Having Henry and Mira as evaluation witnesses and the like are words that Mike said in a fit of rage, and it doesn't have any real credibility, so of course they can't get any real reward.

The dwarven blacksmith who calmed down with the momentum and pulled the two into this troublesome matter was also a little ashamed, so as a little compensation, as a local craftsman, he also introduced the two of them to a relatively reliable hotel suitable for mercenaries. This is the territory of the Southern Alliance, and the kind of inns that are very common on the West Coast are very rare for simple accommodation and dining, and most of the hotels here also take into account the functions of prostitution and casinos, and it is one thing to attract a lot of money, and it is obviously too early for Mira to do this kind of child-friendly thing.

The Southland Alliance, which is full of sweet traps, is full of scammers and gamblers, but these things also reflect its prosperity to a considerable extent.

In the past, a sociologist of the Laman Empire once said, "There are no beggars in poor city-states." It is precisely because people are generally relatively wealthy, and the abundance of material goods that more people begin to pay attention to all forms of entertainment and the lives of others, and the architecture of the White Church is completely invisible in the Southern Union, just as the Church began to rise in the past when the Lamanite Empire began to decline, and the Southern City-State Alliance is here where everything is reversed, and people are not at all interested in all kinds of ascetic claims, and all kinds of behaviors that are expressly forbidden in areas where the White Church has influence are commonplace.

The streets are filled with elaborate tanned furs and all sorts of food - even the Ella silver coin, which Mira and Henry have always used, is actually named after the capital of the Southern Frontier and the aquatic city of Ella.

The side of the beautiful maiden printed on the silver coin is like the propaganda and boasting of the Ella people, a pure and beautiful commercial city, where you can reap the beauty of love as if you had met your first love—but who really understands the nature of these city-states, perhaps only those who have become penniless and can only run to beg for food or work, or worse, have become slaves.

All of the South's city-states are not to be underestimated, and while it is true that it is new, prosperous and full of opportunities for outsiders, if you are not careful, you are likely to fall and bleed your head here.

As Mira waited at the counter of the luxurious and dazzling bookstore when she followed Henry to the bookstore to sell the basic introductory books that she had already read, she saw through the door on the right that there seemed to be some people operating a huge machine in the middle of an open-air courtyard.

The machine was about a meter high, and a huge wooden screw rod was fixed to the top of the frame, and a large box was held below, and some poorly dressed people brushed black ink with a brush made of pig bristles, and then rotated the pole to press it against the paper, so that the ink soaked through the paper due to the pressure.

- It was the printing press, Mira judged from what she had read, and she walked over curiously and stood near the door to watch as Henry and the boss bargained in Laman. It was still morning, and the tropical light was abundant, and the girl clearly saw the men who operated it, not only poorly dressed but relatively thin, with collars around their necks, apparently slaves.

The girl's arrival did not attract much attention from the men, who simply continued to repeat their work, constantly applying the ink, then pressing it down, and when they had finished printing a part, they put on the new paper again. The printed thing was a full page, about a meter long and wide, and was taken by the slave and handed to a man next to him, who was much better dressed and did not wear a collar, who then cut it with a huge paper cutter, and then pressed a corner with a stone, and placed it in the small courtyard to dry the ink.

The process was not easy, and everything that was printed seemed to be the same, Mira watched with a frown, and the question in her heart was not asked until Henry exchanged all the books for silver coins and the two left.

"You've noticed. "The gold coins on Sivalier's and Avenella's side fluctuated greatly in the Southern Alliance, so the shrewd sage didn't fall for the other's trick of exchanging the gold coins with a higher value of Danor, but instead exchanged them all for silver coins. A whole pouch of silver was heavy, and he hung it around his waist, then smiled at Mira.

"Hmm...... I just think...... It is true that the cost of printing in this way is not much lower than that of hand-copying, because you can only use the same board-but--" Mira looked up at Henry: "Wasn't trapblock printing invented two hundred years ago, and a board composed of movable and arranged words is more cost-effective than such a fixed board, and if the production is increased, even if the profit becomes lower and a large number of sales are made, more income will be obtained, right?"

As she said this, the words of her mouth were not at all what the same girl from a year ago could have said, Henry smiled, touched Mira's little head, and continued: "You are right, it is indeed much more convenient to print in view of the production of books, because there is no need to engrave a new board every time. ”

"But, Mira, why don't these merchants use it? The two of them walked forward together, their horses in the inn, the plate armor had been lost in a series of problems with Soladin, and it was quite annoying to wear only cotton armor in such weather, so both of them were now wearing light adventurer short jackets and trousers.

"The reason is simple, they are businessmen. Henry shrugged, and Mira gave him a blank look, but the sage was certainly not a fool, and he went on to explain to her: "You only notice the printing plates, but not the workers. ”

The girl's point-to-point words, as always, made the girl seem to think of something, but she was still not clear, so Henry continued: "We sometimes take it for granted when we own something, but when you calm down and think about it, these things, whether they are knowledge or words, came to you so easily a year ago?"

“...... Ah!" The white-haired Luo'an girl showed a look of sudden realization: "That's right! Although the printing of the trapplate is lower purely in terms of the cost of engraving, the printing workers are required to recognize these words when typesetting!"

"That's the case...... she lowered her little head and nodded repeatedly, "There are very few people who can read, so of course the cost will be higher if you want to hire them, and even slave workers can operate them compared to carved boards......"

"Yes, and moving letters are more likely to be damaged and lost than whole boards, and all the calculations outweigh the losses. Henry added, and the smell began to waft from the surrounding restaurants, and signs made of wrought iron and carved wood of various forms hung on both sides of the street, and people came and went as they went.

“...... However, if we could produce books in large quantities using this type of printing at any cost, most people would be able to read and write, and the cost of employment would be lower. She hung her head and said in a not very high voice, "And if all the people at the bottom can read...... It's not so powerless......"

"After all, they are businessmen, and the only thing that matters to them is the immediate benefits. Henry touched her little head again, and Mira nodded, no more talking.

"Let's go have a meal first, and then report to the Mercenary Guild. It would have been enough to get some thought from the girl, and Henry digressed, and Mira nodded again.

If there's one thing in the southern city-states that doesn't deceive, it's its food. Thanks to the extensive land and sea trade system, sugar was extremely common here, sugar cane and sugar beet brought from the East were grown in large quantities on the outskirts of the town, sugar was one of the most important products of the southern city-state alliance, and a variety of other foods and spices were also available.

Spices, three times more expensive than gold at the same weight, were the primary source of income for the southern city-states, and a little cumin and a little pepper were enough to change the flavor of the whole dish, and the desire for food drove people to flock to the restaurants that were everywhere, and because of the fierce competition, the restaurants here were even cheaper than on the west coast.

Seafood caught in coastal cities a few kilometers away, mountain delicacies in the distant mountains, bison in the steppes, cheese brought in from the north of the East Coast, and bread and rice that would never be lacking, the richness and delicacy of the food of the Southern Union was unimaginable to anyone—so when she handed over thirty iron coins, which was only a little more than the cheapest lunch on Avenella's, Mira was so attracted by the enchanting aroma of the dishes that she had been served that she left all her thoughts behind.

Although she and Henry were able to ensure food and clothing on the way to this side, they ate dry bread or noodle soup with water for two months in a row, not to mention meat, and even vegetables were only bought when they occasionally met the village.

It was as if the land had been dry for a long time, and Mira, who had eaten this delicious meal to her heart's content, felt that her whole body was regained - at least they could eat and drink here, but the cost of living in the hotel was relatively high in comparison, although the shop introduced by the dwarven blacksmith Mike did not have the extras such as prostitutes and casinos that were not needed, and the cost of living was already as high as two silver coins a week - although selling books in exchange for a certain amount of savings, it was not a good idea to continue to sit and eat empty.

In addition, the two of them also needed to replace new equipment, and at that time, in order to pretend to be knights of the Holy See, they took off their plate armor and hid it somewhere, intending to go back to get it later, but the plan could not catch up with the change, so they had to be lost. Although the cotton armor is still there, if you only wear this cushion lining, the effect is not very great.

Knowing the dwarven blacksmith Mike involved in their matter means more than just a trouble, if the dwarves with outstanding skills may be able to customize a more refined set of armor this time, a popular half-length armor for mercenaries in the Southern City-State Alliance is a plate armor that takes into account both flexibility and defense, and it doesn't even need a belt when combined with a buckle, and it looks like a shrunken knight's armor It is also quite light in weight, although it can't withstand the sprint of heavy cavalry, it is not favored by those hunting mercenaries, and middle-level mercenaries who have one or two money or two and cherish a part of their lives will also choose it。

Knowing people and knowing faces but not knowing their hearts, walking on this world, it is better not to be stingy with armor, which is a matter of your own life.

If Henry has some of his own opinions on armor and then hand it over to Mike, he believes that the other party also has the ability to create this level of armor - no matter what, they need money right now, so after eating and drinking enough, the two of them slowly walked in the direction of the mercenary guild.

"......" The mercenary guild of the Southern Alliance is similar to the structure of the houses here, and when she walked to the door of the guild, Mira hesitated for a moment - as in Corey Conrad, naturally no one happened to meet someone again, and there were people around but no one paid too much attention to them, this paradoxical feeling reminded the white-haired Loan girl of Amonica and Joshua, and remembered the blonde girl's last smile in the strong backlight. And Henry also cooperated with her to stop, silent.

It would be nice if they had come here with me.

The sun here would be uncomfortable for Amonica, too, but if they were still there......

She shook her little head, trying to pull herself up.

"Let's go, teacher. Mira raised her little face and gave Henry a "don't worry" smile, the sage nodded calmly, and the two of them walked on the smooth and smooth stone path towards the interior of the Mercenary Guild.

Prosperous areas such as the Southern City-State Alliance, even if it is only a small town, the mercenary guild is very vast, since the East Coast was born all over the world, this organization can be said to be the most prosperous in the South, not to mention the staff inside, all kinds of signs are also hung in a dazzling array of eyes, and all the regions on the West Coast show a fundamental difference.

There are a large number of green card novices among the mercenaries who come and go, and there are countless blue card mercenaries who are of the same level as two people, even the orange card and even the purple card are not impossible to see - but compared to these most eye-catching, the mercenaries above the blue card act in groups of threes and twos, not only dressed closely, but also wearing the same mercenary group badge.

This is a gathering place for real professional mercenaries, whether it is ABC three types of war mercenaries or DEF three types of hunting mercenaries, they all act in groups in a strong contrast with those scattered junior mercenaries on the other side - Mira and Henry were noticed by many people from those mercenary groups as soon as they came in, after all, they are also blue cards, and these mercenaries will consider whether to recruit.

But even so, after all, the possibility of the two people who were new to the city and didn't even wear armor was not high that they would be photographed immediately, so I just paid attention to it, and not many people came to talk to them.

In any case, when the time had entered this day in October, the two of them were already quite far away from where they had originally set out.

And life and adventure will go on. (To be continued.) )