Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 421 - 420: One Boat Ticket

Chapter 421: Chapter 420: One Boat Ticket

Early morning.

"Squeak, squeak..."

Stepping down the stairs, Richard and Pandora descended the staircase, Richard leading the way and Pandora following behind, constantly muttering things like "five times five is twenty-five." After much effort throughout the night, the Five-character table had successfully passed inspection, but to prevent forgetting, she had to keep recalling it.

Amidst her muttering, as they descended the stairs, Richard glanced across the tavern’s hall and noticed the Divination Woman he had met last night. She was sitting at a table, continually turning her head around as if she were looking for something.

Richard approached and asked, "Have you lost something?"

Upon hearing Richard’s voice, the Divination Woman suddenly turned her head to look at him, stared directly into Richard’s eyes, and after a long gaze, she spoke through clenched teeth, "I’ve lost my beloved pet."

"Pet?" Richard raised an eyebrow and gestured, "Is it a pet that looks like a rat, about this long, with a black-gray appearance? A long and thin tail with a white tip, and its claws are very sharp, almost like Black Iron?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, I see," Richard nodded and responded, "I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen it. You should keep looking."

"You!" The Divination Woman couldn’t help but stand up, eyes wide, looking as if she wanted to devour Richard alive. Realizing she might have lost her composure, after a moment, the Divination Woman took a deep breath, slowly sat down again, and with a grim face, she said, "Young man, you better watch your behavior and show some respect to this Messenger of God."

"You are a Messenger of God?" Richard blinked and said, "You didn’t mention that yesterday."

"Hmph, I can help people see through the fog of fate and guide them toward redemption. If I am not a Messenger of God, then what am I?" the Divination Woman declared. "Young man, let’s set aside the matter of the pet for now. This is my last kind warning to you; it’s best if you do not leave the port in the coming days, at least wait until two days later. Yes, after two days."

"Two days later?" Richard narrowed his eyes slightly, "Yesterday it was three days, today it’s two days. It seems like you have a specific rule about my departure day. Does something special happen after two days?"

"Of course! If you leave two days later, your journey will go smoothly! But leaving now would bring calamity upon you! That’s the special thing!"

"I see, I’ll consider that..." Richard said and turned to walk away as he saw the chubby tavern owner coming over with a flattering smile.

"Guest, guest, you are up!" Richard had just approached when he heard the tavern owner with this greeting.

Glancing at his expression, Richard felt a guess forming and asked aloud, "What is it, any good news?"

"Good news, great news!" the face of the chubby tavern owner bloomed into a chuckling chrysanthemum, "What a coincidence, today, just as you suggested, someone was sent to the port and saw a big ship docking for supplies. Upon asking around, it turns out it’s a ship heading north.

I’m telling you, that big ship will definitely meet your requirements. Its name is the ’Natu Glory Fisherman,’ extremely luxurious, with a full crew, and the captain has a wealth of experience. Most importantly, although it’s called ’Fisherman,’ that was its name when it was used as a fishing boat. Now, it has been converted into a true merchant ship. Aside from carrying goods for trade, it also actively takes passengers.

Though the price is steep, dear guest, you need not worry, as I have already arranged everything for you. For you and this young girl beside you, a particularly nice cabin has been set up, without you having to spend an extra penny."

At the end, the chubby tavern owner eagerly looked at Richard, "So, guest, are you satisfied?"

"Very well," Richard nodded.

"That’s good, that’s good." The tavern owner’s face bloomed like a "chrysanthemum," and then he rubbed his hands a bit nervously. "Since that’s the case, what about the gold coin you mentioned earlier that you’re keeping..."

"Don’t rush," Richard interrupted the plump tavern owner, asking, "How long will the ’Naru Glory Fisherman’ ship dock for supplies?"

"It will only dock for half a day; they are in a hurry. I heard that the Black Holy Mountain Kingdom to the north and another kingdom are not getting along and might go to war at any moment, possibly resulting in a naval blockade. Therefore, they plan to cross the vast northern seas as quickly as possible to reach their destination. Otherwise, if they’re late and get blocked by naval ships, it could delay them for months," the tavern owner explained, clearly well-informed.

The next moment, he added, "That’s why I took the liberty of buying your ship ticket in advance. Just give me what you’ve been keeping for me, and I’ll hand over the ticket without any delay."

"Indeed, no delay," Richard said, dispelling his last doubts. He flipped his hand, and a gold coin appeared in his palm, which he handed to the tavern owner.

As soon as the tavern owner saw the gold coin, his eyes lit up. He vigorously rubbed his greasy, plump hands on his body before carefully accepting the gold coin. He brought it to his mouth and bit down on it to try to determine its authenticity.

Richard watched and shook his head inwardly.

While biting to test the authenticity of gold was popular, it was actually not very reliable.

The method relied solely on hardness. Since human teeth have a Mohs hardness of about 7 and gold has a Mohs hardness of just over 2, which is softer than other yellow metals, biting into it should leave a clear set of teeth marks, suggesting the metal is gold.

However, yellow metals like brass have a Mohs hardness of only 3, which isn’t much different from that of gold. An inexperienced person could easily be fooled. More sophisticated methods involved gold-plating lead or tin, making it even harder to distinguish fake from real, as these metals’ density and hardness closely approximate gold’s, making them look even more like gold when bitten.

But considering it was the Medieval era, without modern technology like densitometers, spectral analysis, or electronic probes, biting was the only simple and feasible method. Although it couldn’t prevent well-made counterfeit coins, it could at least identify some crude fakes.

As Richard thought this, the tavern owner finished verifying the coin and confirmed it was real. His "chrysanthemum" bloomed proudly. He quickly pocketed the gold coin and then pulled a ship ticket from his robes to hand to Richard.

"Sir, please take care; this is your ticket. The ship is currently in the port and won’t wait long before departing. Would you like to go on your own, or should I send someone to guide you?"

"No need for that, I’ll go by myself."

"That’s fine; see you next time!" As soon as the tavern owner was sure he had benefited, he didn’t loiter any longer. Still blooming like a "chrysanthemum," he walked away, completely oblivious to the resentful gaze the divination woman was casting his way.

Richard glanced at the divination woman with a slight smile and shook his head, pulling Pandora as they stepped outside.

Pandora was still incessantly repeating the multiplication table under her breath, "Five fives, five fives, uhmm... uh... oh, twenty-five!"

As Richard left, the divination woman stood up, pondered for a moment, and after glaring fiercely at the tavern owner, she too walked out the door.

Back behind the counter, the tavern owner was clueless. Watching the divination woman leave, he scratched his head and muttered to himself, "What does that woman want from me? Could she be interested in me? Well, I might consider it..."