If the Ecasta Plain gives people the impression of a humid spring with howling cold winds and heavy rains, then the southern part of the Padrosi Empire, with Parnilla as a typical example, will give people the impression of those who have lived here for several years. Anyone who has just arrived will have a deep memory of the bright sunshine and warm climate.
Even though it is already autumn in terms of climate, the mornings outside Parnilla have only become cooler, making people not want to crawl out of bed and want to snooze for a while longer.
The sun emerged early and hit the window of the sunny room on the second floor of this suburban hotel. The uneven texture and defective surface of the defective glass used to save money caused the light to be distorted and refracted, casting mottled and tinged shadows on the ground. There are some cyan shadows.
The bedding provided by the hotel was placed on the ground, and Mira, who had already gotten up earlier, was sorting out her equipment and bedding. These simple, small-sized single travel bedding was purchased in Parnilla together with the supplies. In addition to the bedding, they also spread an extra layer of thin cloth on the linen mattress of the hotel. After all, it is impossible for such a cheap suburban hotel to have the manpower to clean a large number of bedding every day. Mira didn't even want to think about how much dirt there was on this seemingly clean and tidy quilt.
But according to Henry, the hotels in the southern part of the empire are pretty good.
Due to the warm climate, most of the quilts here are just made of wool lining mixed with a layer of linen. They are relatively thin and easy to clean. If you go to the colder northern region of the empire, one of those heavy cold-proof quilts weighs more than 20 to 30 kilograms - which is almost the same as the weight of a full set of armor - and can be used continuously for four or five years. It is common to not wash your clothes once in a while.
The sage then shrugged and added: "This is why dark-colored bear and moose skins are so popular in the north, just like the famous 'brown pants' joke."
After years of traveling and her acumen as a mercenary and swordsman, Mira has developed the habit of going to bed early and getting up early. Rather than being lazy and unaware of her surroundings, she prefers to be prepared in advance for emergencies. Although many preparations are often useless when you actually encounter a situation, it is better to be prepared but not use it than to be in a hurry and find nothing when you need to use it.
Mercenaries and adventurers are high-risk professions.
Although Henry's personal ability is very outstanding and the two of them are quite lucky, they were able to obtain a large amount of funds before, so that they could buy books for study in addition to equipment and daily necessities, but in fact most of the mercenaries were poor. of.
If you think about it carefully, who would be willing to engage in such a life of licking blood if you were not poor?
Even Mira and Henry, after arriving in Parnilla and purchasing books, weapons and equipment, horses, flatbed trucks and some basic supplies, both of them had very little savings left. Although war horses, carriages and weapons can be used continuously for a long time, if they encounter serious problems and are forced to abandon the carriages and horses, they will inevitably suffer great losses.
And even more so with weapons.
An excellent long sword is definitely not cheap. The one in Mira's hand cost one and a half gold coins, while Henry's one was more expensive due to its size. Although this is inseparable from their shopping in Parnilla, if they go to an individual blacksmith in the countryside, the price should be able to be lower than one gold coin, but the corresponding quality will also drop a lot.
It would cost at least half a month's income of a blue-brand mercenary to buy a long sword that was reliable and would not hit someone or bend or even break after blocking. This is calculated based on good market conditions and stable income, and mercenaries also need various daily expenses such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Many people also like to drink a drink or play gambling in their free time. In fact, based on the average level of blue-brand mercenaries, if they can save enough money to customize a long sword in two or three months a quarter, they can be considered to have good self-control and know how to manage money.
And how long can such a long sword be used?
——It depends on the situation.
If the mercenary accepts the task of attacking farmers who have no strength, lack of armor, and only have simple farm tools in their hands, then his weapon will at best be blunted and then polished again.
But what if he faced a heavily armed regular army, or some other highly skilled mercenaries, and terrifying thieves. In a fierce battle, with the shield, armor and opponent's weapons bumping against each other, the sword is likely to be filled with saw-like gaps and become irreparable.
Swords, shields, armor and other armors are actually just consumables. In order to survive, mercenaries need good weapons. In order to protect their weapons without spending a lot of money to repair or remake them - and more importantly, to save their own lives - they need to be cautious about missions that are more rewarding and more dangerous.
Most of those who were careless and overconfident in their own strength have already lied on the ground and turned into flower fertilizer. As for these experienced mercenaries who survived and were promoted to senior levels, regardless of their skills, most of them survived because they had a certain ability to judge the situation.
But this is also the reason why they are poor.
Youdao seeks wealth through danger, but there are very few mercenaries who can reach the top and possess a certain amount of wealth. In addition to the large amount of money required for equipment repair and production, the frighteningly high medical expenses in this era are also the reason for their poverty. Injuries are common for mercenaries who lick blood from their swords, and open wounds on the body on a muddy battlefield mean that bacteria-laden soil and fragments of clothing and armor will enter your body, followed by Inflammation, ulceration, fever and other symptoms cause up to 70% of the deaths of mercenaries and other combat professionals every year. The other 10% die from accidents such as excessive drinking, fights, or drowning. In fact, it is really Less than 20% of the mercenaries and knights "died a worthy death" on the battlefield.
He was hit in the face and lost an eye; his hands were chopped off and his feet were chopped off. These physical injuries, which are very common on the battlefield, make mercenaries lose their value even if they survive, and they can no longer engage in this livelihood industry.
Mira arranged her equipment, and then looked at Margaret, who was very tired from the day's running and excitement, and was sleeping in until now, with emotion.
The white-haired girl herself can be considered a relatively well-off mercenary, but even she and Henry still can't spend arbitrarily. This is why they knew it was troublesome when they were assigned, but they still took it. The reason for this mission—that it pays more and is less dangerous than other missions that require explicit combat—or to put it more accurately: the dangers of this mission can be avoided.
The professions of mercenaries and adventurers are far from being as glorious and passionate as described in books. In fact, many able-bodied mercenaries save money. Like the navigator I met before, when they have enough After I have the funds, I will switch careers and open a small shop by myself and then work part-time in other industries.
"Get away while you can." This sentence is popular among the old-timers in the mercenary industry, and the girl who has been a mercenary for a long time also understands it deeply. Although she is now determined to continue on this path, this is a determination she made after understanding how difficult the environment she is in is. In contrast, Margaret, who was born into a noble family and lived in a luxurious life with food and food in her hands, yearned for the kind of adventure that the protagonist in the novel had, so she wanted to go out and experience it.
It is absolutely impossible to say that there is no imbalance in Mira's heart.
Born with a golden key in his mouth, he is unaware of the beauty he possesses. Just because I yearn for that kind of romantic adventure, I want to actually have one. But her thinking mode is still stuck in the aristocratic idea that "you can buy anything with money and power", so the so-called adventure is actually just an "outing" with bodyguards hired to protect her.
This kind of childish reason, naive idea, can be realized at will just because you have money.
"Alas..." The white-haired girl let out a long sigh, with complex emotions that are difficult to describe in words.
"Good morning..." Perhaps the movement woke her up, and the sleepy Margaret finally got up. Her curly hair was messy, and usually a maid would help her take care of it early in the morning, but now she could only let it down casually when she went outside.
The aristocratic lady obviously did not sleep as soundly as she looked. After all, it was just a hard bed in a cheap hotel in the suburbs. There was simply a layer of linen on the wooden board and nothing else. Compared to the beautifully crafted soft bed in her home, this was just sore all over.
Coupled with the sour body odor of passing passengers that kept coming even with a thin layer of cloth as a barrier, she felt even more tired after a night's rest.
"You...you, you are in such good spirits." On the way here, she had already noticed the inappropriateness of her wording. Margaret deliberately changed to speaking in common Lamani language, but there was something in her recognition. The so-called Vulgar Lamani language also comes from adventure novels. In fact, it has the same weird flavor as the costumes described in the book.
Therefore, the ironic fact is that our Luoan girl, who is clearly a foreigner and has only been in the east coast territory for ten days, has become the Laman language tutor and conversation practitioner for this native Lamanite noble lady.
This is really a unique journey in every sense - Mira rolled her eyes in her heart and thought involuntarily.
"Just get used to it." Although she had some objections to the other party's innocent thoughts, she knew that this was just caused by the high-ranking aristocratic lady's unworldly environment, coupled with the other party's not arrogant temperament, Mira was very concerned about this client of the same age. There is not much resistance.
But that was her nature, maybe it was the calm and calm aura of her being tainted by being with the sage day and night. Even when faced with an aggressive guy, a girl will not use her words and immediately choke him back, but choose to respond calmly and rationally. If anything, she was more helpless towards Margaret.
"Uh~~Hmm~~" The aristocratic lady with black curly hair stretched out on the bed. The sunlight from the window was reflected by the glass, making the entire room bright. She stretched out her hands out of habit, and then immediately realized that she was no longer in a mansion where a maid was changing her clothes. After looking around at the surrounding environment, Margaret's focus fell on Mira, who was arranging supplies quickly.
The white-haired girl was arranging her luggage. She had bought these things in advance yesterday before setting off, but they were all just piled up in a pile. Henry behaved quite casually in a place like this. When the two of them met for the first time, the sage was also dressed like a beggar. Therefore, Mira was responsible for arranging items into packages according to frequency of use and volume in the team from the beginning.
Margaret stared at her for a while, and the keen Luoan girl naturally noticed her, but just when she thought that the noble lady wanted her help in dressing, Margaret became very interested again - but At the same time, he clumsily began to imitate Mira's movements and arrange his own clothes, equipment and weapons.
"..." This detail changed Mira's impression of her somewhat.
It doesn't matter if she is an innocent eldest lady, at least she is a kind and hard-working good child.
"That's not how you wear it. Also, if you put on your leather armor before having breakfast, it will be too hot later. Don't put it on until you are on the road." Looking at her clumsy actions, Mira finally couldn't bear it. He opened his mouth.
Outside their door, listening to the voices talking inside, Henry, who was raising his hand to knock on the door, shrugged and walked downstairs alone first.
After that, the two girls spent another 10 minutes to sort it out. The sage had already finished breakfast and was sitting on a bench outside the hotel to rest with a cup of hot grapefruit tea.
This drink with a small amount of sucrose added is very common in Parnilla. Its anti-hangover and digestion effect is a good medicine for sailors and mercenaries who drink and have fun all year round, so most hotels will provide it. .
Although this cheap hotel yuzu tea is often mixed with water due to cost issues, it is still a highly recommended breakfast drink with its slight sweetness and fragrance of yuzu.
With the sound of brisk footsteps behind them, Mira and Margaret also came to the front of the bar to buy breakfast. The sage sipped the grapefruit tea with a light fragrance and glanced back at Margaret, who was tasting this cheap meal for the first time.
The aristocratic lady was obviously not that satisfied with these not-so-exquisite breakfasts. Her eyebrows were tightly knitted together the moment she entered the room. However, she looked at Mira across the table and kept calm as she quickly finished her breakfast. Reading and studying, she also took a deep breath and started to devour it.
The morning sun shines all over the earth.
The gradually warming breeze blows by, and the sunflowers and daisies growing beside the wooden steps in front of the store sway in the wind.
Henry took another sip of the light grapefruit tea.
All peaceful and serene.
