The Black Iron Glory
38

Chapter 38

After Borkal gave his lecture on the history of the currency, Eriksson and Welikro took their part of the shaliun as a memento for their trip to Egret. There was nothing more memorable than the shaliun gold coins Claude had obtained after killing the python.

Claude himself did not care about his two shaliuns because he had thirty more hidden. Initially, he wanted to rely on Borkal to sell the coins for money to make another shopping trip at Mock's Goods.

He suspects there are a few more items in Wakri's store inventory that are similar to magical cookbooks, but they are kept for granted because Wakri has no idea what he's up against. So, Claude wanted to go and give the store a thorough check to see if there were more benefits to be gained.

But now that Borkal has made sentiments with Welikro and Eriksson showing their support to keep him as a sign of their unforgettable journey, Claude will have to think twice first. He was worried that if he made Borkal exchange his two gold coins for money he could use, the three of them would suspect that he had kept some gold coins for himself and not brought them out.

The human mind is hard to predict. It wasn't that Claude was paranoid, he just wasn't willing to risk aggravating the relationship with his friends. The reason he used proved to be perfect. His friends believe everything. Even if he got Borkal's help to trade those two gold coins into money, they probably wouldn't have to suspect him. But it would undoubtedly leave a thorn in their minds and he did not want such a thing to happen.

The transmigrator sometimes found it ridiculous that the three people he trusted the most were three young men his age. He considered them more reliable than his parents. It was not that he did not think of bringing the two coins in the city to exchange them himself, but he reasoned that things would get worse if he did that. It didn't take half a day before the entire city found out about him swapping the two shaliuns.

No one else was more suitable than Borkal to help him exchange coins. Not only will Borkal come up with a story to hide the origin of the coin, he will also do his best to get the best price for Claude. However, the three knew Claude's financial situation quite well. There was no real need for him to trade those coins, and he could not possibly tell them the true purpose of spending them on Mock's Goods for items of a typical nature.

All he wanted was to maintain their friendship without revealing the truth to them. There was no way he could explain how he could read the magus diary or how he found the location of the treasure from the ruins without revealing that he had a talent for magic.

After much deliberation, Claude said, "Boa, I just want to keep one of the shaliuns. Can you help me with the others? I want to have a little money for myself. You know my father and brother. I don't want to have to argue with them about spending money all the time. "

Borkal drank a mouthful of wine and said, "Alright, I'll ask for your help and get a good price. I think some of my father's friends would be interested in buying some rare items. Shaliun gold coins are rather good choice. "

Claude smiled. "Great, I'll wait for your news. Once you make a deal, I'll treat you all to good food."

Borkal and Eriksson drank the most of the two bottles of wine. Immediately, they collapsed on the ground, dying drunk. Welikro and Claude drank only a little and were still conscious.

After tucking two drunkards in their blankets inside the tent, Claude and Welikro sat back beside the bonfire. The night wind was blowing a bit harder, making it feel colder than usual. Claude was wearing the coat Eriksson had taken off.

"Why don't you drink more wine?" ask Claude.

"I don't feel that way. During the day, an accident almost happened to you because of my carelessness by leaving you alone in the rubble. I feel really bad for it, so I think it's best to stay alert at night. If anything happens to us, it will be too late to regret if I end up drunk like the two of them. "

"Are you going to be at night watching all night?"

Welikro smiled and said, "Yes. Look at them both. They look like dead pigs. Do you still rely on them for night duty? I don't think they'll wake up even if they sleep until morning. Drunk from blackcurrant wine is very sick. I already felt that when I secretly drank what my father had bought. So, I just drank a little and let them spend the rest. By the way, Claude, you don't "I don't drink much, do you?"

"After all I never like to drink," Claude said as he turned the python skewers in his hand to make sure the meat was heated evenly, "I just wanted to taste it. There's no point in ending up dead "You know how my dad's party ended? A lot of guests threw up all over the place and I had to clean it up. Smells disgusting. Since then I don't really feel like drinking anymore. "

"After all I never like to drink," Claude said as he turned the python skewers in his hand to make sure the meat was heated evenly, "I just wanted to taste it. There's no point in ending up dead "You know how my dad's party ended? A lot of guests threw up all over the place and I had to clean it up. Smells disgusting. Since then I don't really feel like drinking anymore. "

"My dad likes to drink a lot and he will get drunk a lot. But, he was quite good when he was drunk. He would not vomit or cause chaos when he was drunk and would only find a place to lie down to sleep. But with my older sister in charge of our household, she forbade my father from buying alcohol. So, my father could only secretly save some money for a quick fix" Welikro said.

Claude didn't know what to say. He did not want to criticize Welikro's diligent and abnormal sister. After all, it was a member of the Welikro family, not his. He has no right to talk about her.

"You better rest first as well. I'll be on my guard, so don't worry and sleep well" Welikro said as he patted the match gun he was holding.

"I don't feel like going to sleep yet" said Claude, "I doubt I can fall asleep. Let me finish smoking this python meat first. I wanted to bring them back for Anna and Little Blowk to have Come to think of it, our trip to Egret was really overflowing, we were going to bring home a deer jerky, the serpent jerky and the four legs of the goat.

"You almost die during the day, you know. Aren't you scared?"

"I was scared when I thought about it. But at that moment, I couldn't afford to bother with something like that. It was very simple: kill or be killed. However, here I am, smoking snake meat like nothing happened. So, what to fear after defeating python? "

"Good word. How about this, Claude, if you can get your family's permission, I'll ask my father to let you come with us on our hunt during the winter. What say?"

"We'll see. This is only the end of the 5th month now and there is still half a year for winter holidays at the end of the year. Who knows what will happen next? There was no point in making plans now, either, even though my father was of command, he did not allow us to buy any weapons. I can't practice shooting as often as I can. As for the school .. Well, our weapons training is only starting next year.If I don't bring an Eyke gun with me then, I'm really going to die. "Claude really felt the desire to have his own weapon.

"We'll see. This is only the end of the 5th month now and there is still half a year for winter holidays at the end of the year. Who knows what will happen next? There was no point in making plans now, either, even though my father was of command, he did not allow us to buy any weapons. I can't practice shooting as often as I can. As for the school .. Well, our weapons training is only starting next year.If I don't bring an Eyke gun with me then, I'm really going to die. "Claude really felt the desire to have his own weapon.

"Actually, there is a way," Welikro said, "You can get someone who has a dignified status and buy a weapon through him. Register a gun with the guy's name. In other words, that person will be your guarantor. You can get a gun legally like that. "

"If my father knew about it, he'd be scared" said Claud, "Also, I don't have the money to buy weapons."

They put the problem aside. Welikro knew that without Morssen's permission, there was no way Claude could get his own gun. In Whitestag, no one dared to risk offending the chief secretary by being a guarantor to Claude for his weapon.

Claude stood up and washed the pot before using it to boil the water. It was the same pot that Borkal and Eriksson used to boil their python fangs the night before. He had to make sure to disinfect beforehand.

After the water in the pot boiled for a while, Claude poured the water over and started boiling the new fresh water. That's drinking water for tomorrow. After the cold boiling water, Claude poured it into their sack of water. He filled the pot with water once more and threw the two deer bones left from yesterday into it before hanging the pot over the fire.

"Do you make bone soup?" ask Welikro.

There was half a pack of flour left. The flour is packaged in a sack containing 5 catties and the packaging uses the same ingredients as the butter wrap. Claude poured the remaining flour into an empty bucket before filling it with water from another bucket.

"Tomorrow we will eat soup to make our stomach full. We can eat right when we get to the ship. I'm gonna make some more food, so what about grilled meat pancakes?"

Given his limited equipment, Claude made some pancakes using the bottom of the pot and cut some mutton to roast before packing it. It will be their lunch on the way home. The remaining flour is pinched into small pieces and thrown into a pan.

"Tomorrow we will eat soup to make our stomach full. We can eat right when we get to the ship. I'm gonna make some more food, so what about grilled meat pancakes?"

Given his limited equipment, Claude made some pancakes using the bottom of the pot and cut some mutton to roast before packing it. It will be their lunch on the way home. The remaining flour is pinched into small pieces and thrown into a pan.

Eriksson and Borkal woke up in the early hours, complaining about their aching heads and screaming for water. Claude served the soup he made and they stopped grumbling. After about an hour of sleep, they woke up with a slightly downward view and no energy.

Claude and Welikro had already packed their things. They would be back today, but the big catch they got was quite a burden for the four of them.

"Two buckets, four sets of wooden plates and bowls, pots and pans. This was all taken from Old Sunny's ship, so we have to bring her back. Two tents and four blankets are our own so we can ' "I'll leave them too. The rest are our remains and catches: one deer skin, two goat skins, one python skin, four goat legs and some jerky. How do we get all this stuff back?" asked Welikro in a troubled style.

"We also have to be vigilant while we are there. Why don't we cut some long branches and make a haul pole out of them? We're gonna have two do brings with the other two just in case, change our roles as we go. Since we are just coming down from the hill, it should be much easier than going up. We only rest when we are tired. "Claude doesn't have any bright ideas either.

They spent two hours to reach the top of the hill and it was rather unexpected for them to use an almost equal amount of time to descend. It was mainly because Eriksson and Borkal were crying too tired and asking to rest. In the end, Claude carried two buckets with the equipment inside while Eriksson and Borkal each used a hauling pole to carry their loot. Only Welikro remained vigilant with his weapon in hand.

By the time they arrived at the ship anchored in the waterway, they rested for a while before departing. Eriksson once again took on the role of captain. The destruction of the pier line saw Claude and Welikro become hard-working rowers. After the ship left the aqueduct, Eriksson suddenly recalled the net they threw into the lake.

But when they reached the location where they left the nets, they were flabbergasted. The net is gone, but where?