The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 146 Call Me the Great Painter Ino

On the majestic Mindoluan Mountains stands a city that shines with holy light—Minastilris (the White City).

This city is like a dazzling pearl, nestled at the confluence of the Rohan Plain and the Anduin River.

From the air, Saint-White City resembles a pure snowflake, nestled quietly in the embrace of the mountains. Its towering walls reach into the clouds, the white stones appearing solemn and sacred in the sunlight.

The city walls are lined with spires, each equipped with a large catapult, which, like a sword guarding the city, point straight to the sky.

At the heart of Saint White City stands the majestic White Tower, a towering castle.

In the year 1900 of the Third Age, Kalimehtha (the thirtieth king of Gondor) built the first white tower in Minasanor to house the Sphere of Knowledge.

The white tower soars into the clouds, its body pristine white, while beneath it lies the seven-story city of Minas Tirith.

Although each level has its own independent walls and entrances, these entrances are not in a straight line. The main gate of the city wall is located in the east of the city, while the next gate is built in the southeast of the city.

All the entrances were built according to this pattern, and the roads leading into the fortress meandered around the hills.

……

Saint White City, the third outer city.

Beside a wide and clean street, a young man dressed in a light blue robe was sitting in front of an easel, painting.

This should have been a quiet and beautiful scene, but it was suddenly broken by a hoarse voice:

"Little painter, are you really going up there to paint for some important people later? You must be earning a lot of money that way!"

The speaker was a short, simply dressed old woman who also had a stall next to the young man, selling fruits and vegetables.

"Aunt Julia, I told you not to call me 'Little Painter.' Call me either Ino, or the Amazing Great Painter!"

Setting down her paintbrush, Ino turned around and leaned back in her chair.

After spending more than two months together, he also got to know the old woman beside him, and they would occasionally make some harmless jokes, which served as a kind of spice in their lives.

"Amazing? Your drawing is worse than my granddaughter's! I don't know why those important people always come to you."

The old woman shook her head and sighed. She simply couldn't understand how anyone would actually buy a painting at such an exorbitant price of one gold coin.

"Ino, are you really not considering my granddaughter? Although she's a few years younger than you, she's very capable. You two should settle down first, and then get married in a few years."

"You're here again! I've already said I'm not getting married." Ino turned her head to the side helplessly.

He knew that the old woman was kind-hearted by nature. However, because she lost her son at a young age, she made a meager living by selling vegetables, and she also had a young granddaughter to support, so she was always prone to nagging.

It seems that she was afraid that if she suddenly died one day, there would be no one to take care of her granddaughter. Therefore, arranging a marriage for her granddaughter has become an obsession for her, even though her granddaughter is only five years old.

On the other side...

Although she was rejected again, the old woman persisted in trying to persuade her:

"What do you mean 'I'm here again'? You're not young anymore, you need to get married eventually! Besides, you have this talent for painting..."

Seeing that the other person was about to start rambling on again, Ino stood up and interrupted:

"I have to go, it's time for our photo shoot... no, our painting session! Goodbye, Aunt Julia!"

After saying that, he picked up the suitcase next to him and left without looking back.

As for the easels and chairs left behind, the stall fee in Saint White City is as high as one gold coin per month.

In a corner of St. White City, an old woman stood sadly in front of a small vegetable stall.

"If you don't want to listen to my old woman nagging, just say so. Why run around like that? Who draws for someone without bringing a brush?"

Despite complaining, she still stood up, tidied up the brushes and paints on the easel, and then packed them up and placed them under her stall.

……

It seems that social class divisions are truly ingrained in human nature.

The same applies to Saint White City; the higher you go, the more beautiful the city becomes, and the more powerful and wealthy people live there.

The fifth level, the inner city.

Here, not only are the streets wider and cleaner, but even the sides of the streets are decorated with various potted green plants and flowers.

Occasionally, citizens would hurry by, their faces radiating peace and contentment.

Inside a finely decorated house on the fifth floor of the inner city.

"So, you've thought it through and decided to spend one gold coin to draw? You no longer think I'm a scammer?"

Ino sat in the chair, glancing mockingly at the person opposite him. The person was a young man of about twenty, with a well-proportioned build and blond hair; just sitting there, he exuded a resolute and courageous aura.

at the same time.

After hearing Ino's teasing, Theoton felt a headache coming on.

If he could turn back time, he certainly wouldn't have made a fuss two months ago, much less have mocked the other person as a liar on the spot.

But since things had come to this, he could only endure his friends' teasing.

Yes, because of the conflict two months ago, he and this annoying guy in front of him gradually became friends.

"My friend! I'm leaving!" Theodore said, his voice tinged with sadness.

Upon hearing this, Ino stopped teasing and asked in confusion, "Is it a long trip? That's nothing. I travel far away often, to distances beyond your imagination."

"No! I'm leaving for good." Theoton waved his hand, saying with a touch of melancholy:

"I probably won't be coming back this time. My father's guards sent word that I have to return to Rohan."

"Rohan? Royal Guard? Theodore?" Ino murmured these words.

"Yes! Just what you think." Theoton nodded seriously and said:

"To formally introduce, this is Crown Prince Theodon, the only son of King Sejer of Rohan and Morwen Silverlight!"

Hearing this string of titles, Ino was briefly taken aback.

After gradually regaining his senses, he realized that the crown prince wasn't anything special, after all, he wasn't a citizen of Rohan.

"Alright! Your Highness, I always thought you only had some power in your family."

The familiar teasing voice rang out again, and Theoton helplessly covered his forehead.

"Don't do that! Or I won't ask you to draw anymore, and I'll let you starve to death in Minas Tirith!"

"Alright! You're the big customer, so you call the shots! Pay up now and we'll paint right away." Ino spread his hands, making a gesture as if asking for gold coins.

After a brief moment of joking, he looked at Theodon with some curiosity.

"You are the crown prince of Rohan, so why do you live in the White City of Gondor?"

……

The top level of Minas Tirith.

Beside the fountain square.

Theoton stood with his arms folded under a withered white tree, and ten feet away from him was a wooden box on a stand.

"Come on, move a little to the left! You're blocking the main trunk of the white tree!"

While finding the right focus, Ino adjusted the position of Theodore.

With a soft "click," time seemed to stand still.

Looking at the heroic figure in the camera, Ino switched to automatic shooting mode.

"Don't move! Wait for me to come over, let's draw a picture together as a keepsake!"

(End of this chapter)