Chapter 729: The Fortress-like Banquet Restaurant and the Senior Stewards of the Merchant Union

Jier and his companion walked quickly toward a spot on the south side of the town, located between the slums and the civilian district.

Although it was dark, Jier slightly drew the Hunting Sword on his left belt, emitting a white light that illuminated the street. The Shop Assistant leading the way turned his head, looking at the Knight's sword with extreme surprise, annoyed at his own previous oversight.

"Be careful, don't keep looking back, or you're going to walk right into a wall." Jier joked, bringing the Shop Assistant, who kept turning back to look at his weapon, back to his senses.

Jier also noticed at this moment that even though they were walking through the streets of the civilian district, this road leading to the town's banquet venue seemed to be treated specially. The entire street was neatly paved with fine gravel, and the shops on both sides were mostly for entertainment; Red Houses with alluring lights, taverns with the scent of alcohol drifting out, and noisy, bustling gambling dens of all sizes were all on this street.

Every shop entrance had tall, fat thugs with their chins held high standing guard. Just as Jier passed by, a middle-aged man with unsteady footsteps walked out of a Red House, looking somewhat familiar.

In a tavern, a drunken sot wanted to go outside to urinate in the street, but was thrown back into the tavern by the thug at the door. The drunkard's crotch immediately became wet, and he was cursing under his breath.

But the most miserable ones were those stripped naked and thrown out of the gambling dens; no, even worse than that were the debtors with ropes and wooden rings tied around their wrists and necks.

Seeing Jier the Knight observing these people, the leading Shop Assistant explained: "Please don't pity them. People choose their own paths. Besides, they have only temporarily lost their freedom and are being forced to do some work; it's nothing."

Jier snorted coldly and asked in return: "Then have you ever been a debtor?"

The Shop Assistant shook his head: "What? No, of course not. I have a clean and wealthy family background. Only those who have no property at all are counted as debtors. Besides, my lord, why gamble? Being the house is the only way to make a steady profit, right?"

Jier smiled slightly and said nothing more.

People, only after losing their freedom, can realize the value of freedom.

This overly prosperous street was not long, and after reaching the end, one entered the slums directly. But clearly, the town's administrators did not want the place where they held banquets to be disturbed by the poor they looked down upon.

Therefore, at the end of the street was a square open space surrounded by a brick wall several meters high.

The open space was planted with many fragrant flowers and plants. It was spring, and the rich fragrance immediately gave one a direct experience of luxury and extravagance.

Although Humans are visual creatures, and visual observation accounts for the vast majority of information acquisition, there is something special about the sense of smell.

Humans have an extremely profound perception of scents, and different scents directly influence various human behaviors and feelings.

Clearly, the designer of this new Duoen Town banquet venue was someone well-versed in this.

The rich fragrance of the complex flowers not only blocked out the unpleasant odors of the slums just a wall away, but also caused the guests coming to the banquet to be influenced by the scent the moment they arrived, producing a positive impression and an excited, favorable reaction.

For the various Merchants coming here to strike deals and conduct cooperation at a venue like a banquet, this was a very important matter.

Jier took a deep breath, his face full of intoxication. Tianxuecao seemed to like it here too, but unlike its master, it didn't like the scent. It had its eyes on the various strange flowers in front of it.

Beautiful flowers of different colors and different scents; it seemed to want to taste what they were like.

Opening his eyes again, Jier exhaled and looked at the fortress-style building in front of him, which was over ten meters high and roughly four stories above ground.

Unlike a real fortress, this building had specially constructed terraces starting from the towering second floor, as well as large windows that would not be found on a typical fortress.

At this moment, music was already drifting out from the doors and open windows of these terraces, along with the sharp laughter of ladies and beautiful singing.

"Has the banquet already started?"

Jier was a bit annoyed, but the Shop Assistant, who was panting in front, shook his head: "It hasn't started yet, my lord. It's just that so the people who arrive early have something to do, music and warm-up programs are usually put on first."

"Oh."

Jier was a bit surprised. He took his banquet invitation out from his clothes, intending to hand it to the other party so he could give it to the Security Guards guarding the gate of the banquet venue.

But unexpectedly, after the Shop Assistant had rested enough, he pulled on the reins of Tianxuecao while shouting forward loudly: "Knight of Kendall County, Sir Jiao-Jier has arrived—"

The Security Guards on both sides of the gate immediately slammed their ceremonial Long Spears back onto the ground, then smashed their empty right fists against their chests three times, making a thumping sound.

Following the Shop Assistant's shout, they also shouted in unison: "Knight of Kendall County, Sir Jiao-Jier has arrived!!!"

It was the first time Jier had been treated with such courtesy, and his face turned red instantly. He waved at the young Security Guards looking at him and thanked them in a low voice.

As the singing from outside the gate rang out, several neatly dressed Merchant Guild Stewards hurried out from the fortress-like building. After they came to greet him, they introduced themselves; it turned out they were all key Stewards of the Duoen Town Chamber of Commerce Union, and they had come early specifically for Jier.

The Shop Assistant who had been following Jier all along now stood behind one person as an attendant. This person was the 'Wealth Fruit' Merchant Guild Steward he had seen at noon, Mr. Deripari, known as 'Lanky Aolier'.

The others were also figures of equivalent status, though their ages were not the same. Some were younger than the former, clearly with stronger abilities and family backgrounds, while others had gray hair and beards, making it impossible to tell their exact age; they could be anywhere from forty to over fifty.

They were all Senior Stewards in charge of specific affairs for the Merchant Union in Duoen Town. Jier was flattered that they had come out to welcome him, and he hurriedly patted the Muan and jumped off the tall Tianxuecao.

"Oh my, please be careful. Such a tall warhorse is very dangerous if you fall."

The elderly Merchant with gray hair was clearly very surprised to see Jier's way of dismounting. But another Merchant beside him didn't care: "He is such a young Knight, unlike you with your old arms and legs, needing a servant to bring a wooden ladder just to get on a horse. Mr. Bantuolisa, do you also need a servant to help you get into bed when you rest with your young wife at night?"

This Merchant was tall and thin, and he winked and gestured while speaking; clearly, such jokes were not being made for the first time between them.

Mr. Bantuolisa, who was being teased, coughed twice and glanced at Jier, not retorting. Jier was attracted by the conversation between the two, which instead made the tall, thin Merchant lose face, making it seem like he didn't know the occasion for his jokes.

Mr. 'Lanky Aolier' acted as if he saw none of this and continued to introduce Jier with a smile.

To deepen the impression, he first reintroduced himself: "Dundeer-Aolierga-Deripari, Senior Steward of the Wealth Fruit Merchant Guild, we met at noon. Friends like to call me 'Lanky Aolier'. If you like, you can call me that too."

"Mr. Deripari, thank you for inviting me to this banquet."

"Don't say that, Knight Jier. This banquet was specially held for you. Tonight, this place has been booked by us, and many people in town have also come here by reputation. Please, you must get to know them. After all, the more people you know, the wider the road of wealth in life will be."

He then put his arm around Jier's shoulder and introduced the gray-haired elderly Steward to him: "This is Mr. Vels-Bantolisa. Don't listen to the nonsense from that guy on the side. Mr. Bantuolisa was full of adventurous spirit when he was young! One of his most famous achievements is persuading the Long-Haired Lynx Beastmen in the southern border mountains to participate in our Human social production! He is a born diplomat!"

Jier had never heard of a creature like the Long-Haired Lynx Beastmen, but he was curious how this man had managed to get an alien race to join Human society in the relatively xenophobic Saint Hors Kingdom.

"In that case, I must hear about Mr. Bantuolisa's great feat tonight."

Seeing the curious look of the young Knight, the elderly Mr. Bantuolisa stroked his gray beard and nodded with a smile. Clearly, compared to the praise and curiosity of ordinary people, he preferred the praise of someone with higher status.

Then Mr. 'Lanky Aolier' pointed to the tall, thin middle-aged Merchant on the side: "This is the Senior Steward of the 'Burning Furnace' Merchant Guild, Stuoer-Sikete. Don't look at him as someone who likes to joke; he is actually very reliable. He manages and is responsible for the largest blacksmith shop in town."

"Oh, I just exchanged for a set of simple Forging Tool Set from a Local Merchant at your blacksmith shop today."

Jier said so.

The tall, thin Mr. Scott looked unhappy: "If you had told me tonight, I would have definitely given you a 30% discount, just to make a new friend."

Jier also looked regretful: "I ran into your Merchant Guild's Vice President on the way here, otherwise I would have had to find you to handle this matter."

"Is that so? If you know the Vice President, I could have given you another 10% off. Our Burning Furnace Merchant Guild never treats friends badly." The other party was not surprised that Jier the Knight had run into their Vice President on the Shanglu. It made sense; thinking about it carefully, there was only one route heading west to the Western Province. Walking on that Shanglu, calculating the time, Jier the Knight would always run into the Vice President who had set off a few days earlier.

"How are the Vice President and the others? Are they okay? Knight Jier."

Jier shrugged: "You know, the atmosphere has been so tense lately, plus my men and I had a big battle with some Bandits before, so everyone was very nervous when we met. We approached bit by bit, sending people over again and again to scout, which allowed both sides to put down their guard and let the teams pass each other safely."

"The Vice President is like that. He looks like he likes to eat and is unreliable, but in reality, he is more reliable than anyone."

Seeing Jier the Knight talking like this with Scott of the Burning Furnace Merchant Guild, Mr. 'Lanky Aolier' hurriedly stopped their conversation and introduced the last person.

This person was estimated to be only in his twenties, but young as he was, his complexion was not very good, looking somewhat pale and weak. Mr. 'Lanky Aolier' introduced: "This is Lipuerde-Autosfiten, Senior Steward of the 'Treasure House' Merchant Guild. The banquet restaurant we are using tonight was designed and built by Lipuerde."

Jier smiled and nodded, and the other party nodded indifferently as well, clearly not curious about the foreign northern Knight.

After the introductions were finished, Mr. "Withered Aolier" guided the group into the banquet hall, while Jier's horse was handed over to the aforementioned Merchant Guild Shop Assistant, who was told to take it to the auxiliary stable next to the banquet hall to rest.

"Not only does this place have all kinds of enjoyments that we Humans like, but the horses will also eat what they like, and there is the most attentive full set of services. Ha, there are five Grooms there to take care of them, so don't you worry, Knight."

Seeing Jier's reluctance to part with his horse, Mr. "Withered Aolier" explained, which dispelled Jier's concerns.

They walked into the gate of the banquet hall, which was like a fortress.

The first floor of the banquet hall was not the spacious lobby or banquet venue Jier had imagined. On the contrary, right inside the door was a gentle, luxurious wooden staircase leading upward; the actual banquet venue was on the second floor.

The first floor was more of a place for those who served the venue. According to the introduction by the soft-spoken Mr. Autosfiten, behind the staircase was the spacious kitchen area, and there was a wine cellar in the basement with a mechanical elevator. To their left and right were the left lounge for the band and Bards to rest temporarily, and the right lounge used by a dance troupe, which was rarely seen in the past.

Both lounges had dedicated staircases leading to the main banquet hall on the second floor. Interestingly, the main entrance they were currently using to go upstairs did not have doors leading directly to the two lounges on the first floor; one had to enter through the dedicated passage on the side of the kitchen from the back door behind the banquet hall.

"Why is it designed this way?"

Jier was curious, so he asked directly.

The weak Mr. Autosfiten had no energy to explain while climbing the stairs, but Mr. Bantuolisa, who had traveled far and wide in his youth, explained in a full-voiced manner: "How could the people who serve us walk through the same door as us and our distinguished guests? That's the logic, isn't it?"

Mr. Lipuerde-Autosfiten nodded wearily. His head was covered in cold sweat, and after nodding, he hurriedly wiped the sweat with a colored handkerchief he carried with him.

Seeming to dislike the smell of his own sweat, he had a subordinate who was following behind—but not helping him—bring over a boxed scented powder, and he used a small cloth bag to pat some powder onto his forehead.

It was unclear whether the powder neutralized the smell of the sweat or if the sweat solidified upon contact with the powder, but in any case, the sweat was gone.

He then stubbornly held onto the wooden railing of the staircase by himself, climbing to the second floor step by step.

The others had long since arrived on the second floor to wait for him.

"This is?"

Jier raised a question about this scene.

Mr. Scott, who had been able to exchange a few words with him earlier, curled his lips and whispered in Jier's ear: "I heard, I heard that when he was a young man visiting family relatives in the Central Province, the Central Province happened to be in the midst of a Magic Beast chaos that devoured everything. He was frightened at the time, and after he returned, he became like this, his body getting worse day by day."

Jier found it strange how a person could be scared like this, and not die of fright at the time, but only develop this weak condition after returning home with all his limbs intact.

But he only thought about it and did not ask further.

Mr. Scott at his ear continued to add what he had heard, though these details did not sound true: "I also heard that he came to this town a few years ago, broke away from his family's control, and played too wildly, ruining his body."

After saying this, he winked and gestured.

This left Jier between laughter and tears.

Instead, Mr. Autosfiten, who had climbed to the second floor using the stair railing, frowned unhappily and looked at the tall and thin Mr. Scott: "Scott, my ears are very sharp; I heard your slander against me. So."

"So?" Mr. Scott raised his eyebrows.

"So, the entire cost of hosting Knight Qiao-Jier tonight will be paid by you, charged to the 'Burning Furnace' Merchant Guild account."

"Tch, is that all? I thought it was something else. The other Stewards of the Merchant Guild won't say anything about hosting a Knight. Don't put it on the Merchant Guild's account, how about putting it on mine?"

"You said it."

"I said it."

After saying this, the two of them actually started laughing, leaving Jier feeling baffled, not knowing how the two people who were at each other's throats just a moment ago were now laughing.

It was Mr. "Withered Aolier" who, while guiding Jier toward the open end of the banquet, whispered an explanation to him: "Although Lipuerde is in poor health, he cherishes his friends very much. Well, because of his health, he doesn't know how much longer he can live, so he not only cherishes the friends he can talk to, but he is also very serious and careful in doing things. This is the reason why he could become the Senior Steward of the 'Treasure House', the strongest force in the United Merchant Guild, in his twenties."

"Of course, the family power behind him is also not small; that is also one of the reasons," Mr. "Withered Aolier" added.

The second floor of the banquet hall was much more spacious than the first; the hall was over thirty meters long and wide, with a ceiling height of at least five meters, making it large enough for a Dragon to lie down in.

At this moment, it was brightly lit. Near the places where the stairs from the first-floor lounges came up, sheep tallow candles for lighting were neatly arranged. On the stone support pillars on both sides of the banquet hall, bright Oil Lamps with golden reflective surfaces were hung.

And at the end of the banquet hall, around the individual tables and chairs where Jier and the others were seated, the lighting was provided by glowing stone ball pedestals similar to those Jier had seen before at the "Beautiful Clothes" shop.

These objects, which provided lighting for distinguished figures, spared the hosts and guests sitting in the main seats from the annoyance of the heat and choking smoke of oil lamps and candles.

At the same time, the spacious banquet hall already had dozens of people scattered about who had arrived early. They had not come specifically for Jier, but were members of the Duoen Town elite; the only question about attending the banquet was whether one wanted to come, not whether one could. Anyway, it was boring at their respective homes, so it was better to take the opportunity of the banquet to gather with friends, talk, enjoy the band's performance, or listen to new poems by the town's famous Bards.

The gentlemen present were well-dressed, their intricate clothing and accessories no less elaborate than those of the ladies present.

The gentlemen wore soft hats decorated mostly with Gems and gold, gathering near the band and whispering. It was unclear whether they were enjoying the melodious music or using the music to cover the sound of their conversations with their companions.

The ladies gathered around a Bard who was sitting on a "throne" made of several wooden chairs stacked together. A fragrant breeze wafted by, and this young, handsome-looking Bard was holding a wooden lute, singing a song titled "Jinyie Buru Liangxiao" in a loud voice.

The ladies' faces were slightly flushed, and they whispered about who would be able to win over this famous Bard tonight.

Or be won over by the Bard.

Jier took a deep breath of the air here. The scent of animal fat from the oil lamps, combined with the smell of the burnt candles, was the most intense, followed by the scent of the scented powder that the ladies had applied layer after layer. Perhaps because it was spring, most of them had added various flower petals collected from outside the town when they bathed, and these sweet, cloying scents mixed with the air blowing in from several balconies were enough to choke someone.

Besides this, snacks and low-alcohol drinks for the early guests were placed on long tables that no one had yet touched.

Jier accurately smelled more than one type of ale aroma.

This made his spirits lift, and he said to Mr. "Withered Aolier" beside him: "I would like to drink some ale first."

"What?"

The other party was stunned, as if they hadn't heard clearly.

Jier explained: "I have been traveling on the wild Shanglu in the west for the past few days, and my mouth really has no taste. Please get me some ale."

This time he heard clearly, and Mr. "Withered Aolier" was between laughter and tears, having no choice but to summon a waiter standing by: "Bring the ale from the front. Knight Jier, which kind would you like?"

Jier's eyes were bright: "How about bringing some of all of them?"

"Hehe, as you wish."

The waiter obeyed the order and soon brought at least five different kinds of ale for Jier.

It made his mouth dry just looking at them.