Heimarian Odyssey

Chapter 140: Studies

In the following week, Felor became more crowded and merrier. The massive influx of nobles afforded the commoners and merchants who lived in the city many business opportunities.

All kinds of local specialities and food were sold on the streets; entertainers and performers flooded the entire city.

The nobles didn't lack money and their arbitrary tips were enough for ordinary civilians to live luxuriously for a year.

There were also soldiers like Locke who were about to be created nobles and they were more generous. People from the army rarely bargained. As long as the price was reasonable, they would pay up without any argument.

Glace and the others had also arrived at Felor. Since they were not Faustians, it was more troublesome for them to enter the city, and Locke had to bring them inside.

Ever since they'd arrived, they stayed inside the room that Locke booked for them. Only Kristin would go out and stroll with Locke occasionally.

During the second week, Angelina sought him out. A group of shadow guards brought Locke to an estate under Angelina's name.

The huge villa was decorated with retro-styled furnishings. After Locke arrived there, he felt that the size of this land was approximately as big as the medium-sized inn where they stayed in.

"I can transfer this estate to you if you want," said Angelina as she walked down the stairs in a white dress.

"My parents can live here," Locke said as he stroked his chin in thought.

"Okay!" Locke's parents hadn't met Angelina so far. As the saying went, even an ugly daughter-in-law would eventually have to meet her parents-in-law in the end. Angelina wasn't ugly and she was from a noble background, but she still didn't dare to meet Locke Senior and Tia at this stage.

"Why did you call me here?" Locke stepped forward and put his arms around Angelina's waist. He didn't believe that she had called him here just to look at the house.

"We're leaving in a month, so I managed to get you a job."

It wasn't that easy for Locke to follow her abroad. Angelina had to make him one of the diplomatic envoys they were sending to the Aomar Empire. It was very difficult for someone to go abroad at the start of the year, especially to Aomar.

A lot of nobles wished to send their children to Aomar. Apart from other benefits, the experience and knowledge gained there would ensure they would be set for life.

"What job?" asked Locke.

"The princess' study companion!" Angelina smiled slyly. Locke was going to school. She gave him the most straightforward answer.

Of course, there wasn't any such job. Locke's role was to be the deputy jarl of the escort team. The jarl was a high-rank Knecht.

Perhaps the king did remember that Locke had rescued his daughter after all. Plus, he was just going to be the deputy jarl of the envoy, so the king didn't mind assigning this nominal role to him. Angelina was the one who insisted for Locke to go to school too.

"You have to at least be able to write some simple words and learn the language used in Aomar, right?" asked Angelina.

Two days later, Locke carried a weird backpack as he walked into a school in Felor. He took out the letter of introduction Angelina had given him, and the guard sent someone to bring Locke to the classroom.

An old man with messy white hair and a receding hairline stood on a three-story building in the centre of the campus. He watched as Locke entered the school and muttered, "You indeed bring me trouble."

"Oh, Grandpa Crimea..." Angelina was also there, grabbing and shaking the old man's hand coquettishly.

"Alright, alright. Stop it, you're going to break my old waist," said the old man with a smile.

The old man was Angelina's mentor. He was currently the only peak-level Lehrling in Faustian and he was also the vice-principal of this school.

Locke followed the guard to the front of a classroom and knocked gently on the door. The door opened and a middle-aged scholar stood behind it.

"Hello, this is my letter of introduction," said Locke respectfully. The scholar didn't seem to cultivate impetus and looked weaker than the weakest soldier in the camp, but Locke still felt pressure from the aura that the scholar exuded.

The middle-aged teacher, Mobson, opened Locke's letter of introduction irritably. He was just telling his students about the history of Faustian's development enthusiastically when he was interrupted by Locke, so he was now in a bad mood.

However, his foul mood dissipated quickly when he read the content of the letter. It was signed by Angelina and Crimea. If Mobson was trained in magic, he would notice the pulsating fire element under the signature.

He smiled and invited Locke into the classroom. There were a few dozen male and female students of different ages sitting quite widely apart. They looked at Locke curiously, having never seen this expression on Mobson's face before.

"Is he the margrave's illegitimate son?"

"Who knows!"

"He looks like Count Marbury."

"..."

The buzz in the classroom stopped when Mobson slammed the desk.

Nowadays, Locke had a rather fixed routine. He travelled back and forth from the inn and the school. He needed to go through '300 Commonly Used Words in Faustian' and 'The Common Language of Aomar'; both these books gave him headaches.

The first one only had 300 words, but how did it turn out to be such a thick book? Locke looked at the dictionary that was bigger than his head and was lost in thought.

Feeling it was pointless for him to think about irrelevant things, he decided he should just start studying. He grabbed the quill pen which he bought for two silver thalers and practised writing his family's name with an inaccurate posture.

The quill pen suddenly broke into half and Locke had to change to another one. It was funny and frustrating for him, though he had a pile of quill pens prepared in advance.

Perhaps due to feeling bad about wasting the quill pens that cost two silver thalers each, he was able to quickly adjust his writing posture. Of course, he also had Mobson's attentive guidance to thank.

Locke was surprised to find out that Mobson was a baronet. Although he couldn't understand why a noble would become a teacher, he came to a conclusion that had a large impact on him. It turned out that other than strength, knowledge could also change one's fate.

Locke didn't make much progress after studying the second book for a week. Maybe he just didn't have the talent in learning languages. He only knew one or two Shalorian dialects after being with Glace and the others for such a long time. It was until that night where he stayed over at Glace and Suzanne's place.

"What? You know how to speak Aomarian?" asked Locke excitedly, even though a certain body part of his was still in Glace's body.

"Yeah. I've known it since my childhood." Glace touched her hair. Locke's sudden excitement was a little overwhelming, and she couldn't stand it. "It is compulsory for nobles to learn it."

He didn't believe her. Sverre and Barton were also children of nobles, and he didn't think they would know Aomarian. Not many of his classmates had learned the language either.

"Teach me!" Locke licked Glace's ear. She could feel the heat from his mouth.

Glace shuddered and hugged him tightly, leaving scratches on his shoulders. A while later, she laid on the bed as she breathed heavily.

Locke looked at her and smiled. He then rushed to the other room to find Suzanne despite not wearing any clothes. Suzanne screamed, but soon began to moan and pant.

With Glace's guidance, Locke was able to learn Aomarian quickly. There was only a week left before the king entitled them, and Locke had learned quite a few greetings and common phrases used in daily conversation.

"How's your learning going?" Angelina visited Locke occasionally. She seemed to spend more time in this school than in the palace.

Locke took out a quill and a small piece of paper. He then wrote 'Angelina Faustian' on it. "This is for you!"

Angelina took the paper carefully from him and kept it like a piece of cherished treasure.

"I can write to you more if you want!" Locke laughed.

"Stop the nonsense." Angelina rolled her eyes at him. "You should go and get a suit. You can't be wearing an armour when you're knighted, right?"

"Don't worry, I've already gotten it!" Some time ago, he brought Glace and the others around Felor on a shopping trip and bought many things, including some clothes. Glace's fashion sense was really unique.