Above the mage

Chapter 314 Becoming a Member of the Plantagenet Dynasty

After the transaction was completed, Gao De left Green Magic Materials Store.

"Come on, let's find a hotel to drop off my things first."

I stayed overnight at Bud's house, but it was only a temporary measure.

The reason it's a hotel, rather than renting a place like in Bremen, is that Gaode doesn't plan to stay in Hold'em for long.

After settling the citizenship matter, he prepared to head to Dorne.

At Gao De's request, Bud took him to one of the more upscale hotels in town.

They didn't walk there, but rather took a "public carriage".

Yes, the public transportation in Holder is also horse-drawn carriages.

However, it was not an ordinary horse, but a zero-ring ley line creature tamed by the Plantagenet Dynasty, whose full name was Coolie, and it possessed immense strength.

A single jackpot horse can pull a large carriage that can carry twenty or thirty people.

After a twenty-minute carriage ride, with frequent stops along the way, we finally arrived at the inn.

The hotel's full name is "Swan Hotel," and it is located in the bustling midpoint of Holdertown.

Although it's just a small town hotel, it's fully equipped with all the necessary facilities, including a spacious lobby, a restaurant, and even a small reading room with some old books.

Of course, the price is also very high.

A regular room costs as much as 5 silver dragon coins per night, and a luxury suite is even more expensive.

Although Gao De is currently financially well-off, his habitual frugality led him to choose to book a regular room.

It lasted three days, costing 1 gold and 5 silver coins.

After putting his things down in the room, Gao De, led by Bud, went to Funan Tea Shop near the Swan Hotel to buy tea.

It is impolite to visit a nobleman without bringing a gift.

Tea is the most classic gift, especially the finest tea from other continents.

Dorne is a coastal city where merchants frequently travel by ship between different continents to conduct long-distance trade.

As one of the towns under the jurisdiction of Dorne, Holder Town naturally also has many goods from other continents.

Funan Tea Shop sells Zhongting Xiaozhong, a unique tea from the Central Plains of the East.

This is a type of black tea with a beautiful appearance; the leaves are tightly rolled, resembling black ribbons.

When brewed with hot water, the tea soup is deep red, with a unique aroma of pine smoke and longan soup, and a particularly mellow taste with a long aftertaste.

The Central Continent is the birthplace of tea, and Central Continent Lapsang Souchong is the world's earliest black tea variety. Since its introduction to the Nolan Continent, it has been loved by nobles from various countries on the Nolan Continent and has become their new favorite beverage.

Of course, the price isn't very attractive.

A pound of Midgard Small Seed can fetch as much as 8 Silver Dragons.

However, it is said that the acquisition price in the Central Plains is actually only 1 silver dragon.

In Funan Tea Shop, the vendors will carefully package a pound of Chung Ting Xiao Zhong tea in a carved glass jar, and pair it with a delicate, white bone china tea spoon, making the tea packaging particularly exquisite and giving it the look of a thoughtfully prepared souvenir.

—At the same time, the price also surged by 2 silver dragons, reaching 1 gold pheasant coin.

The price-performance ratio is definitely not high, but that's exactly what the nobility like; they value the exquisiteness and uniqueness of the gift.

So Gaode ultimately chose to spend 1 Golden Bird Coin to buy this deluxe edition of the Atrium Small Cake.

After buying the gift, the next step was to pay a visit to this Knight Gerald Wells.

However, before that, you need to prepare a visiting card.

Gao De had studied aristocratic etiquette at the Cyrus Academy, so he naturally knew that a visiting card was an important item to show courtesy when visiting a nobleman for the first time.

The nearby grocery store sells blank visiting cards, made of high-quality off-white thick cardstock with a slightly embossed surface that gives them a delicate texture.

Gaode borrowed ink from the grocery store, wrote the heading, body text, and signature, and finally folded the letter into the matching envelope, sealed it with a wax seal, and everything was done.

Such a visiting note costs 50 copper coins.

Things belonging to the nobility are never cheap.

The same potato might only cost a copper coin or two on a commoner's table, but if it's arranged nicely and sold to a nobleman, it could fetch a high price of one silver dragon coin.

The knights and nobles in the town generally lived in two directions: one was in manors or palaces located on the edge of the town.

They typically occupy large tracts of scenic and well-located land, suitable not only for residence but also for expansive private gardens, orchards, and ranches.

Another option is to choose a large house in the center of the town.

The location is close to markets, shops, and other public places, which is convenient for their daily lives and social activities. The downside is that land is limited, so forget about private ranches or anything like that.

Gerald Knight falls into the latter category.

Therefore, after leaving Funan Tea Shop, Gao De turned slightly left onto a street and soon arrived at the mansion of Knight Gerald.

The house is four stories high and is located next to the main street, making it particularly eye-catching. The street-facing side has exquisite shop windows and doors, which shows the status of the owner.

Gao De stepped forward and arrived at the gate of Gerald's mansion.

On the wall to one side of the door, there is a conspicuous metal pull ring, exquisitely designed and cast in the shape of an elegant iris, with delicate and clear petal textures, but this is actually just part of the doorbell structure.

This is a very common mechanical pull-ring doorbell. Pulling the ring activates an internal mechanical device that pulls the rope inside the door that connects to the bell, causing the bell to ring.

However, this kind of doorbell is actually quite old-fashioned. The more modern nobles have already started using alchemy machines as doorbells.

The new type of doorbell machine allows visitors to simply press a button to emit a sound to notify the homeowner inside, while the homeowner can also see the visitor's face from inside the house.

A moment later, the door opened, and a butler in a neat uniform appeared in the doorway.

The butler stood atop the steps, looking down at them, but without arrogance. He bowed slightly and politely asked, "You two look unfamiliar. May I ask who you are? Is there anything I can help you with?"

His voice was clear and articulate, in the most traditional and authentic Dorne accent, with a sense of composure.

Gao De handed over the visiting card he had prepared beforehand, bowed respectfully, and replied, "I am a mage from another country, and I have come to visit Sir Gerard. I hope to trouble him to act as my guarantor and help me become a formal resident of Holder Town."

The butler accepted the visiting card and nodded slightly. "Please wait a moment while I inform the master."

After a while, the butler reappeared, this time with a smile on his face. "Master Gaode, the master invites you in. Please follow me."

Gao De and Bud exchanged a glance, and then, led by the butler, they walked through the house, through a spacious hall, and arrived at a beautifully decorated reception room.

The steward gestured for Gao De to sit down, then said, "Venerable Gao De, please rest here for a while. The master will be here shortly."

After saying that, he left without a sound.

Gao De helped the somewhat nervous Bard sit down.

Bard unconsciously clutched the hem of his clothes, his legs slightly pressed together, and his eyes darted around in a panic.

A short while later, Sir Gerald walked in.

This was a middle-aged man, tall and robust, with strong facial features and bright, piercing eyes. However, upon closer inspection, one could detect a deep weariness in his eyes.

Upon seeing this, Gao De immediately stood up and handed over the gift in his hand, saying, "Sir Gerald, I am truly sorry for disturbing you. This is just a small gift, nothing more."

"Master Gaode?" Gerald accepted the gift and asked, "The butler said you're here to ask me to be your guarantor?"

"Yes, I come from the Duchy of Sien. After the Holy Empire's Iceflame Legion occupied Saint Sien City and changed the Duchy of Sien into the Province of Sien, I left the Duchy of Sien and became a wandering mage. After wandering around to the Golden Flower Dynasty, I wanted to settle down here and continue my magical practice, so..."

"I see." Gerald nodded thoughtfully, then glanced at Bard, who was clearly overly nervous beside Godd, and casually asked, "And this gentleman is?"

"Sir Knight, I am Bard, a local resident. Yesterday, I encountered a leyline creature in the riverside forest and almost lost my life. Fortunately, the mage Highlord appeared and saved my life. To thank him, I am now acting as his guide and helping him with some matters," Bard quickly explained.

"Do you know the cost of having me act as your guarantor?" Gerald listened for a moment, then cut to the chase without further pleasantries.

A flawless version after careful inspection!

"I know a little bit, but is this enough?" Gao De handed over a heavy money bag with a smile.

The purse contained 220 gold coin.

Although Bard said the starting point was 200 Gold Bird Coins, Gaode added 20 more Gold Bird Coins for safety, rather than pushing the line too low.

Gerald took the money bag, but without opening it, he merely weighed it in his hand, seemingly already knowing the exact amount of money inside.

He looked satisfied and took out an envelope from his pocket. The envelope was sealed with his personal seal.

Gerald handed the letter to God: "This is a letter of recommendation. Take this letter to the town council. As long as you pass their questioning, you can become a formal resident of Holder Town."

Having a guarantor is a necessary condition for becoming a formal resident, but it does not mean that having a guarantor means you can become a formal resident of Holder Town unconditionally; you still need to pass the eligibility review.

Goddard accepted the envelope and bowed again. "Thank you, Sir Gerald."

Everything went very smoothly. After receiving the recommendation letter, Gao De realized that the other party wasn't in the mood to entertain them, so he tactfully took his leave.

The next stop is the town council.

This is the "government office" of Holder.

Compared to Knight Gerald's mansion, the town council's exterior appeared much more rustic.

It has no ornate carvings or exquisite decorations, but is a solid and spacious building, quite grand in scale, built of large gray bricks and stones, exuding a simple and heavy feeling.

There are also dedicated guides at the entrance.

After Gao De explained his purpose to the guide, he was led into the town council, through a corridor, and to a room.

"Reed, this gentleman wants to apply to become a formal resident of our Holder Town and has brought a letter of recommendation," the guide said to the staff in the room.

Gao De entered the room and handed over the letter of recommendation from Knight Gerald.

The staff member glanced at it, couldn't help but frown, and muttered, "The guarantor is Knight Gerald again. This is the fifth one in the last six months."

Despite grumbling, the staff member was still very friendly and followed the procedures strictly: "Give me your ID."

Gao De quickly handed over the jade pendant he had made at the entrance of Holder Town for 1 gold coin.

The staff member took the jade pendant, then skillfully opened a drawer, pulled out a brand new one from a stack of parchment, and then gently pressed a simple-looking button on the table.

In an instant, that familiar feeling enveloped Gaode once again.

It remains a "realm of honesty".

"What country or region are you from? Which city or town are you from?" The staff member cleared his throat and asked. This was to determine Gaode's motives for entering the country by asking for basic personal information.

"From the former Duchy of Sien, born in Hogen City." As Gao De answered, he thought to himself, "Even in another world, there are 'visa interviews'."

Upon hearing this, the staff member immediately began to scribble Gaode's answer on the parchment, writing it down word by word in neat and dense handwriting.

"What is your full name? Who are your family members?"

"My name is Gao De. I was born a homeless beggar and have no relatives."

Upon hearing this answer, the staff member looked up at Gao De in surprise, knowing that the information on the jade tablet indicated that the person in front of him was a first-ring mage.

It's already a rare thing for a homeless beggar to be able to unlock the door to magic, let alone become a first-circle mage at this age.

"What are your reasons for wanting to become a formal resident of Holder Town? What kind of work do you plan to do to make a living?" After a brief moment of surprise, the staff member quickly recovered and asked the next key question.

"After becoming a formal resident of Holder Town, I plan to go to Dorne City to take the Sea Sentinel exam and see if I have a chance to become a Sea Sentinel. If I fail, I will choose to stay in the Golden Flower Dynasty to continue my mage training. I plan to make a living by acquiring extraordinary materials and reselling them," Gao De said "truthfully," but cleverly omitting certain key details.

For example, he only talked about obtaining extraordinary materials, but never mentioned his unique methods, leaving the staff to make their own connections.

The staff naturally assumed that Gao De was simply a mage hunter who obtained valuable extraordinary materials by killing leyline creatures.

In reality, Gao De directly retrieved these extraordinary materials from the North and then transported them to the Golden Flower Dynasty for sale via astral teleportation.

Do you currently have any infectious diseases, and do you have any past medical history?

"none."

"Do you know anyone in the Plantagenet Dynasty? Where do they live? What do they do for a living?"

"none."

What important social relationships do you have in the province of Sien?

"No." Gao De's expression remained unchanged, but he felt a slight pang in his heart.

In the Principality of Sean, his important social relationships were actually with two "mentors": one was the monk Seda, and the other was the mentor Hoshi, but both of them are now gone.

"."

The staff asked dozens of questions in total, ranging from personal life to future plans, from health status to social circle, covering everything in detail. It took more than half an hour to finish the questioning.

"Alright, I've recorded everything. It still needs Lord Jode's review. The results will be available in three days. Come back then."

The staff put away the parchment filled with notes, adding a comment as they did so.

"If you have a guarantor and the answers indicate there are no major problems, your application will generally be approved."

"Thank you!" Gao De expressed his gratitude.

(End of this chapter)