Have Magic - Chapter 77



Only Noblemtl

Embrace the Magic (77)

The port city of Rance was the second most prosperous city in the Kingdom of Beros after the royal capital. The traders who periodically came from the central continent and the goods they brought in attracted most of the merchants in the Kingdom of Beros.

Rance originally had a large population and also had a huge floating population.

The number has increased recently. Refugees fleeing the war and those seeking asylum or escape to the central continent are flocking in, creating a swarm.

When people gather, the commercial districts naturally come alive. Recently, as the crowds of people gathered, the central continent’s major corporations sent countless merchants to the port cities of the western continent.

The upper part of the central continent was used to unload supplies to the port cities in the southern part of the Thirteen Nations Alliance, and to carry special products from the Western Continent. In the remaining space, those who wanted to seek asylum or escape were paid a large sum of money to board them.

From the Central Continent to the Western Continent, and from the Western Continent to the Central Continent. With countless people coming and going, Rance became more vibrant than before the war.

As soon as Rodin entered Rance, he disposed of all the horses in the stall. He also disposed of the fat horses that he had grown attached to after a long time.

“Brother Rodin. There are a lot of people.”

“Stick close to her and don’t let go. Larry, you take care of Bianca.”

“Yes. Leave Bianca to me.”

“No! Bianca is taking care of Larry!”

The way they bickered was exactly like Malone and Ellis. For some reason, it felt like I could see myself in 10 years.

‘It would be better to book accommodations before taking a boat.’

The pier is on the opposite side, so I decided to first look for a place to stay.

‘There’s no one touting? That means business is going well.’

I went into a nearby inn and looked for a room. As expected, there were no vacancies.

“I have a headache.”

“Brother, what should I do?”

“The inn isn’t the only one here. Let’s take a look around.”

I asked if there were any vacancies, but they were all occupied.

There was one inn that had rooms, but Rodin immediately turned around and left.

All the guests in the restaurant on the first floor looked like rough gangsters. It might be fine if you were alone, but it wasn’t a suitable inn to stay in with children.

“I’m fine. Do as you wish, hyung.”

“I like it.”

We continued to walk around the inn with the kids. Larry and Bianca, who had been looking around excitedly, gradually became quieter.

‘Isn’t this sleeping rough in the city?’

After searching for a while, I arrived at a large inn in the middle of the commercial district. Judging from the outside, it was several times larger than any other inn I had seen so far.

“Brother. Isn’t it expensive here?”

“You don’t have to worry about money.”

Perhaps because it was a large inn, the size of the entrance was different. The door could be opened on either side, and the material used for the door was also of quite high quality.

Clang!

I opened the door and went in. A woman in her 20s sitting at the counter right next to me greeted me with a smile.

“Welcome. What brings you here?”

“I came here because I need a room to stay.”

“What should I do? There are no vacancies right now. I’m sorry, sir.”

This inn also had no vacancies. I was starting to get worried. If things continued like this, I would end up in the city and sleeping rough.

“Is there nothing at all?”

“There is still an annex left.”

“What about the annex?”

“It varies from 800 gold to 2,000 gold per day. Naturally, the more expensive the accommodation, the bigger and better the place.”

Luckily, there was a room. I didn’t have to worry about money. The annex would be an independent space, so it would be perfect for spending time with children.

“How many rooms does the 800 gold annex have?”

“It consists of three rooms and a common area. There is a separate bathroom, and you can call a waiter to take a bath. Of course, the meals are also much more luxurious.”

“Okay. I’ll go there. I’ll stay there for three days.”

Rodin reached into his backpack and pulled out a wad of gold coins. That wasn’t enough, so he pulled out a few more coins until he had 2,400 gold.

“Thank you, sir. I’ve collected your payment, and here’s your key. Jimmy! I’ll show you to guest house number 8.”

“Yes, sir. Please follow me.”

Guided by a man in his early twenties named Jimmy, I went behind the inn building. There were houses that looked like mansions lined up on both sides of the main street.

Rodin and his party were guided to the building closest to the main body of the inn.

As described, there were three rooms centered around a large common space. In front of the rooms, there was also a large open space large enough to exercise.

“This is it, sir. Do you see two people over there?”

“Yes, I can see it.”

“They are the staff in charge of this annex. If you need anything, please ask them. If you feel uncomfortable because they are not friendly, please let them know at the counter at any time.”

“Thank you.”

A man named Jimmy left. His kind attitude until the end was impressive.

“wow!”

“Honey! Your house is so big. Are we going to live here?”

“No. We’ll take a boat later. Let’s stay here until then.”

“Shall we get on the boat?”

“Yeah. I’m going to the Central Continent.”

Rodin, along with Larry and Bianca, checked each room in the annex. It was kept spotlessly clean.

“here.”

Rodin raised his hand to the employee in charge of the annex. Then one of the employees ran over and bowed his head slightly.

“Did you call, sir?”

“I missed dinner. Can I eat now?”

“Yes. Guests staying in this annex can enjoy six meals for free: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

Each annex had a set number of free meals. Guests staying in the three-room unit were entitled to six free meals, and additional meals were available for an additional fee.

“Okay. Please send me all six servings.”

“All right.”

Rodin unpacked in one of the rooms. Then Larry and Bianca each chose a spare room.

After a short break, the meal soon arrived. It was a sumptuous dish consisting of nine different dishes.

“wow!”

“looks delicious.”

It was more extravagant than any dish I’ve ever had. I felt bad about touching it.

Still, I took a bite to satisfy my hunger. It was surprisingly delicious. It was the most fantastic taste I’ve ever had in my life.

“Let’s eat.”

“thank you for this food.”

“I’ll eat well… Meow!”

Although it was enough for six people, the meal was a satisfying one. Larry and Bianca each ate about one serving, and Rodin finished the rest.

“Rodin, I love you.”

“Only when I eat something delicious?”

“lol.”

After finishing the meal, I motioned to the staff outside. Then, they came and took the empty plates. Then, they brought a rag and wiped away even the traces of food spilled on the floor.

“I don’t regret spending the money.”

I didn’t want to miss out on this taste and this atmosphere. I had a feeling that I would only be eating expensive food at nice places from now on.

“Ah, good.”

“I’m sleepy.”

“Grow up. It’s too late.”

We wandered around for quite some time because there were no vacancies. It was also quite late, so Larry and Bianca were well past their prime.

I sent the kids to their rooms. Larry was still somewhat conscious, but Bianca’s eyes were already half-closed.

Rodin entered the room and printed the mana accumulation magic circle. Then he closed his eyes and listened to the lesson of the illusionist teacher Proval.

* * *

Lance was a large place. It took two to three hours to walk from the inn to the dock where you could catch a boat. It took three to four hours from the northern gate to the dock.

So, there were many people in the horse-drawn carriage business all over Lens. They were a business that took money and transported people in carriages, and the price varied depending on the distance.

The next day, after breakfast, Rodin, Larry, and Bianca rode in a carriage in front of the inn.

Larry and Bianca, who were riding in a carriage for the first time, enjoyed watching the scenery passing by behind them.

Rodin also found the stagecoach industry strange. I wondered if there were any guards guarding the carriages, but that wasn’t the case. It was a job that simply involved moving people and making money.

Lance had well-made carriage roads. The carriage was comfortable with little shaking, and it was much faster than walking on foot.

The carriage carrying Rodin and his party arrived at the ticket booth in 30 minutes. If they had walked, it would have taken more than 2 hours.

“Excuse me. I’m planning to go to the Central Continent. When will the boat arrive?”

“Where on the Central Continent are you going? The nearest ship to the Kingdom of Tevia is ten days away, and the ship to the Kingdom of Lennox will take a month.”

The national power of the Central Continent countries is all about the same, but the Kingdom of Lennox is one of the most powerful countries among them.

Since most of the land was flat, agricultural productivity was excellent. Grain produced here was sold throughout the central continent.

There were also many cities that served as centers of trade because of their good locations. Trade in mana stones and artifacts was active, and other manufacturing industries were also highly developed.

“The Kingdom of Thebia will do. We’re leaving in ten days?”

“Yes. To be exact, it departs in the morning on the 11th. You must board before then.”

“There are three of us. We are going with our younger siblings here. They are 12 and 10 years old respectively.”

“Age doesn’t matter. Unless it’s a newborn baby being carried by its mother, it’s always counted as one person.”

Because it was such a large ship, weight was not considered. The fare was unconditionally paid according to the number of people in the cabin.

“Would we be able to get a triple room?”

“No, we don’t have triple occupancy cabins on our ship. You’ll probably be sharing a quadruple occupancy cabin with someone else who came alone.”

“If I pay the price of a boat for four, can you save one seat?”

“You want to share a quadruple room with just the three of you? You can do that if you just pay the price for four.”

“Then I’ll pay for four people.”

There wasn’t a single penny discount, but I paid what they asked for.

I paid money and received documents that served as tickets. There were documents for four people in total.

“How long does it take to get to the Central Continent?”

“From here to the Kingdom of Thebia, it would take about four months. If the wind is good, it could be a little earlier.”

“Are you going straight to the Central Continent?”

“That’s impossible. We also stop by ports in the east along the way. If we don’t stop at ports here and there, we’ll be too tired to endure it.”

The person selling the tickets seemed to be speaking the common language, but his pronunciation was somehow different from here. I thought it might be the speech used in the Central Continent.

“Thank you. I will be back on time.”

“Oh! Sometimes we may check for ID tags randomly. If your kids don’t have ID tags, it might be a good idea to get them.”

“is it so?”

“There are few places where you can receive your ID badge as easily as here. If you can, get one.”

The port city of Lens was a place where anyone could get an identity card if they paid money. They didn’t care if you had committed a crime outside or if your place of birth was unclear.

However, those who committed crimes within the city were merciless. If a serious crime was committed, the identification badge was immediately confiscated and never reissued.

“It’s a badge of identification…”

“It’s not that we do the inspections. When you go to the Central Continent, the Navy often comes and conducts random inspections. It’s annoying for us, but we can’t fight the military, so we give in to what they want.”

“Thank you. I will prepare it in advance.”

I bought a ticket. I finished the important work that had to be done today.

“Well, while we’re here, why don’t you guys buy some clothes?”

“Brother Rodin. Do you have money?”

“Are you worried about me? Don’t worry. I have money to buy you guys some clothes. Let’s go.”

We took the carriage back to the commercial district.

I got off near the inn where I was staying, taking about the same amount of time as when I came. The surrounding area was full of commercial districts.

“Wow! It’s big.”

“The building is big. It’s incredibly big.”

“The inn we stayed at seemed bigger than that one.”

I took the kids for a walk around the commercial district.

I bought three sets of clothes and three pairs of shoes each. I bought five sets of underwear each and had them delivered to the annex of the inn. I also bought hairpins and headbands that would suit Bianca at a street stall, and a few hats that the two of us could wear.

“Brother Rodin, I’m hungry.”

“It’s almost lunchtime. Let’s just stop by and go back.”

Rodin took the children into the bookstore. Inside, the pleasant smell of books wafted.

“It smells. It’s weird.”

“I’m trying to teach the Continental Language, do you have a dictionary?”

“Yes. This way.”

The bookstore owner took out ten books from inside. Each volume was thinner than the dictionary I had seen at the special forces training camp, but instead, they were a set of ten.

“Here, give me this. Do you have any storybooks or something? Something that children can enjoy reading.”

“I… the guest speaks the common language….”

“I do.”

“Oh, I see. Then please look for it over here. You can choose by looking at the title.”

The bookstore owner guided Rodin to another place. It was a place where there were several bookshelves, and each shelf was neatly lined with dozens of books that looked like fairy tales.

“Hmm, what would be good?”

Rodin picked out a few by looking at the titles. He picked out a few hero stories that Larry would like, and a few sweet fairy tales that Bianca would like.

“Please give it to me like this.”

“Can you carry it? We don’t deliver.”

“I can carry it.”

All of the children’s clothes, except for the ones they were currently wearing, were sent to the inn. As a result, they had nothing else to carry except a backpack with money in it.

The bookseller stacked the books and tied them with string. Rodin lifted the string and felt its weight.

‘I guess I can get to the inn.’

It was quite heavy, but fortunately the inn was close by.