Tillen
“Very well, I’ll speak with the boss later about the issue of your ransom,” Leylin promised, rubbing his hands together.
“Many thanks, master!” Karen immediately began to address him differently. Although she currently looked like a weak little elfling, Leylin knew that once he cured her of her poison and armed her with a sharp dagger, this half-drow would immediately become a powerful god of death in the shadows.
After she had thanked him, the room’s atmosphere immediately grew awkward.
“Master... Would you like me to call my sister maids over?” Karen twisted the corner of her skirt, and looked extremely embarrassed.
“There’s no need. Didn’t you come to help me pour the hot water?” Leylin smiled faintly. The bloody battles and the accumulation of a great deal of life energy had left a fire in him that needed quenching.
“Yes, master!” Karen’s lips curved into a charming smile, and the entire room was soon enveloped in a layer of youthful lust.
Breakfast in the Barbarian Inn was a rich affair. The staples of fluffy and soft wheat bread and milk were present, and the intoxicating aroma of cheese and fried eggs was in the air. There were even several strings of juicy berries in a rattan basket nearby, to tempt one’s appetite.
There was a white napkin around Leylin’s neck as he enjoyed his meal with fluid movements. Karen sat on his side and occasionally stole a few glances at him with a blush on her face. These gestures made Leylin smile inwardly; she was a very lovely creature indeed, and he had exceedingly enjoyed his stay last night.
The half-drow seemed to have special talent in that area, but Leylin was not some incapable youth himself. His strength was too much even for a dark elf.
At this moment, Cyclops’ voice came from just outside the door, “Boss, can we come in?”
“Enter!” With Leylin’s command, Cyclops, Giant and Hulk entered the place all at once.
Looking at the massive dark circles and bags under their eyes, it was easy to tell that what kind of merriment they had gotten up to last night. Even after they had diligently cleaned themselves, Leylin could still smell a strong stench of alcohol and perfume on them.
Cyclops and the others noticed Karen by Leylin’s side, but the three pretended as if they hadn’t seen her, their eyes filled with a rather questionable smile.
“I’ll leave for now, master,” Karen said after seeing the others enter. She knew that Leylin had things to discuss with his subordinates, and smartly prepared to leave despite not finishing her breakfast.
“No need. You’re one of us now, so you should stay and listen,” Leylin said, motioning for Karen to stay.
Cyclops was shocked at this action, and he looked over the girl in appraisal. She was certainly just an elfling girl, and also a part-time prostitute, so why would she be recruited by the captain of their crew? However, since this was Leylin’s decision, they could not object to it.
Leylin picked up the white silk napkin and wiped the corners of his mouth before turning to Cyclops and the others, “So, how was last night?”
Cyclops knew that Leylin was naturally not enquiring about what mischief they had gotten up to. He cleared his throat, and began revealing the information they’d found, “Boss! I’ve already fully found out...
“In Pirates’ Cove, there are several merchant families that are interesting in our goods. However, our biggest patron is the boss of this inn... Haha.”
“That fox girl?” Leylin nodded, “What offer has she made us?”
“860 Dambrath gold coins for the whole lot! This price is rather average amongst the offers we have received, but it would be the safest option,” Cyclops spat fiercely before continuing, “Other families may have offered us a higher price, but I can tell with just one eye what they are planning. Those fuckers!”
Cyclops was a pirate after all, and he subconsciously exploded into foul curses. However, Leylin did not mind the merchants. Pirates’ Cove had a mixed bag of characters, and it was not surprising that a pirate would have their own ideas and want to devour their fleet and their goods all in one go.
Compared to this, as the Barbarians were the biggest players in Pirates’ Cove, it was entirely normal for them to take in these stolen goods to sell them for a profit.
“Mm, this price isn’t bad.” Although Leylin had buckled down on a pile of sugar for himself, the rest of his goods were worth at least 3000 gold coins and above. Since they were stolen goods and therefore ‘dirty’, Leylin would be satisfied with a small profit after it had changed hands a few times.
“This is a detailed map of Pirates’ Cove, including the locations of all the churches!” Hulk respectfully handed a sheepskin scroll to Leylin, and also brought a reply from the shipyard, “The shipyard’s owner has already had a look at the Scarlet Tiger, and has said that there shouldn’t be any problems repairing it. However, the owner said that it would be impossible to magically refit the ship. As for the cost, he will need at least 300 gold coins more...”
“Our little bunny rabbits played hard last night, but nothing big happened. They only had a fight with a few other drunkards,” Giant triumphantly announced, and just looking at his face one could tell that he did not lose the fight.
“Mm, we’ll rest here for 5 days. Hand the maintenance duties over to the shipyard owner, and ask him to finish the work as quickly as possible. We can make some concessions on the price.” It was only routine ship maintenance, and was not as if the ship’s entire keel was being replaced or massively refitted. In this world of extraordinary ability, if the shipyard master could put in all his effort to quickly complete it, there should virtually be no problems.
“Rest assured, boss!” Cyclops beat his chest confidently, taking control of the task. Hulk, who stood at his side, had a rather gloomy expression on his face.
Leylin pretended not to see this sort of infighting amongst his men’s factions. As long as it didn’t interfere with his or the others’ ability to fight, he didn’t particularly want to intercede.
“Mm, so Cyclops can sort it out. Hulk and Giant, come with me to get rid of the goods and hire some men as well.”
“Alright!” “Yes boss!” Since Leylin had issued the command, everything proceeded as expected.
The main hall of the inn was not as noisy as it had been last night, but there were bits of debris on the ground, and even drunkards on the floor.
“All of you, take this drunkard who can’t pay my money back to the docks. Put him in hard labour, and give him a harsh whipping every day until he pays back his debts. Don’t let him leave until then,” the fox girl boss from yesterday ordered the two barbarians from behind the counter, her hands on her hips.
“Oh, young master! Why have you gotten up so early?” After seeing Leylin, her expression quickly changed. She eyed Karen who was standing to one side, and under her piercing gaze, the elfling couldn’t help but unconsciously shrink back.
“Unless you’re dissatisfied with Karen’s service, in which case I’ll swap her for someone else for you!”
“No, no need. She’s very good,” Leylin scratched his nose, “I still don’t know my lady’s name?”
“Haha, my name is Tillen. You can call me Madam Tillen!” Madam Tillen smiled amorously at Leylin, a smile filled with the charm of a mature woman.
“Mm. Dear Madam Tillen, I want to talk about our transaction, and about this maid’s ransom as well,” Leylin said directly.
“Ransom?” Tillen swept her eyes across Karen, her eyes filled with a special look, “Well, it looks like our Karen has satisfied the young master well...”
Tillen seemed to yawn lazily. “This isn’t the place to talk, follow me!”
She swayed her sinuous hips as she left, leaving behind the strong fragrance of her perfume. Leylin smiled a little before following Her into a small room.
Madam Tillen brewed a floral tea that was said to come from the elves, and waited until white steam had risen before a shrewd expression appeared on her face. “You’ve asked me for my name, young master, but I don’t know how to address you.”
“You can call me Leylin,” Leylin replied with a smile. Since he wanted to form an alliance with her, trust was crucial. She was only asking for his name, which she could have easily found out later with some investigations.
“Alright, young master Leylin!” Madam Tillen crossed her long, slender legs, her fiery fox tail caressing her supply waist.
“I can take charge of the negotiations for the goods, but Karen is a slave of our inn. If it’s to do with her, I don’t have the authority to deal with this matter.”
“I know everything here is the personal property of the Barbarians!” Leylin smiled as he rubbed his hands.
*Crackle!* A powerful electric current flashed, filling the room with a piercingly bright light.
“Since it’s like this, call the person who can make a decision here.” He followed up in a deep voice, his powerful magic force lingering near his body.
“Wizard! You’re a wizard!” Madam Tillen’s voice grew somewhat shrill, and it was clear that she had not discovered Leylin’s identity.
A noble wizard was very rare in the outer seas. On top of that, Tillen realised that the energy undulations rolling off of Leylin put his strength higher than rank 5. A wizard of that level was a decent adventurer, and could even have a stronger master backing them!
‘A wizard named Leylin... That’s enough for me to find out who he is!’ Unless he used a fake identity, Tillen was certain that Leylin would not be able to escape her information network.
“I never thought that my guest would be such a powerful wizard,” Tillen clasped her hands to her bosom, inadvertently revealing a wide and creamy expanse of her delicate skin.
However, Leylin made very clear the division between business and pleasure, “When is your boss coming over?”
“Don’t be in such a hurry! The latest you’ll meet him will be tonight,” Tillen threw a flirtatious glance, “Before that, our store has many things to pass time with, does my guest care to have a look?”