Chronicles of Ryan the Wizard

Three days passed very quickly. After Falas used three times the rent, the three carriage drivers happily sent the Leis team to Ermida City.And Faras also ended her luxury vacation trip in the eyes of Ryan.

Ermida is a city located at the foot of the Hengduan Mountains. It is surrounded by rich minerals, especially copper mines. The output is very high, almost equivalent to one-tenth of the annual output of the entire empire.

The surroundings of Ermida City seem to be very desolate, and there is no such prosperous Elfa City at all. Its low retaining walls and rough roads make people feel bad at first impression of it.

The entire city of Ermida is divided into two areas, the business district in the middle of the city and the slums surrounding it.The city is not very big, but it has a population of more than 30,000. This population also includes the miners who work under the mine all day long. Although it may be the next moment, they will die because of the mine accident; but at this moment, they are still alive.

The carriage came to the south gate of Ermida City and was stopped by the soldiers guarding the city.Faras, who was sitting in the first carriage, walked down. She explained the identity and purpose of her party to the soldiers guarding the city.

Among the soldiers guarding the city, there was a guy who looked like a boss. He stared at Farasi's chest trivially, only to find the junior magician badge on Farasi's chest.Seeing this badge, the wretched little boss squeezed a smile from his face, and desperately fawned on Farasi.

After all, in the entire Islar continent, magicians are very rare and even have a special status.If a junior magician like Falasi severely teaches a civilian, as long as it doesn't kill anyone, no one will care.Even if it really kills people, as long as the person who died is not a powerful guy, at best, the Magic Guild will come forward and reprimand the magician who killed people. Most of them are just a few words.

The wretched little boss didn't dare to make more troubles, but pointed to the decree of the city lord past the city gate, and asked Farasi to pay all kinds of taxes and fees.

There are a lot of taxes in the city of Ermida. Just to enter the city gate, you have to pay 10 silver coins per person to enter the city. A carriage costs 20 silver coins, even the two wind wolves of Allendo. As a pet, I paid 5 silver coins for each pet to enter the city.

All this shows that Ryan shook his head on the carriage. The city of Elfa, which ranked seventh among the imperial cities, was so prosperous, with a large number of people coming in and out every day, and there was no charge for this.

Although Ryan is not familiar with business, after all, after staying in Elfa City for a while, he understands somewhat. The lord of Elfa City just issued various orders to give merchants more benefits and promoted them through the flow of merchants. In addition to the prosperity of the city, it has obtained rich returns from the prosperity of the city.

This kind of city in front of us is so squeezing the passers-by. I wonder if anyone will come here?

The carriage drove slowly into the city, moving slowly on the bumpy ground.Ryan looked out of the swaying carriage window, looked at the low houses on both sides, the dirty ground, and smelled an indescribable stench in his nose. It seemed that even the entire sky of Elmida was gray. Misty.

The carriage finally drove through the slums and brought Farasi and his party to the central business district of Ermida City.

In the middle of the commercial area is a large square. The ground is paved with huge stones. Compared with the roads in the slum area, it is almost a sky and an underground. Its area is even similar to the square in Alfa City. , Although the total area of ​​Ermida City is less than one-tenth of the city of Alfa.

In the north of the square stands a very luxurious house, which is in sharp contrast with the messy streets and low houses just now.There are many soldiers with long guns standing guard around the mansion. Ryan estimated that this should be the residence of the lord of the city of Ermida.

There were no prominent buildings in the other directions of the square, but some very ordinary shops. Ryan saw that there was a hotel in the south of the square that looked pretty good.

The carriage brought Farasi and his party straight to the entrance of the hotel. Three brand-new carriages parked at the entrance of the hotel. A very thin and thin old man in his fifties hurriedly greeted them.

Seeing a lady wearing a magician's robe stepping down from the carriage, the thin old man greeted her enthusiastically, with endless praises, and brought Falash and his party into the hotel.As for the carriage and coachman outside, naturally there are mates to entertain them.

Under the arrangement of the thin old man, the members of the Leis team sat around a table in the hotel lobby, preparing to eat.The thin old man stood aside respectfully, with a smile on his face.

But Ryan always thought the smile on his face was weird, and this thin old man looked surprisingly similar to Ellendor's two wind wolves that smelled the smell of barbecue.

Faras took the menu from the skinny old man. She looked at the exquisite menu carefully and prepared to order.Unexpectedly, the extravagant Falasi along the way was still scared by the price of each food on the menu: a grilled talun whole lamb 10 gold coins, a grilled takoli beef costs 4 gold coins, even the cheapest cool The juice also costs 20 silver coins.

The angry Farras threw the menu at the skinny old man and told him to call the hotel boss.

The skinny old man's smile did not diminish at all. He took the menu, pointed at himself with another finger and said, "I am the owner of the hotel."

Faras pointed to the menu on the skinny old man and said, "Your hotel is too expensive? The Imperial Dream Bar only costs 10 silver coins for a glass of refreshing juice. That can be the most luxurious place in the country."

The skinny innkeeper immediately changed his expression, and his grinning smile quickly turned into helplessness. This speed made Elendo, who has always had absolute confidence in his speed, beyond the reach, sighed in his heart.

The skinny innkeeper sighed and said, "Oh, business is not doing well these years. This noble lady, you must be born in a noble family and you have been used to seeing the world since you were young. I believe many noble people are in your family. The guest. How do you know the suffering of our common people."

Speaking of this, the skinny innkeeper seemed to squeeze tears from his eyes, saying it was a turn, because it only turned around in his eye sockets and then went back.

The skinny innkeeper changed a proud tone and said: "Look at my inn, this decoration is the best in the entire city of Ermida. Apart from the lord's house, who would dare to be with me in this entire city? ratio?"

Speaking of this, the skinny innkeeper changed his tone: "As for the price on this menu, let’s tell you, I don’t make any money at all. Why don’t you just have this cool juice, although you have 20 Silver coins, most of them have to be used to pay the various taxes of the city lord, and then my cost is deducted. After calculating a cup, I made a few silver coins."

Reid patted Farasi on the shoulder and motioned to the latter not to get angry. He said to the thin old man, "Why are your things so expensive here? Are you afraid that others will never come again after they come?"

The face of the skinny innkeeper was unpredictable. He quickly squeezed out a helpless look, and said to Reid with a wry smile: "Do you think I want? The taxation here is endless. After life, he has to pay every month. A head tax, no matter what you do, you have to pay tax, you have to pay for meals, sleep, you have to pay for baths, and you have to pay for the hut. My hotel, please pay the tax, and clean every day. Pay a sanitary tax. All the food sold here has to pay a large tax. In fact, after this calculation, you spent 1 gold coin. I am afraid that there are less than 30 silver coins left in my hands. The cost I already have is not much profitable."

Reid asked strangely: "Why the city lord collects such a heavy tax?"

The lean innkeeper said: "The rules of the empire are that the city chiefs in various places pay a tax to the capital. In addition, all the city owners' own territories are determined by themselves, except that the amount of tax collected cannot exceed the payment. The amount of taxes paid to the empire, nothing else."

Falasi interrupted and said: "The Empire does have such a rule, but it deliberately added the restriction that the amount of tax collected by the city lord cannot exceed the amount of taxes paid to the empire. According to your statement, the tax collected by the city lord here privately , Isn't it far surpassed?"

The skinny innkeeper shook his head and said, "No. The lord is not a fool. In this city, there is only one profession that does not charge taxes, and that is miners. All miners who work in the copper mine owned by the lord do not have to pay any taxes. ."

Reid and Faras glanced at each other, surprised at the actions of the city lord.The thin old man said: "So the city owner doesn't pay much tax each year, because the city is almost all miners who work for him free of charge."