Mercenaries and Adventurers

The bard known as 'Felicis the Singing' obviously had a brush with this nickname.

At this moment, the bard who walked to the center of the newly arranged stage changed into a spiritual close-fitting costume. He had a clean face and carefully shaved off the beard on his face. He had a head of blond hair that he didn't know whether it was natural or dyed. It was combed into a chic hairstyle. The upper body is a close-fitting moon white sleeveless blended vest. The naked strong arms are made of the same moon white fabric as wrist guards, and on the edge of each cloth wrist guard, there are exaggeratedly hanging bunches of bright silver. hanging ornaments.

Matching the upper body is a pair of equally tight-fitting moon-white trousers, which have a strong sense of luxury and are sewn with some vertically written phrases in a small amount of high-class aristocratic language whose content is unclear.

A golden cloth belt that fit the status of today's businessmen was wrapped around his waist in a simple but neat way, and a moon-white flute was simply inserted into the belt.

The bard wore a pair of white leather sandals and walked steadily to the center of the stage. He saluted first to the head of the banquet with a smile on his face, then to the ladies who smiled at him, and finally to the expressionless businessman. Gentlemen.

Obviously, most of the middle-aged men present felt that they were severely suppressed in terms of charm by this pretty boy.

That's why no one looks good on the bard.

But the bard who was used to seeing this kind of scene showed no fear. He took out the flute from his waist with a graceful movement and did not play it. Instead, he simply waved it like a band conductor's baton.

"Guys, let's get started."

He said this in a crisp and playful tone, and it was obvious from the music that followed that this sentence was addressed to the band.

The band played a low and long piece of music. When I first heard it, I felt like I was on a vast and boundless grassland. The sky was blue and broad, and seemed to be boundless. Also broad, it seemed that there were everyone's hearts.

"I created this when I went to the western provinces last year to collect folk songs. I feel sorry for a young girl because she met the passionate me."

"This "You Will Never Look Back" is for everyone I love."

The minstrel waved the flute in his hand, and the musicians who saw the movement changed the music and officially entered the program. A confident and gentle voice sounded, and he sang:

“After the heavy summer rain, the new rain comes.”

"Excited hearts, huge crowds."

“Like a lamb when it first descends, it follows its elder brother and sister on their journey.”

"Human beings are a migrating group. When we gather together, you and I are so alike."

"Ah - they fell to the ground during the push, but their hands were tightly holding each other's hands, and each other's eyes were also holding each other's eyes."

"Exchanging names is like exchanging lives. I come from the earth and you come from afar."

"You call my name loudly, and every time you call it, your heart beats hard."

"The brother and sister I found are not as close as before."

"Just scolding, but a smile is needed at this time."

"Because you're here."

"Felicis."

"Felicis-"

“I call your name, and you respond.”

“Be brave and reach out your hand, and you will hold it tightly.”

“Ride on the same horse, go to a festival together, sing the same song, and eat the same food.”

"There are no worries, only happiness. Time pauses and the warm breeze slows down."

"When the moon rises, the insects show their singing voices."

"The fire rises and I dance."

"This dance is for you."

"Felicis."

"Felicis-"

"Please call my name, please hug me."

“I call your name loudly and I run to you.”

"This is the people of the wind, the girl on horseback, showing you her passion."

"The night is so long, yet so short."

"You murmured beautiful names one after another in your sleep."

"Sadly, there are so many names."

"Should I wake you up?"

"Felicis."

"Felicis-"

"Good days are so short, farewell."

"I invite you to ride the earth with me."

"But you said that your hometown is on the other side of the distant mountains."

"I know that you are thinking about the name that you read in every dream, the beautiful name."

"I held my riding crop high and looked at you fiercely, but you just smiled."

"Say good-bye to me and sing a melodious song."

"Praise the earth, the grassland, and the wind."

"And my name."

"That's you who never looks back."

The singing gradually stopped and the music gradually became lower. The bard bowed with tears in his eyes, but the faces of the people who were admiring it all had different expressions.

The men looked at each other regretfully, and then smiled knowingly. But the ladies had dangerous expressions. Not only did Keir see the clenched teeth of a well-dressed middle-aged lady, but the young girls were shy and looked at the bard affectionately, as if they hadn't thought much about it.

The extremely quiet scene at this time was affected by the applause from the main seat of the banquet. Then, sparse applause sounded, and the girls clapped excitedly.

The middle-aged ladies in costumes reluctantly continued to applaud.

Keir and Mr. Scott looked at each other and applauded, while Mr. 'Flat Ollier' on the left winked and took advantage of the applause and whispered to Mr. Keir who was sitting on his right. People spoke in whispers.

"Haha, Felicis, this shameless handsome guy, was obviously kidnapped by horse bandits when he went to the Western Province last year to collect news. As his friend, I spent a lot of money to have him redeemed. Yes. I heard from the guy who ransomed him that during the little half a year he was kidnapped, he actually got hold of several young girls among the bandits."

Shaking his head, he said helplessly: "The horse bandits refused to let people go easily. This guy actually taught the brutal horse bandits to write poetry during that time. He called himself, uh, what he called himself a free citizen like the wind. Coming."

Keir laughed out loud after hearing this, but Mr. 'Dry Oriel' quickly raised his finger to his mouth to prevent Keel from laughing. But Mr. Scott next to him didn't care. He not only laughed, but also said that he would reveal the news to the jealous middle-aged ladies below.

Cause trouble for that handsome bard.

But Mr. 'Dry Ollier' managed to persuade Mr. Scott to give up the idea.

Then, amidst applause, the bard named Felicis walked off the stage and sat down on a soft bench nearby that was specially vacated for him.

The next moment, several women crowded in from the left and right. Some of them praised the bard, while others coldly asked who the girl in the song was?

At this time, the soothing music sounded again, and a new wave of meals was served.

This time it was freshly baked poultry cooked in the fire pit. The skins of several different poultry were roasted to a crispy brown color, and the aroma was overflowing. According to the usual practice, it takes three to five people to finish one poultry, but Keir was served two kinds at once.

The young chef also came over to ask Kiel which of several types of poultry with different flavors to choose.

Keir looked at them and chose two birds he didn't recognize to try.

Facing the two large plates of roasted poultry presented to him, Keir first reached out to take out their plump leg meat and tasted it. After a few bites, he devoured the soft, salty and delicious leg meat.

Next to him, Mr. Scott asked Keel to try the delicacy of roasting the poultry belly.

Keir cut open the bird's belly with a table knife, only to find that there were several soft and tender fish stuffed inside, as well as large and small fruit particles.

"Knight Kiel, try it. These are not the smelly fish in the river outside the town. These are delicious fish raised alone in the pool in the yard. They are carnivorous fish fed fresh meat every day. This taste The best."

Keel wanted to eat one with a fork, but Mr. Scott recommended using a silver spoon to dig in. Because the meat was so tender that it would rot when touched, so it was necessary to eat it with a spoon.

Keir tasted them according to his method, and found that they were extremely delicious, far more delicious than the poultry meat in which they were wrapped.

As soon as the meat of the carnivorous fish is imported, it is turned into smaller particles by the tongue. Along with its own oil, the taste is very strange. Especially after its meat becomes fine particles, it will not become finer again, and the granular fish meat still has a certain elasticity.

Most of the other people on the main seat next to them only ate half of a small bird, and even Mr. Ottosfiten only ate two tender small fish, and then continued to ask Mr. Bontorisa about the details of the story of the Lady of Winter.

At the banquet below, everyone simply ate some poultry. The ladies liked the small fish wrapped in the poultry more, while the men didn't care and ate them all.

Along with the sound of glasses clinking and talking, the dance team from Dorne Town came on stage.

While everyone was eating, the waiters had expanded the previous stage, turning the original square low wooden stage into a long T-shaped stage.

Nine young and beautiful girls came up wearing long dresses and holding bouquets of flowers.

Each of them wore different clothes, and with Keir's sharp eyes, he could easily see that each of them matched the different bouquets of flowers in their hands.

The girl holding bright red flowers will naturally look equally hot and bright in her clothes, while the girl holding pure white flowers will naturally wear a white dress, with light movements and smooth dancing.

As soon as these young dancers came on stage, they started dancing directly to the lively music, making everyone put down their glasses and knives and forks. The most youthful and beautiful girl in the lead is naturally the youngest daughter of Mr. 'Fuck-up Oriel'.

The girl also blinked at her father, and glanced hastily at Kil, who was about the same age as her, with a look of surprise on her face. She obviously didn't understand how Kil at this age could be so different from her father and uncles. They were sitting together.

Even a knight.

When he saw that his daughter was absent-minded, Mr. 'Dry Ollier''s face darkened. His little daughter was so frightened that she quickly came to her senses and began to perform well as a leader.

Dancing is not just about dancing. Among the nine people, when the first few people are spinning and jumping, the few girls behind are naturally not idle. They will often sing a phrase with a young voice. Naturally, these immature voices cannot be compared with the professional bards from before.

This performance naturally did not arouse the interest of the ladies. At most, they could quietly judge a certain dancer's clothing and figure. The men, on the other hand, looked dazzled.

But Kil felt so bored. After all, he had never seen any kind of dance through the Internet in his previous life. Although there were young girls singing and dancing in this different world, their clothes were complicated and compact, their movements were very restrained, and there were very few ups and downs. Singing is at an amateur level.

It can only be said that it is a small place, and the dancing girls are just a tool for the daughters of wealthy families to climb up the family ladder.

The only thing worthy of praise is the costumes and jewelry adorning these dancers. The clothes are specially made by tailors or themselves to fit each person's body shape and personality. And the shining jewelry on their bodies are all real ones, unlike in the previous life, where the decorations on the dancers were all fakes.

The gold in her hair is real, really heavy, and really bright. Especially under the surrounding lights and candlelight, the gold sparkles even more.

The forehead is decorated with pearls. The smallest one is as big as the nail of a pinky finger. The little daughter of Mr. 'Dry Flat Olier' has a milky-white pearl the size of an eyeball on her forehead. I'm afraid these things are not worth tens of dollars. A gold coin.

The dancers' earrings are also different, and the gems inlaid on them are also different according to the colors of their clothes and the bouquets they hold.

The polishing of the gems is a little rough, but the sparkle in the light is obviously real.

The gorgeous bracelets on their slender wrists also use special techniques to make small silver rods that can swing. When their wrists are turned, the thin silver rods will hit each other and make a crisp sound.

It can be seen that as this set of dance moves has only been officially performed twice, they are still a little unfamiliar. But everyone who admired the dance didn't pay much attention.

After a while, as the music gradually stopped, loud applause sounded. The warm applause far exceeded that of the previous minstrels. The little girls gathered together excitedly, and bowed hand in hand to the head of the banquet to thank them.

Everyone in the main seat of the banquet, including Kiel, applauded very hard, obviously because they were all trying to show off Mr. 'Flat Ollier'. Even Mr. Otto Fitten, who was not very interested in these, clapped as hard as he could to express encouragement to the dancers who performed a dance as bright and enthusiastic as spring.

Interestingly, as soon as the dance ended, these young dancers did not leave the stage. Instead, they walked off the stage and sat with their male and female relatives and friends in the audience, talking excitedly in low voices.

Mr. 'Fuck Ollier''s little daughter also trotted over with a gust of fragrance. As she walked around the banquet seats, Mr. Scott took the opportunity to slap her on the butt.

The little girl whined, then threw the bouquet hard at her Uncle Scott.

Scott took the bouquet with his face, took a deep breath of the bouquet pretending to be funny, and shook his head: "Ah, little Kenina smells so good. I saw that the bards were looking at you just now."

After hearing this, Kenina threw herself behind her father, her eyes wide open, and she asked excitedly: "Is it true? Is Mr. Felicis really looking at me?"

Mr. 'Fuck Ollier' said angrily: "Where is that? I remember he was having a heated fight with the two ladies sitting on his left and right, and he didn't even have time to look at you."

"Hmph~!"

This is the little girl's angrily moan.

"But dad, I did watch Nina's dance. It has improved a lot compared to last time! Go back and reward you!"

Mr. 'Fuck Ollier' looked doting on his face, and the little girl naturally hit the snake on the stick and coquettishly asked for a lady's magic tiara that could emit charming light.

Faced with this request, Mr. 'Fuck Ollier' looked embarrassed and begged for mercy and asked his younger daughter to change. He really couldn't do this.

It's not that he doesn't have the money to buy the magic crown, but that he doesn't have the qualifications and connections.

Magicians rarely have direct contact with businessmen. It's not that magicians don't know that businessmen have a wider range of resources, but they simply look down on the business class. They will more often establish mutually trustworthy transactions with nobles from various places through the stable and long-term channel of the noble council.

After all, magicians have a long lifespan. If nothing unexpected happens, even magic apprentices who are not magicians can live more than a hundred years if they think of some way.

For example, most of the merchants who had to live and eat on the trade routes were quite old in their forties or fifties, and many of them died before they reached the age of seventy.

In a merchant society, the power of wealth keeps rising and falling, making it difficult for magicians to establish stable friendship and trading trust with a certain merchant or chamber of commerce for a long time.

-

Fortunately, Mr. 'Dry Oriel' cleverly used the introduction of the Kiel Knights to his young daughter to divert the topic.

"This is Knight Joe Kiel. He looks about the same age as you, so you must pay more attention to your dance practice so that you can achieve success as soon as possible."

Kil chuckled, never expecting that one day he would become someone else's child.

The little girl was not very interested in the tall and thick-set Kiel. After all, his calloused palms were as big as two of her hands. Not to mention her strong arms and neck, both of which were thicker than her waist.

It looks a little scary.

Instead of licking his face and leaning forward, Gere asked Mr. Scott next to him in a low voice what he had to say about the music played by the next band.

"Oh, well, when the band is playing, our place is more casual. Everyone can open the patio door and enjoy the quiet night and the blooming flowers in spring. Or you can sit in your seat and eat, drink, talk and laugh with your friends. . If you still have the energy, you can also invite the ladies you see each other to have a gorgeous dance with beautiful music. Haha, I think our bard and little Kenina must be the most popular at that time. They are a man and a woman. Are you right, little Cornina?"

When asked about herself, she didn't know what she was thinking of. The little girl lying on the back of the chair behind her father blushed, covering her face and snickering.

"Oh, have you thought of something good? Let me tell you about it."

The little girl said shyly: "Do you think Mr. Felicis will invite me to dance? Woohoo! Should I agree? Isn't it bad to agree too quickly? Doesn't it seem a little reserved?"

Mr. 'Dry Oriel' said angrily: "But Nina, your activities tonight are over. Follow the maid downstairs and take your soft sedan home! Our bard, he must be He'll be busy here all night, if he really can handle it."

Everyone else who heard this rolled their eyes. Everyone understood what the father meant. He obviously disliked his daughter's association with the irresponsible bard.

If he were replaced by a noble heir, the attitude of this middle-aged successful businessman would be very different, right?