Chapter 53: Tavern

"This is the place, a tavern I recall being quite good," Desmond said, pointing toward a tavern.

He led the group to an alleyway on the seaside slope of Weisanniya Qiuling, where the sea breeze kept the stench at bay, making it a fine place to dine.

The storefront's decor looked decent, and from the outside, one could see the tavern had an open view; sitting inside, one could gaze out at Blackwater Bay and the massive Red Keep.

Arthur nodded, took the lead inside, and walked over to sit at one of the few remaining empty tables.

"Boss, what food do you have on offer today?"

A young girl wearing thin, beige linen clothes with a few freckles on her face ran over, rattling off the tavern's specialty dishes to Arthur and his group, while heavily recommending the house-brewed rice wine.

She looked to be about fourteen or fifteen; though she appeared young, she was already very skilled at handling customers.

"Then give me a large charcoal-grilled steak, two roasted pigeons, two pieces of Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Mianbao, and a small barrel of rice wine. As for these gentlemen and the gentlemen at that table, let them order for themselves."

Following the dietary habits of Westeros, which was approaching the Renaissance, there were basically no methods other than boiling, roasting, and stewing.

And as for the practice of stewing a large batch of ingredients into one pot, Arthur lost his appetite just looking at it.

Only grilled steak and grilled lamb chops could stir his desire to dig in.

"Alrighty!" The young girl gave a sweet smile, performed a curtsy for Arthur, and then turned to record the food ordered by the others.

They were people in King's Landing, after all; even when taking an order, they could perform a curtsy for noble customers.

Thinking back to how the villagers on his own lands would only giggle foolishly when they saw him, Arthur's impression of this little girl immediately improved.

He fished out four or five copper coins and, after the girl finished recording the food for everyone in his party, slipped them into her hand.

The girl was very sharp; catching a glimpse that her parents were not watching this way, she hurriedly stuffed the copper coins into her pants pocket.

She gave Arthur a playful wink and turned to leave.

It was the peak of the lunch hour, and the tavern was crowded.

Arthur and his group followed the trend, chatting with people who had come from all over.

"Hey, I think King Robert will definitely win the Melee; not to mention his natural strength, who would dare hit the King?"

"That's not necessarily true. He's so fat he can't even fit into his own Plate Armor anymore; can he even get down there to fight?"

Due to Robert's extremely loose rule, commoners and wandering Knights on the streets could talk loudly and freely about their King.

Some even had such a competitive spirit that after noting which female worker at which brothel Robert had slept with, they would run off to be "fellow travelers" with the King.

And they would ask whether theirs was longer or the King's was longer.

This "length" was not just physical, but also temporal.

In this atmosphere, Knights and minor nobles would relish discussing the King's private affairs, deriving a certain pleasure from it.

Arthur had no interest in this, so he took the initiative to start a topic: "The jousting tournament, who do you think will be the champion?"

After all, this was what he should be concerned about; the jousting champion would receive a reward of forty thousand Gold Dragons, and if he secured this alone, he would have achieved most of his purpose for coming to King's Landing.

If he could climb into a relationship with some great family from the South and get an order for a thousand sets of armor, that would be even better.

Hearing this, the customers in the same room expressed their own profound insights.

"It must be the Knight of Flowers, Loras; last time he unhorsed the Kingslayer with one lance, he really stole the show."

Loras Tyrell was the third son of the Warden of the South, Mace Tyrell, and earned the name Knight of Flowers because he liked to drape his mount in horse blankets covered in flowers.

"Forget it! Loras can't even beat The Hound, let alone beat the two fierce men of the Clegane family?"

The Hound was The Mountain's younger brother, named Sandor Clegane.

After The Mountain was knighted by Prince Rhaegar, The Hound carried his horse and ran overnight to Casterly Rock, swearing to serve the Lannister family.

This behavior was much like a Sworn Knight, but because his older brother The Mountain had become a Knight, The Hound looked down on the title somewhat, so he was a sworn warrior for the Lion family.

Currently, The Hound was under the instruction of Queen Cersei to serve as an Attendant to Qiao Fo Li Da Di, who was still a Prince.

Later, when the Kingsguard captain Barristan was dismissed by Joffrey, The Hound was recruited into the Kingsguard, and he became the first person in the history of Westeros to serve in the Kingsguard without being a Knight.

"I favor The Mountain more."

"Come to think of it, the Kingslayer still has the strength for a fight."

"Why not mention Barristan the Bold? He is a veteran expert who has roamed for decades without a single defeat."

Someone immediately opposed this view: "Bullshit, I can count Barristan's failures on one hand; he's already grown old and decrepit."

"That just goes to show he has rich experience."

"There's also Beric Tanderly you haven't mentioned; he's also a recognized expert, alright?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Does Beric have any famous battle records? Out of the Knight of Flowers, The Hound, the Kingslayer, and The Mountain, who could he beat?"

The most active customers held their own views, unable to convince one another.

The way they argued, it seemed as if these people were their own friends and family.

But in reality, these top-tier Knights of Westeros might never have any intersection with them in their entire lives.

As the food was served, the arguments gradually subsided.

The aroma of wine and meat wantonly displayed its presence throughout the tavern, making Arthur's stomach start to sing.

Fortunately, the little girl served the dishes in time, and Arthur picked up a plump pigeon and started gnawing.

"Oh my, what are you doing?" the little girl suddenly cried out.

Arthur glanced sideways and saw her standing before a drunken young noble; it seemed they had made physical contact.

The tavern's owner and his wife immediately ran out, first making the little girl apologize, then smiling apologetically themselves and saying they would provide a barrel of rice wine for free.

The little girl, however, had a temper; she shook off her parents' hands and prepared to run into the kitchen.

Arthur didn't pay attention to this little interlude; this was King's Landing, where public order was considered the best on the entire continent, and even nobles at the rank of out-of-town Counts would not dare to bully commoners at will.

Because the commoners of King's Landing could be considered the King's direct subjects, and with Robert's reputation at stake, the nobles would restrain themselves a little.

Arthur quickly finished gnawing the pigeon and then picked up the steak to dig in.

Seeing Arthur's eating manners were so unrefined, Patrick gently reminded him: "Be a bit more elegant! It doesn't match your image as a handsome man."

The Lord of Red Mill ignored him, finished the steak—crispy on the outside and tender on the inside—on his own, and then fiercely poured a mouthful of rice wine into his mouth.

This rice wine was unexpectedly good; he let out a comfortable burp, then said to Patrick, "It's precisely because I'm handsome that I don't need to mind my image; someone as ugly as you can only rely on refined manners to get by."

Just as he was preparing to eat the other pigeon, an accident occurred.

"Let go of me, I don't want to apologize to them."

PS: Seeking collections, recommendation votes, and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)