Chapter 9: Two Gold Coins

In one breath, Tom pulled Roy to the river at the town entrance, and the two boys fell onto the emerald green grass slope, looking up at the clear blue sky where a few wisps of white clouds drifted.

After resting for a while, Tom sat cross-legged. While kneading the fatty dog's skin, he asked curiously,

"Pal, where do you think those people came from?"

Roy carefully recalled the emblem on the carriage and suddenly sat up, his eyes brightening.

"The first carriage had the direct royal emblem, without any additional territorial marks from the collateral princes. So, the veiled lady should be Princess Aleria..."

"Ah?" Tom was stunned.

Roy was also surprised by his own guess.

Did I, the big-headed lord, fall in love with a princess?

This isn't someone you can just drag into the bushes and have your way with...

"What about the other carriages?" Tom asked curiously.

"The second carriage was from the Holy Church, with no special marks. However, according to the Church's hierarchy and corresponding ceremonial standards, the person inside should be a regional bishop."

"The third carriage had the emblem of the Viscount Winger family. You know, Lord Rais has been learning from the first knight, Yakin, under Viscount Winger for the past few years. The knight who returned with him today is Matthew, the eldest son of the Winger family. So, the carriage should contain the Winger family's lady and her daughter."

"As for the last two carriages, they should be for the personal maids and butlers. After all, wherever noble ladies go, they need to be attended to. Rough-handed knights and soldiers can't do such tasks..."

Roy explained the origins of the nobles that everyone was speculating about in a few words.

Tom listened with wide eyes, occasionally making surprised sounds.

Tom never doubted Roy's judgment. He knew that his good friend had a natural talent for this. The emblems that ordinary people found confusing and hard to identify were simple to him. It wasn't a difficult task at all.

Sometimes, Tom would think, how foolish those who considered Roy a fool must be.

Thinking this way, Tom felt quite smart and was in a good mood.

After lying on the grass for a while, the boys sat by the river, took off their shoes, and soaked their feet. They threw stones into the river one after another and boasted. The fat dog Oliver lay lazily by the river, his tail in the water, occasionally looking back.

Tom was clearly still excited, his freckled face flushed with excitement. He kept talking about the fight, relishing the moment. The punch to Huck was exaggerated into a legendary tale of the great hero and holy knight Tom defeating an evil dragon.

Roy, with his big head, watched the river, his mind full of the veil fluttering in the wind.

The pleasant morning passed quickly. When the two boys were about to part ways, Tom noticed something was wrong with Roy.

He accompanied Roy in a daze for a while, sighed, and frowned, putting his arm around Roy's shoulder, "Pal, I've saved up some money. How about..."

Roy turned his head, looking confused at Tom, who hesitated to speak.

Tom gritted his teeth and decided to go all out, "I'll take you to the pleasure street. I heard a精灵 just arrived and hasn't been deflowered yet... Just forget about Princess Aleria, okay?"

After saying this, he opened his hand.

In his palm were two gold coins, already sweaty from being clenched.

Roy punched Tom in the chest.

Although he knew that walking into a brothel with these two gold coins and acting like a big shot would only result in being beaten out, he also knew that the money Tom earned from his father each month wasn't much more than what he earned working at the lord's manor. This was money he had saved up since he was young.

Two gold coins were a significant amount, not just for a 15-16-year-old boy, but even for an ordinary family.

"You're insulting me, you know, kid!" Roy jumped up, kicked Tom, and sent the freckled boy to the ground. Then, he and the fat dog Oliver pounced on Tom.

"I'm wrong, pal. Don't tickle me. Hahahaha..."

"Beat you up..."

"Oliver, don't pull my pants, they're going to fall. Damn dog, don't run, give me back my pants..."

"Oliver, run! Let him go back naked!"

The river flowed with a gurgling sound, shimmering in the warm sunlight.

The sounds of the boys' scuffling, laughter, and the barking of the dog echoed with the distant chimes of the city church, carried by the gentle breeze.

After parting ways with Tom, Roy led Oliver to their home in the northeast forest at the town entrance.

Today was his day off. The baroness had already instructed him the night before to prepare the horses for the knights, and then he could go home.

Therefore, when Andrew provoked him with the excuse of being lazy, Roy didn't bother to argue and didn't mind putting a small nail under Andrew's foot.

The incident couldn't be kept from the baroness, who would surely be furious when she heard Andrew's bold and righteous reason.

At the Polabel Manor, the internal affairs were entirely managed by the baroness. Not to mention a squire who hadn't yet become a knight, even the most favored knights had no right to interfere in the baroness's management!

Moreover, with the baroness's shrewdness, how could she not guess Andrew's intentions?

Thinking about the trouble Andrew would face, Roy's big head felt delighted. He had no moral qualms about his enemy's suffering, having grown up among a different race.

What could you expect from someone who had a temper worse than a dwarf and a vindictive nature more intense than an elf?

As they walked through the wheat fields to the edge of the forest, a faint rustling sound came from the grass. Roy's ears perked up, and he quickly told Oliver,

"Rabbit... Oliver, go!"

Before he finished speaking, the fat dog Oliver darted out like a bolt of lightning.

A figure parted the grass with a rustling sound, and a moment later, Oliver's fat body leaped up in the grass and pounced again, this time in silence.

When Oliver didn't return, Roy seemed to remember something and his face changed.

In a hurry, he crouched and shot forward like an arrow.

At that moment, Roy was completely transformed. His seemingly weak body moved as agilely as a strong leopard, and his running speed was even faster than a galloping horse!

If someone had been there, they would never have believed that this boy, who looked like a human monster, was the same clumsy and silly kid from the city!

In an instant, Roy reached the grass where Oliver was, parted the tall grass, and saw what he expected.

The fat dog Oliver was shaking a rabbit by its neck. Seeing Roy reach out to grab him, Oliver quickly ran away with the rabbit, found a new spot, and started shaking again.

Kicking Oliver away, Roy rescued the nearly raped rabbit.

"Son of a bitch," Roy scolded, pointing at Oliver's head with a word that wasn't really insulting to the fat dog. He then carried the rabbit and walked toward the small wooden house in the forest.

Oliver got up, seemingly forgetting what had just happened, and followed Roy, walking with his head held high and eyes straight ahead, looking proud and shameless.

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End of Chapter 9