Chapter 11: The Taste of Heartache
Wildfire Town, located south of the province of Cotte, is not far from the fiefdom of Baron Bazado, Sunset Town, and it only takes half a day to reach it by horse-drawn carriage. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ο½ο½ο½Uο½Eγ ο½ο½ο½ο½
Most importantly, Wildfire is the gateway to the borders of the Empire in Kuwait!
Whether it's a merchant group of aristocratic lords, magicians, wandering samurai, or some small mercenary gang soliciting business, as long as they pass through Wildfire Town, they will definitely stay there for a few days.
Wildfire Town's unique location has also contributed to the prosperity of Wildfire Town. Although Wildfire Town is a small town, it is no less prosperous than the largest city in Kuwait Province, Abis City.
There, there were many rich people, and there were even more rich magicians and wandering samurai. If you open a tavern there, you are not afraid that there will be no customers to consume.
However, while there are many benefits to opening a tavern in Wildfire Town, it is not without its drawbacks. The most troublesome thing is that it is very messy!
That's why every Wildfire Town has to change a noble lord: it's so chaotic, there aren't many people in the area, almost all of them are outsiders, and no one has the ability to manage that place well.
Even, in Wildfire Town, even a small tailor shop has invited several wandering warriors who know some force to cover the yard to prevent some rogue from coming to make trouble.
In that place, the law is almost a decoration, and if you want to be fair and just, you must have a strong backstage or backer as a backer.
You don't have a background, you don't have a backstage? It doesn't matter, there are a lot of mercenaries in Wildfire Town, as long as you pay for it, they will cover the field for you.
And if you don't have the money and you don't have the force, you can't stay in that place of intrigue.
Although the Lester family is very poor now, they can still afford to hire some mercenaries to watch the field. It's expensive, but as long as the tavern is doing well and the beer is selling well, it's all right.
What's more, William also hides a trump card: the necromancer Sumera!
"While opening a tavern in Wildfire Town is a bit risky, we in the Lester family want to rise quickly, and it's worth a try. β
After some deliberation, Baron Bazado made the final decision.
This concludes the meeting.
The Lester family went up and down, and one decision after another began to be issued.
Captain Dodora is in charge of recruiting brewers, purchasing brewing equipment and buying raw materials for beer, and is very busy. And Baron Bazado must stay in Sunset Town, dealing with everything in the town, and he can't get out of his way.
In the end, the task of stepping on the town of Wildfire naturally fell to William.
There's no way around it. The Lester family was passed down to William's generation, and only Baron Bazado and William's father and son remained.
However, in order to ensure William's safety, Baron Bazado finally selected two loyal guards with good martial skills to serve as William's bodyguards.
When everything was ready, William set off.
He didn't take a carriage, but rode a fast horse directly to Wildfire Town, just like the two guards.
William in the previous life didn't know how to ride a horse, but William in this life can. After the fusion of the two souls, William's memories and abilities were all preserved, including riding, of course.
However, William's riding skills were very poor, and he could only ride slowly, but could not control the horse to gallop, so William's pampered body could not bear it.
A group of three people left Sunset Town early in the morning and began to hurry, and finally arrived at Wildfire Town near evening.
A guard took the reins and went to place the three horses. One of the remaining guards followed William and accompanied him on his way through the streets of Wildfire.
At William's feet, there is a street paved with bluestone slabs, and the road is wide enough to accommodate three or five horse-drawn carriages passing at the same time.
William looked around, passing by all sorts of people from time to time, when suddenly, a scruffily dressed beggar bumped into William shoulder to shoulder.
"This gentleman, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. The man glanced at William, and saw that William was dressed in silk and satin, and seemed to be a wealthy nobleman, so he quickly apologized.
William smiled at the corners of his mouth, accepted his apology, and didn't care.
The sloppy beggar had a happy face, and was just about to leave and get into the crowd, but the guard behind William was quick-eyed, grabbed him, and dragged him back: "You still want to run?!"
William was stunned.
The guard said in an unkind tone, "What did you just grab in your hand?"
"No, I don't have anything in my hand. A hint of panic flashed in the sloppy beggar's eyes, and he even spread his palms to prove his innocence.
"Hmph, I just saw that you stole my young master's money bag and hid it in his sleeve. If you don't hand it over honestly, don't blame me for being rude!"
The guards were a little angry and wanted to beat the thief up and get the money bag back. William waved his hand to stop the guard.
The sloppy beggar's face showed a hint of gratitude and embarrassment. He returned the money bag hidden in his sleeve to William, apologized again, and wanted to leave.
"Wait, sir. β
William stopped him, "We're all new to Wildfire and we're not familiar with it. If you don't mind, how about being our guide? I'll pay you the price of a silver coin. β
The sloppy beggar bowed his head in shame, but did not refuse William's offer.
Then the scruffy beggar took William and the guards out for a stroll. Look at the hotels here, look at the shops there, the food, clothing, housing and transportation in Wildfire Town, almost every industry here, and take William to see it.
Even the recruitment market, as well as a small mercenary union in town, have been visited.
William also noticed that there were not many taverns in Wildfire Town, only a dozen or so, and most of the business was neither good nor bad, with the exception of one exception: the Twilight Tavern.
At this moment, William and the three were standing outside the door of the Dusk Tavern.
This tavern, although the name of the Twilight Tavern is written on the signboard, is actually quite large, and the surrounding two dozen or so facades have been merged, and it is not a tavern at all.
Standing at the door, before he walked in, the tavern burst into laughter and scolding.
William went in to find a small table, ordered three glasses of rum, took a sip, and took a look around him while he was free.
The entire tavern is divided into several sections.
There are the low-level areas, where the drinkers are all from the three religions, there are the intermediate areas, where most of the people who drink are gentle, and there are also high-level areas, where there are a few wealthy magicians and a few wandering samurai.
The low-level districts are the noisiest and most crowded. William and the three sat in the middle of the lower zone.
At this moment, William saw a giggling ruffian hooligan walking up to the second floor of the Dusk Tavern with a woman wearing heavy makeup.
William's guide, the sloppy beggar, looked at the back of the ruffian as he went upstairs, with a hint of envy in his eyes, and explained to William: "This is the special service provided here. Sometimes, the prostitutes on the second floor of the tavern had no business to do, so they would go downstairs to solicit customers. Of course, if you want to vent, you can also go to the second floor to personally select beautiful prostitutes. β
William shook his head, not having the slightest thought of going to that dirty place.
"Do you know the details of this tavern?" asked William.
"Of course I do. This tavern was opened by the richest man in Wildfire Town, Lord Viscount Mordo. Moreover, although there are many people here, there are very few fights and brawls, because everyone knows that this place is covered by the people of the Jackal Mercenary Group. β
William became more and more interested, and he couldn't help asking, "The Jackal Mercenary Regiment is very famous in the local area?"
"The Jackal Mercenary Group is the largest mercenary group here. β
It was just a simple sentence that William understood.
By this time, almost everything that should have been understood was understood, and there was no need to continue to stay, William got up to settle the bill.
It has to be said that consumption here is very expensive.
It's just three glasses of shoddy rum, and he actually collected a whole gold coin from William!
You must know that one gold coin is enough to cover a month's living expenses of a family of three in the civilian class.
Walking out of the twilight tavern, William paid the sloppy beggar a silver coin, and was about to join up with another guard who had placed the horses, and then find an inn to rest for the night, and then leave the next day.
The sloppy beggar stopped William and said gratefully, "Actually, there is a very special tavern in Wildfire Town that we haven't been to, is Sir interested in going and having a look?" β
William smiled and asked, "How special?"
"You'll know if you see it, and you'll definitely make the trip worthwhile. The sloppy beggar laughed, "If the gentleman doesn't want to go, then I'll go first." β
"Anyway, it's okay to have nothing to do, so it's okay to go and have a look. In the end, William decided to take a look.
The sloppy beggar said that the special tavern was not on this expensive commercial street, but in a relatively remote alley.
Led by the scruffy beggar, William was almost dazed when he finally found this place.
This tavern, called the New Creative Tavern, is a small tavern with only one floor, but the decoration is very elegant and the environment is quiet.
Three or four crystal clear magic crystal chandeliers hung down, emitting a soft glow. It is neither bright nor dim. Just the right way to see things, giving people a feeling of comfort.
The dΓ©cor is luxurious and understated. A magic crystal chandelier here is probably enough to buy all the Dusk Tavern.
William, of course, was a knowledgeable master, and he found that he had gradually become a little fond of it.
In the new creative tavern, there are no guests, it is very peaceful. William came to the bar and saw a tall and temperamental beauty, holding a silver spoon, gently stirring the transparent liquid like water in the wine glass in front of him.
"Distinguished guest, you are the first guest since I opened my door today. Need something?"
"What do you have here?"
"I have a lot of wine here, and I have a wide variety. Take the newly decorated glass of wine in front of me, which I call the taste of heartache. β
"How much is a cup of heartache?" asked William with a smile.
The temperamental beauty also smiled, "Ten gold coins for a cup." β
"Okay, I'll try it. β
Behind William, the guards and the scruffy beggars whispered.
Even if it is a royal tribute, it can't sell for ten gold coins per cup! However, what is even more incredible is that William actually said that he would buy it without the slightest hesitation.
I saw William close his eyes, raise his wine glass and slowly taste a small sip, and then frowned, although his expression was a little painful, there was nothing abnormal.
"Sure enough, it tastes of heartache. You're a good wine!" Reflecting on the aftertaste, William opened his eyes. He put his glass down, settled the bill, and turned to leave.
The temperamental beauty covered her mouth and chuckled, "Welcome to come back next time." β
Outside the New Idea Tavern.
"Sir, does that glass of wine really taste heart-wrenching?"
The sloppy beggar finally couldn't help but be curious, and asked out loud.
Even the guards behind William listened in confusion.
William smiled and said: "Spend ten gold coins, drink a glass of boiled water, and if it were you, you will also feel the taste of heartache." β