Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 36
Although Lady Holly and she had a bit of a falling out, the lady’s anger didn’t extend to Martina. Thus, Martina readily lent out her house and, considering the generous compensation, generously stated that they could freely use the things in her house.
“Seriously, how did you manage to offend Lady Holly?” Charlie, rolling up his sleeves, squatted on the ground to carefully inspect an old, long-handled umbrella.
Shivers coughed, and Eugene stood by, cackling strangely.
Simply put, Sir Knight had publicly cuckolded Lady Holly and was “accidentally” caught by her in the act. Usually, half of the high-society parties were a cover for affairs, so a fleeting romance in the candlelight or shadows of the garden wasn’t strange. That evening, there were quite a few ladies interested in Shivers, and Sir Knight unscrupulously used one of them, flirting intensely until Lady Holly discovered them, naturally leading to his awkward escape amidst the clash of the two women.
Lady Holly and Shivers hadn’t developed any deep feelings, and her anger focused more on the fact that someone dared to encroach on her territory. As for Shivers, the self-proclaimed “impoverished noble” who came knocking, she didn’t bother to pursue the matter for the time being.
Sir Knight didn’t think this kind of manipulative tactic was worth discussing, so he grabbed an uneven chair to change the subject. “Can this be used?”
The rabbit-headed shopkeeper looked at it and said, “Yes, get a few more.”
Dwight sat under the canopy Shivers had set up for him, leisurely watching as they, under Charlie’s direction, continuously dragged out all sorts of bizarre items from Martina’s house, which could be called a junkyard, and assembled them in even more bizarre ways.
Fortunately, the men were all quite nimble, and by evening, they had nearly finished the job.
“This will do.” Charlie tightened the last screw and stood up with a sense of accomplishment. He took a few steps back to admire his handiwork properly.
Five back chairs were lined up and tightly tied together. Two long-handled umbrellas were split into four pieces, keeping the ribs that supported the umbrella canopy attached to the sides of the chairs. A vintage wicker basket was nailed to the back of the front chair, holding a miner’s lamp, and the last chair had a short broom added ‘to maintain balance’—the shopkeeper said.
“What is this?” Dwight looked at the contraption they had assembled in the yard, struggling to find the right words to describe this heap of junk.
“This is a dragon-shaped aircraft.” Charlie was quite pleased with his work. “That flight box gave me the inspiration. With a bit of puppetry potion and a magic circle to calculate energy conversion, we can temporarily transfer the souls of nearby birds to this little guy. I’ve fitted it with a head, wings, a tail, and a body—it seats five.”
But the Duke’s attention wasn’t on the number of seats. “You call this thing a dragon?”
“Not a traditional dragon. I referred to a more ancient variety, more agile, faster, and with a very short presence in history. Many scholars believe they didn’t go extinct but migrated collectively to the far east. Their flying capabilities make seemingly unreachable distances possible…”
“I refuse.” The Duke cut off the shopkeeper bluntly. “I will not ride this thing, not for a second.”
“Why?” Charlie asked, baffled. “This is the best way out! When night falls, we fly a bit higher, high enough that the watchtowers can’t see us, and getting over the city walls will be a breeze. The puppetry potion might not be as good as that flight box, but I’m sure it can give us a safe distance!”
“Because it’s too ugly!” Dwight was also a bit astonished. “How could you think I would agree to sit on it?”
In Lemena, just letting his eyes see such a monstrosity would be enough to convict someone of insult!
Honestly, Dwight felt that Charlie’s mere thought of him riding this ugly “aircraft” was an offense in itself.
Charlie, uncharacteristically losing his composure, glared at the Duke for a while, then turned to look at Shivers, who was more sensible.
Shivers was in a difficult position. He actually thought Charlie’s idea was good, as flying was better than attempting to challenge the defense forces of Mokwen royal city. But out of loyalty and understanding of the Duke, he knew his master would absolutely resist anything he considered unattractive.
One should know, the Duke of Brandenburg was so particular that he even picked out the uniforms for the serfs on his estate—other nobles wouldn’t even glance at a slave twice, let alone care whether they were dressed in rags or naked, as long as they could work.
The Knight Commander couldn’t afford to insult Dwight’s dignity, but he also knew that the technical escape expertise was in the shopkeeper’s hands, and it was best not to offend him too harshly. Thus, he took the middle ground. “This thing… isn’t waterproof, right? What if it rains or snows tonight?”
At least the flight box had a cover. Though it was a bit stuffy, it had blankets and music inside. Asking a pampered Duke to sit on a hard back chair and fly for two hours in the cold wind, possibly getting soaked to the bone, was indeed asking too much.
Besides, it wouldn’t be good for Columbus to get rained on either, as he might rust.
Charlie paused and turned to look at his aircraft.
He knew that the comfort of something made in haste couldn’t be high, but what actually annoyed him was Dwight’s unequivocal dismissal of his aesthetic—how was this aircraft ugly? He thought its design was quite punk!
But since Shivers brought up a practical issue, he would reconsider, as the shopkeeper was a reasonable person.
Although the chances of rain or snow were half and half at this time of year, it was indeed possible. Adding a windbreak tent or something similar on top would greatly increase the drag during flight. Magic wasn’t Charlie’s strongest subject, and compared to a flight box that could cross countries overnight, his aircraft was merely using potions and magical conduction to temporarily transfer the souls of birds to the aircraft, not only with a time limit but also limited power, and any increase in drag would greatly impact the flight speed and altitude—this was why he chose materials that were structurally simple and lightweight during assembly.
While Charlie was in a quandary, Dwight frowned. “I remember you had another option.”
“Darkness” and “cold”—Dwight guessed this referred to the cold.
What about darkness?
If he could maintain basic dignity, the Duke felt he would choose darkness. After all, he wasn’t afraid of the dark, but he was allergic to ugliness.
The shopkeeper hesitated, his ears twitching reluctantly.
After all, the aircraft was already made. It would be a pity not to use it.
And…
“That method would be more costly,” the shopkeeper indicated.
Dwight, growing impatient, waved his hand, and the knight leaned in to whisper something in the shopkeeper’s ear.
The shopkeeper immediately beamed. “Then let’s don our cloaks and set off—Eugene, say goodbye to Martina for us. We really should thank her properly.”
As he spoke, the sky began to drizzle.
At this, Charlie completely gave up on the aircraft he had spent hours assembling. After all, the truly expensive potion hadn’t been used yet, and the pile of things was just Martina’s miscellaneous goods.
But Martina wasn’t home.
After lending them her house, she had gone out, and Eugene said she usually “worked” in a tavern in the lower city at night.
“Martina said just to lock the door. She won’t be coming back tonight.” Columbus also donned his mini cloak, beautifully crafted with a red base and blue trim, complete with stylish pockets—one of the winter items the skilled shopkeeper had made for him in Maplewood.
Eugene was surprised. “She told you that?”
Columbus, not understanding the implication, nodded. “She left when you guys were busy and told me before she went. She asked me to hide the key in the second brick crevice above the door frame.”
Eugene was somewhat disappointed. “I thought she liked me.” After all, Martina had been quite affectionate towards him lately.
Shivers said, “I think she really does like you.”
Eugene buttoned up his cloak all the way to his face, making his voice muffled. “That’s an illusion. Shouldn’t a woman cry and hug the man she loves when he leaves? At least leave a handkerchief or something?”
Shivers: “……”
Charlie, carrying a lantern, walked past him, shaking his head with a smile.
Columbus followed closely behind the shopkeeper. Having never been in love, he had nothing to add.
The Duke passed by with a reserved air, dropping a single word. “Childish.”
Eugene, inexplicably looked down upon, stood alone in the narrow yard, then suddenly turned to look back.
The two-story stone house, either carelessly built or eroded over the years, looked a bit tilted. The gray walls were sparsely covered with frost-resistant moss, and a pink, out-of-fashion women’s hat hung on the second-floor balcony.
When alone, Martina once proudly told him that at her most popular, she hadn’t splurged on jewelry, dresses, or perfumes like other women, nor had she schemed to marry a wealthy businessman. Instead, she immediately bought this house once she had saved enough money and planned to save again to open a small bakery. Unfortunately, as young women continuously flowed into the city’s various taverns, her business dwindled, and though it became tough later, she managed to sustain her livelihood.
At the time, Eugene only felt that Martina’s life planning was unexpectedly conventional, contrasting with her appearance, yet he didn’t know why she had shared this with him.
In fact, he still didn’t understand, only knowing that now that he was about to leave, he didn’t know why, but he turned back to look at this unremarkable stone house.
Charlie stood outside the door waiting for him, securing the loose number 24 on the door plate. He watched as Eugene came out and locked the door.
“Martina is a good woman,” the shopkeeper said.
Eugene grinned under his cloak.
“Yeah.” He hid the key in the brick crevice and picked up their luggage. Since they needed to travel light, they had left the livestock cart to Martina as extra compensation.
The Duke and the Knight Commander had already walked out of Fallen Leaves Lane, looking back impatiently at the three of them. Raindrops fell on his smooth waterproof cloak, rustling as they rolled off onto the ground, splashing up tiny sprays.
The shopkeeper quickened his steps, his old lantern creaking in his hand.
“What does ‘darkness’ mean, exactly?” the young Duke finally couldn’t help but ask.
It was already getting dark, and this old part of town had no streetlights. With the rain, the residents, already used to walking in corners, were rarely seen, and only their group hurriedly passed through the streets with lanterns, quickly disappearing into a narrow turn.
“Have you heard of the legend of the water monster?” Charlie led the way, his voice fragmented by the rain.
“Many places with abundant water sources have had rumors of water monsters, elusive and of immense size. Sometimes people encounter them, and just the part visible above the water’s surface is incredibly huge. Many people speculate that if a water monster appeared, it could effortlessly swallow a cow.”
The knowledgeable Duke clearly knew of these rumors. “Although there are many sightings, these creatures have never been successfully captured. In fact, their existence is still uncertain because—”
“Because they can’t be caught.” The shopkeeper’s voice was sly. “Water monster sightings aren’t limited to big rivers. They’ve been seen in large lakes as well. Once, someone extravagantly drained a lake to catch a water monster, but they caught nothing but ordinary fish.”
He seemed very familiar with Syriacochi, leading them through the town to a place that looked like an abandoned brick factory and found a drainage outlet nearby.
The shopkeeper set the lantern down on the steps beside the outlet, gently turned off the lantern, and the light instantly went out.
The nearby houses were enveloped in darkness. Their eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the dark, so they were unable to see anything. The only sound came from Charlie’s talking. “But saying they can’t be caught is incorrect. It’s just an excuse made by dull people to cover their failures. Actually, these water monsters are rare beasts, possessing a miraculous ability to shrink their bodies at will. Even if originally as big as a house, they could shrink to smaller than a frog, easily escaping whether through fishing nets or drainage outlets.”
No one knew what he did, but only Dwight and Shivers, with their keen ears, heard him pour something into the water channel. It sounded slightly different from the rain.
“I once hosted a guest who claimed to be a descendant of a tamer from an ancient country, who exchanged some interesting techniques with me as compensation…”
His voice trailed off, and everyone clearly heard something slowly moving along the water, then splashing to the surface.
“The mainland is unimaginably vast, and humans have explored only a small part. In places we can’t see, there are many rare birds and beasts. If handled correctly, they can unleash unexpected powers.”
Dwight’s eyes had gradually adapted to the darkness, but in the deep night, the water surface without any light reflection looked like a pool of black ink. He couldn’t even see what emerged from the water, but both he and Shivers felt no danger.
“Like this so-called water monster, the Darby Belly Fish, which can freely change its size, making it unstoppable in water, while also being able to carry more cargo than a horse-drawn carriage… including living beings. But it consumes a lot, so it requires a significant amount of food or an energy source to be driven.”
The rabbit-headed shopkeeper pulled back his hood and extended his hand to the Duke.
“Don’t worry, the Darby Belly Fish is as gentle as a sheep.”
After a brief silence, a hand touched Charlie’s palm, slightly cool to the touch.
No one could see, but the shopkeeper’s furry rabbit face bore a slight smile.
“Please watch your step, Your Grace.”
The author has something to say:
Scratching my head. The Duke is technically still not past adolescence and combined with the education he received and the early responsibilities of being a pillar of support, he is indeed more childish and selfish compared to Charlie, who is nearly ten years his senior.
Martina is very mature, and in the presence of the Duke and the Knight Commander, she has never wavered, but Eugene is silly.
One day, everyone will grow up.
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