A conflict that threatens to erupt at the slightest mistake begins after a frank exchange between the Knights of Virtue and the Followers of the Way of the Oak, with Aldrich Tris, Felix, Feliosa, Baruch Stoneaxe, and Vir sitting side by side at a table.

Seeing that the table with a pillar missing was crumbling, the old man took the weapon from the caravan guards of the Dagger and Cloak Guild and put it back in place, and everyone saw a faint flash of emerald light, and the forcibly broken table leg stayed there, as if it had never left.

'Restoration!' It's amazing, the caster is simply omnipotent. Aldrich Triss let go of his right hand that kept the table from topping, suppressing his curiosity to bend down and look down at the effects of the magic.

But when he saw Ironfistville squatting down on the ground very simply, carefully examining his wrist strength and the old man's masterpiece, and immediately sat back in his place to pay respectful respect to Lord Felix, the panic on his face was rapidly fading, and the young knight smiled heartily, and did not say any more meaningless nonsense.

"Everyone here knows each other's names except for a certain arrogant fanatic, and can't the one who has no self-knowledge say something?" the wildcat-like Firiosa once again bared her teeth and claws, staring at Aldrich, putting a lot of pressure on him.

"Honorable illusionist, if there is no accident, are you accusing me of concealing my identity? ”

The young knight stood up, bowed slightly, and looked around at the audience: "My name is Aldrich Triss, a descendant of the military knights of the pioneer era, subordinate to His Excellency the Earl of Eastwood. Due to the high debts and huge interest draining the liquidity, in order to pay off the debts, he sold his ancestral property at a low price, retained only the ownership of the territory, and came to Eastwood City alone, intending to find a job, hoping to earn enough money to restore the family's gloomy glory. ”

"It's an honor to meet you in a tavern. Filiosa heard the sorrow in the young knight's low tone, and she felt a little remorseful and guilty, not to pick open the healing scars and let those bloody wounds be exposed again.

"This kind of thing used to be rare, but now it's common. ”

Tolerance is a virtue.

Aldrich comforted Filiosa in turn, "It's just that some heirs are still immersed in the glorious years of the past, tearing down the east wall and repairing the west wall, relying on debts to survive until the family property is exhausted." And I sold all the luxuries of pleasure, the ornaments for the decoration of the nobility, and so on, and all these floating possessions, and kept only the family territory that had been passed down from generation to generation, and the mansion where every brick and stone was soaked with the sweat of my father's ancestors. ”

"This is really a wise decision, it's hard to believe that it could be made at your age, can you tell us more about the reason for this?" Receiving the old man's encouraging gaze, Firiosa continued to ask, her spirit of breaking the casserole and asking questions was the professional instinct of spellcasters, who maintained a strong curiosity and keen insight into everything.

The young knight understood their curiosity, pondered for a moment, and nodded: "In the past, the Knight of Tris had a nearly complete manor economic system, and all daily necessities were self-sufficient, and due to the use of compost and plant ash, the grain production was quite good, and the surplus was even sold to the market through well-connected business agents, in exchange for money and other materials, such as iron from the Earl of Eastwood's family's estate, and coal and stone to survive the long cold winter. ”

However, the rise of handicraft guilds and merchants with large workshops produced a huge amount of goods, which flooded the territory with the advantage of cheapness. Skilled craftsmen are no match for cold machines without flesh and blood, and machines propelled by water, fire, and steam do not fatigue, do not rest, are always precise and efficient, maintain an endless stream of throughput, and crush all weak resistance on the spot. ”

"There are fewer and fewer people in the territory, artisans and farmers have gone bankrupt one after another, and we have to choose to go to the city, and we are more and more dependent on cheap goods imported by merchants and workshop owners. They raise prices slowly, like frogs boiled in warm water, and finally before we know it, we are in high debt, and all our property is mortgaged to satisfy their appetite. ”

"It was this that I saw this, and I cut off the vines that were wrapped around the withering tree of Tris's territory, and the moths that drew nutrients to feed themselves, and even uprooted them and destroyed them completely. Unfortunately, the fertile and barren land could not sustain the vitality of the trees, and after the flourishing foliage was gone, it was no longer able to shelter the displaced birds and animals. ”

Therefore, after everything is irretrievable, this big tree condenses all its vitality into a seed, entrusts it with the hope of revival, and if it can take root and grow in a distant land, maybe it can be returned. Luckily, I'm not alone, it's a forest, with yellow leaves, thick soil that hides the prying eyes of poisonous snakes and moths, and the roots of the trees are firmly connected into a single body. ”

"There are too many metaphors in your words, and if it weren't for the family of knights of military merit, I would have suspected that you were a knight of poetry, and you should have changed your career to become a bard, or those soothsayers who peep into the fragments of fate, issue ambiguous prophecies, and make everyone around." ”

Felix, the old man who had been listening quietly, nodded with a smile, his eyes narrowed into a slit, as if he saw something interesting. Because of his love for nature, he has always liked to collect plant seeds, and now he found a strange seed, wrapped in a hard, transparent shell, which seemed to be able to see through the bottom at a glance, but in the end he found nothing.

'The era of grandeur has come, and the impression that money is omnipotent is pervasive and erodes everyone's spiritual realm, and it is reasonable to say that it is common to give birth to a black knight. As for the virtuous knight with a source, there is no idyllic sunrise and sunset in the dull years, and there is no fertile soil, and this seed will be swallowed up by the foul-smelling mire sooner or later, and corroded into a deflated grain. But the perfect silver gem was so amazing that it might be a spring of clear water that washed away the black decay of the rotten earth, or a fresh morning breeze that blew away the haze and dust that hung over the forest. Whether it's good or bad, it's always something to look forward to, so let me wait quietly!'

"Dear Filiosa, we'll have plenty of time for future conversations, so let's finish our hard-earned lunch now, okay?"

When the flower-crowned girl heard the old man's words, she immediately nodded in agreement, and concentrated on the large plate of mashed potatoes in front of her, carefully picking out the pieces of salted meat in them, and giving them all to her companion Baruch Stone Axe.

The thick and thin Highland Warrior would occasionally raise his head and smile happily even as he munched on the shiny fried chicken cutlets on his plate, having been miserable by Firiosa's endless illusions. Baruch was most afraid of snakes, or was extremely tired of slippery, cold things, but he often slept with them, a little trick that made him unable to eat for several days, and he almost lost his strength and delayed his work.

"As you can see, we are an adventurous party that has just visited an abandoned ancient mausoleum in the nearby Cold Mountain, and has only a slight surplus after all expenses have been removed. As the end of my career came to an end, I thought I should end my wandering life and settle down and find a decent job for the rest of my life. Felix drank a slightly cooler soup when he saw not only two companions staring at each other, but also the Virtue Knight and Mr. Ironfistville.

"Don't look at it in such a strange way, do you think I can't stay in Eastwood? In addition to reading ancient texts, I am also a good gardener, and the perfume lily is a work in my spare time, and it is only grafted, but the technique is a little peculiar, and other gardeners cannot learn it. ”

'Followers of the Way of the Oak Tree, who use the power of nature as a source of spell casting, create new plants as little as a gesture. Knight Aldrich Triss shook his head lightly absentmindedly, he always managed to restrain his curiosity well.

The five people who didn't know each other got along well, and when they were having a good conversation, Tekkenville found an opportunity to ask the young knight next to him in a low voice about the relationship with the dagger and cloak union.

Aldridge knew that there would be such a question, and he had already prepared for it: "I have dealt with the goldfinger foreman Videsque, he is a good person, full of young vigor and energy, but he lacks a chance to improve. ”

Will is a little confused about the relationship between the declining knights and the peripheral members of the guild, but in general it should be a good thing, the righteous words just now won his favor, otherwise just the flower crown girl Filiosa will make him enough, if there is a real conflict, I believe that the highland warrior Baruch Stone Axe, who has just been pacified, will not stand idly by, and his arms are thicker than his calves, and Ville is not sure of victory. Although the times have changed, the credibility of the knights is fully guaranteed, which is the accumulation of long years.

"Dear Knight Aldrich Tris, thanks to you for acting for me, the consequences would have been unimaginable. I will remember you, and the Dagger and Cloak Guild will remember you, and I will surely pay off in the future. ”

The turmoil in the remote corner of the tavern was gone, and the two sides shook hands and made the lunch go on normally, and the taciturn Highland warrior Baruch Stoneaxe looked at the young knight who was a head down from him, but took a step back and looked at him with a level gaze: "I really want to fight you once, it is said that the Virtue Knight is extremely strong." ”

Aldrich smiled and nodded: "My strength is not the same as what you said, purely in terms of strength, I am definitely not your opponent." But if you really give it a go, without showing war paint and madness, I'm afraid you won't be able to defeat me. ”

Baruch Stoneaxe's expression froze slightly, and after a moment of silence, his forehead agreed: "I think so too!By the way, how can you tell that I have a war paint? As for my madness, except for my two companions, the elders of the tribe do not know. ”

"My family keeps the Knight's Code, and the Highlands occupy a lot of it, and I know more about you than your companions. "Aldrich suddenly remembered a famous saying: 'Your enemies know you better than your friends.'" I was inexplicably a little uneasy in my heart, and immediately changed the topic, "We will fight sooner or later, whether it is the Highland clan or the berserker, they are all famous warriors, you have the blood of heroes in your body, you just met not long ago, and there is no reason to fight." ”

"Then I'll not leave, and I'll stay in Eastwood City and make a career, and when the time is right, please give me a fair fight. Baruch held his right hand flat forward, and Aldrich understood, so he made a fist deal with him.

"Gluck!" the young knight frowned, clenched his fist and slowly stroked and rubbed it, but as for the highland warrior, he quickly withdrew his hand, which was not clear to others, but Felix could see that his right hand was trembling slightly.

'It's a terrible twist!' The follower of the Way of the Oak kindly patted his companion on the shoulder, looking at Aldrich with more surprise than curiosity, 'What a terrible reaction speed, and it can easily defeat Baruch, not a Virtuous Knight!'