24 Relic from the Dynasty Part 1 (1/2)
What a rare find! Saleen could not have imagined that he would be able to pick up such an appealing Caucasus warrior in the deserted wilderness
”What kind of contract is it? What kind of rewards are there? Name those first.” Saleen lifted up his cup to take a drink, not raising his head to avoid looking at Canghong’s annoying smile.
”The reward is five hundred gold coins. We will distribute ten percent to you once the mission is completed. For the official employment contract, I will pay a deposit of two thousand gold coins, and the professional union will be the guarantor.” Canghong listed out all the conditions in a single breath.
”Let us dig in first.” Saleen was not very satisfied with the conditions, and did not agree to Canghong immediately. In reality, a Grade 1 mercenary could not earn tens of gold coins within a year, even in good economic times. However, because Saleen was a mage who could produce magic medicine, a mission worth five hundred gold coins was not substantial to him.
A succulent leg of lamb served on a large bronze plate was brought to the table. Without waiting for the others to start eating first, Sika drew her dagger from her waist. With one leg on her chair and a chop by her dagger, she cut off half the leg of lamb.
As though no one else was present, she started gnawing on the lamb. Everyone was stunned. They had known about the ruggedness of the Caucasus folk, but this beautiful young girl was eating as though she were no different from a bunch of hairy barbarians.
Squelch squelch….
Sika felt that the taste was a little bland and shouted, ”Proprietor, did you not add any salt?”
”Proprietor!”
Canghong gave an explosive shout, giving Sika a fright. She widened her eyes and looked at Canghong. Canghong resisted the impulses within him, gnashed his teeth, and shouted, ”Send some salt over.”
Saleen grew more suspicious of this Canghong. Was there a need for this Grade 4 mercenary regiment with silver-colored badges to befriend two recently registered mercenaries this way? He extended his hand, grabbed the other half of the leg of lamb, and began to gnaw at it like Sika.
Canghong and the others looked at the empty plate, feeling troubled. Were these two really stupid or did they hold no regard for the mission at all? A commission of five hundred gold coins, together with the dividends, was a sum impossible for a Grade 1 mercenary to earn in two years.
By the time the second dish of wild buffalo was presented, Sika had already finished her half of the leg of lamb. She moved the wild buffalo in front of her and continued to eat, disregarding the people around her.
As Canghong watched her, he grew certain that this mage could not care less about a remuneration of five hundred gold coins. How could he entice him? He was not willing to increase the sum. The mage robe on Saleen indicated that he was just a Grade 1 mage. It was a reasonable offer. It would be entirely possible to instead hire a Grade 3 mage if they were going to raise the offer.
Unfortunately, it would not be easy to control a Grade 3 mage. If the mage were to turn on them after the completion of the mission, the whole troop would be in a crisis.
”Then why don’t you name a price? As long as it is reasonable, I will agree,” Canghong told Saleen, who was still gnawing on the leg of lamb.
”Hmm.” Saleen put down the lamb. He had waited for these words for a long time. At this point, he said, ”I want to know what the mission is. The remuneration shall be calculated based on the number of days and is to be paid in advance weekly. It will be thirty gold coins per day, twenty for myself and ten for Sika. You will pay a deposit of five thousand gold coins when you sign the contract at the union. I want thirty percent upon the mission’s completion. If this is agreeable, you may share details of the mission. If not, we will leave after eating.”
”Do you think you are some mage master?” The swordsman with a scar on his face flared up. He was also starving, and was unhappy that the two dishes served had been finished by Saleen and Sika. Upon hearing Saleen’s demanding terms, he could no longer control himself and thus exploded, pounding the table and jumping to his feet.
”If I were a powerful mage master, I would ask for seventy percent,” Saleen said. ”I have seen the price list at the union. Is my request too demanding?”
Canghong was nearly going to vomit blood. It was true that mage masters would be able to get seventy percent of the income, but Saleen was just a junior mage and was not even worth ten percent. He had given a good offer, and felt that Saleen’s request was outrageous.
”Alright, I agree,” Canghong consented, gritting his teeth. If not for the fact that he had to keep this from the others in the troop, he would not have agreed to such ridiculous demands. He would empty his savings of five years for the deposit of five thousand gold coins.
”Then tell me, why are you so insistent on hiring Sika?” Saleen was nearly full, rubbing his stomach as he looked at Canghong.
A faint redness appeared on Canghong’s coy face as he said in a low voice, ”Now that you are going to hear about it, you must not go back on your words. Even though this is Dean City…”
Saleen glanced across the five of them, and saw each one looking at him nervously. Although he was only a Grade 1 mage, they were still afraid. Because Canghong’s words had contained a threat, they did not know if this rash young man would fly into a rage.
Naturally, Saleen was not angry. He was also from Sikeqinya, and possessed the calculating nature of a businessman. If the other party’s request was reasonable, he would not feel that his pride had been damaged.
”Alright, you may tell me. Since I have agreed to be hired by you, there is nothing for you to worry about.”
Saleen was a little impatient. It was a real chore to be a mercenary, and it was not as easy as producing magic medicine. However, he could only earn a thousand gold coins each year by making magic medicine, and that was given that he was the only mage apprentice in the entirety of Ceylon City. For this mission, he would get twenty out of thirty gold coins each day, and would, in less than two months, earn the same amount as he had earned the year before.