novelraw Chapter 15: Trondel
Chapter 15: Trondel
After finishing his discussion with Kennen, Fischer walked outside the school while examining the faculty handbook in his hands. The first thing that caught his eye was the salary of 200,000 Nary Euros, which dazzled him. This meant an average monthly salary exceeding sixteen thousand Nary Euros, which was double the eight thousand Nary Euros monthly salary of researchers at the Royal Academy.
However, since the financial backer behind this school was the Nary Pioneer Company, such wealth was not surprising. For them, anything money could solve simply wasn’t a problem.
Besides that, the degrees awarded by this school were evaluated according to ranks, meaning students had grade point averages. Unlike the Royal Academy, which issued unified diplomas, this university’s GPA assessed students’ performance in subjects, scored by their professors. This was an important quantitative standard at Saint Nary University.
Carefully finishing his review of the materials, Fischer noticed that there was no carriage called for here. Fortunately, Kennen had instructed the staff to send a carriage to take him back to the city, or else he would have had to walk a long distance to the tram station.
Leaning against the edge of the carriage, the scenery outside Saint Nary entered his view. From this angle, he could just see the splendid Golden Palace at the city center. It was afternoon, and the griffon flags atop were fluttering in the wind, shimmering with the golden light below.
After a while, the carriage stopped in front of Fischer’s rented house. After thanking the coachman, Fischer took the materials and got off. Yet, at his doorstep, he saw a man in a suit holding a box of gifts. Unsure if he should knock, Fischer glanced at the familiar side profile from this direction—he recognized this person.
Fischer’s gaze turned deadpan as he stepped forward and knocked the suited man’s head with his cane. The man immediately clutched his head in pain and started cursing.
“Hey! Who’s so rude? Do you know who I am? I’m from the New Party... Oh! It’s Fischer! Why are you just back? I was just about to look for you. I heard you returned from the Southern Continent.”
The man was about the same age as Fischer. His golden hair was slicked back flamboyantly with gel. Though he looked decent, his aura gave off no gentlemanly vibe—instead, he resembled a homeless street thug.
This guy’s name was Trondel. When they were at the Royal Academy, they had been roommates sharing a rented place. After graduation, he joined the Pioneer Party and had been doing well there, with a promising future.Normally, politicians and Fischer did not get along well, but Trondel was an exception. Probably because, while he wasn’t exactly a pure-hearted saint, he was surprisingly honest. He had no big ambitions or desires—just wanted to live a decent life.
“I just came back from Saint Nary University, went there to discuss my appointment.”
“Wait, you’re going there to be a professor?! Principal Damian will be furious. He must have sent you many invitation letters before. You called him a ‘corpse’ and he didn’t care, but now you want to work directly against him? When he hears this, he’ll probably be so mad tonight he’ll want to vomit blood.”
As they talked, Fischer led Trondel into his rented house. Mrs. Martha wasn’t home—she seemed to be playing cards at a neighbor’s place.
“That’s none of my business. I don’t want to get involved in the New Party or Gryphon Party’s affairs. If I find Saint Nary University leaning that way, I’ll resign too.”
“I know, I know. Who doesn’t know your nature... But if you had joined the New Party with me, you’d probably already be a congressman. It would be great to hang out with me at the Pink Pavilion every day—after all, we both like ladies.”
He winked and followed Fischer into his room, casually handing over the gift in his hand. “By the way, welcome back. This is Black Mamba Palace wine, a souvenir.”
Black Mamba Palace wine was expensive, and Trondel could easily afford to give it as a gift, showing he had made good profits in the New Party.
Fischer examined the pure black bottle of wine in his hand with satisfaction but keenly caught a new term in Trondel’s previous sentence.
“The Pink Pavilion?”
“Ah, you just got back, so it’s normal you don’t know.” Trondel ran his hand through his gelled-back golden hair, then whispered with a sly expression, “It’s a newly opened... um, entertainment venue on Natwon Street. They have everything inside—ladies, cigarettes, fine wine, and even more exciting things...”
Fischer gave him a cold glance and warned, “Don’t tell me you used drugs. I already told you to stay away from that stuff.”
“I didn’t! I didn’t! After you told me it was bad for my health, I’ve been extra careful. Even if other congressmen use it, I don’t touch it! At most, I just played some games with the ladies there...”
Trondel raised his hands innocently. He was sincere—he was happy to enjoy himself, but he valued his life even more. Once warned that those stimulants were harmful, he was scared to use them.
Fischer frowned. The benefits of the New Economic Act were obvious. Since its implementation, Nary’s economy had skyrocketed at an unprecedented speed. But whether citizens’ welfare had improved was another matter. Dangerous services and goods like those could now be openly displayed.
The Pink Pavilion, huh...
“Alright, alright. Let’s not talk about that for now. Did you bring me any souvenirs from the Southern Continent? I heard they have many good specialties there, like Dragon’s Blood or something. I’ve been needing that recently.”
Trondel rubbed his hands together, looking at Fischer expectantly. Fischer glanced at him and placed the iron kettle from the nearby table in front of him. Trondel curiously examined the kettle.
“What’s this?”
“Nary-produced rum.”
“Street-level stuff, ten euros kind?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not a specialty from the Southern Continent.”
“I bought it there.”
“You bought Nary’s liquor in the Southern Continent and brought it back as a gift? And it’s only worth ten euros?”
“Technically, it’s twenty-five euros. Fifteen euros is shipping.”
Fischer nodded. Trondel was annoyed.
“You damned Fischer! Give me back my Black Mamba wine! You stingy iron rooster! I saw through you back when we lived together!”
Of course, this was just friendly teasing. When Fischer had been on the Southern Continent, the carriage had been taken by Raphaëlle, and he hadn’t brought much back. He was basically broke and couldn’t have afforded a souvenir for Trondel.
But Trondel didn’t mind. Fischer had helped him a lot before, and he himself had gotten rich from profits, so he didn’t lack anything.
His protest was verbal, of course, intended to share the fine wine he had brought. Fischer fetched a wine glass and poured some. After a sip, Trondel’s expression became quite comfortable—he loved to indulge.
“I heard Schwalli is in economic trouble. Their queen is already considering easing relations with us, Nary. Probably in a few months, they’ll send a delegation... I have to warn the citizens to watch their sons carefully.”
While drinking, Trondel shared some internal news with Fischer. Ordinary people wouldn’t hear this, or even if they did, it wouldn’t be as useful as it was for Fischer.
“Hah, then hurry and cover up your backing of pirates. Getting caught would be no fun.”
“Oh my, how do you know we’re funding pirates to attack Schwalli?”
“Just a guess.”
Fischer recalled the day he encountered the icy queen pirate captain, Arajina, who tried to bother him. He still had the necklace Reina had stolen from her in his pocket, but he probably wouldn’t have a chance to return it.
“Most in the party think easing relations benefits us. After all, we’ve been at a cold war for years, which brings many costs to trade and exchanges...”
The Nary Pioneer Company had many foreign trade routes. The cold war with Schwalli forced them to reroute maritime lines, increasing their transport costs. Naturally, the New Party, allied with the Pioneer Company, considered this.
But easing relations with Schwalli also helped other fields, like academia. Schwalli’s scholars hadn’t exchanged with Nary in a long time. Many expert papers had no chance for response or communication in Nary.
After talking a while longer, half the Black Mamba wine was gone. Fischer still looked normal, but Trondel’s face was flushed and his eyes hazy.
Fischer glanced at the sun outside, which was just slightly tilted. It was still afternoon, but this guy was already drunk. He turned and asked,
“Are you sure drinking this much is okay?”
“What’s wrong with it? I’m off work now. I’m meeting other congressmen later to work part-time at the Pink Pavilion. Want to come?”
He crooked his waist lecherously, then grabbed the nearby suit jacket and asked Fischer with a mischievous grin.
Fischer shook his head in speechless refusal, sealed the half-finished Black Mamba wine, then said,
“I have things to do tonight. You go, but remember not to cross any lines.”
“Besides the ladies, I don’t touch anything else. Brave Trondel! Cheers!”
He drunkenly shouted some nonsense, then said goodbye to Fischer. After leaving, he hailed a carriage and disappeared into the street. Looks like it was going to be a sleepless night.
Fischer stood by the windowsill and only sat back down after seeing Trondel get into the carriage. He wasn’t drunk but still felt some heat inside. It didn’t affect his ability to check his papers.
Downstairs, the sound of a door opening announced Mrs. Martha’s return. The sun tilted westward in the distance, only the griffon flag still fluttered in the sky. Farther away, though it was still afternoon, lights had already turned on. The soft pink glow dyed many buildings—exactly in the direction Trondel’s carriage had gone.
That was the direction of the Pink Pavilion.