tls of thick soup, two rolls of white bread and a plate of beef None of these dishes come cheap, and they probably add up to almost another silver ducat? If that’s the case…
“We are left with only nine silver ducats?” The bard cried out in alarm
“It is ‘I’ who am left with only nine silver ducats,” Red Cloak emphasized clearly
“The r-roo so much that he stuttered
“Relax, I paid for a week of the rooly
The bard heaved a sigh of relief, pleased with the additional wealth as he patted his chest “Then having nine silver ducats is enough I’ll sing the Ballad of the Warrior Queen for twomoney”
He shot a glance at Red Cloak and could not resist coain, you are also too careless about old and one silver ducat left, why did you still let lass of expensive wine? Ahhh! Don’t tell me you booked two rooms for the entire week?”
After receiving Red Cloak’s nod of confire-like expression of lamentation on his face Then he bowed his head and continuedto himself, “There was absolutely no need to book an extra rooether a bit, right? It’s really such an excessive waste ofto give us a refund Probably not… Did you know, a gold ducat is actually enough for a family to comfortably live for more than half a year? If it is a thrifty faht or nine months How can you spend it all just like that? If you were very rich, then it wouldn’t matter, but you already have no h it is hard to live frugally after being accustomed to luxury, since you’re already out of funds, you still have to learn to be thrifty…”
“Why don’t you order another glass of wine?” Red Cloak calmly asked
“No way, how can I still drink wine? We’re going to run out of old ducat and silver ducat left on the table… No, it was actually nine silver ducats!
“Don’t say that We got acquainted for better or for worse, so it’s a lass of fareine”
“Farewell?” Stunned, the bard asked blankly, “Ah, but I’?”
“I know you are not leaving, and I a collectedly, then suddenly grabbed the bard’s collar, and fiercely growled, “But if you start coain, then I’ you to death with one strike ofyou to the netherworld!”
The bard obediently closed his mouth “I won’t complain anymore, so let’s eat!”
Red Cloak didn’t respond at all
“Will you co?” The bard still couldn’t resist asking another question Having a person who liked to listen to the Ballad of the Warrior Queen sitting in the audience was always better than having the whole place filled with booing, though as a rather cold fellow, Red Cloak probably wouldn’t applaud
“I’ll see if I can go later” Red Cloak looked outside the door, saying, “Besides going to the guild, I still have some other business to take care of”
The bard didn’t dare ask Red Cloak what he was going to do, because when Red Cloak had spoken, his voice had dropped several pitches He thought it definitely couldn’t be anything that would make the listener happy
“Since you aren’t leaving, I’o first”
As Red Cloak spoke, he seelass was still one-third full, but he had no intention of waiting for the bard to slowly finish it He pushed away the plate in front of him, left his seat, and headed for the door of the inn
“See you later!” After loudly bidding Red Cloak goodbye, the bard continued to drink his wine, but when he looked down he sao shi+ny ducats on the table He hastily stood up and yelled, “Wait, you didn’t take your money!”
Red Cloak didn’t even look back and just replied nonchalantly, “Keep it for your lunch money!”
“Then what… about you?”
The bard’s voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, as Red Cloak had already walked out Even if he were to call out again, Red Cloak wouldn’t be able to hear him
Why is he being so nice to me? Is it really just for a performance of the Ballad of the Warrior Queen? The bard pondered over Red Cloak’s every action, but still could not reach a verdict
“Maybe it’s not sonice to me than the fact that his character is simply rather casual?”
Believing that he had already figured it out, the bard beckoned a waitress over to finish settling the bill and then inquired about taverns in the vicinity where he could perform the Ballad of the Warrior Queen