Chapter 690: Act 50 – Long Road, Fragments of the Past IV
This is also the information that Brendel understood: “What about the others? Will they cause us trouble? I can’t trust those mercenaries outside.”
“My lord, you can rest assured about that. Very few people travel north to the forest, and most of the mercenaries passing through here are actually heading to Lantonrand.”
Brendel nodded; at least so far, this guy hadn’t lied. He squinted his eyes and asked again, “What about the merchants? Shouldn’t there be fur traders entering the forest to collect goods from hunters at this time of year? Won’t they hire mercenaries?”
“My lord knows quite a lot,” the innkeeper wiped the beads of sweat from his bald head. “But during this season, there are very few people, so it’s nothing to worry about. Besides, most of them are honest merchants.”
Honest merchants. If there are still honest merchants at this time, Brendel figured it was only the Miss Romaine beside him. Most of the traders walking through Erluin were armed merchants, and these merchants were likely a little shady.
However, he didn’t mention that and simply replied, “I understand, but I don’t want to hear your estimates. Just tell me which merchant convoys have recently entered the forest and how I can avoid them.”
He paused, “Also, please bring me a record of the ships coming in and out of the harbor recently. I know that you must have such records at your inn.”
“Understood,” the innkeeper wiped the oil off his bald head, responding with sweat pouring down, “I understand, my lord, I will get it for you right away.”
…
Brendel had evidently convinced the ‘bald man’ that they were a group of wealthy young nobles hunting for rare game—the ‘white stag.’ With this understanding, it was naturally easier to get things done. In less than half an hour, he had gotten most of the news regarding recent events in Shallow Water Town and the surrounding areas.
These ranged from trivial neighborhood disputes to recent ships leaving port, and everything was laid out clearly for him.
It must be said that inns were indeed places where information gathered, and the seemingly unremarkable ‘bald man’ knew things that made Phillas and Laurena widen their eyes; however, Brendel found it somewhat amusing. Some rumors, it seemed, could only deceive newbies venturing out for the first time.
He casually flipped through the grease-stained ledger he took from the innkeeper, then tossed it aside. The literacy rate in Erluin was still low at this time, and most innkeepers had their own codes to record important matters. But this posed no challenge to Brendel—he might not know the shorthand methods from remote places like Fanzan, Saint Ausoor, and Cruz, but as for Erluin, he was very familiar with it.
In the admiring gazes of the inn’s servers, he effortlessly read through the records before pulling out a map, unfurling it on the table. He wasn’t particularly interested in which ships were coming in or going out; besides, even if Anlek was on one of them, he wouldn’t be able to tell—that was nothing but a smokescreen.
What he truly cared about was the convoys leaving Shallow Water Town.
And the recent news of beast herds.
“Is what that guy said true?” Phillas seemed to finally realize, “He said he saw a cat turn into a fish—could that really be possible?”
Brendel couldn’t help but lift his gaze from the map—he had been marking the areas where beast herds had appeared recently—with a somewhat incredulous stare at this guy: “Of course not. There are many rumors circulating in inns, but most of them are just fabrications. You need to use your brains to find useful information within them.”
“I see, I didn’t expect there to be this kind of knowledge.” Phillas showed an enlightened expression.
But his fiancée Laurena seemed to understand a bit better. She pondered over this statement and looked up to ask, “So what information do we need, Lord Earl?”
Brendel couldn’t help but sigh inwardly; flowers among cow dung—this girl from Cruz was indeed a genius, her reactions much quicker than the average person. He set the map aside and picked up his fork to flip the roasted fish on his plate: “The prey we are tracking is unlikely to boldly leave its tracks, but it will still leave clues. The innkeeper earlier mentioned that some hunters have entered the mountains ahead of time—”
“Lord, do you suspect that they have been hired by Anlek as guides?” The Silver Elf princess put down her knife and fork, raising her head to ask quietly.
“For now, it’s just a suspicion.” Brendel replied, “As for whether it’s true, we will have to wait and see.” He tore off a piece of what was called salt-baked salmon, which had a smoked texture that felt like cutting dragon skin. The strong fishy smell made him frown as he nearly spat it out.
After becoming accustomed to exquisite food within the territory, he found it almost intolerable to deal with such crude cooking methods outside. Still, he chewed it roughly like a rock and swallowed. Traveling necessitated adapting to harsh conditions; without food, there was no stamina, and this Brendel understood.
However, he couldn’t help but lament how people could easily transition from frugality to luxury, yet found it difficult to revert from luxury back to frugality. In the early stages of the game, he also had to eat such garbage food, and he swallowed it down like a healing potion without complaint, but now it was starting to get to him.
This was what they called a psychological difference.
Thinking about this, he raised his head to look at the others. The country girls Xi and Freya seemed to have no qualms about such food. The food they ate in the rural areas of Shubli and Buche couldn’t have been much better than this; especially for Xi, being able to have a hot meal in the wild was already difficult enough, as usually, the only thing available to fill their bellies was hard black bread as solid as stone.
However, Laurena and Phillas could not accept it; although their table manners were impeccable, the couple merely sampled the roasted venison before putting down their knives and forks. On the other hand, Medisa appeared more elegant, eating a little of each dish—as a sign of respect for her host—though she ate a little less each time. Finally, she gracefully put down her knife and fork, as she technically didn’t need to eat as an ethereal being.
Charles was slouched ungraciously against his staff—a plain maple wand—and wisely only sipped a few mouthfuls of fruit wine. Beside him, Himelam had her hands clasped together, offering a prayer before the meal, while the young prince stared at the roasted meat and pungent goat milk before him, looking as if he were about to cry.
Only Nemeses’s performance left Brendel deeply impressed. The lady knight, adhering to her usual dining tradition, carefully separated the red beans from the fish soup with her knife, then methodically sent those difficult-to-swallow scraps into her mouth, finishing them all without wasting even a tiny bit.
The entire process was so standard that it resembled a finely-tuned machine, causing Brendel to glance at her a couple more times. Finally, she wiped her mouth with a white napkin, set down her knife and fork, and nodded to a nearby servant in thanks.
Brendel almost shed a tear—
Just as everyone was struggling with the dreadful lunch, a crisp voice unexpectedly interjected.
At that moment, Brendel was examining a map published by the Royal Geographic Society of Erluin in 357, which detailed the northern edge of the Anlas Forest. Hearing this youthful voice, he couldn’t help but divert his gaze from the map to see what was behind him.
He saw a little girl.
With long purple hair, a delicate face, and large eyes like amethysts, she gave off a doll-like appearance. She wore a rather extravagant long dress, although it seemed a bit worn, looking not like a child from a poor family. Especially the jewelry on her round-toed shoes was unmistakably genuine.
She stood there like a little fairy from a storybook, making it hard to look away.
The little girl clasped her hands and politely asked, “May I sit here for a while?”
She pointed to the empty seat beside Haruz.
As soon as Laurena saw the little girl, she couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with affection but was concerned since Brendel was still the owner of the place, leaving her anxious. Fortunately, Freya seemed to sense her thoughts and gently asked, “Are you lost, little sister? Would you like something to eat?”
“No need, thank you,” the little girl replied generously, “I’m waiting for someone, but I feel a bit scared being alone. Can I sit with you?”
Freya turned her gaze to Brendel.
Brendel, however, looked at the young prince amusingly. It was clear he had noticed that Haruz had been mesmerized since the moment the little girl appeared, nearly popping his eyes out.
“Haruz, this young lady wants to sit next to you. Do you agree?” Brendel had already carefully examined the little girl and sensed no aura of power from her; she was just an ordinary person.
The young prince seemed not to hear, only responding after Brendel called him twice with an “ah,” his face turning crimson. “O-of course!”
“Thank you.” The little girl gracefully curtsied to everyone, and Brendel recognized this gesture indicated that she was of noble descent, and not just any noble. He glanced at Nemeses; the lady knight seemed to be scrutinizing the little girl as well but, like him, had said nothing. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please support it with your votes on qidian.com; your support is my greatest motivation.)
