Exploring Technology in a Wizard World

"Don't be in a hurry, sir." Nancy narrowed her eyes, suddenly interested, and asked out loud, "I want to know more about the cargo you're transporting so that I can make a decision. Like, who gave you this task, and why they gave it to you, for instance."

"This," said the middle-aged man, rubbing his hands after hearing Nancy's words, "naturally isn't a problem; actually, it's not much of a secret anymore. The ones who commissioned me belong to the Kana Wizard Family in the west. They didn't just commission our Merchant Group; I heard they commissioned a dozen or so groups, big and small, to transport the dowry of their family's eldest direct daughter."

"Dowry? They're marrying off a daughter?" Gro interjected from the side.

"They are indeed marrying off a daughter," the middle-aged man nodded.

"If they're marrying off a daughter, why is the cargo being transported from the east to the west, rather than from the west to the east? Isn't that backwards?" Nancy challenged, "Didn't you just say that the Kana family is in the west?"

"This isn't backwards," the middle-aged man explained, "mainly because the Kana family put a lot of effort into moving a large amount of the dowry over ahead of time in preparation for the marriage. However, the family that was preparing to marry the eldest daughter of the Kana's direct lineage suddenly called off the engagement. The Kana daughter couldn't get married after all, so they had no choice but to send the dowry back."

"There's such a story? What's the specific reason? Why did the other party call off the engagement?" Nancy pressed, her face showing a look of curiosity.

Gro couldn't help but shake his head in disdain, thinking to himself, "Just as I thought, women love to pry into these kinds of pointless matters. There's no interest in it at all; it's a complete waste of time."

Turning his head, Gro looked at the middle-aged man and asked, "Which family is the other party that called off the engagement? Aren't they afraid of making the Kana family angry? You also said that the Kana family is a wizard family, which means the other party has wizards backing them, right?"

"This..." Faced with the many questions from Nancy and Gro, the middle-aged man scratched his head and organized his thoughts before speaking, "Actually, I don't know the detailed situation either. I just heard that the Kana family intended to marry their daughter to another wizard family called Melrose.

The Melrose family and the Kana family have been close allies for generations, with good relations, and both families possess a number of powerful wizards. For this reason, the two families decided on a marriage alliance to support each other. Everything was going well, and the arrangement was about to be final, but then a mishap took place not long ago.

This affair didn't seem to affect the relationship between the two families—at least, it wasn't made apparent. But either way, the eldest daughter of the Kana family returned, and the large dowry certainly couldn't stay here—it also needed to be sent back. That's all I know."

"I see." Nancy nodded her head, appearing somewhat unsatisfied, and then asked, "Where exactly are you to deliver it?"

"The commission I received is to deliver it to a city in the west called Lorindan," said the middle-aged man.

"Lorindan?" Nancy's eyes flashed, and she turned her head to look at Gro.

Gro understood implicitly and pulled out a well-preserved note from inside his coat.

This note was given to them by Macbeth on the East Coast, containing an address—the address of the deceased Female Apprentice's family.

Macbeth had entrusted the two of them to return an heirloom pendant to her family.

Carefully unfolding the note, Gro peered at it and looked up at the middle-aged man, confirming, "Are you sure it's a city called Lorindan?"

"Absolutely certain."

"Is it the Lorindan in the Taida Kingdom?"

"Yes, Taida Kingdom," the middle-aged man nodded.

Hearing this, Gro and Nancy exchanged glances and quickly came to an agreement.

Nancy looked at the middle-aged man and spoke seriously, "In that case, we can agree to your request—accompany your Merchant Group to transport the cargo to Lorindan in the west."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it, just to be clear, we do charge a fee."

"Of course, of course, payment is only natural." The middle-aged man replied hastily, turning to Nancy to inquire, "What do you think... ten high-grade Crystal Coins for just you, how's that?"

"That seems fairly reasonable," Nancy nodded, "But there are two of us. How much are you planning to give for the both of us?"

"Ten high-grade Crystal Coins for one person, obviously twenty for two," Gro thought to himself, unable to resist, "That math is just too simple, there's no need to even ask."

The next moment, however, the middle-aged man glanced at him and tentatively spoke to Nancy, "How about twelve... twelve and a half high-grade Crystal Coins?"

"Isn't that a bit less?" Nancy frowned and haggled, "It should at least be fifteen."

"But..." the middle-aged man reverted to his merchant nature to bargain, "But I initially wanted to hire only you because I could be certain of your strength. As for your companion here, well..."

"Enough, no need to say more." Nancy raised her hand decisively, "Twelve and a half it is, then. That settles it."

"Good," the middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief.

Gro, standing off to the side, was left speechless: "..."

Didn't anyone think to ask for his opinion? He was valued at only a quarter of a Nancy? What did that mean? That hardly seemed fair. Although he admittedly couldn't beat Nancy and, yes, he was just a Wizard Apprentice, the disparity couldn't be that huge... maybe.

While Gro was nursing his wounded pride, Nancy's curiosity resurfaced as she began to inquire about the middle-aged man's knowledge regarding the Melrose family matter.

"Hey, about that scandal with the Melrose family breaking off an engagement, you really don't know the specifics?"

"Well, I've heard part of it: it seems to be connected with a member of the other family, a direct lineage who returned not long ago."

"Direct lineage? What's his name?"

"Seems to be called Sherlock, um, Sherlock Melrose."

"Sherlock Melrose? What an unusual name..."

...

As the Mans Four-color Flower had just blossomed with its second color—pink, the pink-garment-loving Sherlock spent a good deal of time and hired quite a few people to unload many goods from the large ships at port, forming a massive convoy to transport the merchandise toward the inland destination.

"Creak, creak!"

"Stop right there, it's a robbery!"

While the convoy was en route, a sudden forceful shout rang out, full of intimidation.

Along with the shout, "whoosh," over forty ambushing figures appeared on both sides of the road, all armed and with fierce expressions.

One who seemed to be the leader stepped forward and stopped the convoy at the front, proclaiming, "Listen up, people of the convoy, I've got forty-seven men here! Yes, a full forty-seven! If you're sensible, you'll leave the goods from your wagons and scram!

"Comply and I guarantee no one gets hurt, but if you dare resist," he sneered, "then don't blame us 'Jia Lie' men for bullying the few with our numbers! I'm telling you, although I've already failed once, this second time I'm sure to succeed! Absolutely sure!"

...