The people nearby were all whispering among themselves.
“I bet it’s very far; plenty of people are going to die on the road.”
“There’ll be spellcasters along. What are you afraid of...”
“Spellcasters—if there really is danger, spellcasters are protecting their employers too. They’re also looking out for themselves.”
Luge listened for a while, then lost interest. There was nothing useful to be gained from them, so he pushed out of the crowd with the help of his strong arms.
Once his purpose was known, he was invited into a room in the back.
He studied the furnishings and the glowing lamp; this place was several grades higher than the courtyard he and Kaliu had.
After a brief wait, a familiar-looking young man walked in—the same one he’d seen at the tavern. The red-haired woman still followed behind him. Under the bright light, Luge could see that the young man had only a trace of the childishness that came with an affluent life; he wasn’t really a youth after all, and his age was considerably greater than Luge had guessed in the dim light before.
“Is Lord Luge a noble spellcaster?” the handsome young man said.
Luge was about to speak.
“Oh, forgive my abruptness. Hearing that you are a wizard left me rather excited, and I should have introduced myself first,” the young man said apologetically. He seemed very talkative, and went on, “You may call me Lorigo. I’m from the City of Stars. It was in an ancient book left by my ancestors that I found clues to a ruin, and so I wish to ask for your help. I hope we can undertake a highly rewarding exploration.”
The handsome young man gave a brief account of the situation, with an aristocratic air, yet did not mention his family name.
Luge noticed that although the young man and the woman behind him tried hard to conceal it, they kept glancing at his handsome face. He had torn off a piece of cloth to cover his face before coming, but the light here was truly excellent; unless someone was blind, anyone could see his protruding mouth.
“Luge,” he said his name in a low voice. “And allow me to correct you: I’m not a wizard. I’m an apprentice wizard.”
“Haha, mysterious wizards are all the same in the eyes of ordinary people. Your bearing is clearly not that of some arrogant fellow who knows only one spell and yet is insufferably proud. It’s precisely those people who confuse ordinary folk about the difference between wizards and apprentice wizards. In truth, in the various Earth Cave Cities, only the City Lords might ever have seen a real wizard...”
The young man spoke with a wistful, sighing air, as if deeply envious, and there was also a peculiar longing in it—not merely a wish to see a wizard.
The young man glanced back, and the red-haired woman gave a slight nod.
Luge had long since noticed the mental power this woman was trying to send out to probe him. He was equally curious about the so-called Gem Summoner, and wondered if there might be something interesting he could borrow from her.
After receiving the red-haired woman’s confirmation, Lorigo, the handsome young man, turned back with an even brighter smile.
“This ruin isn’t actually far. It only appears at a specific time, and it may be connected to wizards...” the young man said excitedly.
The red-haired woman suddenly coughed softly behind him.
“It’s fine. Mr. Luge is clearly a powerful spellcaster, and we must show him sufficient sincerity,” the young man said, eyes gleaming. “Might I ask to see your true face? I’ve heard that powerful wizards all look rather strange... Oh, I’m being impolite. Please forgive me, my lord.”
Excessive deference could be uncomfortable too. Luge had heard from Kaliu that even powerful Earth Cave Cities would issue warrants for troublesome wild apprentice wizards; a group of knights who had entered the supernatural was enough to chase such low-tier wild apprentices into a panicked mess.
So this fellow, with his aristocratic airs and his claim to come from the City of Stars, was more enthusiastic than Luge had expected.
He slowly pulled the cloth from his face, and a gasp followed.
The red-haired woman behind the young man, however, remained calm. Luge couldn’t tell whether she recognized him as the man from the neighboring table at the tavern, but from the young man’s reaction, it seemed he hadn’t.
“You—your appearance is so extraordinary,” Lorigo said. He wasn’t frightened; instead, he looked excited. “Your strength must be tremendous.”
The young man suddenly leaned closer. “Do you know a proverb?”
“Only wizards can walk the surface.”
Looking at the young man’s solemn, expectant expression, Luge felt that this fellow might really be taking him for some special kind of wizard.
In fact, Luge had asked Kaliu about this phrase on the road.
Kaliu had clearly been unwilling to say much. When asked how one might go to the surface and fulfill Luge’s wish to sunbathe, Kaliu had simply said that his knowledge in some areas was still limited to the level of an apprentice wizard, so he didn’t know either.
“I know that phrase,” Luge said. “But I’m sorry—I don’t know the answer either.”
Lorigo smiled. He didn’t look disappointed; evidently he had expected as much.
“I’ve always yearned for the surface. Unfortunately, even when I was very young, it had already been proven that I don’t have the talent to become a wizard,” the handsome young man Lorigo said. “But I do like making friends with wizards like you. And this time, the reward definitely won’t disappoint you. I know what real wizards like, so I’ve prepared magic stones and an ancestral spell journal. I hope they will move you, because this is all I can obtain.”
“We’ll depart in five days. I will present the journal to you then,” Lorigo said with a smile. “The number of magic stones will depend on how the expedition goes, but I assure you, they won’t disappoint you. During the journey, each time you take action, you’ll receive magic stones separately.”
Is this how wild wizards charge for their services out here? Or was this young noble simply too unconventional and too generous?
Luge had wanted to broaden his horizons anyway, and extra benefits were even better. But just as he was about to nod, it occurred to him that he still had no money for food.
He hesitated briefly.
“I’ve only just arrived here, and I happen to have run out of money. I wonder if I could exchange some magic stones for coins?” Luge asked, choosing his words carefully.
Lorigo repeatedly refused the exchange, but then simply took out a small pouch filled with coins and handed it to him.
“Here are one hundred sun coins. Please accept them, Wizard Luge,” Lorigo said sincerely.
Luge had originally wanted to take the chance to see the exchange rate, but seeing this, he had no choice but to accept with a somewhat reluctant air.
After agreeing to meet in five days, Luge did not linger and strode away from the noisy place.
As for whether the other party would actually hire him after five days, that remained unknown. After all, since he hadn’t brought up exchanging coins, the other side hadn’t even intended to give a deposit. Who knew—during these five days, they might find a wild wizard with an even better appearance, a more mysterious and stronger-looking one.
He had been a little hungry when he came out, but after all this fuss, he had lost his appetite.
Holding the coin pouch, he first sought out a simple shop and bought some loose, baggy clothes and coarse cloth. Sometimes wearing a robe was not a good choice; in such clothing it was very difficult to disguise oneself as someone else, such as an ordinary mercenary. At the same time, this was also for Big Dumb Hum and Aisjin, so he could put together a set of clothes for them to make do with.
Chapter 82