Late autumn in the southern part of the empire is a suitable season for traveling. Although the locals like the midsummer sunshine that best matches their national flower, the daisy, they can only enjoy it when sitting under an awning. If they want to go on a long journey, especially on unobstructed country roads, the nobles of Padrosi always bring a large parasol. As for the remaining civilians and mercenary classes who do not have sufficient financial resources, they always carry a large parasol. You will usually buy a high-quality and low-priced straw or rattan round-brimmed hat.
The temperature in late autumn is pleasant, neither too cold nor too hot. Compared with the equally cool spring, it is a little less annoyingly humid.
The dry and cool temperature is surrounded by forests that still retain a lot of green leaves on both sides. The refreshing breeze blows from the other side of the dirt path. When you are far away from the forest area, the golden rice fields are like a sea under the breeze. It's like a wave swaying from time to time. In the distance, the deep green colors of the mountains at the end of the Palohia Plateau form a strong contrast. Although the hills here are not as good as the world-famous Tambur Mountains on the west coast, they are also unique in their soft appearance.
People call the unique color at the end of the Palohia Plateau where it meets the skyline "horizon blue" or "royal blue", and this is exactly what Padrosi Royal has to offer besides black and gold. A representative color.
This kind of royal blue requires a variety of precious magic ores to be ground and mixed before it can be made. The cost is extremely high, and even if ordinary people want to forge it, the gain outweighs the gain. Therefore, it is still the representative color of the royal family and royal branches - but let us The words return to their original place.
Autumn is a suitable season for traveling, and there are also people who hold different opinions on this statement - such as Henry and the two new members of his new team with the name "Little Explorers".
They have their own reasons why adventurers, hunters and other professionals who are out all year round don't wear black clothes, and even leather armors tend to choose brown.
In addition to the fact that black attracts heat, insects are also attracted to this color.
So naturally, Filippo and Ferruccio, who were wearing black noble tights that were not suitable for long-distance operations, became the targets of bees and various other insects.
"Ahhhhhhh——!" Filippo, who was already so irritated on horseback that he couldn't stop scratching his head and cheeks, didn't mention that although the old butler Ferruccio could still maintain his composure, he kept silent and observed carefully. However, the veins near the temples have also popped out, obviously he is just controlling himself.
It was common sense on the barbaric west coast. In the more civilized Padrosi Empire, the aristocracy, which was alienated from the wild and lived in large mansions surrounded by man-made buildings in big cities, had nothing to do with it. known.
These differences in details caused our white-haired girl to have some thoughts. She recalled that "the higher the level of civilization, the more fragile and vulnerable it is" preached in the Laman text she carried with her, which originally made her displeased. I agree with the theory. Now, as my knowledge increases, I can understand it more or less.
The so-called civilized society of the civilized world is based on a complex class structure and various systems. It is different from the "Wisland" - that is, the West Coast - region that is defined as "barbaric" by the people on the east coast, just like Pal In big cities like Nila, the upper-class people living in them are actually out of touch with nature.
Services in all aspects of their lives are provided by servants, they eat food prepared for them, and wear clothes carefully made by craftsmen. They only need to do a good job of using their brains in politics and business.
By dedicating people to specialization, the ruling class can concentrate solely on their own management work - this is the cornerstone of a highly developed society and a prosperous empire, but it also limits their capabilities as "individuals".
Once the stable social order no longer exists, and the servant class that serves them and takes care of their food, clothing, and daily life leaves for various reasons, these aristocratic gentlemen will become as weak as ducks waiting to be slaughtered.
This is true not only at the individual level, but also at the national level as a whole. The more savage and turbulent people on the west coast have long been accustomed to wandering around, and it is their instinct to work hard to reclaim their homes in the wilderness. And people who enjoy these conveniences and services in civilized society, once they lose them, do not even have the most basic common sense, and are destined to be in an even more difficult situation.
So from this perspective, it is true that countries with higher levels of civilization are more vulnerable.
"Go to the village in front later and buy clothes from the local villagers. Although they are not used by mercenaries." Henry said to the two of them. Filippo was busy chasing away the insects and didn't hear. The old butler Feru Joe turned around and nodded, agreeing with him.
When chasing Henry and the other three, he and Filippo took a relatively wide avenue and had already suffered a lot of insect harassment. Now the closer we go to the countryside, the roads become narrower and the vegetation becomes more lush, and the number of insects increases.
There are five horses and a carriage, two people who look like they are from noble families, and two mercenaries wearing exquisite breastplates. Against this background, Margaret looks like an inconspicuous little follower. . However, this difference in appearance has become a disguised protection to some extent, so even the impulsive young Filippo did not express any objection to this.
After all, he still has some brains. After all, he is from the upper class and has experienced sufficient education. However, due to his young age and arrogance, he is not calm and steady in his work.
The flatbed carriage is very sturdy, and the adaptability of human beings is fully demonstrated here. The initial bumps made the noble lady's bones feel sore when she got up every day, as if they were about to fall apart. Unknowingly, she had become accustomed to the hard and vibrating seat, and even subconsciously stopped when encountering uneven roads. Start controlling your body posture to prepare yourself for the situation.
If you think about it carefully, judging from her age and noble status, this young lady can be considered strong.
Although this kind of life has long been a habit for Mira and Henry, most people have to travel continuously to sleep in cheap hotels, farmers' simple residences or even in the suburbs, complain a few words or put on a show when they wake up every morning. It's natural to have a bad face. But Margaret was not like this. Although she was indeed a little listless, she did not lose her aristocratic temper.
But even so, her instinctive bullying behavior in Amalfi still left a thorn in the heart of the white-haired girl.
In fact, in the final analysis, considering Margaret's upbringing environment, she was not at fault. The butler Ferruccio's subsequent behavior of protecting her and letting her do this and even threatening to terminate the contract was even more excessive. But Mira didn't get angry at him. The fundamental reason was that the two met for the first time. She had seen a lot of this kind of aristocratic behavior before, so the impression left in Mira's heart was just that "Ferruccio is such a person." Typical aristocrat."
And Margaret had a pretty good impression on her during their previous interactions, so the Luoan girl also had some protective feelings towards her. Now that she saw her doing that kind of thing, Mira was immediately I felt like I was betrayed, and I couldn't get over this hurdle.
Intellectually, she can understand Margaret's behavior, but emotionally, she just can't accept it all.
The silence between the two people made the atmosphere in the team somewhat awkward. Fortunately, there was no need for too much conversation while walking.
The clouds were rolling and relaxing, and today's not-so-hot sunshine was falling and leaving intermittently. By almost lunch time, they finally arrived at another village near Amalfi.
This small village far away from the main road always has a leisurely scene. Fortunately, there are some travelers here, so there is not much problem with food and accommodation. However, their equipment looked very different from the poor mercenaries on foot, and they attracted a lot of attention when they arrived at the hotel.
People always judge people by their appearance. Although it is cruel to say this, when you are ugly and dressed in rags, 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 dominated by the jungle, and deliberately making yourself look weak and vulnerable will only cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.
A sharp sword can make an opponent retreat without having to pull it out of its scabbard, so a certain degree of performance on the outside is actually a self-protection measure.
What I have to mention here is why our Mr. Sage was dressed in such a virtuous manner when he first met Mira. According to his own words.
still.
"Because of poverty."
——The words return to their original place.
The space occupied by five horses and a carriage was a bit large for such a small village, so they encountered a lot of trouble during the parking stage. In the end, it took more than ten minutes to find an old barn without a door nearby, and I borrowed it for the time being.
The horses ridden by Filippo and Ferruccio were obviously top-notch Padrosi horses. They were parked in a barn a few minutes' walk away. Even the calm old butler seemed a little uneasy. This was Not to mention young people who always show their emotions on their faces.
If it weren't for the sense of mission to protect Margaret that controlled him, Filippo would probably have slept in this temporary stable tonight. And even as they returned to the small hotel together, the young man turned around every step of the way, with a worried look on his face that made his whole face look like a bitter melon.
After finally returning to the hotel, Filippo spent a lot of money and repeatedly told the owner of the hotel that he would send someone to guard the war horses. The intensity of his words and tone made our white-haired girl very unhappy, but she had also decided Just do your own job and stop meddling in other people's business.
The group of five people, who were already very high-profile in appearance, attracted more attention because of Filippo's behavior of running to explain to the boss again and again. Henry looked at the surrounding scene with the corner of his eyes. In addition to him and Mira, the old butler Ferruccio also noticed this.
Although Filippo was the only one wearing a sword, he had called Filippo to stop after the sage showed off the disarming skills of advanced swordsmanship. In addition, he was aware of the potential hostility in the surrounding environment. It was obvious that this old man had He is also engaged in combat profession, and his attainments are not too low.
"If there are any nefarious people, please do your best. I will guard the young lady." He walked over and said to Henry and Mira. The sage nodded, while the girl Luo An was noncommittal. .
When it comes to staying in hotels, the gap between Padrosi and the West Coast is more or less reflected. The two people who had mercenary badges when checking in were asked to take out their badges for a simple registration. This requirement was not actually useful except for the so-called promotion of "let people know that the mercenaries have arrived, so as to facilitate the entrustment". Digging deeper is still part of the overt and covert struggle between this thousand-year empire and the huge mercenary union organization.
After all, mercenaries are a group of armed men. If you want to curb disputes, you must start from the source. This is why the empire has strict regulations on carrying weapons. The inscription regulations of some provinces even stipulate that civilians who are not nobles or mercenaries are not even allowed to own combat swords. This is used to control weapons and avoid disputes to maintain stable rule.
Under these conditions, although the empire would grant privileges to the mercenaries out of mutual benefit and allow them to carry weapons, it did not mean that they were completely free.
All registered mercenaries must hand in their mercenary badges for registration when they arrive at the hotel. This mandatory requirement can make it easier for the Imperial Security Guard to quickly target targets when someone causes trouble or bloody conflicts. And if the people arrested and causing trouble according to the records are indeed official mercenaries with registered 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 side off and gain greater initiative. .
The details of this kind of overt and covert fighting can be seen even in remote towns, but for Henry and the others who do not intend to actively provoke disputes, such behavior will only add some trouble at most.
After completing the check-in procedures, the feeling of hunger due to the rush since the morning also hit me at the right time. The common tables, chairs and other daily necessities in Padrosi seemed a bit small for Mira and Henry. In order to sit comfortably on the chairs, they had to untie their armed belts again and lean their swords against them. One side of the table.
Since the horses and carriage had to be placed far away, they also brought Mira's books, Henry's sword, and spare clothes wrapped in linen. Even though the Sage's sword was wrapped in a thick layer of linen, those familiar with fighting could still tell what it was from its general appearance.
"Can you take a look -" Filippo was just about to sit down. The astonishing size that could be seen wrapped in linen attracted his attention. Although he was using a question, this impulsive young man from a noble family caught his attention. The man was obviously not prepared to be rejected. He stretched out his hand directly to Kramer, and Henry grabbed his wrist like lightning.
"Ah, it hurts -" Although the sage let go in an instant, Filippo, who retracted his arm reflexively, still had a red mark on his left wrist. He covered his wrist and massaged it continuously to relieve the pain. , and at the same time felt frightened by Henry's amazing grip strength.
"No." The sage smiled at him, and then uttered these two words. His tone was calm, but he could not refuse.
"Tch, if you can't, you can't. Why use so much force?" After muttering such words, Filippo felt a little scared in his heart - because less than a day ago, he had not overestimated his ability and tried to challenge this tall servant. Bing, just one grasp this time made me feel my bones trembling. If I had really used weapons to fight at that time, I would have been dead and dismembered.
"Pfft--" But his behavior somewhat relieved the awkward atmosphere in the team. Mira laughed softly, and after the others sat down, the risotto was very Padrosi-style. Fried noodles and delicious meatballs mixed with minced meat and condiments and fried in lard were served.
Compared with the meals I had at the slightly larger hotel before, the food and beverage service of this smaller but privately owned hotel was far inferior.
Being located in a village, fresh ingredients and less foot traffic meant that the shop owner had time and energy to spend on making delicious food. Just smelling the aroma made the hungry group of five people have a strong appetite.
"Ding——" The small sound of the collision between the dinner plate and the iron tableware was heard.
This is the eighth day of the adventure.
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Note: Padrosi Empire law classifies swords with a total length of more than 70 centimeters as combat swords.
