Pathfinder
Chapter Eighteen
“Excuse me?
Did you already sell him?”
“Yes, well, sort of.
I told the customer that you already had a reservation, but she said, ‘If the lady doesn’t show up by tomorrow, I’ll offer a thousand gold.'”
“But I did show up here, and I have the money!”
“That’s true, but as a merchant myself, isn’t it obvious that I’ll go with the one who values my horse more?”
Although he tried to beat around the bush, what Tolan actually meant was that he wanted to sell the horse to the other person for 1,000 gold, which was more profitable than selling the horse to Garam for 550 gold.
Garam felt like she had been betrayed, but it was her fault for being late.
No, she was rather grateful that he hadn’t sold it yet.
“I’ll offer more money than that customer.”
“Hmm, how much?”
The person who was going to buy the horse in Garam’s place was a female mercenary.
Judging by the amount she was willing to pay, she seemed to have some skill with a blade and might be able to fulfill Tolan’s wish for his horse.
Even though Garam said she would pay more money, Tolan wanted to sell the horse to the female mercenary.
The horse was not quite suitable for such a young lady, and he also thought that no matter how much Garam tried to raise the price, he might not get much more.
“Three times it.
I’ll buy it for 3,000 gold.”
“Okay.”
Upon her words, Tolan was so desperate that he shouted “please” in his heart.
He was a good merchant with a conscience, but he couldn’t help but crumble in the face of a large sum of money.
With that amount, he could afford to buy the dark horse he had been unable to acquire before.
It was a significant amount.
Garam took three square-shaped gold coins from her pocket and handed them to Tolan.
Despite spending a large sum, it was difficult for Garam to grasp the sense of it all.
Firstly, it was hard to feel that the money here was high in value when it was all in coins.
Secondly, knowing that she could obtain any amount of money made saving unnecessary.
In reality, Garam’s sense of spending 3,000 gold was more like playing with toy money, not real money.
Even if it were one trillion gold, it wouldn’t feel wasteful.
After all, she could earn as much money as she wanted there.
“Exactly 3,000 gold.
This horse now belongs to you, lady.”
Tolan brought over the horse that had been watching their transaction with curious eyes.
The horse looked surprisingly large up close, much larger than Garam had thought when she had seen it from a distance.
When Garam held the reins and stood next to it, she felt like it was even bigger than Trigger.
Garam was slightly startled by the horse’s height, about fifty centimeters taller than her, but she didn’t show it.
She took the reins and led the horse.
The gentle and intelligent horse nuzzled his head against Garam’s shoulder as if he knew who she was.
“Seems like the horse likes you.
So, did you pick out a name?”
“Yes.”
Garam replied calmly, meeting the horse’s gaze.
“Alright, what’s its name?”
Since Garam had only encountered fantasy novels or romance novels in her mid-twenties, she wasn’t particularly well-versed in literature.
Some might argue against the proposition that writers are also good namers, but not many would disagree with the conversion of it.
Anyway, that’s why Garam gave her horse the name Poppy.
The decision was quick, clean, and ruthless.
Garam thought it was fine to use as an animal’s name, and her horse seemed satisfied with the name that sounded as light as the wind.
Although the name sounded like Puppy to the people there, no one dared to comment on it—not even Tolan.
“It has a somewhat unusual accent.
Is it an Asian-style name?”
“Yes, something like that.”
***
As Garam returned to the inn with Poppy, the inn was bustling with customers, unlike the previous day.
The atmosphere was the same as when Garam first arrived at the inn.
The voices of people shouting and singing loudly could be heard outside the inn, and the music played by the musicians from the ship’s crew echoed through the air, adding to the excitement.
Garam, holding Poppy’s reins, observed the inn’s interior.
Roana was busy serving tables when she noticed Garam standing there and wondered why she hadn’t entered the inn.
She then caught sight of the horse behind Garam and realized the situation.
Garam must have bought the expensive horse, and perhaps she was unsure of how to bring it inside.
Roana’s guess was correct.
Roana hurriedly served the beer she was carrying and approached Garam, who seemed bewildered and hesitant.
“So, you’ve bought that horse.”
Roana commented, looking at the horse Garam was leading.
“Yes, his name is Poppy.”
As Garam proudly introduced her horse, Roana sighed quietly.
She couldn’t understand why someone would spend so much on a horse, but it wasn’t her place to meddle.
Instead of lecturing Garam about the cost, Roana decided to say what Garam wanted to hear the most.
“Our inn has a stable.
Would you like to leave him with us?”
Stabling a horse at an inn by the seaside was uncommon since sailors didn’t ride horses.
However, they were in Verok, which was one of the cities travelers passed through the most.
Therefore, many inns in Verok had stables for the convenience of travelers, even though their primary customers were sailors.
Actually, I was wondering what to do with this horse.”
Garam replied with a nod.
If Roana hadn’t noticed Garam, she might have continued to stand outside the inn, unsure of what to do.
“Please give me the reins.
I’ll inform the stable keeper.
It’s twenty copper a day for stabling, and an additional five copper for feeding, or ten copper for good feed.
Any other special meals will be charged separately.”
Money was no longer a concern for Garam.
Her pockets were overflowing with money.
She also had a substantial amount stashed under the bed in her room.
Since she had locked the door and left with the key, there was no chance of theft or break-in.
Garam handed over the reins to Roana and took out two gold coins from her pocket.
“This should cover about ten days of lodging and food as well as the stable fees and feed for my horse.
I’m not sure how long I’ll stay, but whatever is left can be your tip.”
A day’s staying and meal cost ten silver and ninety copper, and for ten days, it amounted to one gold and nine silver.
Even if she bathed at the inn for fifty copper daily and fed her horse with the finest carrots three times a day, it still left almost fifty silver as a tip.
It was a significant amount, but not excessive, considering the windfall from the sailors who occasionally threw her money.
“Oh my, there’s no need for this.”
“Just take it—it’s a show of gratitude.
Thanks to you, I got a good price on my items.”
It was the truth.
Considering Garam had sold a lighter for fifty copper, she wouldn’t have been able to accumulate even a tenth of a percent of her current amount of money if it was not for Roana.
Roana shrugged her shoulders at Garam’s words and accepted the coins.
“Well, I guess I’ll have to provide some special service then.
If there’s ever a dispute, I’ll be on the guest’s side!
Sailors can suddenly get rough, you know.
Hehe, give me the reins.
I’ll take care of the stable.
Come on, go inside, and have a drink.
Today, there are many cheerful people among the sailors.”
Roana pushed Garam’s back slightly and smiled warmly.
Garam briefly hugged and stroked Poppy’s head before exchanging a farewell nod with him.
While Garam was greeting Poppy, Roana waited for a moment and headed towards the stable dragging the horse along.
The smart horse followed Roana obediently.
He seemed to understand where they were going.
“Oh, you’re here!”
As Garam sent off Poppy and entered the inn, the familiar voice greeted her.
It was Rabun, the owner of the general store.
“Mr.
Rabun?”
Seeing the familiar face, Garam was slightly surprised.
She remembered that Rabun’s nightly indulgence was drinking there.
He gestured for her to come closer, so Garam approached him instead of going up to her room.
“Come on, have a drink.
You’re lucky today—the Golden Wind has arrived.
It’s famous for its many tales of adventure.”
As Garam approached, Rabun quickly handed her a mug of beer.
Garam looked at the frothy liquid inside the wooden mug and took a sip.
It tasted like a slightly flat stout, with the subtle deep sweetness typical of grains.
It wasn’t bad at all.
Garam sipped her stout while looking around the inn.
The inn was filled with the warmth of the drinkers.
Glasses clinked in various places, and droplets of alcohol constantly splashed out from the mugs.
Laughter and shouts like “I am the best swordsman on the Golden Wind!” echoed through the air.
Some had already fallen asleep with their heads resting on the table, while others were wielding their drinks like clubs, talking about their adventures.
In the midst of it all, Rabun was sipping his drink, listening to the tales.
Garam, who had been drinking beer while listening to the sea monster hunting story with Rabun from another man with him, suddenly looked at her hand holding the beer mug.
The charge indicator was decreasing at that moment, and it had decreased significantly that day.
Until that morning, there had been seventeen needles, but there were only ten left.
Garam’s expectation that the needles would decrease one by one each day was beautifully contradicted.
Instead of decreasing one by one, the needles had suddenly decreased by seven.
Garam wondered if there was something different about that day, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
She had woken up in the morning, sold her goods, and bought what she needed.
In fact, predicting the timing of the charge was impossible. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
There were too many rules governing the decrease of the needles, which was practically the same as there being no rules at all.
The number of needles decreased due to numerous variables such as the surrounding temperature, Garam’s mood, dimensional fluctuations, cosmic anomalies, the quality of passing souls, and the fluctuation of emotions.
It wasn’t necessarily that doing more things caused the needles to decrease faster, nor that doing nothing resulted in a slower reduction.
Frustrated with her contemplation, Garam eventually gave up trying to figure out the reason for the number of needles suddenly decreasing.
Since the charging was progressing faster than she thought, her conclusion was simply to hurry.
“Who here from our ship hasn’t tried monster hunting?
Hey, listen to my story!”
A proud voice made Garam turn her head.
The man who had killed a sea monster with six legs and eyes that spewed fire had already finished his story.
As his story ended, another crew member quickly chimed in.
“Have you heard of the underwater city?
A city beneath the sea made of shimmering gold.
There’s a legend that mermaids live there.
And I’ve seen them, for real!”
“Is that true?”
With Rabun’s interest, the man became more excited, even exhaling a puff of air.
“Absolutely!
It was a sunny day, just like any other.
I was standing in the crow’s nest of the ship when suddenly, a strange shadow passed underneath the ship.
I thought it might be a continental whale, so I was watching it.
But then, that thing rose to the surface.”
As the man began his story, the inn’s crew members quieted down and listened attentively.
The once lively inn quickly became silent, and the crew members eagerly focused on the man’s narrative.
The man smiled contentedly as if the sudden silence in the inn satisfied him, and continued his narrative in a tense tone.
“I’ll never forget that sight.
It glistened, reflecting the sharp sunlight piercing through the water, making it look like a sea of gold.
Everything was golden—the seabed, the houses, everything.”
“That must be the legendary golden city beneath the sea!”
Someone exclaimed, and others followed, shouting out their own speculations.
“It’s probably a city of wizards!”
“Dragon relics!”
“A treasure of the gods!”
Various speculations and theories were thrown around.
Garam sat quietly, watching the commotion of the crew members.
“But you got that close, and you didn’t try to dive in and explore the area?”
“Yeah!
What a shame!
If it were me, I would’ve dived in and seen what was there!”
Suddenly, the men all began to boast loudly.
They bragged about going in and capturing a dragon.
The intoxicated men’s bragging seemed endless.
Some even claimed that they would have tied up and dragged the entire city back with their ship.
As the bragging and exaggerations mixed in the midst of the commotion, someone shouted loudly.
“Hey!
Heave-ho, ha!”
The drunken crowd, though appearing wild and rowdy, also had a docile nature in some ways.
When someone incited them, they followed along as if led by the hand.
The man’s loud shout served as a signal to start singing, so everyone started singing along.
“Have a drink with us!”
“We follow the queen in her dress of sails.
We are the knights of the sea!”
“With a handful of courage, we buy gold!”
“We break the reefs and wield the storms!
A good bottle makes us all friends!”
“Hey!
Heave-ho, ha!”
As someone began playing a rudimentary instrument, the song became even faster.
Everyone tapped their feet to the rhythm, and those who were moderately drunk climbed onto the tables, dancing a tap dance.
The owner of the inn didn’t bother to stop them, and even those who weren’t sailors enjoyed the atmosphere.
Garam also swayed to the beat, moving her feet to the rhythm and casually grabbing food in front of her to eat, clinking glasses with anyone who offered a toast.
No one cared who the other was; it wasn’t necessary in that atmosphere.
Everyone was enjoying it.
People cheered and toasted each other as their eyes met.
It seemed like they were getting drunk on the atmosphere rather than the alcohol.
Garam found herself getting carried away by the excitement without realizing how many drinks she had consumed.
An unknown number of drinks later, Garam’s face was no less flushed than the faces of the sailors.
“Hey, everyone!
I’m buying drinks for everyone here!”
When Garam shouted these words, everyone cheered together, and only then did she realize what she had said.
Though a bit embarrassed at first, she didn’t mind as everyone cheered and celebrated.
Then Garam continued to drink, all the way to the end.