Chapter 98

Startled by the sudden outburst, Guanliang began to hiccup. The black-skinned guest, who had been glaring at Guanliang with angry eyes, turned his gaze back to the clerk and said, "That item was mine! But that bastard stole it! So, whose fault is it?"

The clerk raised his palms as if to calm him down. "I understand, I'll look into it. I'll find the client and the buyer and return the item, so please come back later, later."

"When later? Tell me the date!"

As the customers' gazes grew more intense, the clerk began to sweat profusely. But after a moment of thought, he spoke loudly so that all the other customers could hear, "Then... since we, the blacksmiths, are responsible for appraising and mediating the item... come back in four days, and we will bring you the item and the culprit. I swear on the honor of our Pu family blacksmith shop."

The black-skinned guest, who was about to shout again at the mention of four days, quieted down when he heard the pledge of honor. He glared at the clerk with a stern look, then snorted and said, "I'll believe you, I'll come back in four days."

He said this with a slightly awkward accent and then turned to walk away. As he passed by the hiccupping Guanliang, he glared at him with his large eyes, and the startled boy held his breath and slowly retreated.

Seeing the boy so frightened, Zhang Jian placed his hand on the boy's back. With the firm hand supporting him, Guanliang finally regained his composure and looked up at Zhang Jian. Following his gaze, the black-skinned guest also looked at Zhang Jian.

Zhang Jian spoke first, "I'm sorry. The boy made a mistake."

As he passed by the two, the guest stopped at Zhang Jian's words. He glared at Zhang Jian almost angrily, then suddenly spoke, "Your son?"

Zhang Jian shook his head. "A friend."

He alternated his gaze between Zhang Jian and Guanliang, then said, "I don't want an apology from you. Do it yourself."

"…Yes, yes?"

When Guanliang asked in confusion, the guest spoke again, "I'm not a slave. No one can own me. I am a free man."

He said this in a calmer voice than before. As he didn't seem angry, Guanliang was able to look at him more clearly, and after a moment, he nodded. "…A free man. I understand. I made a mistake. I'm sorry."

The guest, who had been wearing a stern and hostile expression, suddenly smiled. He extended his hand toward Guanliang. "I'm Anon. Nice to meet you, young friend."

Guanliang looked at the hand for a moment, then awkwardly shook it. He smiled back and said, "I'm Guanliang. Nice to meet you."

Anon, satisfied with Guanliang's response, smiled and then extended his hand to Zhang Jian. Zhang Jian naturally shook his hand and said, "Zhang Jian."

"Nice to meet you, Zhang Jian. Are you here to buy something?"

Zhang Jian smiled oddly at Anon's sudden question. "I'm not here to buy, but... is there a problem?"

"Buy in four days. There's a credit issue here. When I get my item back in four days, the credit will be restored. Until then, you're in league with the thief."

Zhang Jian, and Guanliang beside him, laughed at this. Even if they didn't know what Anon was going through, they could tell he was angry enough to discourage others from buying.

Of course, the clerk, who had been listening, turned pale. He approached the three and spoke in a low voice, "Sir! We will definitely find the item and the seller! Just wait four days, why are you telling others..."

Anon, who had been glaring at the clerk with a suspicious look, nodded. "I understand, stop nagging. I'll come back in four days."

"Nagging?"

Anon turned to Zhang Jian and Guanliang, smiled, and nodded slightly. Despite his awkward accent, his manner of greeting was no different from that of a Zhongyuan person.

He then left the blacksmith shop with a confident stride, and the clerk, who had been watching him leave, sighed deeply and spoke to Zhang Jian and Guanliang. "…Is there anything else you need?"

"No. I'll come back in four days."

"…Yes, have a good day."

With no other business, Zhang Jian and Guanliang left the blacksmith shop. As they stepped out, they saw Anon not far away, looking around. Seeing this, Guanliang turned to Zhang Jian and said, "I'll do some business."

Zhang Jian chuckled. "Not looking for a place to stay?"

"Come on, with my experience, it's obvious. A man with an empty schedule for four days, looking around. Nine out of ten are looking for a place to stay."

"But it's still morning?"

Guanliang smiled. "Nine out of ten Westerners who come to Jiangshan are sailors, and I've never seen a sailor who drinks day and night."

With that, Guanliang rolled up his sleeve and ran over to Anon, starting a conversation. After a few words, Anon laughed loudly and nodded. Zhang Jian didn't even have time to focus his hearing. Anon soon approached Zhang Jian with Guanliang, laughing and said, "Do you like alcohol? I do!"

* * *

When Zhang Jian returned to Taiping Tower, he ended up drinking with Anon. Of course, if he had been uncomfortable, he would have refused, but Zhang Jian, who had never spoken with a black person who spoke Zhongyuan language so well, was curious about Anon's hearty laughter. He was also curious about how Anon had ended up here.

Anon sat on the first floor of the brothel from midday, drinking strong alcohol. Zhang Jian, sitting opposite him, leaned back in his chair, sipped his drink, and watched Anon, who was excitedly drinking.

After drinking two bottles in a row, Anon sighed deeply and put down his glass.

Seeing this, Zhang Jian asked, "What happened at the blacksmith shop?"

At this, Anon's face turned red with anger, but he sighed deeply and spoke. "A guy on the same ship as me betrayed me..."

He said this and took another drink.

"…I'm from a place very far from here. It takes a year to get here by ship. In fact, I didn't really want to come here. I just went wherever the captain took me."

"Captain?"

"Captain. The one who saved me. Guanliang said I almost became a Kunlun slave, but thanks to the captain, I became a free man. I'm very grateful to him."

Zhang Jian took a sip of his drink and said, "Is this captain from the Daqin Empire?"

"Daqin Empire? Oh, Rome? No. I don't know where the captain is from. But he's not Roman. He looks more like a Persian, or in Zhongyuan terms, a person from the Fasa region. Anyway, the captain isn't the important part. Well, he is important, but not as important as that guy..."

At this, Guanliang, who had brought a dish of food to the table, interjected, "Daqin Empire? I know the Daqin Empire. It's an empire in the far west, right? Are you from there, sir?"

"I lived in southern Carthage. I wasn't Roman."

"…Car, Carthage? Rome?"

The boy, who had interjected when he heard a familiar word, asked in confusion. Zhang Jian pinched his nose and said, "If you're curious, ask your father. I know Rome in Zhongyuan language, but I don't know what Carthage is called."

The boy, seeing Zhang Jian naturally pronounce a similar sound, tilted his head and then quietly slipped away, probably to ask his real father. Zhang Jian, seeing this, turned to Anon and spoke again, "From what I know, Rome split into two a long time ago."

"Two? Rome split into two? When? Why?"

Zhang Jian, who had opened his mouth to compare the history he knew with the history of this world, was immediately at a loss for words. If he had known the history well, he would have asked more detailed questions, but since he only knew it roughly, he couldn't speak immediately.

"…It, it split into the Eastern and Western parts…"

Anon tilted his head. "I don't know much about history, but I've never heard that Rome split into two. Rome is one. It has always been one."

Hearing this, Zhang Jian, who had been thinking, gently shook his head and finished his drink. What could he do by comparing the Rome he knew with the Rome of this world? Even if he tried to compare his vague old memories, it would only be a story that Zhang Jian could understand. To the people of this world, Zhang Jian's memories would seem absurd.

"…So, what's the story of the betrayal?"

Zhang Jian, whose tongue was slightly bitter from the alcohol, lightly licked his lips and changed the subject. Fortunately, Anon, who was already drunk, continued to tell his story smoothly.

"Like I said, the captain saved me. I was going to die working as a slave, but he saved me. So, I worked hard on the ship. I only thought about repaying his kindness. But the captain seemed to like it. Thanks to that, I became the bosun recently. Of course, it also helped that the previous bosun died in a fight with pirates..."

"How long have you been on the ship?"

"On the ship? About five or six years? Our ship has been everywhere. From here in Jiangshan to Tianhou in the south, and even Xinshanchuan, and of course, Zhongyuan... I've almost died many times there..."

Zhang Jian refilled Anon's glass, and Anon drank it as soon as it was full.

"Phew... When you reach a high rank on our ship, the captain gives you a gift. The navigator got some kind of necklace, but I asked for a weapon. A knife to cut off pirates' heads was better than a useless gold ring..."

As he drank enthusiastically, Anon's eyes started to glaze over, indicating he was getting drunk.

"…The captain agreed and gave me a beautiful knife. The blade had wave patterns, and it was incredibly beautiful… I made it a symbol of the bosun. I decided that the next bosun would use it too…"

He drank well on his own, and it seemed he was also familiar with using chopsticks as he naturally picked up the food.

"…There was a guy named Rokka. He was saved by the captain at the same time as me, and he had the same life as a sailor. But he was a poor guy, only cleaning the deck. He was weak and not brave, so he didn't fit in with the other sailors. I tried to take care of him, but in the end, when we came to Jiangshan, he decided to get off the ship. I suggested he get off in Rome, but he was tired of the ship and said he wanted to get off immediately… This is a strong drink…"

Anon, who had been rambling, blinked and fiddled with his glass. Zhang Jian, who had been listening quietly, refilled his glass. Anon, seeing the refilled glass, drank it again with enthusiasm.

"Phew… Anyway… When I heard he was getting off here… I thought about it and saved some money for him to settle down… I encouraged him… So, we had a big drink together…"

"When you woke up, the guy, the money, and the knife you got from the captain were gone, right?"

Anon, who had been speaking slowly, pointed at Zhang Jian with a sleepy look and laughed. "Hehe… How did you know…? Is it too obvious…?"

"Trying to chase him, you found him this morning at the blacksmith shop, right?"

"Right, right… That bastard… I took care of him so much as a comrade…"

After that, Anon started mumbling in a language Zhang Jian couldn't understand. His slurred speech and the strong accent made it clear he was drunk. Zhang Jian, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, watched him with a strange look. When Anon's hand started fumbling for the bottle, Zhang Jian picked it up for him. Anon, seeing this, grinned and held out his glass.

Zhang Jian leaned forward to fill the glass, but stopped and smiled. "You can speak Zhongyuan better, but you're pretending to be awkward, right?"

Anon, hearing this, opened his eyes wide, then laughed sleepily and shrugged. Zhang Jian, watching this, tilted the bottle to fill the glass, and Anon drank it in one go and fell face down on the table.

Zhang Jian, leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed, rolled a cigarette. It seemed he had gained a fun companion for the next four days.

As he puffed on the cigarette, Guanliang, who had disappeared, approached. The boy glanced at the snoring Anon and asked Zhang Jian, "My father doesn't know what Carthage is either. Where is it?"

"West. Or maybe East is closer."

Seeing Guanliang's confused face, Zhang Jian took another puff of the cigarette. The world he knew seemed truly unreachable now, or maybe the taste of the old cigarette had changed, making his mouth bitter. A little more.