Chapter 007: Harrick

Characters in this chapter: Harrick, Frass, Elisa, Stede. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

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At the end of the day's work, Harrick walked out of the Count's castle.

The last rays of light had long since disappeared from the city, and only the occasional passer-by remained in the bustling town square during the day, and the shadows of pedestrians in the braziers on the side of the road flickered far and near.

Around the corner from the market in the direction of the port is the Tavern of the Happy Boar, where Harrick would come every day for a drink or two, and listen to the complaints of the gamblers who had lost their money repeated tens of thousands of times, and the various grumblings of the townspeople, the fresh and the not-so-new, the novelties of sailors and travelers, the vulgar jokes of gladiators and mercenaries, the occasional bard and singer, and the slave traders, bounty hunters, and mercenary captains who liked to do business here. It's like a pot of pilgrimage porridge where any kind of bean can be found.

Harrick habitually stepped on the steps in front of the tavern but stopped, and the brick-thick "Calradian Nobles" and "Calradia Chronicles" on the table in the castle jumped into his mind like two demons, reaching out their claws and grabbing his feet, and the bustle in the tavern was so alluring as the open arms of lovers.

"Master Harrick, why don't you come in where you stand?" Out of the tavern came two sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls, walking in front of them with long blond hair, big lively eyes full of youthful vitality, wearing ochre-red linen shirts, carrying a well-made bedding roll on their shoulders, and the girls in the back had the same black curls as Suke, wearing gray linen gowns and white lace aprons, and it was she who spoke.

"Oh, Frass, Alyssa, it's you," Harrick believed his face must have turned red, glad it was dark outside, "No, I think I have some things to do." Alyssa: Where are you going? It's getting late. ”

"I'm leaving Zenda," Alyssa tucked her hair back into a ponytail with a red headband and shook them gently, "My aunt has always wanted to move back to her hometown of Twain, but she's too old for me to take care of her, and we'll leave early tomorrow morning, just quit my job here with Suke." ”

"It's not very safe on the road during this time," Harrick frowned, "let's wait, the Nords and the Vigians are fighting east of Chanda, and our men have sent back a lot of deserters to the two countries these days, and it is too dangerous to leave Chanda now." ”

"Send deserters?" Alyssa's eyes widened, "I heard that the treatment of deserters in various countries seems to be cruel......

"That's right, most of Nord's deserters were killed on the spot, and the Virgians would mark their cheeks and foreheads as slaves for life......," Harrick saw too much pity and intolerance in Alyssa's eyes, and explained again. "No country will forgive deserters, who have won their lives but hurt their comrades and their country, betrayed the people they swore to defend, trampled on the glory of being a warrior, which is cruel but necessary. ”

"I understand," Alyssa nodded, "thank you for your kindness, but who knows when their war will end? Even if the Nords don't fight the Virgians, they may fight the Svadians again," Jamila asked back. "How do you say that?"

Fra**** replied to her with a smile: "Calradia only the dead and Chanda have peace!"

Harrick didn't find it funny at all, it reminded him of what happened in the gladiatorial arena in the afternoon, Baron Ebok William was not the first to threaten Zenda with war, and he would never be the last, Chanda has remained neutral and peaceful for hundreds of years, but how long can he be calm in the storm of war that is intensifying on the mainland?

"Then let me send someone to escort you. Harrick said.

"Our Lord Harrick really can't bear to Sister Elisa!" Frass jumped over with a smile, and Harrick saw Alyssa nudge Frass in disgust.

"Don't worry! we'll go with Dolaire's caravan, who has just hired twenty caravan guards and three fellow freelancers. Flaver didn't care at all about Harrick's position in front of him.

"You're going too?" said Harrick, surprised.

"Yes," Frass hugged Alyssa's shoulders and shook them gently, "Alyssa said that Prince Kyllar met Queen Jinwei's lover valley in Rafende, where there is a sea of Jinwei flowers, I want to take a good look!"

"Prince Kailar?" Harrick had no impression of the prince's name in his mind, and seeing Harrick's confused expression, Frass eagerly prompted: "It's the legendary Prince Kailar of the Northern Expedition!"

"Oh, yes," Harrick finally understood that the prince was supposed to be a historical figure and not a contemporary person, but as a town official, he didn't even know anything about the history that the tavern waitress knew, which made him feel a wave of shame in his heart, "Does Suke agree with you going?"

"Of course!" said Frass excitedly, "at first my brother did not agree, but seeing that Doraire had so many guards, they happened to pass by Fenrad on their way to Sagoth, and I will return with their caravan in two months." ”

"Well, we'll see you in two months, now...... I have to leave. Suk was afraid that he would not be able to withstand the pleading sister's request, and Harrick himself could not stand the feeling of shame, so he quickly left the warrior's house.

Harrick was disgusted by the smoke from the butter candles, and it would make him cry when he looked at it for a long time, especially the smell of grease in the room, but he had to endure it, and he didn't have much time to study these boring things during the day.

"Father," Stede walked in, "are you busy today?"

"Stede, come and sit, is Master Cordion asleep?" Harrick lovingly patted his young shoulder.

"yes," Stede nodded earnestly, then said with a smile, "He snores more than you do, and you can hear it under the Bachelor's Tower!"

Harrick smiled and patted his head, he had always been proud of his son, and he had always been very sorry for him.

Seven years ago, when Stede was only four years old, his wife Baili was slashed by pirates who secretly went ashore to rob, and Bailey's most reassuring thing before dying was their only child, Little Tede, who asked him to take care of Stede, and this last word was relayed to him by Bailey's mother, because Harrick was too busy with official business to arrive in time, and every time he looked at Stede's green eyes, he would think of Bailey's face.

It is consoling that the Earl has always valued himself, and when Stede was seven years old, he made him a servant of the Cordion Scholars, and also asked Stede to accompany his youngest son Haim and daughter Windse to learn literature and martial arts, and when he grows up, he will become a knight's squire, and will become a knight like himself in the future...... These are things that I could never have dreamed of as a gladiator in an arena paved with blood and sand.

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The Chronicles of Calradia: A book of continental history compiled by the Violet Society, which records all historical events in the history of the continent, including events that occurred before the establishment of the Violet Society or events that have not been confirmed by the Society, and they refer to the narrative epics handed down by the bards.