玉蒲团之云雨山庄

Arkanera town, the first town adjacent to the city of mercenaries and merchants, Arkansas. It\'s the town that becomes the benchmark of the city of Arkansas\'s territory and the Astellia Kingdom\'s border.

"Hm..." (Lyan)

(They look unusually hostile to us... I wonder why) (Lyan)

As Lyan and the valkyries paid the entry toll and entered the town, the people had been staring at them with unfriendly eyes. It\'s not strange for people to have a bad image of a mercenary and became wary of them, and it doesn\'t really bother Lyan that much. What piqued his interest is...

(Most of them seem to be mercenaries as well, but their quality is different from the mercenaries in Arkansas. Rather, most people that I saw here are mercenaries rather than normal townsmen. Is it because of the goblin king\'s case?) (Lyan)

Lyan remains indifferent and continues to walk, but then his eyes met with a young townsman that seems to be in his early twenties. Not long after their eyes met, the man clicked his tongue before glaring hostilely at him.

"Eh? Did I do something wrong?" Lyan uttered bitterly as he wonder whether staring directly at people is considered offensive in this world.

(I don\'t really remember reading any book mentioning about that, though... But if that really is the culture here then I need to adapt to it to avoid causing discomfort unknowingly) (Lyan)

As Lyan nods to himself, a haughty yet exasperated voice appeared from inside his head.

​ (You really didn\'t know why those men openly emitted their hostility towards you? Why don\'t you see the people accompanying your journey next to you first?) (Hestia)

Lyan followed Hestia\'s words and shifted his gaze to the side and saw Emilia, Alice, and Surena that doesn\'t seem to be bothered by the gazes from the surroundings. And after looking at them, Lyan finally realized the reason for him getting stared at hostilely by the men.

(I see...) (Lyan)

"It\'s because I\'m traveling with three beauties with me, huh? So those hostile gazes are hostility filled with envy, huh...? No wonder..." Lyan uttered with a wry smile before stopping in his tracks.

(Arkanera town. A town made for lodging purposes of those traveling between the kingdom and the mercenary city, huh? Most mercenaries and merchants that went from the Astellia Kingdom to the city of Arkansas or the other way around took a rest in this town before continuing their journey... That\'s why there are lots of pubs, taverns, and inns here, huh?) (Lyan)

There are no merchants selling various kinds of items like inside the city of Arkansas, and there are only two blacksmith shops here. There is nothing really to see in the town, and maybe because of the goblin king\'s case, there are some damaged buildings and fences around the town.

(Nothing to see here, I guess) (Lyan)

"Do you guys have any business in this town?" Lyan asked the three girls, hinting whether they will split up with each other or not.

"Ah. There is a certain well-known slave trader who set up one of his biggest shops here. We\'re thinking of asking him some questions first. Are you planning to continue the journey immediately, Lyan?" (Surena)

"Yeah. Looks like the town is still in the middle of recovery from getting an impact from the goblin king\'s rising too anyway," (Lyan)

"Is it fine if to wait for us? But if you\'re in a rush, then it\'s fine to go ahead and continue the journey first. We\'ll catch up to you as soon as we finish our matter," (Surena)

*Stare~*

The three of them stared at Lyan as they wait for his reply with expectant eyes.

(As expected, they want me to wait for them, huh? Well, getting some rest in the town for a bit won\'t hurt, I guess) (Lyan)

"Fine then. I\'ll wait," (Lyan)

The expression of the three Valkyries brights up.

"Is that so! It will probably take about 4 hours at most. We\'ll try to go back to you as soon as possible," (Surena)

"I\'ll wait in one of the pubs. No need to hurry, just take your time so that you won\'t miss any necessary information for your search," Lyan casually waves his hand and park the wagon nearby before entering a nearby pub.

Lyan choose the tavern he entered without having a special reason. Since it was the closest tavern to his position before, he just decided to leisurely take time to wait for the Valkyries there.

Or so the girls thought.

"What are you going to order, mister?" A waitress that seems to be in her mid-twenties came asking for his orders while holding a wooden food tray in her hand. Her body seems rather toned, showing that she had been doing outdoor activation that required a decent amount of strength. Her cheerful and bold smile combined with her youthful face gives a certain charm to her.

"Give me your recommended food and an alcohol. Ah, and a glass of water please," (Lyan)

"Orders received~ Please wait for a few minutes~" The waitress energetically went to deliver the orders to the cook after putting a cup of water on top of the table.

Usually, Lyan would admire the way the waitress walked and the shake of her butt as he drink the water served to him. But right now, there is a more important matter that he needs to put his attention to.

"So? I wonder how long you\'re going to tail me? Just to inform you, I have no hobby of getting tailed and stalked by a man. you see," Lyan uttered as he drink the water from the cup in front of him. But after several seconds, there is still no response from anyone. It looks like he\'s having a monologue to himself rather than talking to someone.

"A cloak imbued with stealth dark magic and a high-quality armor under the cloak. Not only that, the straight posture, the even footsteps, and the constant vigilance of the surroundings. It\'s too much for a mercenary to have all of those knight-like characteristics, don\'t you think so, Mr. Royal knight captain, Julius," (Lyan)

This time, Lyan released some of his bloodlust along with his words, making the man sitting right behind him twitch and almost grabbed his sword in reflex.

After some moments of silence, Lyan heard a soft sigh coming from behind of him.

"Looks like you\'re aware of my presence since the very beginning, Evocatore," The man stands and went to sit across from Lyan. Even though he didn\'t lower his hood, Lyan could still see his face as he raise his head.

The bright and calm green eyes that seem to be brimming with confidence and strength. There is no way for Lyan to forget him as not just his annoyingly good look, but his strength and demeanor that he witnessed at the goblin king subjugation left quite an impression on him.

"Forgive my rudeness for following you without your consent. Please let me introduce myself properly. I am Julius Tergimand, I\'m graced with the trust to serve the royal family of the Astellia Kingdom as the captain of the royal knights. I believe you have already an idea for the reason for my presence here, Evocatore," Julius uttered in a polite and respectful yet dignified manner.

"Hm... For dispatching the precious captain of the royal knight for someone like me, I\'m so honored," Lyan takes another gulp of the water from the cup, emptying the inside.

"It\'s nothing, Evocatore. Actually, his highness intended on searching for you together with his aides himself. But since there are lots of matters that need his highness\' direct presence to be handled, he decided to dispatch me alone. It just shows how much he values you, Evocatore," (Julius)

At a first glance, it looks like a normal conversation of negotiation between two people. But if someone observes Julius\'s movement closely, they will realize that the left hand he\'s hiding beneath the table is slightly trembling. It looks as if he\'s struggling to refrain himself from holding the hilt of his sword.

(Hm~ So this is the current captain of the royal guard from Griselda\'s kingdom, huh? He looks quite strong, but he\'s not anywhere near your level, Lyan. So don\'t you think that it\'s a little bit mean to scare him with the bloodlust you\'re compressing on your eyes?) (Hestia)

"Heh!" Lyan let out a small chuckle, and the bloodlust that had been gathering inside his eyes dissipated, making Julius to let out a small sigh of relief.

(So you realized it, huh? I guess I went too far with the prank. Well now) (Lyan)

"Let\'s just get straight to the point, shall we? Both of us don\'t have the whole day, after all. So to sum it up, the prince is not satisfied with my reply to the letter I left for him. That\'s why he sent you to contact me directly, am I right, captain of the royal knight, Julius Tergimand?" (Lyan)

___________________________________________________________________________

<-5 Copper Coins (Town Entry Toll)>

Name: Lyan Arkanium Evocatore

Occupation: Mythril-ranked Mercenary

Money: 3,798,720,950 Elnes / 3798 gold 72 big silver 9 big coppers 5 coppers

Weapon: Magic Glaive, 1 (Decent) One-handed Sword, 2 (Good-Quality) One-handed swords, 1 (Decent) bow

Equipment: Black leather cloak, Leather Armor, Breastplate, 2 Health Potions, 2 Poison Vials

Grimoire\'s Companions: 8 High Spirits, 3 Valkyrie, Shadow Goblin Lord (Lv. 5), Papilio Slime (Lv. 45), Galewing Butterfly (Lv. 45), Rock Golem (Lv. 50), Deadlight (Lv. 63), Moonlight Butterfly (Lv. 45), Ice Golem (Lv. 50), Acid Ant Queen (Lv. 9), Magma Bear (Lv. 1)

Grimoire\'s Army: 6 Shadow Servants, 800 Skeleton Army