October 16, 1443, Second Age.
When the distant mountains are decorated with red leaves, woolen cloaks and cashmere scarves are delivered to everyone. In the crowded corridor of Homemonworth, the girls put on new autumn and winter clothes, which is a bit more refreshing than the summer.
Griffith leaned against the tall pillar at the corner, glanced at the people passing by, and asked in a low voice:
"are you done?"
"Okay, okay! (The goods are very good!)"
The boys gathered around him breathed a sigh of relief. Just as they were about to disperse, Galadia jumped down from the high handrail and grabbed the trainee knight's sleeve, as if she had finally caught him.
"What are you doing? I smell something bad."
Homework's classes are so intense and arduous that even changing classrooms between classes requires everyone to jog to catch up. A group of people gathered together, which looked suspicious.
"Nothing! (It's your illusion!)"
The twin boys standing aside yelled, then quickly stuffed something into Griffith's hand, turned around and ran away.
For several weeks, besides public classes, Griffith only met Galadia a few times by chance when passing by the corridor. There were a few times when the elf seemed to want to say something to him, but he left in a hurry before finishing his polite words.
"You must be doing something bad!" The elf's ears perked up, "Tell me!"
"Do you have any plans for the Frost Festival?" Griffith, who had received something from the twins, patted his pockets and tried his best to suppress the corners of his mouth.
"Are you going to treat me to something delicious and spicy!?" Galadia raised her thin eyebrows, "No, I can't wait that long, I'll go today. I'm almost exhausted."
NICE!
Griffith reached into his pocket and felt around.
From time to time, Homemon Watts would ask to purchase learning supplies and textbooks, especially textbooks which were so expensive that even second-hand books cost several silver dollars. There are also several restaurants and cafes in Homemonworth outside the public canteen, which girls like very much, and there are also extra expenses there.
In addition to purchasing pharmaceuticals and auxiliary materials for experiments...
Just like in the Legion, Griffith felt that his money was being spent like water, and he could not keep his monthly allowance at all. Without additional rewards from the mission, Griffith's salary was only 26 silver francs and 12 centimes. The other Shutoral were as poor as he was.
But hey, I have other options.
Counting the money the twins had just put into his hand, Griffith still had an extra 200 silver francs saved! All this money was made from selling privately brewed wine. Even if part of the operating reserve is deducted, it is still appropriate to have a few meals and buy some gifts... Griffith counted the jingling silver coins, cheered up and said:
"OK!"
After saying this, Griffith suddenly felt as if he had had an illusion.
Less than ten centimeters to his right, Galadia was looking at him with a strange expression. It was an expression that was a mixture of nervousness, worry and anticipation, with a hint of relief and relief that one had wished for, familiar yet strange, as if the girl had been waiting for an epoch to finally get something.
"You really have something to hide from me." The elf muttered.
…
Go out from the west gate of Homemon Watts and walk through the grass on the cliffs and the stone bridge hanging high over the rapids. Outside the checkpoint is the town of Baltimore.
The town is built on a gentle slope by the quiet seaside, with solid and cold black rocks at its feet and almost no gentle sandy beaches.
It is the property of the school, and most of the families of professors and employees live in the town. Hundreds of visiting scholars come from all over the world every year. If they don't want to live in a dormitory, they can rent a house in the town with a living room, bedroom, study room and two bathrooms.
To serve the academy and its scholars, as well as their families and servants, a whole street of shops, bookstores, restaurants, barbershops, and public baths was built in the town. To provide housing for those who worked on the streets, the town spread out on a gentle slope toward the sea, where hospitals, schools, cobblestone streets, and docks were built.
With such good public facilities, nearby cargo ship owners moved their routes a little further and built chambers of commerce, warehouses and horse-drawn carriage companies in the town that extended further west.
Then, it became like this...
Even after the lights are turned off in Homonworth, you can still see the bright lights of the town from the windows and towers of the castle, like the winding Milky Way in the sky.
On the long street that connects the east and west of the town, you can see the professors and students of Homemonworth by just opening the door of a bar or restaurant. Without the constraints of school rules, as long as you wear a wide hood, no one will know what you are doing.
"How about that one?" Griffith walked on the edge of the sidewalk with one foot deep and one foot shallow, pointing to the elegant little restaurant in front.
Galadia kept squeezing him. The two of them were walking on a wide and flat sidewalk, but the elf didn't walk in a straight line, almost squeezing him under the sidewalk.
Isn't the sidewalk quite spacious... Griffith glanced at his companion doubtfully.
"No, this family!" The girl suddenly grabbed his arm, dragged him into an alley, pushed open the small wooden door, and shouted to the shopkeeper:
"Two portions of hot lamb, baby greens, sugar garlic and sauce! And butter beer!"
"Okay, here comes the mutton-boiled meat!" The shopkeeper chopped the mutton quickly and gestured to the front position with his kitchen knife.
"Hurry up, hurry up, I'm so hungry that my stomach is going to perforate." Galadia pressed the trainee knight to the small table, turned around and brought in two bowls of chopped garlic.
"This is sugar garlic." The elf peeled it off skillfully.
You actually eat this! Griffith was shocked. The garlic leaves a taste in your mouth and is said to scare away vampires!
The clerk quickly brought a strange-looking copper pot and lit charcoal underneath. The copper pot was filled with water, and there were many red dates, wolfberries, mushrooms, chopped green onions and coriander floating in the water.
"This pot is pretty good~" Griffith didn't know how to start, so he praised the pot first.
"This is called mutton-shabu hot pot, and it's popular in my hometown and the Sebasto region!" The elf picked up some pickled cucumbers and peanuts with his thin chopsticks and ate it. "It will definitely be promoted to the whole world in the future!"
"Fairy food?"
"No, no, no, it was invented by your tribe, the great Knight Roland, the one in the ballad." The girl shook her head and looked at the shop owner who was chopping the meat expectantly.
Roland Knight can also invent this! So versatile... Griffith thought with admiration.
"He also invented the shabu-shabu with spices! I can't eat it because it's too spicy, but many people like it!" Galadia took the cut mutton and poured it into the copper pot, " No wonder he has been unknown in recent years and thinks about what to eat every day."
The clerk brought a strange jiujiang sauce to the two of them, which was served on a small plate and smelled good.
"Quick! Mutton won't taste good when it's old!" The elf picked up a few pieces of meat at lightning speed, dipped it in sauce and put it into his mouth.
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and stopped as if she was electrocuted.
"What's wrong?"
"Well, um, um, I don't know if it's cooked yet~" the girl stammered, putting the chopsticks in her hand to Griffith's mouth, "Try to take a bite first."
Okay, no problem, aren’t you just worried that it’s not cooked yet? I even eat raw meat. Griffith swallowed the hotpot in his mouth.
this!
The indescribably delicious and somewhat scalding mutton makes the hungry stomach wriggle wildly. The delicate meat is neither greasy nor greasy, and has an irresistible temptation. It's as if once you take the first bite, you can never leave it again.
It’s so delicious that my friends can’t even eat it just for this bite of mutton!
"Is it delicious?" The elf looked at the apprentice knight with a smile, and the happiness on his face was as if he was eating it.
"It's wonderful," the trainee knight picked up a piece while chewing, "and it's cooked to perfection."
"real?"
"Really," Griffith didn't think too much. He took his own hot-pot mutton, dipped it in some sauce, and put it towards the elf's mouth. "You try it."
For a moment, Galadia raised her eyebrows and leaned back slightly, with a bit of surprise and hesitation on her smiling face. She opened her mouth, lifted up her long hair and took a bite, making an imperceptible hum.
Griffith felt like his bones were brittle.
This seems a little wrong...
The two of them were silent for a moment, then they couldn't help but lean back, sit a little more upright, and began to eat the boiled mutton each.
…
"Well, what have you been busy with lately?"
Galadia held it in for a long time before she said this, and she lowered her eyes and stared at the mutton in the pot.
"Veronos asked me to serve as an assistant in the alchemy course. I learned a lot about potions and even made some for myself." Griffith reported on the progress of the work.
"anything else?"
"Do you know about Nanyuan's grapes? I picked some at the beginning of the school year and put them in pumpkins to make wine. It was very successful. I'll give you a taste some other time."
Although he didn't know why, Griffith felt something was wrong with the atmosphere and reported on the revenue-generating work in detail.
"Hey! Why do you still have this skill!" Galadia took a sip of butterbeer, "You sell moonshine to everyone! How much money did you make?"
"Not too much, not too much, almost 200 silver francs."
"Hey, you guys~ Then you can treat me to this meal," the elf's face returned to a brisk smile, "Just because of this, your after-school time must be filled up."
"Yes," Griffith said with a little pain when he said this, "I originally wanted to investigate the relationship between Isis and the Beyelancook gang, as well as the origin of his magical creatures, but I delayed it because I didn't have time. Fortunately, wine won’t take up time anymore, so I’m free again.”
"Thank you for knowing that, boss, let me have another beer!" The girl complained dissatisfiedly, "Don't you regret that all your time has been wasted?"
Her face was already stained with a light blush, and the butterbeer was quite strong.
"It's okay~" Griffith was sure something was wrong, but he couldn't explain it. "I want to prepare a Frost Festival gift, and I can't give flower tea this time."
"Ah, you said this," the elf suddenly became energetic and his eyes became much gentler, "it's enough for the gift to be thoughtful."
…
"By the way, I asked the people from Larmore House to help me investigate the intelligence of Isis, the Cook gang and Rudias. They should give me a letter after a while. Your imprisoned tribesman, What happened next? Do you have any clues?"
After dinner, Griffith took the elf back who still wanted to play elsewhere. Tomorrow is not a rest day once a week. It would not be good if you miss the door or delay tomorrow's work.
"Nothing can be found~" The elf, who smelled of alcohol, gently pressed against his arm and staggered forward.
There seems to be some wonderful flavor fermenting in the autumn night.
Maybe now is a good time.
Griffith's thoughts turned around a few times. Why did Galadia go to the vicinity of Manisa Village and meet him there? He had always wanted to know the answer to this question, but he had never had the chance to ask.
"Now, there's something I've been thinking about for a long time," Griffith lowered his head slightly and leaned close to the elf's ear.
The drunk elf seemed to suddenly pause. He glanced at the trainee knight with somewhat blurred eyes and quickly looked away.
"That's right." Griffith began to consider his words.
"Ah~ I feel so dizzy~" Galadia suddenly pulled her hood, lowered her head, and hurriedly walked towards the stone bridge.
what happened? I haven't said anything yet. Griffith kept up the pace and looked around.
Not far from the shopping street, a group of first-year students from Homemon Watts were chatting and laughing outside the bar. The two of them walked away from the crowd inconspicuously, avoiding everyone's sight.
They almost saw it. Griffith suddenly realized that it would be a little inconvenient if his classmates saw him and Galadia alone.
Among a group of laughing classmates, Griffith discovered Aaron's figure. I haven't seen him do anything special since that night. With impeccable elegance, he quietly drank in a corner of the crowd. The cheerful freshmen were chatting and laughing, but they looked like followers trying to clear the way for him.
Griffith couldn't help but stare at Aaron in the crowd for a while. At this moment, he suddenly noticed a man walking past Aaron in the bar, and seemed to secretly hand something to him.
This man was wearing a tight hood. Before Griffith could take a closer look, the boy with blond hair and red eyes had already turned his gaze and looked at Griffith outside the bar with an irresistible and deep look.
The trainee knight's heart suddenly accelerated. He hurriedly avoided Aaron's gaze and took a detour with the elf.
