Baston lifted his arm and sword before giving a slash to the old knight. Because of his curiosity, the fat boy moved the puppet disguised as the fat man to go further with this attack. Disregarding the impact, the puppet pushed forward with all the strength. Tasco wanted to get serious so he deflected the slash with his skill. Surely, the gap between the puppet and the experienced knight was big so even though Baston had a spirit, the puppet couldn't accommodate it into its strength.
"CRACK!!!"
There was a loud snap heard, making Baston and Tasco frowned at the same time. Before the fat boy could check where the sound came from, Tasco already found it. He pointed to the fat man's arm which was already broken from the strong impact. It seemed the wrist was snapped because it
couldn't handle the backlash of the deflected attack. Ordinary people would soon let the sword go but not for Baston. Since he controlled the puppet from inside the old book, he didn't let it go which led the present event occurred right now. It seemed there were also multiple fractures inside the arm.
"Luckily, I don't do it with my own arms. If not, I will be screaming painfully…" Baston thought.
"Are you alright? Let's heal your arm first. It seems it's very bad from what I see…" Tasco was afraid something bad happened at his
customer on the first day of training.
Even though the old knight could ignore it, his conscience wouldn't let him be. He already got paid so he also must take care of his customer. As long as he didn't deliberately make it difficult, he would help
the best he could do. Not to mention the fat man showed amazing spirit during the clash, he didn't complain and shouted painfully although the hands were shaking crazily during the first and second impact. Even in this bad situation, the fat man never cried out over his broken arm. Tasco then simply acknowledged him as a capable amateur knight.
"It's alright. This is just a scratch…"
The old knight didn't believe Baston, but when the fat man fixed his arm forcefully by pushing and pulling the bone, he was flabbergasted. This customer of him was simply a crazy man beyond the words. Even the knights wouldn't underestimate this kind of situation, but the fat man simply shoved it
off. It looked painful just by watching it, but Baston easily cracked the puppet's arm back to where it should belong. Truly, it would be painful if it occurred to him, but fortunately, the puppet didn't know the pain.
"You are really a crazy man! It's rare to meet someone like you who can fix yourself without screaming. If I'm the one who gets it, I will still groan painfully."
Tasco gave the fat man his applause. It was his recognition of a strong man. At the beginning, he thought the fat man was weak and simply looking for death, but out of nowhere, the resolution he displayed was awesome. It would be the best if the fat man could truly be a knight, but there was no
way Tasco could make a decision for him. The fat man was just simply a customer, not his disciple. However, he was motivated to teach his skills even more. The old knight wanted to see how far the fat man could develop.
"You're an interesting man. By the way, what's your name? I haven't heard of it. It will be strange if I want to call you, but never know your name at first place."
"My name is Bas…" the fat man stopped before continuing again, "Sebastian… That is my full name."
"Then Mr. Sebastian, would you like to push further or you want to rest first? I don't underestimate you, but judging by your arm before, I think you should heal first before trying the real skill of mine. I'm afraid you will lose your arm completely if you still insist without rest."
"Alright…"
Baston actually wanted to move further since the puppet couldn't feel the pain, but if he didn't rest, Tasco might somehow started to become suspicious of him. Because of this reason, the fat man then sat and leaned
at the wall behind. He closed the eyes and the focus of Baston's mind slowly shifted to another puppet beside Luke. The puppet still followed as the servant while replying with simple nod over the time. There was not much interaction but to make sure, he had to look for the situation around.
Right at the moment, both of Baston and Luke were in a place like pavilion. The fat boy didn't know exactly why Luke brought them to here, but as the temporary servant, he had to cope with his master. They stepped into
a small garden before Luke stopped. Baston took a peek and found a middle-aged woman taking a seat at the gazebo. Drinking the tea, her manner looked refined. He didn't know what her identity was but Luke should know because in the middle of his mission on killing his uncle, he wouldn't waste a time to find such unrelated person.
"Little Boy, it's such a surprise you come to find me here. It seems you have a big trouble. Do you mind telling me your request first?"
"I'm sorry I disturb your leisure time, Madam Talina," Luke bowed down a little, "Indeed, I have a request for you to take on."
"I will hear you out, but since it's between the two of us, let your servant wait at outside first…"
Before Luke could order Baston, the fat servant already stood up and bowed down to everyone first before slowly stepping back. He was curious but since he got a backup plan, he would let Luke to concoct his own
secret as to make sure everything went alright. This was the first time he needed to kill a noble so apparently, he was nervous. Despite of that, he also realized he had no other choice because once he neglected the quest, the old book would give a punishment. Just one was enough and he hoped there would be no next time.
While Baston was waiting far from the gazebo, few people were strolling around. Some were staffs or workers and some were guards for doing the security here. Everything went as usual until one girl stepped beside him. The girl was the same age as him and had her own beauty on the face. However, if being compared with Alicia, the girl would lose terribly. He stayed silent
but the girl spoke first.
"Being a noble's servant is good, but when the noble you serve wholeheartedly falls, you will also follow your lord into demise. The way to save yourself now is to follow another reliable lord."
The puppet disguised as Baston only furrowed his brows but there was no reply coming from his mouth. He didn't know this stranger and there was no reason to follow her conversation. Noticing the fat boy kept
silent, the girl then continued.
"Your name is Baston, right? My master probably is still talking with your so-called lord. As far as I know, this lord of yours isn't
rich like Madam Talina. Although her status is only a merchant, but nobles who want to meet her surely don't dare to throw a tantrum. That's because Madam Talina is not only having a huge wealth, but also a great influence among the kingdom. She actually can proceed to become a noble yet she keeps her status as merchant because it can provide more freedom to her."
The girl then stared at Baston, "With your talent as ice wizard, I thought your future will be limited if you follow Luke Anderson. It
will be different if you follow Madam Talina because not only that she can give you more money, my master also can give you more freedom. You can be anything you want with your effort. Perhaps, you think being a noble servant will lead you into prestigious status, but there is a catch. Your movement will be
limited and strict whenever you go because you represent a noble's face. I'm very sure you will regret it someday once your lord demands more than you can afford."
"Am I being poached right now?" Baston thought.
The fat boy was on the mission right at the moment, but who knew someone suddenly wanted to poach him. Nevertheless, the girl seemingly knew more about him since not only she knew his name, she also knew about his ice attribute. He rarely boasted his talent at outside so to limit his reputation but unfortunately, some hidden forces already caught with it. Despite only a handful people knew this information, Baston already predicted the worst. If the girl knew his identity, the Luke's uncle should probably know about him. This important information would lead him to make many backup plans
after he got back to the inn.
"So, what do you say?" the girl urged Baston to make a choice.
"Sorry, I'm not interested," Baston rejected the offer.
The girl was surprised, "Why not? I really can't comprehend your decision. Madam Talina was really sincere about you, but unfortunately, you don't know what is the best for you. Once your noble lord falls, you can only regret by then. Truly, ignorance is a sin…"
Baston only smiled upon the comment given to him. Ignorance was indeed a sin for many people. Just like the example for him, the girl was already kind enough to invite him, yet he just shook his head. If he really worked for money, it was indeed unwise for him to stay at the sinking ship. He was just like a person who ignored the help of other person so in the case of getting drown, he couldn't blame anyone except himself. It must be like that yet; he knew it was just an act from him to work for Luke. Once the quest finished,
he would also quit his servant job. The girl knew nothing of this personal plan so he sighed because not all the information were leaked.
"If you want to stay with your noble lord, that's also fine with me. I already warn you so once you regret it, there's no going back.
Still, the offer from Madam Talina will be the same except the initiative will depend on my master, not you anymore."
"I see. Thank you for reminding me…" Baston nodded, then looking at the girl, "Ignorance is a sin. I agree with these words. Since I'm only a person with the lowest status, I tend to ignore most of detailed
situation. I have a little knowledge regarding how the world works. Just working for one day and getting paid is already good enough for me. I survive this one day and tomorrow will be another day to worry. That's the thinking of poor class like me. Is there anything wrong with it?"
"Of course, it's wrong. With no ambition, you will be like any ordinary people. You will be a slave at present and in the future. With the
talent of your ice magic, it will be pity to waste it. You should move out so you can leave your poor status in no time."
"Then, what is the best status you can provide me if I follow Madam Talina?"
"This…" the girl wanted to answer before she closed her mouth.
It seemed she led the conversation, but unknowingly, Baston took the initiative from her. She pondered but it seemed the answer would be the same. The best Madam Talina could provide was to change his status from
poor to commoner. This thing could also be done by Luke. As for the chance of Baston having a status of the merchant, it would be hard to do. Luke couldn't do it because he didn't have much money and as for Madam Talina, she as the merchant person herself surely wouldn't want her servant to break free and became her own opponent. In the end, Baston would be doomed to always become a commoner.