Chapter 10: A Charismatic Young Handsome Man
After a moment of contemplation, Airael smiled and said, “Don’t worry! I’m not the petty type; I won’t bother a drunken man.”
Hank awkwardly smiled back.
Just then, the waiter who had gone to look for change returned, holding a small bag in his hand.
He approached Hank and handed him the bag filled with silver coins, saying, “Captain Hank, there are a total of sixteen silver coins here. The guests earlier spent four silver coins.”
Hank took the bag, gave it a slight shake, then opened it and tossed four silver coins to the four mercenaries who had been trailing behind him and Airael, saying, “Drinks are on me; you guys hang out here for a bit.”
“Thank you, Captain!”
The mercenaries happily accepted the coins.
As the mercenary holding the bag extended it towards Hank when he reached out, he quickly joined his companions to drink.
Taking the bag, Hank turned to Airael and said, “Lady Ailia, please come with me to the second floor. The tavern is on the first floor, and the Mercenary Guild’s office is on the second.”
“Okay!”
Airael nodded gently and followed Hank towards the stairs.
They had just reached the staircase when they heard someone descending from above.
The wooden steps creaked as the person walked, accompanied by the pleasant clinking of metal.
Airael and Hank both looked up and saw a handsome young man clad in well-maintained plate armor, with a longsword at his waist, walking down the stairs.
He wasn’t wearing a helmet or chainmail hood, revealing his well-groomed short black hair.
His striking blue eyes glanced at Hank and Airael before moving away.
This guy looks interesting!
As the young man glanced her way, Airael immediately formed a judgment about him.
Thus, Airael began to examine him closely.
In doing so, she noticed a familiar aura about him.
This made her scrutinize the charming young man even more.
When the young man walked past her, Airael finally spotted a longsword strapped to his back.
Although it was wrapped in cloth, its shape was unmistakably that of a sword.
Airael’s gaze shifted to the longsword at the young man’s hip.
Two two-handed swords!
Airael tilted her head slightly.
While one sword could be a backup, carrying a heavy sword also presented a significant burden.
Moreover, instead of carrying another longsword, it would be more practical to carry a mace or battle axe, allowing for better effectiveness against heavily armored foes.
This is why many warriors often choose blunt weapons as secondary options when wielding longswords.
Thus, it seemed that the longsword deliberately concealed in cloth had some mystery to it.
“Do you need something?”
The young man suddenly paused and spoke up.
After a moment of silence with no response, he continued, “If there’s nothing, please don’t stare so freely; it can lead to misunderstandings.”
With that, he walked away, leaving Airael behind with his handsome silhouette.
It was only then that Airael realized he was talking to her.
Realizing her own behavior, a blush crept across her cheeks.
Of course, Airael wasn’t a lovesick fool; she felt ashamed for acting like a starstruck girl who had never seen a handsome man before.
She had seen plenty of handsome men.
The Elven Race was hardly short on those, but this one with such a distinct personality was a first for her.
Moreover, that familiar aura about him piqued Airael’s interest significantly.
Seeing Airael withdraw her gaze from the young man, Hank suppressed a chuckle as he said, “Lady Ailia, we should head upstairs now.”
“Okay!”
Airael nodded.
She then shook her head gently, determining to put the young man’s image out of her mind for the time being.
They had business to attend to after all.
Just as the two were about to ascend, another person came down from upstairs.
This individual was a quite elegant woman.
With flowing golden wavy hair, blue eyes, and a curvaceous figure wrapped in a long dress.
Upon seeing Hank, she spoke, “Captain Hank, have your escort duties been completed?”
“Teresa, I not only completed my escort tasks, but thanks to Lady Ailia, there were additional gains,” Hank replied with a smile, raising the bag of coins in his hand to prompt Teresa to take a look.
Teresa glanced at the bag, nodded understandingly, then turned her gaze to Airael, whose figure was cloaked in gray, and asked, “Who is this lady beside you?”
“This is Lady Ailia, whom I just mentioned!”
After introducing Airael to Teresa, Hank further elaborated, “Lady Ailia, this is Teresa, the head of this Mercenary Guild.”
Observing Hank’s respectful demeanor towards Airael caused Teresa’s pupils to slightly constrict.
While Hank was merely a small mercenary leader, his status as an eighth-tier warrior gave him considerable influence in Bruz City.
Even the kingdom’s military had extended invitations for him to serve as a mid-level officer, though he had declined.
Combined with Hank’s previous comment, it indicated that this Lady Ailia was indeed exceptional.
In an instant, a flurry of thoughts crossed Teresa’s mind, and she gave a poised smile to Airael, saying, “Lady Ailia, may I call you that?”
Airael nodded, indicating it was fine.
She was completely indifferent to how she was addressed.
“Lady Ailia, what brings you here today? How can I assist you?”
“You just need to help Captain Hank complete his tasks,” Airael replied.
This left Teresa feeling slightly awkward.
But she quickly regained her composure and looked at Hank, saying, “Captain Hank, please follow me.”
Hank nodded and followed Teresa upstairs.
Airael trailed closely behind them.
Upon reaching the office on the second floor, Hank first presented the commission order signed by the ship captain to Teresa.
After confirming its accuracy, Teresa handed a bag of coins to Hank, stating, “The total commission fee is one hundred gold coins, and after deducting ten percent tax and five percent service fee, you are left with eighty-five gold coins. That should keep your mercenary group well-funded for a while.”
At this point, Teresa smiled, genuinely pleased for Hank and his team.
In a city like Bruz, known for its high cost of living, a single gold coin could adequately sustain a family of five or six for an entire month.
Though mercenaries tend to spend more due to frequent drinking and indulgence in activities not suitable for children, their actual expenses weren’t as high as one would think.
Furthermore, since the Blue Whale Mercenary Group was relatively small, each member would receive a more considerable share of the wealth.
Hank smiled as he accepted the bag filled with gold coins.
He then placed the other bag on the table before him.
Teresa’s eyes were fixed on the bag.
It appeared to hold something spherical inside.
When Hank opened the bag to reveal the pirate captain’s severed head inside, Teresa’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Captain Hank, you actually killed this guy.”
“All thanks to Lady Ailia’s prowess,” Hank said with a grin.
Teresa nodded in understanding.
She had noticed it right from the start.
The pirate captain’s head still bore the marks from being struck by lightning.
Hank’s mercenary group had no mages among them.
Thus, it could only be attributed to this very extraordinary Lady Ailia.
“The pirate captain John Reed has a bounty of one hundred and fifty gold coins. If you take down his crew, there’s an additional fifty gold coins.”
“They’ve been completely wiped out.”
In response to Teresa’s inquisitive gaze, Hank replied.
Teresa nodded, smiling, “That means after deducting taxes and service fees, you have a total of one hundred and seventy gold coins remaining.”
After Teresa produced the one hundred seventy gold coins, Hank distributed the previously allocated bounty belonging to Airael.
Airael claimed only the bounty for the pirate captain, leaving the bounty for the crew to Hank and his mercenary group.
Watching the two distribute the wealth, Teresa maintained her smile, saying, “Captain Hank, you truly had quite a bountiful venture!”
However, Hank didn’t share the joy and sighed, “Though we gained much, it was perilous. Without Lady Ailia, we might not have made it back.”
Teresa’s smile faded as well.
This was the nature of being a mercenary; rich rewards often came at the cost of one’s life.
At that moment, Airael suddenly spoke, “Miss Teresa, may I inquire about someone? Of course, this will come with a reward.”
As she said this, Airael raised the bag of coins she had just received.
“Who does Lady Ailia wish to inquire about?”
Teresa’s eyes remained focused on Airael rather than the bag, asking directly.
“It’s about that very handsome young man who just walked down the stairs.”
Airael was still quite curious about him.
That familiar aura was drawing her in.
In this land where she was unfamiliar, encountering something she might know held a fatal charm for her.
Hank’s expression turned peculiar upon hearing Airael’s response, while Teresa appeared somewhat astonished, puzzled as to why Airael wanted information about an irrelevant person.
From Airael’s earlier comments, it was clear she had no prior acquaintance with him.
She also had not witnessed the amusing incident that had occurred earlier.
