Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 278 - 44 Handsome Ragnor_1

Chapter 278: Chapter 44 Handsome Ragnor_1

"What did you say? Impossible!" Captain Ayrland’s enormous roar could be heard from a far distance: "Absolutely impossible! How could we let her rejoin the team?"

The assembly time had already arrived, and the team had regrouped neatly. The crucial issue of the carriages had also been resolved. The mercenary named Rams, who had originally claimed to be waiting in the rest area, voluntarily introduced several caravans from the City of Knowledge that his goods had primarily been sold off, and he had ample carriages he could sell to the wedding procession to alleviate their cramped predicament. Initially, Ayrland was suspicious of this good fortune being bestowed upon them, but upon discovering that several of the caravans had long-standing relationships with the city guards and that Rams was providing a guarantee in his capacity as the main military sponsor of the mobile market, Ayrland accepted the urgently needed blessing after carefully inspecting the carriages.

However, his joy was short-lived when Catherine, who had returned on time, brought a proposal that left him utterly astonished. Looking at the unperturbed Vivian and Catherine’s group, the forty-something Captain Ayrland felt unable to comprehend the way of thinking of the younger generation today.

Catherine, helpless, pulled Ayrland aside and muttered an explanation to him for nearly ten minutes before Ayrland reluctantly agreed to Vivian’s request to rejoin the team. However, the city guard members were delighted as each of them was awarded thirty gold coins as compensation for their hard work over the last few days.

As a metropolis, the City of Knowledge’s city guards far exceeded the capabilities of those in other smaller, affiliated cities. About half of the base staff were robust ordinary humans, and the other half were Lower-Rank professionals. Their monthly salaries differed based on job positions, but generally speaking, except for the four mid-level Silver-Rank professionals, everyone else’s monthly income ranged from ten to thirty gold coins. Although the salary wasn’t high, it was dependable and secure. As such, when each person received an extra thirty gold coins, equivalent to one to three months of extra income, all the young city guards could not help but grin from ear to ear. If it wasn’t for the scene not allowing it, they would have loved to cheer wildly around the four members of the adventure team.

"Look how happy everyone is." Catherine, with her arms folded across her chest, admired the joyous faces around her and said to Ayrland, "Don’t worry, we have already carefully discussed this possibility before, and the risk is almost none. You don’t need to worry that much."

"In fact, I also understand that it’s unlikely anything will go wrong." Ayrland nodded and said, "It’s just hard to accept psychologically for a moment."

"Haha, you’ll get used to it." Catherine laughed and ran back to her own team to accept their gratitude.

After lunch, when everything was ready, Ayrland did not let the team members reload the gifts onto the carts but left them in the two spare passenger carriages, maintaining the cramped status quo. He politely declined Rams’ invitation to stay overnight and rest, setting off promptly despite the afternoon exhaustion. After covering thirty kilometers in an afternoon of hurry, and havin scout reported no abnormal conditions, Ayrland finally relaxed. He ordered the team members to start setting up camp and reloading the gifts onto the carts, trying to restore everything to its original state.

Many of the city guards could not understand the implications of Ayrland’s orders, but they obeyed nonetheless due to the regulations of the guard unit. Yet the four members of the adventure team understood Ayrland’s worries. The attacks encountered on the journey could possibly have originated from the mercenaries, who just happened to be in charge of security in the shifting market and had a large number of soldiers. Although it was discovered that the leader of these mercenaries was unaware of the attack, their identities made it almost impossible for them to participate in the ambush. Nonetheless, they had to be cautiously defensive for safety reasons and leave as soon as possible.

The progress of reloading was not smooth. Although it was easier to unload the items and transfer them elsewhere, trying to rearrange and return them was not so simple. Even if it wasn’t necessary to restore everything to its original state, arranging the items neatly so they wouldn’t shake and collide with the movements of the carriage was a skilled task. This task continued for a long time, until the three moons had risen and dinner was ready, and it was only just completed. The team members, who had been tired all afternoon, barely had an appetite for food. The only thing they wanted to do was to sleep.

However, the four adventurers, who had leisurely not participated in any work, were very relaxed. A simple trip without any fighting was no different from resting at home for them. The four of them formed a circle on the outer side of Freya’s carriage and, in the bright moonlight, Pannis gently plucked the bowstring. A simple, lively tune flowed from between the bowstrings, with each note seeming to recount a joyful love story.

"There was a young man named Ragnor, born in a quiet and peaceful unnamed little town, la, la, where all four seasons were like spring, full of flowers. The maidens there were beautiful like paintings and full of love, la, la." Although Pannis’s voice was deep, the melody enhanced it, making the audience visualize a peaceful utopia with no conflicts. Everyone’s face in the small town wore a happy smile. There was no sorrow, no worries, just friendly neighbors and sweet girls.

"This one’s good, this one’s good." Freya in the carriage clapped and laughed, "You said you didn’t want to sing, but you sing so well. What lyrics are these? I’ve never heard them before. They’re unlike formal song rhythms, yet they sound like folk ballads, and it sounds pretty good."

"A few hundred years ago, this kind of lyrics was popular among wandering poets." Pannis answered casually as he quickly played the passing notes with his fingers, "But as this form became more and more popular, the lyrics got increasingly vulgar. In the end, they lost their original artistry and disappeared from the world. But I happened to know an elf who could write such lyrics, and I learned from her."

"Remember, it must be a joyful and beautiful love song." Freya emphasized her request, "Nothing other than a love song, and nothing that’s not joyful. You promised."

"As you wish." As the ceremony came to an end, Pannis started to sing again: "Ragnor grew older day by day. The gods always watched over him. An amorous goddess of beauty gave him his handsome looks, a mighty god of war gifted him his ripped physique, a wise god of knowledge blessed him with an intellect sharp as a whip, a fearless god of hunting filled him with bold resolve. La, la, la, Ragnor grew older day by day. Beautiful maidens always adored him. But our handsome Ragnor, oh our handsome Ragnor, swept aside the wavering affections of these maidens like water and left his hometown. La, la, la, He possessed one grand desire, to find the greatest love, to find the most beautiful princess, to present her with the most stunning flower. La, la, la, la..."

"Eh, is this about me?" As the ceremonial music started again, Freya found it impossible to suppress her laughter. "Mr. Pannis, you’re so wicked, composing a song to tease me." She said, giggling.

"Hey, are you listening or not?" Vivian protested, dissatisfied, "Don’t interrupt the story just like that."

"Our handsome Ragnor, our fearless Ragnor, he stepped forward for the greatest love. La, la, la, our handsome Ragnor, he crossed over many high mountains, traversed many wide rivers. La, la, our brave Ragnor, he drove off an attack of thieves, cut down the claws and teeth of magical beasts. Ragnor, Ragnor, la, la. He journeyed thousands of kilometers and eventually arrived at the forest in the ends of the earth, la, la. The beautiful elf princess was the loveliest flower in that forest. The handsome Ragnor stole the princess’s heart, our brave Ragnor, he passed the elf test. La, la, la la, he finally made his wish come true, he finally found her. Ragnor, Ragnor, he and the princess swear a love promise to always be together, never to part."

With a shift in tune, the song winds down leaving a profound echo lingering.

"Bravo!" The ladies clapped in unison, cheering for the popular but heartfelt song. Unable to resist, Lina said, "This is a transracial love story, of a beautiful elf and a handsome human, the most beautiful dream in a maiden’s heart."

Meanwhile, in the carriage, Freya had been quiet for some time before finally asking, "Mr. Pannis, what happened next?"

"What? The story isn’t over?" asked Catherine, "Isn’t that the standard ending?"

"I suppose it’s not finished," said Freya calmly, "Right, Mr. Pannis?"

"The song’s ended, but the story hasn’t," Pannis said with a casual smile, "Still want to hear more?"

"Of course," said Freya. "Mr. Pannis, you wanted me to listen on, didn’t you?"

"Well then, there’s no accompaniment this time, consider it a storytime." Pannis, who had been sitting upright, now lay down, propped himself up on his elbows and began at his leisure, "Just like all the romantic tales of princes and princesses, Ragnor and the Elf Princess spent each day in bliss. Everything was perfect until one day, Ragnor asked the princess to marry him. Happiness came suddenly and the princess, overcome by shyness, left with a reply that they would discuss the wedding the next time they meet and ran off, face covered."

"That’s pretty normal," said Lina, who was extremely absorbed in the story and showed enthusiasm for all things related to novels, "Girls are always shy at this time. She’ll settle down in a while."

"Yes, so the princess spent many, many days in her palace, stuck between sweetness and shyness, until she finally managed to regain her calm," Pannis’ voice gradually turned somber and mysterious, "But when the princess finally left her palace to find Ragnor, she discovered something that left her in absolute despair: her beloved Ragnor had become a middle-aged man in his forties and his hair had already turned white."

"What!? How did this spooky thing happen?" The girls’ eyes grew round with shock, "Why is that?"

"I get it now." The quickest to understand was Catherine who frustratedly slapped Pannis a few times, "You deserve a beating!" (To be continued. If you like this story, please go to qidian.com to support by voting and subscribing. Your support is my greatest motivation. For phone users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)