Chapter 2 : Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Mrs. Heath’s Distant Nephew
The Golden Traveler Tavern was not very large, and it could even be called somewhat old and worn.
But even so, it was still one of the few three-story buildings in the town.
Although the third floor was only an attic used to store wine and grain.
It was also where Jiang Lin was currently living.
The second floor, meanwhile, served partly as an inn.
But Wheatfield Town was the most remote region within the Tanner Kingdom, itself the most remote kingdom among the Central Nations.
Very few people had ever set foot here, so the second floor was basically always empty.
To the south of Wheatfield Town lay Dusk Forest, a vast woodland that those rough men were always talking about, calling it dangerous and mysterious.
The nearest city to Wheatfield Town was Gerson City.
That was also the territory of a Viscount. Of course, Gerson City and the seven or eight surrounding towns all belonged to that noble’s domain.
Most of the resources in this world were also controlled by such nobles.
Ever since learning the language here, Jiang Lin had been quietly committing all these things to memory.
Before long, Jiang Lin had reached the first floor of the tavern. Since the tavern did not open during the day, he pushed open the door leading to the back courtyard.
At that moment, two thin, dark-skinned servants were standing silently in the yard, waiting.
When they saw Jiang Lin come down, the two servants from Mrs. Heath’s household gradually focused their gaze on him.
One of them handed over a list and urged him somewhat impatiently, “How long will it take? Mrs. Heath does not want too much time wasted on this part.”
Jiang Lin took the list and read it over. Ignoring the impatience in their waiting expressions, he calmly read out its contents.
“Three barrels of golden wheat ale, thirty black loaves, ten blueberry pies, and three wedges of blue cheese.
“Anything else?”
“That’s all. Be quick,” the servant said in a dull voice, urging him again.
“Please wait a moment,” Jiang Lin replied with a nod. Then he asked, “Do you require delivery service?”
“Of course. Isn’t that supposed to be part of your standard service?” The servant let out a sigh, seemingly displeased with Jiang Lin’s temperament.
But the bigger reason was that Jiang Lin was different from all of them.
A different face, rare black eyes, and even long black hair.
In Wheatfield Town, he was an extremely strange and conspicuous presence.
Jiang Lin had long since grown used to the way people here looked at him. Perhaps only Martie treated him like a normal person.
He could not be bothered to care about such lowly disdain. Before his strength returned, enduring as much of this treatment as necessary was perfectly normal.
It was the same everywhere, whether in Zhongzhou or on the Atre Continent.
At that moment, Martie walked over as well and blinked at Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin responded with a polite smile and a nod. Then the two of them loaded all the food and drink on the list onto the carriage.
This was also the tavern’s only horse, one that Martie’s father had left behind.
The two servants checked the goods, then turned to look at Martie—or rather, at Martie’s face—and smiled.
“We’ve been waiting a long time, Miss Martie. It would be even better if you gave us a little wine to drink. After all, Mrs. Heath has always been one of your regular customers.”
“Mmm...” Martie leaned against the tavern’s back door, one hand on her hip, and said with a cheerful smile,
“Two copper coins a cup, but you two will have to pay first.”
“Miss Martie, that is not how it was before,” the servant said awkwardly.
“That was before. If you keep looking at my little brother with those eyes, then the Golden Traveler Tavern will no longer do business with Mrs. Heath.”
Martie’s smile did not change, but her gaze as she looked at them was utterly serious.
“You know very well that the root of the problem lies with you.”
“But that is the truth, isn’t it, Miss Martie?” The servant sounded unconvinced and still wanted to say more, but the other servant pulled him back.
“Very well then, Miss Martie. Please have your ‘little brother’ deliver everything to Mrs. Heath’s estate.”
“Of course.” Martie nodded and watched the two servants walk away. Then she turned to look at Jiang Lin, who had remained calm and composed the entire time.
“Don’t take it to heart. The people here are all crude. They do not know how to respect others.”
“I’m used to it.” Jiang Lin secured the goods on the carriage and said with a faint smile, “But acting like that will only offend them. We still have to do business with them, so it is better not to stir up trouble if we can avoid it.”
“Oh?” Martie let out a light snort and glared at him indignantly. “Are you lecturing me now? Don’t forget, I was standing up for you.”
“I am not lecturing you. This is simply the way I survive.” Jiang Lin shook his head calmly. Looking at Martie, who had already rolled up her sleeves and was striding toward him, he said in a serious tone, “Before one becomes strong, endurance is the best choice. Of course, I am very grateful to you, Miss Martie.”
With that, before Martie could reach him, Jiang Lin drove the old horse onward and set off with the goods toward Mrs. Heath’s residence.
“Hmph. I’ll deal with you when you get back,” Martie muttered as she watched Jiang Lin leave the back courtyard. Then she smiled again.
“This fellow really does look like some prince from a northern tribal kingdom. But why did he end up here... Never mind, why am I thinking so much about it?”
With that, Martie yawned, closed the back courtyard door with visible drowsiness, and went back inside.
As he traveled along the road, the carriage wheels crushed through the muddy dirt path. The old horse snorted heavily, struggling somewhat as it pulled the full load.
Jiang Lin simply jumped down from the carriage and pushed it along from the side.
Most of the roads in Wheatfield Town were dirt paths. Only around the houses of a few residents had crushed stone been laid in rings, which reduced the mud after rain.
The road around Mrs. Heath’s residence was one of those gravel paths.
After laboriously crossing most of the town, Jiang Lin finally reached the gravel road. Compared with the rest of the town’s buildings, the houses here were obviously much better.
As for Mrs. Heath, the destination of this delivery, Jiang Lin had heard the townspeople talk about her before. They said she had once been the wife of a Baron, but later that noble had fallen into decline.
And Mrs. Heath herself had no children. In this world, women could not inherit noble titles.
Fortunately, that Baron had left her a large fortune, enough for her to squander away the rest of her life.
All of this was tavern gossip, the sort of thing those rough men talked about after getting drunk.
As he walked along the gravel road, Jiang Lin saw that not far from Mrs. Heath’s residence, five or six people were already standing there. The two servants from earlier were among them.
Jiang Lin also spotted Mr. Terry, the mayor of Wheatfield Town.
They seemed to be discussing something in low voices, and Jiang Lin happened to be close enough to hear.
The mayor appeared to be asking quietly,
“That knight really is Mrs. Heath’s distant nephew, isn’t he? You had better not be lying to me about this.”
“Of course. Not only that knight, but the entire mercenary squad as well, Mr. Mayor. Our little town has not seen any mercenaries for more than ten years, much less a knight among them.”
One of Mrs. Heath’s servants spoke with a trace of pride in his voice.
“This is an honor for our town.”
“Yes, yes, I remember the only time I ever saw a knight was when I was a child. It was probably more than ten years ago...” another man who lived here said. He was the town’s doctor, a person of extremely lofty status.
“But I heard that knight only came because of what happened in Gerson City. He was not originally planning to come here at all, but Mrs. Heath wrote to invite that distant nephew of hers.”
One of the servants spoke in a rather mysterious tone. He looked around, only to spot Jiang Lin approaching with the goods, and so he did not continue.
Jiang Lin’s expression remained unchanged. Driving the carriage up to them, he said calmly,
“The items on the list have been delivered. That will be three hundred copper coins.”
“Oh. Then please help carry them to the back garden,” the servant from before replied flatly. After saying that, he paid no more attention to Jiang Lin.
The others also unconsciously stepped farther away, as though they wanted to keep their distance from this strange man. In their eyes, Jiang Lin looked even more like someone of a foreign race.
Jiang Lin took it all in. He smiled soundlessly and said nothing, simply driving the carriage closer to the entrance of Mrs. Heath’s residence and beginning to unload the goods.