“Ratahn, on leave today?”
“That’s right. I don’t have guard duty today, so I can take a break.”
“Brother Ratahn, would you like some scallion pancakes?”
“Sure, give me a few.”
“Ratahn, sending another letter to your sister?”
“Haha, well, I got a promotion, so I have to share the good news with the family.”
On the way from the post office back to the cathedral, Ratahn encountered many residents of Eldenborg and greeted every one of them.
Since being promoted by Master Leon to personal guard and assistant a few days ago, Ratahn felt his life improving day by day.
He was originally the son of a blacksmith in a remote village of the Heron Empire. After testing positive for the talent to ignite his bloodline and become a bloodline warrior, he was able to leave his hometown and head to the big city to serve as a noble’s guard.
However, talent did not equate to strength.
Possessing the potential to become a bloodline warrior did not mean one would definitely ignite their bloodline and step into the transcendent realm.
Fortunately, he had never slacked during his time as a guard.
After completing his duties, he privately persisted in three hours of bloodline-ignition training every day.
After three years of accumulation, he finally succeeded in igniting his bloodline, advancing to the transcendent realm and becoming a true bloodline warrior.
Afterward, he used the ten gold coins he had saved to buy his freedom from the noble and passed the selection to officially become a proud warrior of the Falcon Warband.
Being able to join the Falcon Warband was already enough to satisfy Ratahn.
After all, he had no noble background and no extraordinary talent—it had taken him three full years just to ignite his bloodline. Without a major stroke of luck, he would likely spend his entire life reaching no further than the Silver rank.
Just when he thought his career would peak at the Falcon Warband, a turning point quietly arrived—he was reassigned to Master Leon’s side.
Furthermore, Master Leon didn't care at all about his peasant-born blacksmith background. He appreciated Ratahn's abilities and promoted him to personal guard and trusted assistant in one fell swoop!
After becoming a trusted assistant, not only did his weekly salary increase, but his status within the warband rose as well.
Colleagues who previously looked down on him because of his origins now patted his shoulder with envious expressions, saying they would rely on him for favors in the future.
However, Ratahn always remained clear-headed.
He knew where his duties lay. He kept his obligations as the young master's assistant in mind at all times, never daring to slacken for a moment because of the flattery of others.
“Ratahn, these are fresh peaches I just picked from the farm. Would you like to try some?”
At that moment, Ratahn felt a light tap on his shoulder, and a crisp, cheerful voice rang out behind him.
Hearing the voice, Ratahn turned slightly to look.
He saw a young girl in a long blue dress holding a basket full of peaches. She pursed her lips slightly and asked with an air of feigned indifference.
The blue dress, the girl, and even her pursed lips were all very beautiful.
However, the two scars on the girl's cheeks marred that beauty.
The girl's name was Michaela, a slave rescued from the estate of a female mill owner in Eldenborg.
Ratahn still remembered when he had followed Master Leon into that estate to rescue the slaves. Michaela had been covered in filth and mud, huddled in a corner and trembling violently.
Even after being rescued, she had hidden in the crowd, her eyes filled with nothing but terror.
It wasn't until the young master executed the mill owner and the corrupt nobles on the gallows in front of all the slaves.
It wasn't until the young master seized the estates of those mill owners and nobles, using a portion of their wealth to compensate the poor slaves and helping them find jobs within Eldenborg.
That was the first time Ratahn had seen an emotion other than fear and dread on Michaela's face.
It was an emotion called hope.
He solemnly accepted the peaches that Michaela claimed were “accidentally extra and couldn't be sold.” Ratahn watched as Michaela skipped away into the distance, then he turned and walked toward the Rose Cathedral with a smile.
Along the way, Ratahn listened to the residents of Eldenborg discussing Master Leon’s campaign against the Mad Shark King.
He heard them talking about the execution ceremony of the seventeen nobles in Stormveil City two days ago.
He heard their amazement that Master Leon had actually used the money seized from the nobles to compensate the residents, hire the liberated slaves, and build roads and bridges within the fortress.
Hearing these voices, Ratahn felt a deep sense of pride—he was now the trusted guard of the Master Leon everyone was talking about!
Returning to the Rose Cathedral, Ratahn saw the guards outside preparing the ox-horse, while Master Leon was walking out of the cathedral.
“Are you going out, Young Master?” Ratahn asked.
“Ratahn.” Leon nodded to him. “I’m heading to Stormveil City to see the scholar from the Society for the Study of Abnormal Creatures. There are new research results on the turret monster you delivered earlier.”
“Young Master, please let me come along,” Ratahn said hurriedly.
“I’ve been to the Society for the Study of Abnormal Creatures once, so I know how to get there once we enter the city.”
Leon pondered for half a second before saying, “Then come along. By the way, today is your day off. Coming with me counts as overtime, so I’ll give you overtime pay.”
Ratahn waved his hands quickly. “Young Master, about the overtime pay...”
“Take it if I give it to you,” Leon interrupted him.
“The thing I hate most is making people work overtime without paying them.”
“Besides, how much is your overtime pay anyway? If word got out that I, Leon Douglas, don't pay for overtime, wouldn't people look down on me?”
Ratahn: “...”
Ratahn bowed respectfully to Leon in gratitude. He then quickly returned to his room to set down the basket of peaches, grabbed his black spear, and came back out. He mounted his horned horse and took his place as a guard at Leon's side.
...
Passing through the gates of Stormveil City, Ratahn, who was beside the ox-horse carriage, rode forward to lead the way.
Leon sat in the carriage, looking at the street scenery outside.
“《Hearthstone Spire Slay》 card packs! Freshly arrived Hearthstone Spire Slay card packs! The Leon Douglas character card has been greatly buffed with the new addition: 【Actual: Fall of the Mad Shark King】! Come and take a look!”
“Old man, why has the price of your ore gone up so much! Are you trying to scam me?”
“Bullshit! The ore I, Dunst, sell is known for its quality. I charge the market price; how could I scam you? We’re at war with the Nightmare Empire, so of course the price of ore is going up!”
“I mean, even if it goes up, it shouldn't jump by thirty percent!”
“Go ask the ore suppliers in the city then! They’ve been controlling the price hikes since two months ago! And if you want to buy fine iron ore now, not only is the price higher, but you also have to provide a purchase permit...”
Listening to the argument between a blacksmith and a small merchant, Leon suddenly recalled what some priests from merchant families in the capital had said during his priest examination—that their fathers were often so busy they didn't come home for days.
“Even back then, the Sage King was already positioning for war, stockpiling war materials in advance...”
Leon thought to himself.
To be honest, this kind of strategic stockpiling was handled incredibly discreetly.
Never mind Leon, even the butler Old Hunter, who was known for being extremely sensitive to prices, hadn't noticed any abnormal price movements on the eve of the war, viewing them only as routine market fluctuations...
“Young Master, we’ve arrived at the Society for the Study of Abnormal Creatures.”
Ratahn’s voice came from outside. Leon gave an affirmative “Mm” and stepped down from the ox-horse carriage.
Outside, Scholar Sebastian had already been waiting for a long time.
Rate on N.U.
