BXBX NOVEL Chapter 424 - A Guide
Chapter 424 - A Guide
As they simply stood there in a daze someone suddenly approached them. He was smiling from ear to ear as he spoke.
"I see that the lady and gentlemen aren\'t from around here." The man who appeared was wearing brown trousers, a linen shirt, and a coat that cutaway in the front with a long long tail. The trio shifted their attention to the weird man who was smiling.
"Oh, I\'m sorry I forgot my manners and failed to introduce myself. I am Johnathan Brown, or you could call me John for short. I am a certified guide of the Divine City." The man called John did a proper bow after introducing himself.
"Seeing your clothes and sensing this intimidating pressure coming from you three, I\'m guessing the three of you are adventurers or perhaps mercenaries, and this is your first time in the Divine City. If you haven\'t been before you might get lost, seeing as the Divine City boasts to be the largest city on the continent, alongside being the most technologically advanced. If you don\'t know which trolley to take it might take hours to reach your destination on foot." As John said those words, he had no idea that Ren and the other two were able to run faster than the so called trolleys. Still, they must admit that the layout of this city was confusing for them.
"Allow me to be your personal guide, as I know this whole city like the back of my hand. I can show you around to wherever place you want to go. Of course, I do this for a price." While John was telling his sales pitch, Valdel whispered in Ren\'s ear.
"What do you think, Ren, Should we hire him?"
Ren thought about it for a while. The reason he rejected the earlier proposal was that it was from a guard of the Divine City, he wouldn\'t show them the true face of this place. Yet this person was one who seems to obey the rule of money. It was easier to convince this person into showing them some of the darker places of the city.
"How much for a tour of the entire city?" When John heard Ren\'s question he got excited. It\'s been a while since he had a customer. He tried to calm himself down since now that he was at this stage he shouldn\'t scare them.
"If it\'s a tour of the entire city, that that would be five gold coins, each. Do not be too alarmed by the price, since that includes the full month pass in using the trolleys. Since I know the operators we can get the full month pass at a cheaper price. If you bought that separately through normal means, it would\'ve cost you four gold coins. Yet because of me, you can get it at three gold coins. If you still find that too expensive, we can do the walking tour. This option would need three days to tour the entire city on foot. The price of this tour would only cost you fifty silver coins each. Still, compared to other guides, my prices would be the lowest in the entire Divine City. So what do you think?"
John continued to smile as he tried his very best to sound convincing that the prices he gave out were reasonable. He waited for a response when he saw Ren toss him some coins. John reflexively caught the coins and was surprised at what he saw. Three glistening white gold coins were now in his hands.
"You can keep the extra five gold coins as long as you satisfy me by showing everything this city has to offer. If I\'m in a good mood, at the end of this tour, I\'ll give you an extra white gold coin. Also, if you do anything shady against us then your life will be forfeit."
John couldn\'t help but gulp dryly as he heard what Ren said. As an experienced guide, John had seen a ton of people, adventurers, mercenaries, knights, mages, merchants, bards, and a lot of different assortment of people, so he had a good eye for spotting the rich and powerful.
The moment he saw Ren\'s group he was sure that these people had money to spare, and they were even country bumpkins which would make them easier targets. But when he got near them he immediately felt something prickly and guess that these people weren\'t as easy as he thought. The only people that made him feel like this were powerful warriors.
Still, John continued on and wasn\'t bothered by that. It wasn\'t like this was his first encounter with warriors. Yet now that he was given the chance, he thought that he was home free when suddenly Ren said those words. When Ren said that his life will be forfeit, an icy cold feeling encroached on John. He could feel a terrifying force trying to choke him. It only lasted for a second, but John was already sweating a lot.
"So are you willing or are you not? If you\'re not willing just give back my money and leave."
John looked at the white gold coins in his hands. It has been a very long time since he had gotten this much money. In fact, it has been a very long time, since he had any money at all.
\'If I don\'t take this job, I\'ll die from hunger anyway. As long as I just do what these people ask of me, and don\'t make them feel displeased I\'ll be able to get through this with no problem.\' Feeling the weight of the white gold coins in his hands, John nodded his head.
"Very well, my dear customers, I will show all the Divine City has to offer. Still, just in case, I need to ask if there is a specific place that you want to see?"
"There is none, just show us everything that\'s there to see."
"How about your luggage do you want to leave them in an inn?" John looked at the bags Lara and Valdel were carrying.
"There\'s no need, just get on with the tour already."
"Alright, first off I want to once again welcome you, dear customers, to the capital of the Holy Kingdom, the Divine City a place where one\'s hopes and dreams could be achieved."
…
The first place that John took Ren and the others was the shopping center. The Shopping Center was a four-story building, that was filled with people buying and selling. The things that they were selling were fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and poultry. There were also things, like clothes, bags, and accessories.
It would seem that in the entire Divine City, there were five different shopping centers. There were three in the middle district, and two in the noble district. Each shopping center had a different quality of items.
…
After they left the shopping center, the group headed to a certain place where they got their one month pass for the trolleys. Once they got that the group headed to a different area.
As they boarded a trolley that was filled with people, Ren, Lara, and Valdel felt a bit weird. The carriage or the so called trolley was moving on its own and it wasn\'t even shaking that much. It wasn\'t going too fast, but it was able to accommodate a lot of people. Also even though there were a lot of people in it, Ren and the others were still able to get seats. Overall the trolley was a rather good mode of transportation. Ren was starting to think if he could bring someone from the city that knows how to make a trolley and bring them back to the Grenton Empire.
\'I\'ll think about that later, for now, I\'ll experience the other things this place has to offer.\'
…
The next place they went to was the middle district\'s restaurant area. It was basically a whole street filled with different kinds of restaurants. There was a restaurant that specialized in seafood, and another that specialized in soups. There were many kinds that filled each side of the street.
"Are you guys hungry, seeing as it\'s already noon, do you guys want to have lunch now?"
"Sure, but before we go, tell me what\'s that?" Ren pointed at a stand where a man that looks to be a merchant handing something to children.
"Oh that, that\'s an ice cream stand."
"Ice cream?"
"Ice cream is a pretty tasty dessert, here let me buy you guys some ice cream so that you can judge for yourselves."
"No need to pay for us, how much do they cost?"
"Three silver coins." Ren handed John nine silver coins. John then bought some ice cream and handed Ren, Lara, and Valdel an ice cream each.
The three looked at the thing that they were given. It was emitting a cold air, after staring at it for a few seconds, the three ate it. The moment their tongues touched the ice cream, the three were assaulted with a wonderful sensation of flavor. It was cold, sweet, oh so sweet, and yummy. The three quickly finished the ice cream they had in hand.
Seeing how much they enjoyed the ice cream, made John smile… He then guided the three to the best restaurant in the middle district.