Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The manager scurried towards the owner while holding his neck with one hand as it bled. He miserably said, “Boss, you can’t blame me. They came in to buy some things, but when it was time to pay up, they complained that the prices were too expensive. He even accused us of being swindlers.”
Staring at Lin Li and the rest, the owner turned and chided the manager, “Didn’t you tell them that we only supply herbs to pharmacists?”
Upon hearing his boss’s words, the manager was certain that he would definitely be blamed if the owner were to ask for the exact quote that he had given Lin Li. However, if he were to mention that the herbs were to be supplied to pharmacists, the problem would then lie with pharmacists. He reckoned that they definitely wouldn’t be able to get a pharmacist to come here and confront them.
The manager quickly added, “I saw that they were foreigners, and kindly reminded them that the herbs here are only to be used by the pharmacists. However, not only did they not listen, they even threatened me unreasonably. Look at my neck… Had you been a minute later, I would probably never have seen you again…” He then moved his hand away and revealed his bleeding wound.
Seven Leaf Grass had been operating in Roland for numerous years, and various professional guilds, mercenary squads large and small, and aristocratic families—be it upstarts or those which had a long history of more than 1,000 years—all had to show him some respect. The owner’s face became more and more gloomy as he stared at the wound on the manager’s neck. Although the wound was not serious, Lin Li and his company’s behavior was equivalent to giving the boss an insult.
However, the owner was a self-proclaimed person of status who wouldn’t yell and scold them like the manager did. Glancing at the four shabbily dressed mages, the boss turned his head and reprimanded the manager, “How many times have I told you, even though most of our guests are noble pharmacists, we will inevitably come into contact with people from all walks of life. If you insist on serving only aristocrats, you will definitely cause a misunderstanding sooner or later.”
“Yes, yes, Boss. It was negligence on my part,” the manager hurriedly chimed in. Actually, the bleeding had already stopped long ago, and he was only keeping his hand on his neck for the sake of gaining sympathy.
“Enough. Just take this as a lesson to remember. If you make such a mistake again, I’ll chase you out of Seven Leaf Grass,” the owner barked sternly.
Even a fool could tell what the manager and owner were driving at. Wilkinson was simmering with anger that was threatening to explode. Damn it, how dared he allude to nobility when he was yelling like a barbarian just now? What aristocrat spoke in such an uncouth manner?
Wilkinson felt a strong urge to lose his temper and reveal his pharmacist identity. However, he dared not do so after staring at Lin Li, who was remaining composed. Yeah, we’re senior pharmacists. Why should we stoop to the level of these merchants? Even if we reveal our identities, so what? All we would get is an apology and end up seeming like petty people, he thought.
After reprimanding his subordinate, the owner turned his face to the side and said to Lin Li and the others, “Dear mages, I’m really sorry. We run a herbal medicine business here, and we usually interact with pharmacists more frequently as compared to mages. It may be that the manager Larry didn’t explain things to you clearly, and thus caused a misunderstanding, resulting in you guys feeling offended by him. But now that I have punished him, can you hear me out calmly?”
Although the owner of Seven Leaf Grass sounded kind and polite, everyone could understand the true meaning behind those words. He was just trying to say, “We are here to serve the noble pharmacists. You mages are no big deal to us here in Seven Leaf Grass. You didn’t earn any respect, because you don’t know your place at all.”
“Yes, Boss. This is indeed my fault. I just didn’t want them to waste their money. After all, 20,000 gold coins are all of their savings. However, I forgot to consider their pride. I deserved to be misunderstood as offending them,” the manager played along, pretending to be reflecting on his mistakes sincerely.
“Dear magicians, you have heard it. My manager has only done that out of goodwill. After all, these herbs can’t be used by just anyone. We can do without these 20,000 gold coins, but we’ll feel bad for letting our customers spend their life savings on some herbs that they can’t use. So, I’d like to ask you to kindly forgive me if we have offended you in any way.” However, the owner was holding his head high and chin up in a condescending manner as if Lin Li and the rest ought to thank him.
Staring at the owner and the manager, Lin Li did not at all feel angry despite their arrogant and contemptuous attitude. The battles that he had fought after reaching the Legendary-realm ever since he had arrived in the Breezy Plains had not only given him a boost in strength, they had also helped him build his character and true composure.
Should this have happened in the past, Lin Li would’ve definitely thrown a tantrum and taught the people who had disrespected him a huge lesson. He wouldn’t try to kill them, however.
Yet, Lin Li only smiled calmly and got ready to leave with Wilkinson and the rest despite having been mocked by others.
The owner and the manager were both insignificant to Lin Li, who would remain composed even if he were faced with an opponent in the Legendary-realm. How could he let a small fry affect his mood?
At this moment, a figure scrambled from the stairs to the main hall.
Lin Li stared at the person who was making his way down the stairs. It was none other than Sienna, the leader of the mercenary corps that had cooperated with Lin Li in rescuing the son of the castellan of Roland City.
At the time, Senna had just been the leader of a useless mercenary group that was comprised of 30-40 incompetent mercenaries. However, he had actually dared to take on the task of rescuing the castellan’s son from the Syer Bandits, and even took the castellan’s daughter together with them. It’d definitely been a stereotypical case of risking one’s life for the sake of money. In the end, they had encountered a horrifying level-17 magical beast before they even reached their destination. Had they not been fortunate enough to run into Lin Li, the group would have been devoured by the magical beast.
It was later proven that meeting Lin Li was the luckiest thing that had ever happened to Sienna. Compared to the experience he had in the ruins of Syer Town, the Ice Howler was just like an appetizer. When he battled the hordes of Vampires and the Lich, Sienna and his incompetent corps seemed to have become complete bystanders.
Sienna, who had rushed down the stairs so hastily he tripped, stood on the floor with surprise and bewilderment written all over his face. He had never thought that he would actually see that young mage who had given him an unforgettable memory again in such a place after almost a year of separation.
The owner, who was about to send Lin Li and the others away from Seven Leaf Grass, was dumbfounded after seeing how shocked and flustered Sienna was. For a moment, he couldn’t figure out what happened, for Sienna was behaving very differently than before.
Back then, Senna and Lin Li had escorted the pair of castellan’s children safely back home. Lin Li’s goal at the time had just been to acquire a giant supply of food from Roland City, so he’d let Sienna take the credit for saving the children without hesitation. He had even kindly put forward a suggestion which gave Sienna the idea how to maximize the opportunity to ask for reward, and propelled him to his current position in Roland City.
When he had learned that he could send the pair of children back to the castellan, as a mercenary, Sienna had thought about using this credit in exchange for massive wealth and greater authority. However, Lin Li suggested him to use the credit in exchange for the support of Arathor.
If he weren’t strong enough, wealth and authority would end up becoming a disaster that would inevitably destroy him. Here in the Breezy Plains, it was a survival of the fittest. Even the father of Arathor, the esteemed and formidable previous castellan of Roland City, ended up dying in his own home for a mysterious reason. Not to mention, Sienna was just an insignificant mercenary commander. The reality then proved Lin Li’s suggestion to be apt and accurate.
The priority of various official commissions was just one of many preferential conditions, and being allowed to recruit retired soldiers from Roland City was an important reason for the rapid development of the mercenary corps. However, it wouldn’t be deemed a privilege elsewhere. The quality of the soldiers in Roland City that was led by Arathor was second to none in the entire Breezy Plains.
A mercenary regiment’s high-end combat capability was not the only deciding factor in measuring its strength and capabilities. Its basic combat capability was crucial too. That was also the difference between mercenaries and Adventurers. After all, a mercenary regiment didn’t often take on unusually dangerous tasks—unlike Adventurers. Although bloodshed was inevitable for mercenary corps too, they valued their lives far more than Adventurers did.
The recruitment of retired soldiers would greatly improve the quality of the mercenary regiment. Although the mercenaries might not be outstanding individually, they would form a force that should not be underestimated when hundreds or thousands of them stood together.
Sienna felt thankful that he had made an intelligent decision, which allowed him to gain the recognition and approval of the castellan, Arathor. Later on, he was granted privileges that were far beyond what he deserved and had been promised initially.
Sienna was now no longer the head of the useless team of 30-40 incompetent mercenaries. With the various privileges provided by the castellan, his team had grown tremendously within less than a year, and had also expanded into the largest mercenary regiment in Roland City comprising thousands of mercenaries.
