Chapter 95: Gourmet! (200 Monthly Tickets Bonus)
The morning light scattered across the plains.
Soren drove the carriage forward, the road becoming much bumpier, and their speed wasn’t fast.
Vivian sat at the long table inside the carriage, her white legs curled up, sitting very properly. In front of her was a mirror, and Gloria was behind her, doing her hair. Speaking of which, Soren was quite an incompetent brother; there were many things the little girl took care of herself, and he didn’t have the energy to focus on so many trivial matters. Gloria’s presence seemed to fill that void; it was as if she was playing the role of a mother, with a gentle smile on her face, carefully helping the little girl braid her hair into a beautiful ponytail.
“It’s done.”
Gloria tied Vivian’s long hair with a pink hairband, picked up the mirror, and held it in front of Vivian to take a look, smiling, “Beautiful. Our Vivian looks just like a little princess.”
Upon hearing this, the little girl showed a sweet smile and, looking in the mirror, gently touched the hairband, thanking Gloria behind her, “Thank you, Sister Gloria. It’s really beautiful.”
After finishing, the little girl rolled her big eyes around and whispered, “But it’s better not to be like a princess; a giant dragon might take me away.” Pfft.
Gloria couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out to stroke her long hair, helplessly saying, “You’re so mischievous.”
Soren chewed on some jerky, and upon hearing the sounds from behind, the corner of his mouth also curled up slightly. He turned to glance at the two and then continued to drive the carriage. Perhaps because of what happened yesterday, their relationship had become much closer. The Northern Witch in front of him was really different from the one Soren had seen before; the more he interacted with her, the more he could discover her shining points. She was beautiful, elegant, and delicate. Her gentle gaze while speaking could touch your emotions; she was truly a great woman.
Perhaps the initial pride was just a disguise, after all, everyone wears a mask.
Just like Soren, who often appeared cold to avoid others noticing his emotional thoughts. And like Vivian, who most of the time appeared to others as a very obedient little girl, but in fact, she also had a bit of mischief. Even the priest girl, who was once very close to her, hadn’t noticed this. Only Soren, who was closest to her, and the Gloria in front of him could discover that sometimes the little girl could be quite quirky.
This was a good thing. The quirky Vivian was better than the obedient Vivian, because Soren was always worried that she might lack the ability to adapt due to being too well-behaved.
If she truly was the Chosen One, being too innocent could be very lethal.
One could keep their heart pure, but one must not be simple-minded; simple people find it hard to survive in this dangerous world.
In the distance, a large herd of wild goats could be seen. There were many such beasts in the wilderness; they lacked powerful abilities and could only rely on their groups to survive and protect themselves. Typically, a few fierce alpha goats would emerge in these herds, stronger than the others, boasting biological levels of three to five. Sometimes they dared to confront wolf packs head-on. This resembled humans as well, for humans are protected by the strong, maintaining space for the weak to survive.
Upon noticing the distant carriage, the alpha goat emitted a dull bleat and butted its robust horns against a nearby young goat, driving them deeper into the plains. The alpha enjoyed the richest grass to ensure strong offspring had the most mating partners. However, when faced with danger, they were also responsible for protection; if they couldn’t resist, they would find the most effective escape route, and the rest of the herd would follow them to flee.
They were under the protection of Druids.
If it was merely a small-scale hunt for survival, the Druids would not intervene. However, if there was a large-scale slaughter of the goat herd, the Druids would appear with their fury, stubbornly maintaining the balance of nature. If the herd grew too large, they would mercilessly k*ll off a portion to ensure that the grass wouldn’t be completely eaten.
Paladins were despised, and Druids were rather disliked as well.
…………….
Vivian sat in the carriage, looking more mature than before.
Her speed of absorbing knowledge astonished both of them; the books Gloria carried had already been read by Vivian to a third of their extent. These were hundreds of tomes, thick as bricks, filled with dense professional knowledge. Although she had merely memorized them for now, given a bit of time, she would undoubtedly become a learned spellcaster. Knowledge’s impact on spellcasters is more important than spell slots; the more powerful the spellcaster, the more extensive their knowledge needs to be.
The wilderness had calmed down significantly compared to before.
Most monsters had voluntarily migrated from this area, and for a long time to come, they would not dare to approach.
However, there were still scattered goblins around. These creatures were ubiquitous, and the White Horse Guard had no time to clear these little nuisances, as they’d have a new batch of them born by next year at the latest.
In the afternoon, Soren encountered a traveler, a rare race in the Southern Region, quite popular, indeed.
It was a halfling.
He was quite short, only about a meter tall, wearing clothes made for children, with two short swords at his waist. Though they were of sword standard, to Soren, they looked more like daggers. The halfling didn’t have much hair, especially on his feet and backs of hands, and he weighed around thirty to forty pounds. He was leading two goblins with a strong rope, kicking them occasionally to herd these little monsters along.
When he saw the carriage in the distance, he excitedly jumped up, waving at Soren, “Hey! Can you give me a ride?”
Gloria peeked out to take a look and then naturally sat back down.
The little girl leaned her head out, grinning as she gestured his height, whispering in Soren’s ear, “Brother! Look! It’s a halfling! He’s really just a bit taller than Vivian!”
A very small and unassuming halfling.
In an area overgrown with grass, you wouldn’t even see him unless he jumped up.
“You’ve got some luck,” the halfling untied the rope and kicked one of the goblins, which immediately scampered away. He stored the rope, muttering, “Daring to steal my food, they’re not going to be so lucky next time.”
Soren slowed the carriage slightly, and the halfling confidently jumped up, his agility remarkable. He brushed his hands across the horse’s back and nimbly sat beside Soren with a cheerful smile, “Thank you so much. I’ve been wandering in the wilderness for many days alone. Finally, I can sit down and rest.”
Halflings are the best wanderers, even better than Soren in stealth; if they weren’t wearing shoes, their natural stealth trait meant they would make no sound at all.
“Hello, Your Excellency, the Witch.”
“Hello, pretty little girl.”
The halfling had excellent eyesight. After cheerfully greeting them, he turned to Soren and introduced himself, “Hello, fellow traveler. My name is Aladdin, Aladdin Tobacco Norodod. I am a wanderer and a gourmet traveling the world.”
“Glad to meet you.”
Soren didn’t respond but twitched at the corner of his mouth upon hearing the name.
Vivian was very curious and walked to him, reaching out to pinch his doll-like face. Aladdin didn’t mind at all, smiling and letting her touch him. Then he blinked and said, “Little girl, is this your first time seeing a halfling? This is how I look, just about the same height as you.”
Halflings generally had good temperaments; they were a race that often produced good people.
They were favored by many deities and were a race that greatly respected the gods; even the smaller stream and lake deities would receive their appropriate respects. They were the number one foodies and the race with the most gourmets; many curious halflings make it their goal to taste the cuisine of the entire world before their travels. Most of the time, they easily gained the goodwill of other races; if they encountered bad people, their skills allowed them to escape easily.
This was a race blessed by Lady Luck.
Among all intelligent species, halflings were the only race born with a luck bonus; halflings blessed by deities also possessed the specialty of “Heroic Luck,” gaining a +1 bonus in any situation. This race is commonly found in many epic legends, being the best companions of epic protagonists and always willing to help those they recognized.
However, their strength was quite small, and they often relied more on agility in combat.
A significant portion of halflings had even less than 1 point of strength, with an average strength of only 8; a halfling with 1 strength was considered very strong.
Their numbers aren’t large, mostly active in the Shire and Mrodod regions, with a population of only hundreds of thousands, not having expanded for millions of years.
They were under the protection of the “Halfling Guardian Goddess” – Yutanra, an ancient deity of great divine power, and halflings had thrived under her protection for countless years. They possess a strong curiosity, but lack ambitions for dominion; if left undisturbed, these little ones are natural optimists who enjoy growing tobacco, brewing spirits, and seeking out delicious food.
By the way.
They also love to boast!
Especially enjoying sitting down, puffing on a pipe, and then starting to brag to others after taking a nice drag.
So when Aladdin pulled out his pipe and retrieved specially made tobacco from his small pocket, Soren knew he was about to boast with Vivian.
He had seen this scene more than once already.
