At the gate of Lampus Cape Castle.
Otto sat inside the carriage, listlessly lifting the curtain to glance outside, and the corners of his mouth instantly curled into an amused arc.
A dilapidated wooden board stood crookedly beside the city gate, and the prices written on it shockingly read: “Pedestrians ten pence, horses five pence, with cargo negotiable.”
“How is this exactly the same as Tintagel’s fee standard?
Could it be that this medieval urban management system even does nationwide chain pricing?” Otto couldn’t help complaining in his heart.
In this dark age where even weights and measures depended on what the lord ate this morning, and price fluctuations were comparable to rolling dice, this kind of unified pricing behavior could simply be called a rare commercial miracle in the Middle Ages.
Moreover, even the gatekeeping configuration was identical: four guards wearing tattered leather armor and holding spears were basking in the sun against the base of the city wall.
To prevent yesterday’s troublesome extortion by a lion’s share from happening again, Otto decided to take the initiative.
What kind of virtues grassroots civil servants in the Middle Ages had, he had figured out thoroughly over the past two days; if you didn’t strike first, they would dare to slaughter you like a fat sheep.
Before the carriage came to a complete stop, Otto straightened his quite eye-catching purple coat, took the lead in lifting the door curtain, and jumped down from the carriage with agile skills.
Seeing this, Philin rolled his eyes, quickly jumped down from behind as well, and followed closely behind Otto step by step.
The moment they saw Otto appear, the four guards at the city gate, who had been lazy just moments before, instantly stood straight as if someone had pressed a switch, straightening the spears they had been leaning diagonally.
They had been hanging around the city gates for years; they had no other skills, but their discernment was definitely maxed out.
The blonde youth in front of them—regardless of his temperament, appearance, or attire whose fabric looked ridiculously expensive at a glance—had more presence than their lord.
After all, in an era where commoners were sallow and emaciated due to long-term malnutrition, and lords mostly looked random due to inbreeding, a super handsome guy would often be instinctively regarded by people as an extremely awesome existence.
This was a “charm” halo to some extent, right?
Most importantly, this youth also had a long sword without a trace of rust hanging at his waist.
In the Middle Ages, anyone equipped with such a good sword had to be at least a genuine knight, or perhaps the heir to some major noble.
As for Philin, who followed behind with a full face of smiles and reeking of copper, he was automatically imagined by the guards as this noble young master’s steward or servant.
“Greetings, My Lord!” The four guards uniformly executed a standard hand-on-chest salute, their attitude so respectful that they didn’t even dare to breathe heavily.
Otto wore a gentle smile and said, “Let’s see, how much is needed.”
The leading guard A nodded repeatedly, hurriedly ran over, and quickly counted the number of people, goods, and horses in the caravan.
After counting, he jogged all the way back and respectfully reported a number: “Replying to Your Lordship, a total of 230 pence.”
Philin on the side heard this number, nodded inwardly, then cheerfully took out his money bag, counted out the corresponding pence, and handed them over.
Otto and Philin sat back in the carriage, and the caravan successfully drove into the city.
Compared to Tintagel Castle, the population of Lampus Cape Castle was obviously smaller, the streets were slightly wider, and that ancestral “open-air public toilet” smell had faded quite a bit.
Although it was still there, it was at least within Otto’s tolerance range.
“Otto, thank you for showing your face first just now.” Philin sat in the carriage and said with a smile, “If it were me negotiating, this bunch of greedy hyenas would charge at least double.
Your face is practically more useful than a king’s pass.”
Otto chuckled softly: “No, Philin, your money bag saved us; my face just ensured that they knew how to use arithmetic correctly.”
After entering the city, Philin had to go to the market to deal with those cartloads of goods.
Too lazy to bargain with the merchants, he stayed alone in the carriage parked at the edge of the square.
“Alright, it’s time for the exciting moment.”
Otto summoned the system panel, looked at the 480 gold coins he had accumulated previously, and silently chanted a list of lucky characters in his heart.
The first draw, a familiar pale meteor streaked across.
[Obtained Item: Lighter]
[Description: A very ordinary windproof lighter, but made to cope with disasters, resulting in extreme durability.]
With a flash of light, a silver metal lighter landed in Otto’s hand.
He played with it in his hand for a moment and nodded with satisfaction; this thing meant he wouldn’t need to mimic a lighter in the wild from now on.
“This pull wasn’t a loss.” Otto closed the lighter and started the second draw.
Immediately after, the second draw was a green light.
[Obtained Item: Tarot Cards]
[Description: A magical item.
When used, your throwing accuracy will be significantly improved; carrying it daily can also make your hands more dexterous.
The edges of the cards are as sharp as refined steel, and when thrown, they can be used as flying knives.
Perhaps it can even guide your destiny when you are lost?]
Otto looked at the stack of twenty-two Major Arcana cards in his hand, which had a special texture and edges faintly gleaming with a cold light, and the corners of his mouth couldn’t help twitching.
“Improves throwing skills when used, makes hands dexterous when carried…
Which ‘clown’ was turned into a magical item?”
However, he didn’t dwell on it.
Instead, like a magician, his slender fingers flexibly cut and shuffled the cards.
Finally, he casually tossed the top card into the air, then steadily clamped it between his fingers again.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”