Once he had picked out the slaves, he said his goodbyes to the Slave Merchant.
“Are you going to introduce yourself to me?” Ken asked the man, who he already knew.
“My name is Yan.”
“Yan, what?” Ken asked, staring down at the man.
Yan remained silent, clenching his fists tight. “I’m Yan.”
Ken sighed, but nodded his head. He didn’t want to push the man he once called Cousin Yan any further than this. It was quite dangerous to speak more than this, but he would need to beat the pride back into the man one day.
“Here,” Ken said, handing Yuri ten gold coins. “Take these and find a place to house the slaves for now. If there aren’t enough places at one inn, go to multiple. Tell the innkeepers that an Alchemist and her disciple need some place for the servants to stay temporarily, and that they will surely make it worth their while. The people might need to bunk together temporarily in order to make it work.”
“I understand, Master Ken,” Yuri said, bowing her head. They had figured out that Yuri, an Administrator, could be Ken’s slave, since Emerald would have allowed him to deal with boring tasks.
“If any of you run, I’ll send a Martial Master to hunt you down.” Ken smiled at the slaves. “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you try it?” Then he glanced to Yan. “You can overlook those of your family. If anything happens to Administrator Yuri, though, don’t blame me for being rude.” Since Yan didn’t know who Ken truly was, he was going to have to deal with him differently.
He was a little worried, but he left Chan with Yuri to make sure that she was safe. None of the other slaves, other than the Leafblades, mattered much to him at the moment. There was that one slave who Chan had taken an interest in, and though Ken had his assumptions, he didn’t truly know why Chan wanted her. However, that would be for another time.
“Let’s go make a good impression to the Town Lord,” Ken said to Emerald and Nimi. He was still figuring out what he wanted to reveal to the Town Lord. He needed to keep his abilities with arrays a secret, that would be a card he held up his sleeve in case he ever needed it.
They approached the Town Lord’s estate, which was surrounded by a stone wall. The Town Lord’s Pavilion shot right into the sky, five stories tall, but it was extremely wide. There was glass which brought in sunlight, but it was angled in a way which people from outside couldn’t see, not unless they were able to fly above it.
The guards noticed the arrival of the three, who had walked over. They were always suspicious of new people, so it wasn’t a surprise when they gripped the hilt of their swords tighter and held out a hand.
“Stop,” the guards called out together. “State your business,” one said, who was more than likely the Senior Guard on watch. The younger guard was probably someone new to the task, since he remained still and stern looking, but he definitely seemed like he was putting on airs. He also vaguely smelled of tobacco, which Ken and Emerald could pick up due to their sensitive noses.
“Good morning,” Ken said. “We’re new in town and we were hoping to greet the Town Lord.”
What Ken had said was quite rude, and the guards could already feel their anger boiling from his words.
“We don’t let in just anybody, foreigner.”
[Especially not a wet nosed brat like you.]
The guards were admiring Emerald’s body, leering all over her thickness. Ken cleared his throat.
“Not even an Alchemist who can use White Fire?” Ken smiled innocently.
“What?” The guards looked between one another and back to Ken. “You can use White Fire?” They couldn’t believe it. The young man was, well, a young man. There was no way someone like him could use White Fire.
“Who said I could?” Ken asked, tilting his head. His words were so vague, and were purposefully misleading, partly to mess with them for leering at his Emerald.
“So you were lying? Don’t you fear death?” The guard stepped forward, a hand on his sword. He stepped forward, and Nimi quickly stepped in front of Ken, placing a hand on the hilt of her sword. “You dare?” The guard started to draw his sword.
“My Master knows how to do it!” Ken exclaimed quickly, trying to calm the situation. He motioned an arm to Emerald. “My Master, Alchemist Emerald, doesn’t speak much. She prefers that I speak for her.”
The guard stopped, having drawn his sword a few inches. He listened to the words of Ken, and his heart started to pound.
[The woman knows how to use White Fire? She’s an Alchemist?]
It was already too late, he had drawn his sword, but he slowly pushed his sword back down. He hadn’t fully drawn his sword yet, so the situation could be resolved peacefully.
“We cannot take your word for it,” the guard said, clearing his throat. “Do you have any proof?”
“Here,” Ken said, taking out a pill. “This is a gift for the Town Lord. It’s a pill that my Master made.” He handed over a single low grade mountain pill.
Even from where he stood, the guard could feel the great presence of the pill. “This! It’s a…”
“That’s no doubt a low grade mountain pill,” the other guard said, nodding his head.
“It could have been bought…” The guard said it, not because he believed it, but because he needed to be thorough.
“Master, it seems they don’t want us here.” Ken sighed. “At least we tried. It seems the Town Lord isn’t interested in such a talented Alchemist like you. What a shame! It seems only I can admire your beauty today.” Ken smiled playfully as he began to turn on his heel.
“En." Emerald replied simply in order to assist Ken’s portrayal of her. She turned with Ken, beginning to leave.
“W-wait! Hold on! Please, just give us a moment!” The guard was stumbling over his words. If she truly was an Alchemist, and she was driven away by him, his neck would be on the chopping block. “Send word to the Town Lord immediately!” He turned to the other guard, who nodded and quickly bolted away.
The Town Lord was enjoying some tea peacefully, a picture of serenity. Internally, he was crying and screaming.
[Being the Town Lord of such a town is so difficult! How many Beast Hordes must come to destroy my beautiful town? Even my pavilion is gross and ugly, so big and unwieldy! I want something elegant! Father! Mother! Why did you give birth to this son in this town?]
“Town Lord Goldenthunder!” A guard skid to a halt nearby, panting for air. “There is an Alchemist who seeks an audience with you! One who claims they can use White Fire!”
The Town Lord spat out his tea. “White Fire? Are you certain that was what they said?” The Town Lord wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve while the guard turned to look away, pretending as though he didn’t see.
“Yes, my Lord! That’s what they said!”
“Bring them in! I will confirm whether or not they can use White Fire!”
[If they truly can, maybe they could help with my predicament? If I’m able to bring them over to my side, then I’ll be able to change the area for the best! I can also gain more influence over the other families!]
The grumblings of the families recently has been far too much for him to handle, so these Alchemists could be the path forward.
“However, if they are unable to use White Fire…” He looked to the few hidden Experts nearby, each of whom would be able to deal with a pair of Alchemists.
Unless there was an Alchemist who just to happened to be skilled attractive, and powerful. There was no way that a beautiful woman, who was extremely thick and could create low grade mountain pills, would also be a secret Expert who could defeat every single one of his guards.
Such a thought didn’t even come into the Town Lord’s mind since he had never met someone like that, and it would have been such a rare meeting, he couldn’t truly think of it.
The guard returned to the front, panting for air. He had been in a rush, and though he could normally run quite fine, going and coming so quickly did take some effort.
“The Town Lord says…” The guard continued to pant. “The Town Lord said…” He held onto his knees.
Ken looked at the other guard, and then back to the panting guard. He held out a pill which would help him catch his breath. The guard panting shook his head, and then stood up. After a few more moments, he was calm.
“The Town Lord invites you inside, Alchemist and Young Master.”
“Are you alright?” Ken asked.
“I’m fine,” the guard said, nodding his head. “I recently quit smoking.”
Once he had picked out the slaves, he said his goodbyes to the Slave Merchant.
“Are you going to introduce yourself to me?” Ken asked the man, who he already knew.
“My name is Yan.”
“Yan, what?” Ken asked, staring down at the man.
Yan remained silent, clenching his fists tight. “I’m Yan.”
Ken sighed, but nodded his head. He didn’t want to push the man he once called Cousin Yan any further than this. It was quite dangerous to speak more than this, but he would need to beat the pride back into the man one day.
“Here,” Ken said, handing Yuri ten gold coins. “Take these and find a place to house the slaves for now. If there aren’t enough places at one inn, go to multiple. Tell the innkeepers that an Alchemist and her disciple need some place for the servants to stay temporarily, and that they will surely make it worth their while. The people might need to bunk together temporarily in order to make it work.”
“I understand, Master Ken,” Yuri said, bowing her head. They had figured out that Yuri, an Administrator, could be Ken’s slave, since Emerald would have allowed him to deal with boring tasks.
“If any of you run, I’ll send a Martial Master to hunt you down.” Ken smiled at the slaves. “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you try it?” Then he glanced to Yan. “You can overlook those of your family. If anything happens to Administrator Yuri, though, don’t blame me for being rude.” Since Yan didn’t know who Ken truly was, he was going to have to deal with him differently.
He was a little worried, but he left Chan with Yuri to make sure that she was safe. None of the other slaves, other than the Leafblades, mattered much to him at the moment. There was that one slave who Chan had taken an interest in, and though Ken had his assumptions, he didn’t truly know why Chan wanted her. However, that would be for another time.
“Let’s go make a good impression to the Town Lord,” Ken said to Emerald and Nimi. He was still figuring out what he wanted to reveal to the Town Lord. He needed to keep his abilities with arrays a secret, that would be a card he held up his sleeve in case he ever needed it.
They approached the Town Lord’s estate, which was surrounded by a stone wall. The Town Lord’s Pavilion shot right into the sky, five stories tall, but it was extremely wide. There was glass which brought in sunlight, but it was angled in a way which people from outside couldn’t see, not unless they were able to fly above it.
The guards noticed the arrival of the three, who had walked over. They were always suspicious of new people, so it wasn’t a surprise when they gripped the hilt of their swords tighter and held out a hand.
“Stop,” the guards called out together. “State your business,” one said, who was more than likely the Senior Guard on watch. The younger guard was probably someone new to the task, since he remained still and stern looking, but he definitely seemed like he was putting on airs. He also vaguely smelled of tobacco, which Ken and Emerald could pick up due to their sensitive noses.
“Good morning,” Ken said. “We’re new in town and we were hoping to greet the Town Lord.”
What Ken had said was quite rude, and the guards could already feel their anger boiling from his words.
“We don’t let in just anybody, foreigner.”
[Especially not a wet nosed brat like you.]
The guards were admiring Emerald’s body, leering all over her thickness. Ken cleared his throat.
“Not even an Alchemist who can use White Fire?” Ken smiled innocently.
“What?” The guards looked between one another and back to Ken. “You can use White Fire?” They couldn’t believe it. The young man was, well, a young man. There was no way someone like him could use White Fire.
“Who said I could?” Ken asked, tilting his head. His words were so vague, and were purposefully misleading, partly to mess with them for leering at his Emerald.
“So you were lying? Don’t you fear death?” The guard stepped forward, a hand on his sword. He stepped forward, and Nimi quickly stepped in front of Ken, placing a hand on the hilt of her sword. “You dare?” The guard started to draw his sword.
“My Master knows how to do it!” Ken exclaimed quickly, trying to calm the situation. He motioned an arm to Emerald. “My Master, Alchemist Emerald, doesn’t speak much. She prefers that I speak for her.”
The guard stopped, having drawn his sword a few inches. He listened to the words of Ken, and his heart started to pound.
[The woman knows how to use White Fire? She’s an Alchemist?]
It was already too late, he had drawn his sword, but he slowly pushed his sword back down. He hadn’t fully drawn his sword yet, so the situation could be resolved peacefully.
“We cannot take your word for it,” the guard said, clearing his throat. “Do you have any proof?”
“Here,” Ken said, taking out a pill. “This is a gift for the Town Lord. It’s a pill that my Master made.” He handed over a single low grade mountain pill.
Even from where he stood, the guard could feel the great presence of the pill. “This! It’s a…”
“That’s no doubt a low grade mountain pill,” the other guard said, nodding his head.
“It could have been bought…” The guard said it, not because he believed it, but because he needed to be thorough.
“Master, it seems they don’t want us here.” Ken sighed. “At least we tried. It seems the Town Lord isn’t interested in such a talented Alchemist like you. What a shame! It seems only I can admire your beauty today.” Ken smiled playfully as he began to turn on his heel.
“En." Emerald replied simply in order to assist Ken’s portrayal of her. She turned with Ken, beginning to leave.
“W-wait! Hold on! Please, just give us a moment!” The guard was stumbling over his words. If she truly was an Alchemist, and she was driven away by him, his neck would be on the chopping block. “Send word to the Town Lord immediately!” He turned to the other guard, who nodded and quickly bolted away.
The Town Lord was enjoying some tea peacefully, a picture of serenity. Internally, he was crying and screaming.
[Being the Town Lord of such a town is so difficult! How many Beast Hordes must come to destroy my beautiful town? Even my pavilion is gross and ugly, so big and unwieldy! I want something elegant! Father! Mother! Why did you give birth to this son in this town?]
“Town Lord Goldenthunder!” A guard skid to a halt nearby, panting for air. “There is an Alchemist who seeks an audience with you! One who claims they can use White Fire!”
The Town Lord spat out his tea. “White Fire? Are you certain that was what they said?” The Town Lord wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve while the guard turned to look away, pretending as though he didn’t see.
“Yes, my Lord! That’s what they said!”
“Bring them in! I will confirm whether or not they can use White Fire!”
[If they truly can, maybe they could help with my predicament? If I’m able to bring them over to my side, then I’ll be able to change the area for the best! I can also gain more influence over the other families!]
The grumblings of the families recently has been far too much for him to handle, so these Alchemists could be the path forward.
“However, if they are unable to use White Fire…” He looked to the few hidden Experts nearby, each of whom would be able to deal with a pair of Alchemists.
Unless there was an Alchemist who just to happened to be skilled attractive, and powerful. There was no way that a beautiful woman, who was extremely thick and could create low grade mountain pills, would also be a secret Expert who could defeat every single one of his guards.
Such a thought didn’t even come into the Town Lord’s mind since he had never met someone like that, and it would have been such a rare meeting, he couldn’t truly think of it.
The guard returned to the front, panting for air. He had been in a rush, and though he could normally run quite fine, going and coming so quickly did take some effort.
“The Town Lord says…” The guard continued to pant. “The Town Lord said…” He held onto his knees.
Ken looked at the other guard, and then back to the panting guard. He held out a pill which would help him catch his breath. The guard panting shook his head, and then stood up. After a few more moments, he was calm.
“The Town Lord invites you inside, Alchemist and Young Master.”
“Are you alright?” Ken asked.
“I’m fine,” the guard said, nodding his head. “I recently quit smoking.”
