Chapter Ten: The Musicians' Association

  Recalling the numerous get-rich-quick schemes he had come across, Lucien sadly realized that he knew too little about this world to know whether these methods would work, and moreover, no matter what he did, the first pot of gold was especially important, but all he had were seven copper ferls.

  So when the nine o'clock sunlight shone on the market district, Lucien was already carrying a heavy load of goods towards the city gate district. After all, survival often comes first.

  Sweat poured down his face, dripped onto his neck, and soaked into the linen of his shirt. The sun beat down on Lucien's back, making every step a chore. To make matters worse, he had to endure the incessant chatter of Gooch, who waddled along beside him:

  "For Pete's sake! Who brought this little kid over here? Walk steady, don't mess up my goods!"

  Looking at Guchi wiping away the sweat that had flowed out from running around with a handkerchief, Lucien muttered to himself: "It's all because you're stingy and only invited one person."

  Of course, this meant that Lucien's pay was raised from three copper farthings to four.

  After much difficulty they arrived at the city gate district, where Lucien carefully loaded the goods onto a waiting cargo carriage.

  Chubby Gou reluctantly took out his wallet, pulled out four copper Ferls and handed them to Lucien: "Your pay, kid. I didn't expect your strength to be so great. Next time I have goods that need to be transported, I'll come straight to you."

  Lucien's strength is actually no match for a trained young man of the same age, but he has the advantage of being cheap, one can be used as two, and Gu Qi, who is stingy, naturally wants to praise him like this, completely forgetting how he cursed himself before.

  As soon as Lucien got his copper fare, he saw two men in linen coats walking towards him with a rather fierce look.

  "We are under Aaron's command. You can call me Andre." The brown-haired man revealed his identity, with a faint scar on his face.

  Lucien understood what they were there for and was mentally prepared, not intending to make a special trip, took out a copper ferule and handed it to the man called Andre.

  Another burly man glared at Lucien: "Two coppers!"

  "Didn't you say only one?" Lucien is now penniless, and even though he knows he can't fight back against the gang's thugs at present, he still can't help but argue.

  "If it weren't for your own conceit, Gutch would have to hire two people, and each of them would give us a copper farthing, this loss, of course, cannot be borne by us." Andrei laughed like a legitimate merchant.

  It was just a copper farthing, not involving Lucien's survival and bottom line, so when Lucien was later hunted down by the gang and a copper farthing, he hesitated for only one second before putting up with it again, took out another copper farthing, and handed it to that man who walked around Andrei, as if showing off his robust physique.

  "Not bad, kid, you understand the rules. In the past, there were some young punks who liked to challenge us, but as you've seen, we're still here, while they've sunk to the bottom of the Belaya River. Alright, Mag, someone's coming over there." Andrey intimidated him with a few more sentences before turning around and walking away with Mag.

  Lucien watched the two of them walk away, feeling a bit stifled in his heart. Although he had known from the start that he would be exploited by the gang, when it actually happened, he couldn't help but feel emotional.

  After scolding himself for a while and not feeling hot-blooded enough, Lucien understood that to get out of this situation, he either needed very strong personal power or a certain social status.

  Of course, in this world, very strong personal power often means a very high social status.

  "Is there a potion for increasing strength and physique in the magic notebook?" Lucien couldn't help but think about it, even though he was well aware that this was a dangerous sign, a sign of being unable to resist temptation.

  …………

  The musicians' association near the administrative district of Saint-Jean is known for its unique architectural style in Altor, so Lucien, pushing a rented four-wheeled cart, found the building called "Dancing Flames" after asking for directions only once.

  The extensive use of vertical lines, small spires, flying buttresses, colored glass and flame-shaped window mullions give the entire five-story pale building an asymmetrical, exaggerated beauty that is both light and complex.

  A sly-looking, thin, middle-aged man with a goatee came down the steps quickly: "How come you're late? Look at the golden cathedral's clock, it's almost one o'clock!"

  Lucien had already met this middle-aged man once under the arrangement of Dwarf Cohen after taking over the entrusted task, and knew that his name was George, who had some connections within the Musicians Association.

  "George, there are still ten minutes left." Lucien pointed to the golden cathedral in the distant noble district, towering high and majestic, as if it could control the entire city. The hour hand on it was still a good distance from pointing directly upwards.

  George complained, "The association's janitor cleaned up ahead of time. Hurry and follow me to hand over, otherwise the mountain-like trash piled behind the association will affect the mood of the musicians who come to handle affairs, that would be troublesome."

  Lucien was very curious about Joel's uncle's dream of a musician, so he didn't argue with George, put the cart aside, let the guard watch it, and stepped up onto the steps, walking towards the entrance.

  As soon as Lucien pushed open the large door inlaid with colored glass fragments, he saw a bright, magnificent and spacious hall.

  The floor was covered with a thick and soft carpet, walking on it made no sound at all. With very few people coming and going, the entire hall seemed quiet and serene.

  Under George's lead, Lucien walked up to a half-person-high wooden platform in the center of the hall.

  Behind the wooden counter sat a beautiful brown-haired blue-eyed girl with a sweet smile and a clear voice: "Uncle George, has the person you're looking for arrived?"

  She said, handing George a jingling pouch that Lucien estimated contained at least forty coppers. In his mind, he silently cursed, knowing that after deducting the cost of renting the cart, he would only make eight coppers.

  George took the money bag, revealing two rows of yellow teeth, and smiled with his eyes narrowed to a line: "Elena, you find someone to take Lucien to the garden in the back. Don't look at him being young and not sturdy, but he has great strength."

  He then said to Lucien: "Your money, I will put it in the city gate district of Andre, you can go and get it when you come back."

  Lucien nodded, not worried that George would welch on the deal. Aaron's gang was ruthless when it came to collecting money, but they had a reputation for being reliable in this regard. According to Cohen, someone had once tried to stiff them on a payment and ended up paying double the fee.

  Elena was about to instruct the servants in the hall to take Lucien to the back garden to move the trash, when she suddenly saw a middle-aged man wearing a red wide coat walk in. She quickly stood up and slightly bowed: "Good afternoon, Mr. Viktor."

  The middle-aged man was dressed simply yet elegantly, with a faint eight-character mustache and black curly hair, his blue eyes like the sea showing a melancholy hue: "Good afternoon, Elena, give me a copy of 'Music Review'." His voice was mellow and deep.

  Lucien couldn't help but be surprised as he saw Irina pull out a brand new newspaper from the cabinet under the wooden counter: "Has Alto already developed newspapers? And specialized types at that."

  Thinking of the slum's situation, Lucien sighed in his heart: "It seems that the polarization of this world is quite severe. However, there should still be few people who understand words; how much do newspapers need to sell to recover their costs?"

  Viktor took the "Musical Review" in his hand, flipped through it casually, then handed Irina ten copper ferls and nodded politely to Lucien and George before turning with the newspaper and heading towards the staircase beside the hall.

  "This Mr. Victor has a pretty good demeanor." Lucien thought to himself quietly.

  As Viktor went upstairs, Lucien curiously asked Irina: "Is this 'Music Review' only worth ten copper ferls?"

  Knowing Lucien was the kind of person who, like herself in the past, had no chance of coming into contact with high society, Eriol couldn't help but show off her experiences from working at the Musicians' Guild for the past year: "Although since the invention of a simpler and more widely used paper-making method by Adelaide, the Red Bishop, in 426 GD, the price of paper has become cheaper and cheaper, now you can buy a stack with just a few coppers, but only members of our Musicians' Guild can buy 'Music Review' for ten coppers, while others, even nobles, need one silver nall."

  "Because this 'Musical Review' and the 'Symphonic Herald' are the two most authoritative newspapers in the entire continent's music scene, representing the direction of musical development. Every score and review article on them is a crystallization of wisdom. This month's 'Musical Review' even has comments from His Majesty the Grand Duke and Her Highness Princess Natasha on last week's symphony concert at the Sacred Choral Hall."

  It can't be denied that Elina's non-stop talking, aside from wanting to show off, Lucien's black hair and eyes, as well as his quite handsome appearance, also played a huge role.

  "A silver nail?" Lucien suddenly wanted to rob these newspapers, just five copies, his own problem would be easily solved, but considering that even if he succeeded, he wouldn't find a buyer, Lucien extinguished this thought in frustration.

  Irena's boast was matched by Lucien, who grew more and more delighted: "Hehe, don't think that a silver nal is expensive. In Trya, in Antifelle, in Efe, in Diris, in Anhadur, these two newspapers are sought-after goods, the most expensive of which can be sold for as much as one gold taler. The nobles of these countries take pride in following the musical trends of Alto, even if it's an old newspaper that they've read a long time ago."

  Lucien took another look at the remaining newspapers in Irina's cabinet, suppressing his urge to loot them, and inferred some information from them: "The currency of the entire continent should be unified. Yes, the church with divine magic must be very powerful. The space transmission array is likely non-existent, or even if it exists, the usage conditions must be extremely harsh. Otherwise, why would so many nobles only see outdated newspapers in such a situation?"

  Lucien absorbed the insight he lacked most from Eirina's words like a sponge absorbing water, until more than ten minutes later, Eirina came to her senses and called for the hall servant to take Lucien to the back garden.

  "Lucien, please keep quiet and don't speak loudly. When moving the trash, try not to make too much noise. Mr. Viktor will be holding his first symphony concert in three months at the Philharmonic Hall, and he's under a lot of pressure, mentally... well, mentally quite sensitive." Elina reminded Lucien kindly.

  Lucien nodded gratefully at her and then carefully followed the servant towards the back garden.