Chapter 59

"Hey, hey, that was amazing, that sword of yours just now!"

The halfling Alton, holding his exquisite miniature lute in his arms, opened his eyes wide and looked at Xia Nan.

As an adventurer aiming to become a "Bard," even though he had not yet officially obtained a professional level, his combat style tended to be standing at the end of the team, using the sound of his lute to provide help to his teammates.

Therefore, standing on the carriage at the back, he had seen almost the entire process of the battle.

"You're too kind." Xia Nan smiled and nodded, replying.

"Your lute playing was a huge help."

It wasn't that he was just saying it for the sake of social grace; the halfling's lute playing just now had indeed improved his combat ability to a certain extent.

Although even without it, those four goblins would still have been a one-sword job, he had indeed felt the changes in his body.

"Really! No, no, hahaha!"

Alton laughed exuberantly upon hearing this.

Most halflings are like this; a simple compliment can yield huge feedback, and they are very easily satisfied.

It's no wonder their reputation on the Aifala Continent is so good.

At the same time, despite his naturally enthusiastic and curious nature, Alton knew his boundaries very well and did not ask Xia Nan any sensitive questions about his "combat techniques" or "weapons."

As if suddenly remembering something.

The halfling hurriedly put down the lute in his hand, restrained his smile, and turned his body toward the direction the night owl had flown over just now.

With his ten fingers pressed together, his hands crossed in front of his chest like two daggers, and he bowed slightly.

Seeing that the other party's actions were different from before, Xia Nan couldn't help but ask:

"Are you praying to the Moon Goddess?"

"Oh, no." After finishing the salute, a smile returned to Alton's face, "It's Mr. 'Aervulin'."

Quickly searching for relevant memories in his mind.

Also one of the gods of the halfling He Yin Pantheon.

—The 【God of Contract and Order】 "Aervulin".

Xia Nan couldn't help but feel even more confused upon hearing this.

Although it's nothing strange for halflings to salute the gods of their own pantheon.

But...

"The Lady of Smiles... is she not needed?"

He asked cautiously, with a hint of probing.

Unexpectedly, the halfling didn't care at all, just casually saying while lowering his head to check the strings of his lute:

"She doesn't care about these things."

Tsk.

Xia Nan clicked his tongue silently.

Thinking about it, in the entire kingdom, one couldn't even find a few relevant temples or shrines.

This existence clearly wouldn't care about these trivial, dispensable rituals either.

They were already very close to Kalanfur.

Besides goblins, there would basically be no other dangers in the nearby wilderness.

The group dealt with the corpses of these green-skinned rats in a perfunctory manner, walked a short distance forward, and then rested again.

Continuing to eat.

Battles that could happen at any time were commonplace for adventurers.

Even though they had just hacked goblins and were covered in dirty, foul blood, they just sat by the campfire chatting as if nothing had happened.

One of them even, under the reminder of others, took off a piece of goblin intestine from the back of his clothes, threw it into the fire casually, and continued to gnaw on dried meat in large mouthfuls.

Xia Nan sat alone in the corner of the camp, wiping the longsword on his knees with gauze.

It seemed no different from before.

But he felt the subtly changing atmosphere in the camp.

The adventurers in the caravan, except for himself and the halfling, were either a squad or had cooperated before.

Naturally, they were somewhat repelled by him, a stranger.

Although it hadn't reached the level of hostility, he could still feel the alienation and indifference coming from the other side.

Regarding this, he was happy to have some peace and quiet.

But with the end of this battle, this situation had changed invisibly.

Perhaps because Xia Nan's 【Spinning Slash】, which had been practiced to the maximum level, was too eye-catching, or perhaps the battle had allowed him to prove his reliability.

The attitude of several people in the team toward him had improved significantly; the adventurer who looked like the leader, who had commanded the battle just now, even took the initiative to come over and talk to him with a lowered posture.

Xia Nan himself didn't care much about these things, but seeing the other party's performance, he socialized a little and exchanged a few greetings.

"Crackle."

Sparks burst.

The orange-red flames lingered softly against the backdrop of the night.

Xia Nan sat on the mat, the firelight reflected in his eyes.

In his previous life, he worked exhaustedly all day, and on the hard-won day off, he only wanted to lie at home.

Now, looking at the campfire changing constantly with the night breeze in front of him, feeling the soft warmth on the surface of his body.

It was as if his whole heart and mind had sunk into it; just looking at the lingering flames, he could stay like this for the whole night.

In his ears, the faint sound of Jeff and the halfling chatting drifted over.

"Captain, you were too desperate just now!" Alton said in a light tone, "You didn't hire us, just leave these things to us!"

"How can that be? This caravan might not mean much to you all; you'll earn it after taking a few more missions. But for me, it would take half a lifetime to save up."

Jeff's gaze revealed firmness as he replied earnestly.

"Just these few carriages?"

"Hehe." Hearing this, the simple and honest man revealed a shy smile on his face.

"My two children are both studying at the academy in Niumu, and the tuition fees alone are quite a lot every year."

"I have to make money..."

"What about later?" The halfling, as always, extended the topic with deep curiosity.

"When they grow up, what do they plan to do?"

"Inherit your caravan, or become adventurers?"

"No, no, no, not adventurers." Jeff waved his hands repeatedly subconsciously, his expression resistant, then realized the identity of the halfling in front of him and stopped his movements immediately, "Sorry, I didn't mean that."

Alton naturally wouldn't care about these things, just smiling and signaling the other party to continue.

"As for Jamie, the academy teacher said he has some talent in linguistics, maybe... become a Common language teacher?"

"Lilina told me before that she wanted to open a tailor shop. I've saved up quite a bit of money over the years, but I'm still a little short."

Speaking of which, Alton seemed to remember something suddenly.

With anticipation on his simple face, he asked Alton in front of him:

"I heard, you believe in the Xing Yun Nv Shen?"

"Yes!"

"Then may I ask... if I pray to the Goddess, will she bless me?"

"That depends on what exactly you are praying for."

"Heh." Jeff scratched his head, smiling honestly, "Just to make more money, and for my family to be safe and healthy."

"You know, in our line of work, running around everywhere, we always encounter..."

"She will."

Alton's expression was serious and sincere as he answered word by word.

"The Lady of Smiles favors the brave, and also favors those who strive to live."