Social fables written with animals as protagonists have appeared in many long-established civilizations.

It may not matter whether the story of the cunning fox deceiving the crow, the story of the crow drinking water, the story of the frog boiled in warm water, whether these series of fables are in harmony with the true nature of animals, and whether such a thing happens in reality. They are merely philosophical stories told in obscure ways when people are unable to directly point out the ills of society.

Among the books I bought after coming to the East Coast, there is a fable about our Mila being the most difficult to understand.

It only uses short language, no foreshadowing, and no inner ingenuity. In just a few sentences, it recounts some details of the crab catch by the people on the beaches of Northland.

"'When there's only one crab, you need to close the lid tightly,' said the farmer, 'in case the nimble creature escapes.' ’”

"'And when you catch more than one crab, you don't have to close the lid and you won't have any problems. Because whenever one of the crabs tries to escape, the other will instinctively pull it down. Although written in Lamanite, the source of this parable is said to be Suomir. Perhaps there was a loss of information in the translation between languages, or perhaps the Suomirs were not as eloquent as the Lamanites, and the story was much more obscure than the other very vivid fables included in that book.

The girl of Luo An that day didn't understand what it meant. And the answer given by Henry, who asked his teacher, at that time was only one sentence: "Society is too old." Such inexplicable words have no further answer.

It's hard to explain something you haven't experienced.

Those who understand naturally understand, and those who don't understand no matter how much they use their tongues, they also play the piano to the cow.

The original sage did not explain any more reason, after coming to Suomir, after four or five days in the Tarva-Suta region.

She understood.

As we have mentioned in the past, Talva-Sutar was an important line of defense to the heart of the northern kingdom of Aurora, and had the status of Suomir's chokepoint. The complex terrain and the large and small fortresses built over thousands of years make this a tough nut to crack. However, the north and the south are not always at war, and considering the need for transportation, it is natural that there are easily accessible avenues in peacetime.

"The wide mountain roads and many bridges, built with royal finance, were the first choice for merchants and travelers. The roads here are the smoothest and the best to walk, and there are stone houses on the road that can rest and shelter from the wind and rain for free, of course, you need to bring your own food and bedding for covering, but there are sturdy houses that can be temporarily moved in for free, which is one of the reasons why this fairytale country is fascinating——"

The above is an excerpt from Raman's book "A Trip to the Northlands - To the Land of Fairy Tales", which ranked first on the best-selling list of small and medium-sized manuals in the upper aristocratic circles of the Padrossi Empire.

This printed book, which sells for about 15 silver Ella coins, is furnished with delicate engravings. Suomir's customs are introduced in detail, but it still has a small, just small, inconspicuous problem.

And that's—

Author –

It is clear that Suomir has never been to Suomir.

A group of soldiers stopped in front of the wooden bridge that passed.

They are not very old, and they are actually regular soldiers, but they are a bit of a hooligan.

It has been five days since the three of them entered the Talva-Suta area, and the pancakes bought from the owner of the morning tea shop in Cuihu Town came in handy unexpectedly. After allocating some to the family of Lamani merchants from the eastern towns they met on the road, Henry and Mira reminded them of the chatty middle-aged merchant Uncle Mario they had met in the south, and explained to them many anecdotes about Suomir today.

Among them, he repeatedly emphasized a sentence in the traditional Lamani saying, which is "Hades is better, but the little ghost is difficult." ”

Talva-Suta, with a large garrison.

They were outnumbered by a traditional army of great swordsmen. Many of the unreasonably heavy taxes, including the "firewood tax" that brought the Great Swordsmen into disrepute, were actually done to keep the Talva-Sutar Line running.

The Great Swordsmen themselves are not rich.

And after they were expelled, the Raman Dragonwing Knights, who were supported by the royal family, naturally did not give much good looks to the legacy of these predecessors.

The outstanding non-commissioned officers and officers who were loyal to the Great Swordsman in their hearts were basically forced away. Plus a deduction from salary. Although it is true that the kingdom has increased its economic level after the introduction of communication with the Empire in general, this fat water does not share the share of the Talva-Suta garrison.

When he was in Everylake, it was well known that the quartermasters of Talwa Sutar would privately resell military supplies at high prices. And when they actually came here, the three realized that the situation was worse than they imagined.

They were stopped in front of the bridge.

The family of Lamani merchants, who had passed through beforehand, paid some tolls by unconcealed means. And the uncle turned his head and glanced at them when he was far away from the bridge, with a slight sympathy in his eyes.

At the turn of the season, he only warned him in advance, and had no intention of helping further. This is human nature, although it seems a little cold, but going out and relying on strangers to help is originally a naïve idea that only the upper nobles of the empire have.

"Travel expenses. The crooked defenders of their helmets and breastplates looked at her with uncomfortable eyes as they spoke to Henry.

The sage rode his horse and looked at it silently, the people here were obviously a squadron, a total of 12 people. The cuirass and helmet were poorly maintained, all rusty, and clearly ill-fitting quantities, some of which were antiques from many years ago. The difference from modern cuirasses is the lack of an arc shape to accommodate deformation, so that when hit by a blunt object, the force is transmitted directly to the ribcage.

"How much?" "Unprovoked arguments are extremely wrong survival methods, after all, you can make more money when you run out, but if you don't have your life, you have nothing.

Young and vigorous mercenaries, especially male mercenaries, often compete for a bit of face and glory, and eventually lead to the separation of corpses. In contrast, women are more rational and calm.

Of course, such a word as a sage has nothing to do with our sage, but when he opened his mouth, he immediately noticed the subtle change in the other party's expression.

There was only a slight difference in movement, the corners of his mouth hung a little, and then several dirty Suomir youths in the back looked at each other. Their eyes swept over their armor, their horses, and the badge on their chests, and they looked at the girl next to them, whose hair had grown longer and had a light short ponytail.

Henry's eyebrows moved, and he gently stimulated the belly of the horse beneath him with his spurs, causing it to slowly move forward, while reaching for the leather bag hanging from his waist.

The smile on the defender's face was even greater, but the Roan Maiden noticed that the sage flicked Kramer's blade with the tip of his left foot with a very stealthy motion, causing it to change to an angle suitable for drawing.

She raised her vigilance, then moved the saddle as well, making it easier for her sword to be drawn from the saddle, and straightened up, ready to charge.

The defenders did not notice any details, and the fact that they lacked training was easily evident from their lazy standing posture and low vigilance. The level of combat quality of the garrison captain at the entrance of Cuihu Town is obviously a rare thing in today's Suomir, and whether they are watching from afar or passing by along the way, the vast majority of Suomir's infantry are more of a cannon fodder feeling that they are making do.

This was not the case with the former Talva-Suta Line.

Under the threat of the highland minorities and the attack of the Empire, even if the brilliance of the Great Swordsman is somewhat obscured, Suomir's infantry can confront the Lamanite Legion and the knights head-on.

But what has become of them now?

Because the royal family abandoned tradition and learned from the Lamanites and the mainstream development of the knightly class in the international community of Rigal today. The infantry was strained, but the vast Tarva-Suta defense line could not be held by a few knights. Therefore, there is still a need for a large number of infantry to be stationed.

There is no military spending, the equipment is backward, there is a lack of training, and military salaries are deducted. At a time when the veterans who were inclined to the Great Swordsmen had grown old or been forced away, the garrison in the Talva-Suta region could be said to have undergone a major change, but their position was still awkward.

Suomir's naïve queen decreed that the Great Swordsmen were uprooted from their homeland, and those with the slightest sense of crisis thought they would not stop there. It is doubtful whether there are still infantry in Talva-Suta, where the Great Swordsmen are traditionally stationed, are inclined to those Great Swordsmen.

In order to prevent them from biting back one day, the royal family and nobles need to have stronger, superior forces. So it stands to reason that insufficient training and outdated equipment are behaviors that are tacitly approved or even promoted by the top management.

It is not too much to say that grandpa doesn't love grandma or grandma.

Based on this premise, there should be no expectations for the basic literacy of the Tarva-Suta garrison. Their composition alone is already deeply doubtful.

After more than 20 years, the older generation of garrisons have been retired.

Today, more than 80 percent of the garrison comes from young people with minor criminal convictions.

According to the Yatina concept of "atonement", they were stationed here for three years before receiving forgiveness from the gods.

"Well, what a genius decision. Gather together a group of seventeen or eighteen-year-olds who are emotionally impulsive and have a criminal record and try to get them to repent under the grace of God. "Two days ago, I heard the explanation of our sage by the merchant's uncle, and this summary is obviously the opposite.

But even if they learned this, they didn't have much to do, and could only hope that the people who came out to find trouble were more sophisticated and had a bit of status. Because this kind of local snake tends to be more aware of current affairs, and is not as pushy as young people.

Sadly, this expectation has also been disappointed.

"How much. The other party did not answer his first question, which was raising his profile. Henry did not show displeasure, but approached the defenders, rode down and looked at them diagonally to ask questions again. It shows the appearance of knowing the current affairs.

These people were all Suomir's faces, with an average age of no more than 19 years, most of them were black-haired and blue-eyed, and a few were blue-eyed. He clutched his wallet, and his attitude and words were controlled within the scope of ordinary communication.

Young, impulsive kids are a more formidable opponent than seasoned fighters, as we've mentioned in the past. The same is true of the incident that led to Henry and Mira's meeting in the first place. The gangsters in the group will have a kind of arrogance in their eyes, the psychology of blind obedience in the group and the youthful vigor, and the wrong word and look at them may lead to things getting out of control.

This squadron without the elders and high-ranking people is an extremely unstable factor, but fortunately, how to deal with these people Henry is also in hand.

Summed up in four words -

"Follow him"

A young man with an excess of self-consciousness cannot be denied, and no matter how wrong you think he is, you can only follow him.

Especially people who are superior in equipment and appearance, who look a notch above them. Putting on a posture of equality or even a little low will make the other party feel that he is very important and a big man. And in this case, it is even less likely to touch the minefield.

"Huh. The gesture of the sage with the orange card and the Mithril brooch was clearly satisfying to their vanity, and the man at the head of the Hashiguchi squadron raised two fingers, and the people behind looked at each other and began to laugh, looking very satisfied.

Mira saw all of this, while Galeva behind her frowned and clenched her fists, looking very unhappy. When the simple-minded young man heard what the merchant had said about the cost of the road, he said on the spot: "The road was built by Her Majesty, and it is said that it is free to travel, so why should they pay for it?" Such words. But some things can't be summed up in a simple sentence or two, and it is very troublesome for him to explain clearly because his mind is not flexible enough. So Henry and Mira had to tell him to keep his mouth shut and not to talk nonsense, and let the sage take full authority to solve the problem.

"Jingle—" Henry pulled out two silver coins, noticing that the other's eyes had been glued to his wallet. It is the basic practice of going out to go out, but to be worthy of this outfit, he can't bring too little money, which will cause suspicion again. Therefore, the sage arranged the weight of the wallet in advance, and put about 20 silver coins in the wallet, without arousing the suspicion of hiding money and pretending to be poor, and also avoided the other party's sky-high price.

Sure enough, after taking a look at the weight of the money bag in Henry's hand, the other party opened his mouth and added in a heavily accented Lamani: "Everyone—"

See how much money you have on hand before asking. The psychology of the young man at the bottom, Henry obviously completely understands it.

Their undisguised smile and grin were unfazed in the sage's eyes, while Mira in the back remembered the crab's fable again.

She finally understood the moral of the story.

The other party's offer is based on what they are wearing and the size of the wallet in their hand.

In other words, it's a "special treatment" only for mercenaries who seem to mix well.

In the words of the departed merchant uncle, it was natural that these people would never dare to collect money from the nobles.

They only dare to accept people who are of the same civilian class as themselves, and for those who are slightly better-developed, the price will naturally be higher.

This is also the case in other parts of Suomir. A thriving herder may wake up one day to find that his livestock has been poisoned, and a restaurant that sells well suddenly becomes unpopular one day with rumors that his family's food source is problematic.

A few of these examples, such as the one encountered now, are actually profitable for the other side, but more often than not, they are detrimental to others and not to themselves.

Born in Avenella, who is only a few hundred years old, the Luoan girl doesn't know much about this kind of thing, and it is a matter of course.

The abundance of countries on the west coast and the precarious regimes of many kingdoms make it difficult to develop true traditions, especially in the Avenella-speaking regions. On the East Coast, where the situation is relatively more stable, especially in the Kingdom of Suomir, the entrenchment of class is far deeper than anyone thinks.

From the point of view of the East Coast, these "Vislan" barbarians are barbaric and brutal, and if they are dissatisfied with each other, it is natural to draw their swords against each other.

But this self-proclaimed so-called "civilization", the so-called "tradition", everything is extremely class-oriented and correct, and it is not inconspicuous, in Henry's words, it is the practice of "sweeping the dirt under the carpet and pretending to be clean".

Is it really good?

She remembered what had happened to the Soradin Heights.

What the knights of the church are doing coincides with the current situation.

What she didn't know in the past, not from the time-honored Raman culture, now seems clear.

Henry's anger that day can now be felt by her.

"In the second-rate adventures of the Padrossi, the tyrants are always reckless, and the populace is oppressed and afraid to resist. ”

But real-life tyrants don't need to be deliberately arrogant. ”

"Because the people will take the initiative to give themselves. ”

Suomir did not have a real tyrant, but this thousand-year-old history has been handed down from a solid social class, the traditions of this kingdom. Its core concept is like an unshakable tyrant who sits firmly on the throne, and cannot be eliminated forever.

That sums it up in four words.

It is to "keep to yourself".

What Mira couldn't understand was the way the paladins chased them in the Soladin Heights, and a series of actions that seemed ridiculous to her. In fact, it seems that the other party is an outlier on their side and should be excluded.

It is wrong for the lower classes to rebel against the upper classes.

You should keep to yourself, please your master, and have no other thoughts, no dissenting thoughts, or you will be denied even existence.

Foolish.

Perhaps it should be said to be sad.

It's like the fable of that crab. People who are trying to climb up, seek development, and want a better life, even if the upper class does not exert pressure, there will always be people in the same class who think that you are not comfortable enough and want to pull you back to the bottom of the pit.

This is not simply the word jealousy that can be summed up, but comes from the solidified class ideology peculiar to countries with a long history.

The shackles of the mind called "tradition".

Wagging their tails and begging for mercy for the upper classes, while the same class is slightly better mixed, they must be extorted and given special treatment.

They are happy to see those who are better mixed than themselves unlucky, out of the world, and preferably fall into a place of no return.

The country of "......." is very different from that of Avenella.

The girl suddenly felt a hint of apology for the sage in her heart, and after noticing these details, she suddenly understood the reason why Henry avoided talking about Suomir's affairs.

I don't know if it's what she had speculated, but the thought of Arvenella turning into this one day makes her heart feel flustered for no reason.

- The irritability was not over there, and after Henry took out six silver coins, the other man opened his mouth again: "Ah, you misunderstood, mercenary. ”

The young defender said in a flirtatious and pleasantly triumphant tone, while his companion behind him finally couldn't hold back a "hehe" giggle: "Not 2 silver coins for each of you, but for each of us." ”

"......" Mira fell silent, and Caleva pursed her lower lip, but Henry still looked breezy.

He let out an "oh" and tossed the whole purse over.

"Hey, count you as acquaintances. The young man opened the purse and examined the silver coins of Ella.

"Can you get through?" the sage asked, and the other glanced at him, then at Mira and Kaleva, and waved his hand, "Letaleta!" he shouted in Suomir, and then slouched along with the other eleven people on either side of the bridge.

"Let's go. Henry glanced back, and Mira and Galeva walked forward in silence.

"Phew—" The defenders whistled exaggeratedly as the Roan girl passed, young female mercenaries were not common anywhere, and in places where there were especially many puberty boys, their behavior was even more exaggerated.

The girl ignored them and just continued to pass.

The two rode up the solid wooden bridge, and although it cost a lot of money to make people a little aggrieved, it was finally not a bigger disaster. Mira breathed a sigh of relief, but before her breath could be replaced, her relieved heart was brought back again.

"Sasata (scum). The eldest son of the innkeeper, who had been silent for a long time, could not help but say this in a very small voice as he passed by.

"What the are you talking about?" the defender soldier who was splitting the silver coin turned his head, and the stubborn porter pursed his lips and grabbed the one-handed knife at his waist and turned back.

"Are you like this, are you still Her Majesty's soldiers, you don't have any sense of honor at all!"

"Smack. Mira cupped her forehead.

"......." Henry looked at her and shrugged.

"Come on, let's fight. The girl grabbed the reins, and then drew her sword with a "bang-" in one hand.