Chapter 10: The Wealthy Young Master

Joan looked through the window toward the source of the quarrel and first saw a boy about his own age.

The other was slightly taller than him, somewhat plump, with chestnut-colored hair combed meticulously. He wore a snow-white silk shirt, a black woolen trench coat over it, and leather boots polished to a high shine. In his left hand, he held a small bowler hat, while his right hand grasped a walking stick as he walked toward the carriage.

Closely following this well-dressed young master from a wealthy family was a dark-skinned little boy wearing a servant's uniform, who seemed to be trying to persuade his young master not to approach the dirty public carriage, but instead to ride in the private carriage already prepared for him by the family. Unfortunately, his young master was quite stubborn and had made up his mind to experience the travel methods of ordinary citizens, brushing the little servant aside and striding toward the carriage door.

"You can't do this, Master Thomas! This kind of carriage is not worthy of your status! If the master finds out, he'll kill me!"

The little servant still attempted to stop him, but the boy named Thomas angrily swung his walking stick and struck him hard across the back. The little servant immediately let out a loud cry of pain.

"Get away! Bobby, you stupid thing! If you dare try to stop me again, I'll sell you to a whaling ship!" Thomas scolded harshly.

Frightened to tears, the little servant wept bitterly, stepping back a couple of steps with red eyes and tear-filled eyes, watching his young master board the public carriage in triumph, just like a victorious general.

Seeing this scene, Joan could not help but frown.

He really had little tolerance for this kind of spoiled young master from a wealthy background who acted willfully and self-indulgently, treating servants with arrogance and brutality.

However, distaste aside, this was, after all, someone else's family business. He had neither the right to interfere nor any desire to cause trouble, so he simply turned his head away, out of sight and out of mind.

Joan came from a simple-hearted countryside and did not want to deal with city young masters. Unfortunately, the boy named Thomas boarded the very compartment he was in. After getting on, Thomas looked around, then walked briskly toward his side, sat down in the empty seat beside him, removed his hat with a smile, and took the initiative to greet him.

"Good morning, the weather is quite nice."

"Good morning, the weather is indeed quite nice."

Joan reluctantly nodded in return. Just as he finished speaking, a cool breeze blew in from the window, and a light drizzle began to drift down.

Seeing the sudden change in weather, Joan and Thomas exchanged a silent glance and burst out laughing simultaneously. Perhaps infected by the other's hearty laughter, Joan's impression of Thomas improved somewhat.

"May I ask your name?"

"Joan Veda."

"My name is Thomas Chape. Just call me Thomas. Judging by your accent, you don't seem to be a local?"

"I'm from Derin Town, a small country place."

"Derin Town, I know it! I heard the golden trout there are quite good. Do you know how to fish?"

"A little bit..."

Joan was forced to cope with this talkative young master, accompanying him in idle chatter about everything under the sun.

At this moment, the conductor walked over again, and Thomas pulled out his leather wallet intending to buy a ticket.

Joan inadvertently noticed that his wallet contained a whole book of checks and a few gold coins, but not a single copper or silver coin.

Thomas realized this problem himself, hesitated for about a second, and simply grabbed a gold coin, preparing to drop it into the coin slot.

Joan quickly raised a hand to stop him, took out his own wallet, and used a silver coin to buy the ticket for him.

The conductor handed over the ticket stub, lingering his gaze on Thomas's face for a moment longer, presumably thinking that this teenager who intended to buy a ticket with a gold coin was somewhat eccentric.

"Many thanks, Mr. Veda. Today is my first time riding a public carriage, and I forgot to prepare small change in advance." Thomas scratched his head with embarrassment.

"Don't mention it. Just call me Joan. It's my first time riding a public carriage too," Joan replied softly.

"Which stop are you getting off at?"

"Leyden Academy."

"What a coincidence, I'm getting off at Leyden Academy too! That way, I won't have to worry about not being able to pay you back!" Thomas said excitedly.

"It's just a silver coin, don't worry about it," Joan said, putting on a generous front with a slightly guilty conscience.

"By the way, are you a student at Leyden Academy?"

"Barely. I'm going there to register today."

"I'm going to register today too! Arcane Department, mage major. How about you?"

Joan turned his head in surprise, studying Thomas seriously for the first time before finally replying, "What a coincidence, I'm the same as you."

Thomas couldn't help letting out a cheer, smiling as he said, "It seems my decision to take the public carriage today was truly the right one. This is great, now I'll have company along the way!"

Sharing the same school and major brought the two young men closer together. Thomas was a local of Leyden Port; although he was a wealthy young master who knew little of the hardships faced by the lower classes, he was far more familiar with Leyden Academy than an outsider like Joan, and he shared many anecdotes about the academy during the ride.

Just as Joan was listening intently, he suddenly felt a chill at the back of his neck, and a drop of water seeped down from the carriage ceiling, landing precisely on him. Looking up, he realized that the wooden ceiling of the carriage was probably in disrepair, with cracks appearing in several places. On a sunny day, it was hard to notice, but amidst the continuous drizzle, rainwater was seeping through the gaps in the roof, leaving large dark water stains on the ceiling and letting down a stray drop from time to time.

"This broken carriage is really something—it's raining heavily outside and lightly inside." Thomas muttered in complaint, shifting to the side to let Joan move away from the leaking spot.

The rain outside grew heavier, and the leaking inside the carriage became increasingly severe.

The passengers on board seemed quite accustomed to this; some even opened umbrellas inside the carriage, clearly having come prepared.

Thomas frowned with his thick eyebrows, unable to bear it any longer. He leaned over and asked Joan, "Do you have any lodestone on you? Mine might not be enough."

Guessing what he wanted to do, Joan nodded and said, "I have some more in my bag, enough to patch up the carriage."

"Splendid! There are still two stops before the academy, let's make good use of our time and fix this old rattle-trap!"

Thomas unbuttoned the cuffs of his white shirt, rolled up his sleeves, and stood up, walking toward a section of the ceiling where the leaking was most severe. He took a small piece of lodestone from his portable storage pouch, stood on tiptoe, pinched the piece of lodestone to lightly touch the crack in the carriage roof, and chanted an incantation to cast the 0-level cantrip "Mending."

In the blink of an eye, the lodestone piece in his hand melted into a stream of golden light, which poured into the crack in the roof and vanished, leaving the fracture smoothed over.

Joan handed a small pouch of neatly cut lodestone pieces to Thomas, then walked beneath another section of the ceiling showing web-like cracks, intending to cast the spell for repairs.

Unfortunately, only after completing his spell preparation did he realize he was simply too short; even on tiptoe, he could not reach the crack overhead.