After the cake was distributed, the birthday party ended quickly.
When Ed went downstairs carrying the file paper given to him by Mr. Eaton, the late-night drinking party at the bar was in full swing: Quinn and Anvil were playing a game of finger-stitching, and Byakuya and Sea Monster were sitting aside. Just watching the show.
"I think you should just admit defeat with dignity, big guy, do you know why we never play this game? She was better than me when she was fourteen years old." Byakuya said sarcastically.
"Shut up!" Anvil roared with a fierce look on his face. After drinking a glass of wine, he took out a small gold coin from his pocket and slapped it on the table, "Do it again, this time I will double your bet for a whole pound."
"Please." Quinn pulled out the butterfly-wing folding knife inserted on the bar table with a smile and poured half a bottle of whiskey into the bottle.
Okay, I finally know where those bumpy scratches on the bar come from... Ed thought to himself.
"Hey, the birthday boy is finally back." Bai Ya was the first to notice Ed and waved, "Come and sit here for a while, the fun will start soon."
"Is it really necessary to make it so bloody?"
Ed knew that he would definitely not be able to persuade these two people, so he had to pull out a chair and sit down to watch the show.
"What's the point? Compared to revolver roulette, this is already considered a civilized sport." Byakuya said with a smile, "By the way, do you want to make a small bet?"
"Don't listen to him, Ed. This kid must have no good intentions." The sea monster interrupted.
"Okay, then I'll bet on Quinn, how much are you going to bet?" Ed shrugged and said indifferently.
"No, no! If we all bet on Quinn, we won't have to bet."
"But you said it yourself that Quinn is very good at this. She could beat you at the age of 14."
"I was...forget it, otherwise, you bet on the anvil: if you win, the 20 pounds you owe me will be written off from now on; if you lose, just give me a shilling."
The odds of 1:400 sound like a gamble worth taking.
Although I know that Quinn is very powerful, Anvil can still have a 1% winning rate... The northerners are very good at playing this, after all, they invented this game.
"Okay, I'll follow."
Ed nodded, took a long glass from the table, poured some rum at the bottom, and then filled it with Clear Sky soda:
"By the way, Byakuya...how did you catch my one-eyed spider?"
"It's a long story." Byakuya shook the wine glass in his hand and said, "Have you ever heard of the Ranger Corps?"
Ed nodded. The Rangers were the oldest native force in Lyria, long before the Northern Invasion and "Sunfire" Howl unified Lyria.
The original "rangers" were voluntarily formed by hunters with 3-10 years of experience to resist plunderers from other areas who robbed the precious resources of the White Howling Forest.
The founding monarch "Sunfire" Hal was keenly aware of the huge war potential of these well-trained archers, and sent people to form an alliance with them.
In order to consolidate the friendship between the two, the leader of the rangers even sent his second son to Prince Hal's military camp to follow him. This second son was the ancestor of the later Oakland family, the famous "Aoki Shield" ” Brandon.
"...My ancestors once swore to guard the White Howling Forest from generation to generation, and my father and my uncles also retained this skill. The ranger's unique trap - it can catch everything from birds to beasts, and I am They are all simple and practical tips that I have been hearing since I was a child. If you want to learn them, I can teach you someday."
Bai Ya shook his head, quite proud of this.
At this moment, the winner of the game on the side has already been decided:
"That's not fair!" Anvil dropped the dagger, wiped the blood from his fingers, and his face turned red. "Her fingers are much thinner than mine!"
"Giggle...yeah, her knife is much sharper than yours. Come on, Brother Anvil, if you are not as good as others, you have to be willing to admit defeat. If you are willing, you should return that shilling to our Mr. Three-Legged Cat." "The sea monster said with a strange smile on the side.
But Anvil felt that he had lost face and kept chattering:
"It's not about technology. She is not human at all. Even if her fingers are cut off, they can still grow back. What else can be compared..."
Suddenly, there was a terrifying, bone-shattering noise that almost overturned the cup on the table.
Everyone hurriedly turned their heads, only to see the butterfly-wing folding knife nailed to Quinn's white left palm, and blood gushing out like a spring——
And it was her own right hand that was holding the handle of the knife.
What on earth is she doing? !
"Quinn, what are you..." Anvil was also frightened by the sudden change and said hesitantly.
Ed thought Quinn would be angry, but he didn't expect that she just pulled out the blade from the nailed left hand and stared at the bloody hole in her palm for a while. Her eyes were full of shock and confusion, as if even she herself I don’t know what happened:
"I..." She stood up and said hoarsely, "I'm going out to get some air."
After saying that, she opened the door and walked into the vast rain.
"Did I say something wrong?" Even the fuzzy beard couldn't hide the embarrassment on Anvil's face, "I didn't mean that, I meant..."
"Okay, okay, what's the use of talking about this when everyone is gone."
Ed casually threw a shilling on the table, turned the golden coin around, and put it into his pocket:
"...I'm going to see what's going on. It shouldn't be a big deal. You can continue."
After that, he took a dark umbrella from the umbrella stand and rushed up.
…
