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Chapter 46 – Lv up

‘The Red Bronze Dragon’s Story Bar’ was a pub located between Ponoa’s street  and the Traveller’s bridge. It ran through the night and welcomed all manners of people, mercenaries, adventurers, prostitutes and dubious merchants.

If one was able to tolerate the chaotic environment and vulgar talk, this was indeed a good place to find entertainment. There was cheap beer, waitress who wore revealing clothes, and food to fill the stomach. Even if one was to drink a whole night, he would not spend more than a few copper coins, and not worry about the guards hauling him to prison.

But Freya trembled when she walked towards this dirty area. The countryside lass gripped her sword tightly, her mind filled with Brendel’s hints.

She lowered her crimson face, carefully walking through the gaps of the crowd. She felt her ponytail hair standing up from the anxiety in her heart. Her thoughts spiraled into every direction. What happened if someone was to molest her? Chop his hand off? Stab him? (TL: Lol.)

She spied on the waitresses who wore revealing clothes, and felt her ears burn. She could only think of ‘How could they wore something like this! Do they have no shame!’.

She walked over to the bar with both hands on her sword, and the plump bar owner who was sitting down with his hand supporting his cheek sized her up, from the top of her head to her feet.

“This place isn’t for you, little missy.”

She finally noticed that Brendel lied to her. She gritted her teeth and her sword clattered from her trembling hands with fury. But she did not want to vent her anger in front of a stranger and asked with her lowered head: “Excuse me, I’m here to gather information on someone……”

Leto looked at the girl’s head that was so low that it was going to reach the bar’s wooden structure, and he could not help but chuckled.

“This bar is indeed the place for information, but little missy, we’re not free!”

“I know, I’ll pay for the information. Please help me.”

“Very well, who’re you looking for?”

“Hood, a fur merchant in Ponoa’s market.”

“That fellow, huh. Are you his relative from the countryside?”

Freya shook her head hastily: “No, someone asked me to pass a letter to him.”

Leto shook his head, but at this moment, a group of guards walked hurriedly outside the bar’s doors. He keenly felt the girl’s body shook slightly. He had been the owner for over a decade, and his observation skills were unmatched in the vicinity, and he found there was something unusual with this small detail.

And as if it was turning into a real-life play, a guard actually walked back and shouted just outside the door: “Oh right, Leto, did you see any suspicious people around?”

Leto stood up. He saw the girl was pretending to be calm in front of him, but her fingers were turning white from gripping the sword. He sighed and asked: “Are they finding you?”

Freya looked up in surprise, and she was ready to draw her sword.

“You don’t need to be tense, this is my professional habit.”

She looked on in a daze, but recovered instantaneously and quickly said: “I-I have money, can you hide me?”

“A hundred Tor, do you have it?”  Leto asked with a smile. His bar had many dubious characters around, and it was a common thing for him to hide a criminal, furthermore he found this lass to be interesting.

A hundred Tor is a silver coin, and she nodded quickly. She quickly walked to the back of the bar and Leto had her hide into a wooden barrel. A few of the guards also went with the first guard and they entered into the bar.

None of the patrons in the bar wanted to look at them, and they naturally would not point fingers. There were rules in various places, and even in this low-class place, they had their rules.

This was the ‘gray’ area. The guards in the city would seek information, but the merchants and thieves would also do the same. They know of each other’s existence, but they held by the rules and did not deal with them in the open.

This was the rules of a game.

While Leto stood by them, the naive Freya had a different mindset. When she hid into the dark barrel, she immediately regretted.

[Freya, what the hell were you thinking! Didn’t you even consider that he might betray you? Are you even a captain of the third militia squadron?]

She listened to the conversation between the owner and the guards with a tense heart. She was gravely afraid of the cover suddenly opening and hauled out. Even though things were not stated out directly, she knew what fate she had if she was to be caught.

But after a while, she heard someone knocking on the barrel.

“They are gone, come out.”

Freya opened the barrel a little and took a look. The guards were indeed gone, and she relaxed with a sigh of relief. Then she noticed that everyone was looking at her with a bemused expression, and a few of them even raised their glasses with respect.

“Not bad at all, a little lass actually dares to against the bastard soldiers in the army!”

“Here’s a drink to you!”

Freya turned to the owner with a red face: “Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me. That’s a hundred Tor.” The fat owner laughed and beckoned to a girl in the room. A girl with tanned skin with braids came to Freya’s side.

“This is my daughter, let her take you to Hood’s home. Ah, that’s right, little lass. Let me give you an advice. Don’t move alone in the middle of the night, where are your companions?”

She thought of the lout, Brendel, and she wanted to get angry but could not do so. She realized that he was trying to hone her views of the world, and just thinking about her display earlier, she could only bury her head in the sand.

“I’m Sue.” The girl looked at her and offered to shake her hand: “I usually help father to look after this shop, but I’m free now. Come with me.” (TL: If you want to live.)

“Thank you, my name is Freya.”

………………………………………………………………………..

“Someone is trying to take advantage of the situation, my lord.”

Ciel said and looked at the fire from a distant building.

Brendel creased his brows. He did not think there were other factions in the city. The huge fire in the parliament did not help him at all, and in the contrary, it created considerable trouble for him.

But this timing was really well done. It had to be done internally, and at the very least knew that they had escaped.

He thought about the situation back then, perhaps it was a noble from that night.

[But who? What are his goals?]

After a while, he shook his head and tossed his random ideas out. Even though he was displeased from being used, but as an unimportant character he did not have the right to be displeased.

“I hope this wouldn’t bring us too much trouble.” He said: “But perhaps we would not be affected. It might be good if we received help, let’s mind about our own tasks.”

“But my lord, you have not told me what we are going to do.” Ciel said.

“Someone borrowed my sword, so I have to collect it.” The King Oberg the seventh that Brendel knew was not a generous king, but he did not know how close he was with his close aides. (TL: I’m not sure if this king refers to the current king or the next future king. In chapter 40, it was Oberg the sixth.)

“Who?”

“An earl.”

Ciel snorted: “I have never seen anyone more lawless than you, my lord. Do you really think that your neck is stronger than the rope?”

“When we escaped we are already going to be executed by the rope. If that is the case, who is going to care whether it’s one or two ropes?” Brendel laughed. He was quite anxious in truth, but he discovered that his squire was quite funny.

“That is certainly true, but what is my lord going to do?”

“Attack from the front, it’s best to make the commotion as big as possible.”

Ciel looked at Brendel closely. Even though Brendel was making small conversation, his pale face and clammy-looking hands betrayed the tenseness in his heart. Even so, he was still planning things out calmly and steadily.

“What is going to happen if you die?” Brendel asked after thinking for a while.

“A card which dies in the battlefield will go into the graveyard. Before my lord is able to pull out from there, I will stay there forever.” Ciel said.

“If that’s the case, I have to be more careful.”

Brendel said as he estimate the remaining time in his heart. After calculating everything, he raised his hand to grip onto the flying gargoyle in the air. Ciel also grabbed it.

The two of them looked each other and nodded. The gargoyle flew quickly into the air, and under the cover of the night, they flew towards a small forest within the fortress.

The wind whistled past them, and Ciel asked: “My lord, are you certain that the earl is staying in a forest like this? And not the within that small castle?”

Ciel pointed to a small castle between the Pine River and Webster river.

“What did you say, I can’t hear it through the wind?”

“I said, did my lord fly in a wrong direction?”

“Me? Of course not, did I say I’m going to pick a fight with the earl right now?”

“Then what are we going to do?”

“Of course it’s to level up! A workman must sharpen his tools if he wants to do his work well.”

“Level up? Is that some form of ancient language?”

“Shut up! Let me tell you this. In a game there are always three things. Technique, equipment and stats.” Brendel shouted in the wind: “When you look at these three things, one of them is bound to help you. If you are going to become a full-fledged wizard one day, you will thank me for telling you this secret.”

“Game?”

“Human life is like a game, and a game reflects the human life, do you get it?”

“I somehow get it. My lord is truly wise.” Ciel said with a lying face. He could only think about the freezing night air and he felt his limbs were turning into ice.

Brendel stared at the forest and calculated again.

[At most there is 15 minutes left.]

………………………………………………………………………..

In the castle.

The middle-aged man sat on the sofa and observed the slender sword in his hand, before placing it down. His expression did not change and still retained a cold demeanor. But the chill in his eyes were more apparent.

“What do you think?” The figure behind him asked.

“This should be that sword. I don’t know how that young man got it, but he must disappear from this world. But the two women beside him, I’m very interested in them.”

“It’s fine to have a hobby, but the key thing is not to let it interfere with your job.”

“If I don’t give them hints, how would those short-sighted fools think of using my name to do things? Since they were the one who killed, whether if it was bootlicking me or not, no one would suspect me. All that is needed is a suitable reason. As for that man’s reputation, when did we ever care?”

The middle-aged man thin lips curled into a cold smile: “And you also said it, it’s fine to have a hobby.”

That figure smiled in return and his eyes went back to the sword: “Have you found anything?”

The middle-aged man shook his head: “It’s never that simple.”

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