Chapter 247 Sky Island City
"Hello, please let me pass... Thank you very much."
The man wearing a platinum robe and a hood covered himself tightly stood in front of her, politely asked the lady blocking the entrance to leave, and showed the guards guarding the door of the Governor's Mansion the permission in his hand - a bag of golden gold.
The guards weighed the gold in their hands, and there was no change on their serious faces. They just made way for the guy who was willing to take out gold to meet the Governor.
Here, in addition to legal currency, only gold, a rare metal, can best prove its value.
She blinked her eyes, as if she was in a trance just now, seeing that the man had no ears?
The scholar shook his head, how could there be a person without ears and a tail in this world, and turned to walk towards the bar that the Governor introduced to her.
But the most important thing now is to find a ship willing to take her to the super-large floating island No. 3, and if possible, it would be better to hire a team of guards.
A journey of hundreds of kilometers is never considered safe. She is just a geologist and a non-combat spellcaster.
She knows a little about basic self-defense spells, but she knows that her limited skills are not enough to fight against the dangerous environment.
Entering the bar, she saw a handsome man with pointed ears standing in the center of the bar and talking about something.
He promised the mercenaries with his voice that as long as they are willing to open up the sky island for him, he will give 20% of the income to the mercenaries, and he will provide the mercenaries with weapons and equipment that they can use. He will also provide ships to safely send the mercenaries/adventurers to the island.
The mercenaries were still noisy and toasting, and most of them were unmoved by his opinions and were immersed in exchanging information.
Who came back from which caravan's island today? The environment there is not good, so don't go there; who took which noble son to see which scenic spot, which high-security area has good scenery; who can't get any work and can only move boxes at the dock to make a living, and recommend a few delicious and cheap dock restaurants.
Pointed ears are a rare species, and she occasionally sees them in the college she attends. They often keep their own feathers, and the bird species that hate feathers will pluck the feathers behind their ears, leaving a clean neck.
Miss Scholar sat at the bar, pushed a small coin in front of the boss, and ordered a glass of wine for herself. While he was mixing the cocktail, she listened to the pointy-eared man's speech with interest, and the conditions he offered even made her a little tempted.
"The creatures that have been devouring floating stones for a long time even have extremely small amounts of floating stones in their blood. We use their blood as a medium to mix a fine wine that belongs to this world... Miss, you really came to the right place."
The bar owner laughed twice, and at a glance, he saw that she was an outsider, and placed a glass of mixed wine in front of her.
"This is not a metaphor, you will really feel that your body has become lighter. The extremely small amount of floating stones will release their last bit of energy in the mixture and then be exhausted, which will not have any effect on your body."
"Thank you, um..."
She took a sip and felt the spicy smell rushing straight to her brain. Before her body became lighter, her brain was about to become confused.
She really shouldn't try this glass of wine out of curiosity. The purpose of ordering this glass of wine was just to talk to this boss who was mixed in with adventurers.
"Ha, you guys who look civilized can't drink much, I thought you could drink... For the sake of the gold coins, this glass of milk is for you."
The bar owner was generous and put a small cup of milk in front of her, letting her neutralize the spiciness in her mouth.
"Tell me, what do you want to know."
"I want a fleet that can escort me to Island No. 3, with a budget of 500 gold."
She raised the small cup, drank the milk in it, and recovered from the dizziness.
"Oh... if you said some time ago that maybe someone would go with you, but now... you may have to go alone?"
The bar owner sat opposite her, humming a ballad that she couldn't understand, wiping the clean and shiny glass cup.
"This period is the biological migration period, and even the caravans have to bring their guards full. No matter how much you give, you can't hire people from here."
"As for Island No. 3...some time ago, a group of fearless guys wanted to go to the island group centered on Island No. 3, but there has been no news so far. It has never been developed, and there is gold everywhere...ha, who knows what dangers there are in those ghost places."
And there are always more people leaving this city than returning, but there are always fewer adventurers gathering in the bar.
"Recently, there have been rumors in At City that there are monsters near Island No. 3, and no team dares to go there. If your goal is the main island of Island No. 3, then I suggest you go back immediately and wait for three to five years. The pioneering team may not have as much risk as it does now if it advances there."
"Is this your suggestion?"
Miss Scholar took a sip of the clear water that had just been pushed in front of her, and she couldn't help feeling a little sad. The hiring price here has far exceeded her imagination. She originally thought that she could complete the hiring if she prepared double the money, but now it seems...too difficult.
"My suggestion is that since you have already spent the entrance fee to Sky Island, why not find our bards and mercenary teams to take you to experience the surrounding scenery. It is safe and can give you a different experience. At least it is worth the trip?"
The bar owner pointed to the people who were playing the piano and singing in the distance. They were singing the magnificence of the Sky Island world.
"I said, I have someone I know who has lost contact there... Is there really no way?"
She hesitated for a moment, reached into her robe and touched the hard and cold pocket watch, and immediately felt relieved.
"With your budget, you can buy the most ordinary long-distance ship at the port... If there is any left, maybe you can try to find a new adventurer team here."
The bar owner thought about it and gave her a more reasonable plan.
"How can I find a team that has just come to Sky Island?"
The scholar took a deep breath and began to ask.
"Did you see the guy in the middle of the bar who was talking big? The teams that had just come to Sky Island were the ones that were interested in what he said... This was a life-changing business, there was no such thing as drawing a pie in the sky first and paying later. I could see that he wanted to trick the mercenaries into dying for him. Who could come up with this guarantee to prove that 20% of the mineral veins and product income would be in their own hands after the development was completed?"
The bar owner sneered and pointed at the pointed ears standing in the tavern who kept trying to trick the adventurers to go with him. It was obvious that several teams that had just entered the tavern were somewhat tempted by the conditions he proposed and were willing to be the vanguards of death.
"Remember, here, those who allow payment after work are either fools or their goal is not the hiring fee in your hand."
"The governor also told me this... Oh, by the way, do you think there are guys without ears in this world?"
As she recalled, she suddenly remembered the guy who covered himself tightly and who she had accidentally seen in front of the governor's mansion, and she couldn't help but have some extra curiosity.
"I don't know, but everyone who can dock in Ate pays taxes to the Governor, and the Governor takes a cut of the goods they sell."
The bar owner did not answer her question directly, but started to wipe the table with a rag and put away the liquor she had only taken a sip of.
As long as they can provide income for the city, who cares where they come from?