They did not delay after lunch. Even though Han Manman and a few others insisted on going on the road immediately, under Xiao Lin’s suggestion, a few class monitors decided to go look at the market first.
“The Rosa Kingdom is still quite a distance away, so it will take quite a long time to get there on foot.” Xiao Lin was not trying to antagonize Han Manman, but it was obvious they would not have enough time if they moved on foot.
Xiao Lin had never been to the Rosa Kingdom. He looked at Ibeiya next to him. The girl had stuck to Xiao Lin like glue ever since they left the restaurant. Even though Chen Dao had passionately tried to take care of her, Ibeiya immediately said he was a bad guy, causing Chen Dao to collapse with despair.
Catching Xiao Lin’s inquisitive gaze, Ibeiya thought for a few seconds before quickly giving an answer. “If it’s by foot, even the fastest speeds would get you there in half a month, but in truth, counting the possible detours you’ll have to make on the way, it’ll probably take you a whole month.”
“What if we get mounts?” Xiao Lin thought before saying, “There are two kinds of mounts in Dawn City: unicorns and tamed magical wolves.”
“What’s the difference between unicorns and magical wolves?” Cheng Ming asked earnestly. The monitors could not help but feel awkward when they discovered the fact. Even if they had prepared and done so much homework before coming, they were still obviously underprepared. None of them had thought about mounts.
Xiao Lin had spent a lot of time in the New World. In truth, his understanding of the New World might not be that much better than anyone else, but he had traveled with Lilith twice last semester, and had learned a lot from the American.
Xiao Lin answered, “Unicorns might be a bit slower, but they have more stamina. It’s no issue for them to run overnight. However, unicorns are rare and the prices reflect that. Furthermore, they’re more fragile. If we don’t find a specialized doctor when its sick, we won’t be able to continue our journey. The wolves are faster and cheaper, but they’re not very stable. Even after being tamed, the magical wolves are still beasts that could go feral at any time, which would cause us some trouble. Furthermore, the speed of the wolves are all contingent on getting enough rest.”
Which mounts would they choose?
The monitors looked at each other, each having their own thoughts, but none were enough to make a decision. That was because everyone knew that the monthly examination had already started, so each decision they made could affect their final scores.
“What do you think?” Xiao Lin threw the question at the girl next to him.
“To be honest, the two mounts would need a day or two to reach the Rosa Kingdom, but you can always consider a third option.”
“A third option?” Chen Dao’s interest peaked, but it seemed like his interest was more on the girl herself.
Xiao Lin immediately stood in between the two of them, blocking Chen Dao’s vision, much to the latter’s grief. Ibeiya laughed uncontrollably, taking a while before she continued, “If I recall correctly, Dawn City should have griffins for sale. If we use griffins, we could probably reach the Rosa Kingdom by nightfall.”
“Griffins.”
The monitors paused for a moment before revealing determined expressions. It was obvious that was the best choice. Xiao Lin furrowed his eyebrows; their history lessons taught him that griffins were hard to capture and train, and griffins were mainly from English and German territories. The two academies have griffin riders as their main troops, but griffins were rarer in Dawn City.
Rarities were usually expensive, Xiao Lin understood that, so he asked, “How much is a griffin? Not buying them, but just renting them for a day.”
“An adult griffin would cost you at least a hundred thousand New Dollars, but renting them is cheap. Each day would cost you a thousand New Dollars.”
The monitors were dumbfounded. 1,000 New Dollars, not more or less. That was the money that the academy had given them. Thinking about it, the academy could have given them that amount on purpose.
“Each griffin can seat two people.” Ibeiya added.
Xiao Lin did not care too much about the price, so he agreed on the spot. The others did not have much of an opinion. Two of them would cost 1,000 New Dollars, so everyone needed to pay 500 New dollars. However, adding Ibeiya would make it thirteen, meaning someone would need to pay for it in full.
Xiao Lin did not bother with any nonsense, immediately saying he was willing to sit alone, but he immediately faced Ibeiya’s objection. The girl said she wanted to share a griffin with Xiao Lin. The rest of them could only blink and pretend they did not see anything. In the end, Cheng Ming was the one who had to be the good guy. The man did not mind and said he would ride alone, joking that his head was too big, and they would be over the weight limit if he sat with someone else.
Ibeiya was very familiar with the griffin rental spot, which caused Xiao Lin to think about Yu Mei’s words: Ibeiya had familiarized herself quickly with Dawn City. If the girl was really scheming something, then it was a terrifying prospect, but he currently did not think about any of that.
The griffins were situated at a small hill outside of Dawn City. The store owner was a bearded Englishman. As the colonial territories started to stabilize, the business relationships between them improved as well, which was why it was normal to see foreigners in Dawn City.
However, the Englishman was extremely shrewd; he obviously did not show any shred of passion that the renters were from Earth as well. Renting the griffins needed a large deposit. Each griffin needed a 10,000 New Dollar deposit, and the money would only be returned after the griffins were returned.
Ibeiya, who was more familiar with the situation, immediately rejected it. The deposit had obviously been inflated by the Englishman. Normally, they would only need less than half of that. If it was 10,000 a griffin, then they would need to pay 70,000 New Dollars. As rich as Xiao Lin was, he was not willing to pay that amount. People formed habits quickly, and he did not want to be seen as a walking goldmine by the others.
The Englishman was only willing to rent out two griffins at the most; he said it was because Xiao Lin and the others were too young and new. Even if they were from Earth, it was not enough to trust them.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to pay, but you’ll need to find a guarantor that is trustworthy enough!” Just as Xiao Lin was thinking about paying for everything himself, the Englishman shouted in broken Mandarin.
“A guarantor?” Xiao Lin paused before saying in a strange tone. “Such as Century Casino’s boss, An Fumin?”
Even though Yu Mei from the government was a better choice, the monthly examination meant that they could not rely on the academy’s help. Asking Yu Mei for help could cause them to fail. Other than her, the only other person with status that Xiao Lin knew was An Fumin.