Late autumn in the southern part of the empire is a good time to go. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoLocals love the midsummer sunshine, which is the perfect match for their national flower, the daisy, but only when you sit under an awning. When traveling, especially on unsheltered country roads, the nobles of Padrosi always carried a large parasol, while the remaining commoners and mercenaries who did not have enough money would buy a cheap straw or rattan brimmed hat.

Late autumn is a pleasant, lukewarm time that is a little less annoying dampness than the equally cool spring.

The cool, dry temperatures are flanked by forests that still retain a lot of green leaves, and a refreshing breeze blows from the other side of the dirt path, and when you get away from the forest area, the sea of golden rice paddies sway like waves in the breeze. Far away, the deep turquoise hues of the mountains at the end of the Palohia Plateau contrast with the softer shapes of the hills, which are not as soft as the world-famous Tambur Mountains on the west coast.

The unique color of the place where the end of the Palohian plateau meets the sky is called "horizon blue" or "royal blue", and this is the other representative color of the Padrosi royal in addition to black and gold.

This royal blue is a mixture of precious magical ores that are ground and blended to make, and are extremely expensive for ordinary people to counterfeit, so they have been the color of royalty and its branches to this day - but let's get back to the basics.

Autumn is the best time to travel, and there are people who disagree with this statement - such as Henry's two new additions to the new team that bears the nickname "Little Explorers".

There are reasons why adventurers, hunters and other professionals who are away all year round do not wear black clothes, and even leather armor and leather clothes choose brown and the like.

In addition to the fact that black absorbs heat, insects are also attracted to this color.

So naturally, Filippo and Ferruccio, who wore black aristocratic tights, which were not suitable for long-distance movements, became the concentrated targets of bees and various other insects.

"Ahh

In the savage West Coast, which was taken for granted, the aristocracy of the more civilized Padrosi Empire was ignorant of the estranged wilderness, and the mansions of the big cities were surrounded by man-made structures.

These differences in detail made our white-haired girl think a little, and she recalled the Lamanic text she carried with her, which she had previously disagreed with, the more vulnerable she was, but now she could understand it more or less as she gained more knowledge.

The so-called civilized world of mankind is based on a complex class structure and various systems, and unlike the "Vislan" - that is, the West Coast - region, which is defined as "barbaric" by the East Coasters, the upper class people living in large cities such as Parnira are in fact detached from nature.

They were provided by servants in every aspect of their lives, eating food prepared for them, wearing the clothes of craftsmen, and using their brains in politics and business.

Specialized in the rule of man, the ruling class can devote itself wholeheartedly to its own management - the cornerstone of a highly developed society and a prosperous empire, but it also limits their ability as "individuals".

Once the stable social order ceases to exist, and the servant class who serve them and take care of their food and clothing leaves for various reasons, then these noble lords will become as weak as ducks waiting to be slaughtered.

This is true not only at the level of the individual but also at the level of society as a whole and the country as a whole. The savage, more turbulent and turbulent West Coasters, have long been accustomed to being displaced, and it is their instinct to reclaim their homes in the wilderness. And the people who enjoy these conveniences and services in a civilized society, once they lose them, do not even possess the most basic common sense, and are destined to be in an even more difficult situation.

So from this point of view, it is true that the more civilized the country, the more vulnerable it is.

"Let's go to the village in front of you later, and buy clothes from the local villagers, although they are not for mercenaries. Henry opened his mouth to the two of them, and Filippo was busy chasing the bugs but did not hear it, and the old butler Ferruccio turned around and nodded, agreeing with him.

When he chased after Henry and the three before, he and Filippo walked a relatively wide road, and they had already suffered a lot of insect harassment. Now the more you go to the countryside, the narrower the road becomes, the more vegetation grows, and the insects increase.

Five horses and a carriage, two people who looked like nobles, and two mercenaries in delicate cuirass made Margaret look like an inconspicuous little attendant. However, this difference in appearance has become a kind of protection in disguise, so even the impulsive stunned young Filippo did not express any objection to it.

He still has some brains in the end, after all, he is from high society and has experienced sufficient education, but because he is still young and arrogant, he is not calm and steady enough.

The flat carriage is full of bones, and the adaptability of human beings is so strong that it can be regarded as fully manifested here. The initial bumps made the bones of the aristocratic lady feel like they were about to fall apart when she got up every day, but before she knew it, she had become accustomed to this hard and shocking seat, and even subconsciously began to control her body posture to prepare for the rough road.

If you think about it carefully, judging from her age and aristocratic status, this young lady can be regarded as strong.

Although this kind of life had long been customary for Mira and Henry, it was only natural for ordinary people to have to travel so continuously to sleep in cheap hotels, humble peasant dwellings, or even in the suburbs, and to complain or put on a foul face when they woke up every morning. Margaret, on the other hand, did not do so, and although she was indeed a little listless, she did not lose her aristocratic temper because of this.

But even so, the instinctive bullying she had done when she was in Amalfi left a thorn in the white-haired girl's heart.

In fact, in the final analysis, Margaret's upbringing was not at fault, and the butler Ferruccio protected her and allowed her to do so, even more than anything more than the threat of breaking the contract. But Mira didn't get angry with him, the fundamental reason was because the two were only meeting for the first time, and she had seen a lot of this kind of aristocratic behavior before, so the impression left in Mira's heart was only "Ferruccio is such a typical nobleman".

And Margaret gave her a pretty good impression in the previous period of getting along, so Miss Luoan also had some caring feelings for her, and seeing her do that kind of thing at this time, Mira had a feeling of betrayal for a while, and she couldn't get over this hurdle.

Intellectually, she could understand Margaret's behavior, but emotionally, she just couldn't accept it.

The silence between the two men made the atmosphere in the group somewhat awkward, but fortunately there was no need to talk too much when walking.

The clouds were rolling around, and the day's not-so-warm sun had not yet spilled and departed, and by almost lunchtime they had finally reached another village near Amalfi.

This small village away from the main road is always a laid-back scene, but luckily there are some tourists here, so there are no big problems with accommodation. It's just that their group looks very different from the average poor mercenary on foot in terms of equipment, and when they arrive at the hotel, they attract a lot of attention.

People always judge people by their appearance, although it is a bit cruel to say this, but when you are ugly and dressed in tatters, most people will not think that you are a hermit, but a disgusting beggar.

It is true that keeping a low profile is the only way to save your life, but this world is the law of the jungle, and deliberately making yourself look weak and bullying will only lead to a lot of unnecessary trouble.

A sharp sword doesn't need to be drawn from its scabbard to make an opponent retreat, so a certain degree of outward performance is actually a measure of self-protection.

And the point that has to be mentioned here is why our Sage first met Mira in that virtuous manner, according to his own words.

Still is.

"Because of poverty. ”

-- Words go back to where they came.

The space occupied by five horses and a carriage is a bit large for such a small village, so they have a lot of trouble when parked. In the end, it took more than ten minutes to find an old barn without a door nearby, and borrowed it for the time being.

The horses on which Filippo and Ferruccio rode were apparently top-notch padrossi steeds, parked in the barn a few minutes' walk away, and even the calm old butler looked a little uneasy, not to mention the young man who always kept his emotions on his face.

If it weren't for the sense of mission to protect Margaret, Filippo would have slept in this makeshift stable tonight. And even when they returned to the inn together, the young man turned back three times along the way, and his whole face was squeezed like a bitter gourd with a worried look.

After finally returning to the hotel, Filippo spent a lot of money and repeatedly told the innkeeper to send someone to guard the horses, and the intensity of his words and tone made our white-haired girl very unhappy, but she had also decided to do her job only and not to meddle in any more things.

A group of five people, who were already very high-profile in appearance, attracted more attention because Filippo ran to repeatedly explain to the boss. Heng used the corner of his eye to look at the scene around him, and in addition to him and Mira, the old butler Ferruccio also noticed this.

Although the only person with the sword was Filippo, he had called Filippo to stop since the sage had demonstrated his advanced swordsmanship disarming skills, and with the attention to the potential hostility in the surrounding environment, it was obvious that this old man had also been engaged in combat professions, and his attainments were not too low.

"If there are good deeds, please do your duty, and the old man will guard the young lady. He walked over to Henry and Mira and said this, and the sage nodded, and the lady of Loan was noncommittal.

When it comes to staying at the hotel, the gap between Padrossi and the West Coast is more or less reflected. The two people who had mercenary badges at the time of check-in were asked to take out the badges for a simple registration, and this kind of requirement was not only useless in the so-called "let people know that the mercenaries have arrived, so that they can easily get commissions", but also dig deeper, and it is also a part of the open and secret struggle between this thousand-year-old empire and the huge mercenary union organization.

Mercenaries are a group of militants, and if you want to stop disputes, you must start at the source, which is why the Empire has strict rules on carrying weapons. Some provinces even had inscriptions that stated that the commoners were not allowed to possess swords (1) without being nobles or mercenaries, in order to control their weapons and thus avoid disputes and maintain a solid rule.

Under such conditions, although the Empire will give mercenaries the privilege to carry weapons out of mutual benefit, it does not mean that they are completely free.

Any mercenary who is listed must hand in the mercenary card for registration when he arrives at the hotel, and this mandatory rule allows the Imperial Security Guard to quickly lock on to the target in the event of a disturbance and bloodshed. And if the troublemakers arrested according to the records are indeed official mercenaries, the regional government will inevitably start a tug-of-war with the mercenary union, trying to use this as an excuse to knock the other party on the other side and seek greater initiative.

The details of this kind of overt and covert fighting can be seen even in remote towns, but for Henry, who does not intend to take the initiative to provoke disputes, such behavior is at most just adding some trouble.

After checking in, the feeling of fasting that I had been rushing since the morning came at a timely time. The tables, chairs, and other everyday items that Padrosi used to be a little small for Mira and Henry, had to untie their belts again and lean their swords against the side of the table in order to be able to sit comfortably in their chairs.

Since the horses and carriages had to be kept at a distance, Mira's books, Henry's sword, and spare clothes wrapped in sackcloth were also brought with them. And the sage's greatsword, though wrapped in a thick layer of linen, can still tell what it is from the rough shape of the battle.

"Can you take a look—" Filippo was about to sit down, and the striking size of the sackcloth caught his attention, and despite the interrogative sentence, the impulsive and aristocratic young man was clearly not prepared for rejection, and he reached directly to Kramer, while Henry grabbed his wrist like lightning.

"Ahh

"No, you can't. The sage smiled at him, and then spat out the two words, his tone steady, but not refused.

"Cut, if you can't, you can't, why do you work so hard. Muttering these words, Filippo felt a little scared in his heart, for he had tried to challenge the tall mercenary less than a day earlier, and this time he felt his bones tremble with just a grasp, and if he had fought with weapons at that time, he would have been in a different place.

"Poof—" But his behavior somewhat eased the awkward atmosphere in the group, and Mira chuckled softly, and after the others had sat down, the padrosi-style risotto and fried noodles, as well as the delicious meatballs mixed with minced meat and condiments and fried in lard.

Compared to the meals eaten at the larger inn, this smaller, but privately owned inn is a few streets away from the food service.

The location in the village with fresh ingredients and less foot traffic meant that the owner had the time and energy to spend on making delicious food, and the group of five hungry just smelling the smell was whiskling.

"Ding-" The small sound of the plate and the iron cutlery colliding sounded.

This is the eighth day of the adventure.

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Note: The laws of the Padrosi Empire classify swords with a total length greater than 70 centimeters as combat swords.