195 Quid Pro Quo
Both of them stood up when they saw the excited Bard.
Bard hugged Roland upon his arrival, which slightly surprised Antis.
Bard and Antis were both descendants of grand nobles in the capital. Bard’s family focused on magic, and Antis’s family were famous for their swordsmen. They were also in charge of the city guards.
Both of them were related to the royal family. Antis’s family was closer to the royal family than Bard’s was. So, they were actually related too, although only distantly.
Antis knew that his relative was very proud. After all, the man was a Mage and a noble; he had every reason to be proud. He had often been condescending to Antis, yet he was willing to hug an outsider.
It was quite interesting.
“Bard, he’s all yours. I’ll resume my patrol.” Antis patted Bard’s shoulder. “Drop by if you have time.”
“Thank you. Please send my best to my uncle.”
Antis nodded and looked at Roland again before he left the room.
After Antis left, Bard sat down and smiled. “Actually, I was going to Delpon for you. I didn’t expect you to come to the capital first.”
“Huh? Is there any particular reason why you wanted to come to me?” Roland asked.
“Nothing serious. I was just wondering if I could buy the derivative spells of Spell Puppet,” Bard said. “Please don’t be angry and let me finish.”
Roland nodded. Looking at Bard’s nervous face, he guessed what the guy had in mind.
Taking a deep breath, Bard said, “I would like to purchase a derivative spell of Spell Puppet that I can sign my name on, if you know what I mean. I’m going to pay you well.”
Just as I expected… Roland thought for a moment and asked, “Are you in some kind of trouble?”
Bard smiled bitterly. “You’re right, my friend. Before you consider, can you at least hear my terms? I can offer you many gold coins and magic resources.”
Roland’s eyes suddenly glittered. He was here to ask Bard if he knew any books or magic models related to long-distance teleportation. Roland was already prepared to ask for his favor.
However, it seemed that they could make an equivalent exchange now!
“Can you set aside the magic resources for something else?” asked Roland casually.
Bard was much more delighted after hearing that. He knew very well that Roland was implying that he had accepted the proposal.
“Please tell me what you want. I’ll do whatever I can.”
Bard subconsciously rubbed his hands, which was the merchants’ favorite movement and was considered humiliating by the nobles. Since Bard was the descendant of a grand noble, he shouldn’t have done that.
But for some reason, he still did it.
Then, he realized what he was doing and put his hands down awkwardly.
Roland, however, didn’t notice anything wrong. He asked after a brief pause, “Are there any models on long-distance teleportation in the Association of Mages?”
Bard was stunned for a moment. Then he frowned. “Yes, but you can’t take it away.”
“I won’t. I only need to read them for about ten minutes.”
“Only ten minutes?” Bard found it odd. “Long-distance teleportation is a fourth-tier spell with thousands of nodes. It’s more like a gigantic folded parchment than a book. Are you sure you can remember all the nodes in ten minutes without making any mistake?”
Staring at Bard’s face, Roland suddenly smiled. “You’re worried that I’ll rob you of the book and run away instead of only reading it for ten minutes, aren’t you?”
Bard tried to laugh, but it was actually indeed his concern.
After all, Roland was much stronger than him, and according to what he had gathered about the Golden Sons, all of them had a Backpack which was allegedly their racial talent.
The Backpack could contain a lot of things and was bound to the soul, so it was impossible to steal.
Therefore, if Roland stored the spell model in his Backpack, it would be impossible for Bard to take it back.
“If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.” Roland sighed.
Though Roland seemed disappointed, Bard was even more so.
He understood Roland’s implication. If he didn’t allow Roland to read the spell model for ten minutes, Roland probably wouldn’t sell the derivative spells of Spell Puppet to him.
Bard was frustrated at the thought of that.
Seeing his gloom, Roland said, “Rest assured. I’ll still sell the derivative spells to you even if you don’t show me the spell model. We’re friends anyway.”
Bard was stunned for a moment after hearing that. Then, he stared at Roland in silence.
After a long time, he gritted his teeth and said, “Okay, I believe you.”
Roland smiled.
“This is not the right place to talk. You can stay in my manor for a couple of days.” Bard stood up.
“Okay.”
They left the room. Noticing them, Antis, who was still on duty, nodded at them politely.
Bard waved his hand at Antis, before he led Roland to a carriage behind the city gate.
In the carriage, Roland observed the street through the window.
The roads in the city were broader and smoother than those in Delpon. The buildings were taller too.
More important, the people in the capital, both the nobles and the beggars, seemed to be very proud.
Other than that, the capital was bigger and more beautiful. Roland also saw the imposing walls of the royal palace far away.
Dazzling sunlight was reflected on the ivory walls.
Roland moved his eyes back into the carriage.
Bard, who was sitting opposite him, smiled and said, “You don’t seem to be interested in the capital, do you?”
“As a matter of fact, I am.” Roland said, “But I’m more interested in the teleportation spell right now.”
The capital of Hollevin had a population of about two million. It was a big city in this world but far away from the modern metropolises.
Roland was only enjoying the exotic atmosphere here. For him, this capital was only as large as an eighteenth-rate city in reality, with much inferior infrastructure. There was really not much to look at.
Bard raised his eyebrow but didn’t talk. He could sense Roland’s disdain for the city.
After ten minutes of silence, the carriage stopped in front of a manor.
Hardly had they gotten off when they saw another carriage that rode close and stopped nearby.
Both carriages had a star emblem which depicted a starry sky against a blue background.
Seeing the carriage, Bard furrowed his brow hard.
Then, a young man similar to Bard jumped off from the other carriage. He put on a mocking smile the moment he saw Bard.
“Hey, my good brother, are you still in the mood for entertaining guests?”
