9 A Walk Around Town (2/2)
”Milord I doth protest thy accusations, verily I speaketh in the finest of tongues.” Elya had heard many scholars in the past and this old man reminded her of them, but she was sure that there was something wrong with that sentence.
”Doth? Look, just tell me how much it is today.” Nikolai eyed the man askance.
”One silver for each skewer you ate.” The man dropped his affected speech once money came into play. ”Here's a free one for each of the Ladies.”
”Hey, you never give me anything free.” The Count complained.
”When you're a beautiful woman, then I'll give you extra.” That made Elya giggle in delight, but she tried to rein it in, she hated how she sounded when she giggled. It was like she was a brainless girl. Her efforts didn't succeed since the old man waggled his eyebrows at them, which broke all her restraint.
Grumbling Nikolai led them away, glancing at Elya chuckling and munching on her free food.
They ambled around town and Elya listened with rapt attention to Nikolai's anecdotes and descriptions of the various landmarks. Like a conductor would wave his empty skewer at them as he spoke. Occasionally Nikolai would be distracted and take them to a stall or hawker for a chat or quick purchase and that was how Elya found herself burdened with a strange assortment of trinkets. It was a fascinating glimpse into Konstanz, everyone seemed to recognise the Count, not coming to bother him, but once he approached, they were happy to strike up a conversation.
Chen cleared his throat and gestured meaningfully in her direction and Nikolai stuttered for a moment.
”Umm… so what kind of food do you like?” it looked like he wanted to learn more about her. After being prompted to ask of course.
”I'm not particularly picky. You?” She caught Chen gaping at the question. It seemed the Count had very little experience in talking with women, and she wasn't normal for a woman either.
”Pretty much anything with meat. Do you like eggs?”
”I guess I do.” Why was he so fixated on food? Nikolai nodded as if he'd learned something important.
”Do you like magic?”
”I don't have much exposure to it.”
”How about cooking?”
”Not really.”
”History?” He was looking a little desperate.
”Yes, I enjoy reading about history.” It was one of the few ways she was able to relax on her own. Unfortunately, historians were a dull, dry bunch that rarely came out from their libraries, so she had little interaction with people on the subject.
”Have you read Lubachek's treatise on the Reclamation?” Nikolai was excited all of a sudden, eyes sparkling as he moved closer.
”His arguments are intriguing, but the evidence was lacking.” She responded, digging through her memories for the obscure reference.
”Well, if you check…”
What followed was an in-depth discussion on the Reclamation and Elya found herself relaxing around him. He didn't seem so scary after all, an excitable young man who wore his heart on his sleeve.
Their conversation was forced to a halt when they reached their destination, a small inn near the main gate that was filled with people.
Elya looked up and caught a glimpse of the signboard.
'Dragon King' was emblazoned on it, glowing and sparkling in a way that implied magic was at play.
”I made that.” Nikolai declared proudly and led them in.