Chapter 730: The Banquet Begins, A Bizarre Business Story

Jier did not wait for the attendant to introduce the types and origins of the ale provided at this banquet; he simply picked up a small barrel of ale and poured it into the wooden wine cup at the very edge of his dining table.

Splash, the golden liquid poured out, and the cup was full in no time.

Jier picked up this small wooden wine cup, which was barely larger than a fist, and brought it to his lips to gulp it down.

He downed it in a few swallows.

"Ah, whew—that is truly refreshing; it feels as if the troubles of these past days have been washed away along with the cool, crisp wine."

Jier exclaimed in praise.

Mr. "Shriveled Aolier" smiled slightly: "No matter how good the wine is, it can only soothe and numb oneself; the problems are always there, and they won't diminish just because one gets drunk."

Mr. Scott, sitting nearby, also nodded and waved at the attendant to bring him a cup as well: "That is the truth, but today is not a day for internal discipline within the Merchant Guild; today is a day for making new friends. Come, young Knight, let us two clink glasses."

He chose the same ale as Jier, clinked his glass with Jier's refilled one, and also drank deeply. However, he only finished half of his fist-sized cup, unlike Jier, who drained his cup every time.

Jier gripped his wooden wine cup, refilled it himself with a different flavor of ale, and asked: "Are we starting now? Is there no specific banquet procedure?"

Mr. Autosfiten, who did not touch a drop of alcohol, had his subordinate bring him a cup of honey water, added a few drops of flower nectar into it, sipped it gently, and then answered Jier's question: "Knight Jier, the moon has not yet risen. The banquet will begin after the first moon of the night rises; there is still a little time left."

"Of course, if you feel it is appropriate, we can begin now."

Jier nodded casually, but his nod seemed to be interpreted by Mr. Autosfiten as a desire to start the banquet immediately. Thus, the frail young merchant shook a hand-cranked bell unique to his table.

Ding-a-ling, a sound rang out.

The crisp sound spread throughout the spacious and lively banquet hall; in an instant, the musicians stopped what they were doing and stood up one after another. The handsome Bard, whose poem had not yet reached its conclusion, shrugged helplessly, closed his mouth, and offered a charming, apologetic smile to the ladies around him.

The chattering of the ladies ceased, the men stopped their casual conversations, and all the dignitaries and merchants in town turned their heads toward the main seat of the banquet and began to walk over slowly.

At this moment, Jier felt dozens of gazes appraising him; every part of his body was being scrutinized repeatedly, making him feel quite uncomfortable. He finally understood what Priest Bata'er meant when he told him to dress well before coming; at a time like this, one could not afford even the slightest bit of shabbiness or embarrassment, because any minor flaw would be seen by everyone.

The pressure was immense.

Moreover, this kind of curious, scrutinizing gaze was far different from the way enemies looked at him during battle. There was no malice in it, but considering the status of these well-dressed men and women, and their usual overbearing attitudes, the pressure they brought was not small.

Jier took a breath and lifted his head slightly; he wanted to bring a smile to his face, but he couldn't quite manage it, and the corners of his mouth remained subconsciously steady and cold.

This appearance, however, quite matched the initial imagination everyone present had of Jier, this young Northern Knight.

Consequently, after most people scanned the seated Knight Jier up and down, they lost their curiosity and withdrew their gazes.

It felt very long to Jier, but in reality, from the moment the bell rang to when everyone withdrew their gazes, only two breaths of time had passed. At this moment, Mr. Autosfiten, the host of this banquet hall, stood up slightly, raised his exquisite cup filled with honey water, and said: "Let us welcome the young Knight from Kendall County in the north of the Kingdom, Knight Qiao-Jier."

At this time, numerous attendants holding wooden trays walked out from behind the supporting stone pillars on both sides of the banquet hall, delivering cups filled with various wines to their respective masters. These guests participating in the banquet were regulars, most of them being prominent figures in town, and the attendants knew them all; the banquet hall even had personal wine cups reserved for them.

At this moment, these cups had also been filled with the wine each person was accustomed to drinking and were brought over.

Each attendant was like a butterfly or a bee moving through a sea of flowers, their footsteps light as they turned and twisted, delivering the wine cups into the hands of their respective masters in the shortest possible time.

Mr. Autosfiten's words paused for a brief moment, just enough time for everyone to pick up their cups.

"This is a knight of noble character. For the sake of the people of the Southern Province who were stranded at the Baishi Chengqiang Guanka due to prejudice, he took on the heavy burden of over seven hundred people, swearing to lead them back to their homeland to seek a peaceful and tranquil life. What a noble person this is, everyone! Let us raise our glasses and toast to the success of this young knight's journey! Knight Qiao-Jier, I wish you success! May your martial fortune last long!"

"Wish you success! May your martial fortune last long!"

Everyone, regardless of gender, wished him well in unison.

Jier took a deep breath, stood up excitedly, raised his wine cup, and drank it in one gulp.

He himself didn't know that his actions could be described so nobly by others? Ah! So I didn't even know I was this noble; I have performed such a great deed!

Jier's face flushed red, and he became excited; even his sturdy body trembled slightly with emotion.

At this time, after Mr. Autosfiten finished speaking and sat down, Mr. "Shriveled Aolier" also stood up holding an ivory wine cup: "Everyone, please relax. Tonight's banquet is held to host Knight Qiao-Jier, so friends who are curious about our young knight can come over to eat, drink, and talk later. At the same time, this banquet has programs presented for everyone to enjoy."

He added: "The well-known Bard of Duoen Town—'Singing Felicis'—will be performing the new poem he wrote just a short while ago for the first time tonight. I believe that apart from myself, everyone present has not heard it yet; I guarantee it will satisfy you all."

At this time, the Bard—"Singing Felicis"—who had come down from his wooden chair "throne," walked out from the crowd, bowed slightly toward the main seat of the banquet, and then turned to bow deeply toward his true audience—the powerful and influential ladies of the town.

The ladies squealed with excitement, asking each other if there was any gossip about what the new poem of the star before them would be about.

But just as Mr. "Shriveled Aolier" said, only he and the Bard himself knew the content of the new poem.

"Secondly, our town's dance troupe will present a new dance they have only performed once before. Those friends who were unable to come and enjoy the banquet that hosted Kendall Baron last time must be sure to watch and savor it well. The dancers are all prepared to bring out their best state and present their most beautiful side to everyone."

Speaking of this, he himself seemed quite proud. Mr. Scott, on Jier's right, whispered an explanation: "Deripari's youngest daughter is the lead dancer of the troupe. He seems to have poured a lot of effort into this, just hoping that his beautiful young daughter can use this to climb up to the main heir of some great noble family."

Jier raised his eyebrows; he did not expect that this seemingly shrewd and capable middle-aged merchant had such plans.

However, considering the other party's social status, using his daughter's beauty to climb into a noble family was indeed a clever way. As long as the path could be cleared, this method could save him over a dozen years of building connections, allowing him to jump directly from the starting point to the finish line.

Jier chuckled twice; he didn't care about this, and these key figures of the joint Merchant Guild, who seemed to have a good relationship, clearly also had some reservations.

"Finally, our band will bring out their specialty and present the third movement of 'Spring Flowers' for everyone. Ah, this is a magnificent movement that fits the month and the day. At that time, please accompany the wonderful music and enjoy the sea of flowers blooming outside the banquet hall on the terrace! Although the situation is not good, just like the flower season that comes every year, peaceful and prosperous days will always come. Everyone, please wait quietly for that day to arrive."

"Let us wish here, wish that the noble lords gathered in the Province Capital can lead many knights and armies to defeat the neighboring country's army on the southern border and take back the land and mineral deposits that belong to us! Let us wish them victory, victory! Victory!!"

The men and women in front of them all raised their wine cups high and drank their respective wines in one gulp amidst the chorus of cheers for victory.

Jier also drank a full cup of the clear, delicately fragrant ale and was quite satisfied.

But he noticed that while Mr. Deripari was speaking with high spirits to boost the morale of the Southern Province army, the smiles on the faces of the other key merchants at the same table were hard to fathom.

This subtle observation made Jier's heart sink.

He did not fear a powerful enemy; he only feared that a portion of the people on his own side had different interests in such matters.

Under the cover of pouring and drinking wine, he frowned and thought about many things in an instant.

He did not know exactly what the "Wealth Fruit" Merchant Guild operated, but judging from the fact that they directly allocated a full cart of fuel firewood to him, it was clear that the "Wealth Fruit" Merchant Guild was involved in the supply of daily necessities for the town.

Moreover, Mr. Scott next to him had already said that Mr. "Shriveled Aolier" had plans to use his youngest daughter to climb up to a local noble; thus, specifically speaking, his long-term interests were clearly largely consistent with the local Noble Lords.

But Mr. Scott, sitting to his right, this Senior Steward of the Burning Furnace Chamber of Commerce—their chamber of commerce was clearly engaged in the iron trade. These days, business was clearly booming; the chaotic situation might be a trouble for other merchant guilds, but for them, it was clearly a great opportunity.

So, from the perspective of these merchants' interests, would the other party feel that the current situation should last as long as possible?

And what about the other two sitting to Jier's left?

Mr. Autosfiten of the "Treasure House" Merchant Guild—although news suggested he was of noble birth, did the merchant guild behind him lean toward any side in the war? Logically speaking, they shouldn't, as the chaotic situation would inevitably lead to the bankruptcy and decline of many shops and the merchant guilds behind them in town; overall, it was detrimental to the town's development.

Jier could not figure this out and could only assume that Mr. Autosfiten was not very interested in the military war, or that he did not like Mr. "Shriveled Aolier" promoting these things in his banquet hall.

And the last one, the elderly merchant with graying hair, Mr. Vels-Bantolisa, the Senior Steward of the "Golden Sickle" Merchant Guild—why did he sneer at the promotion of the war?

Jier did not know yet, but he would understand when he saw Xueya Site tomorrow morning.

The banquet officially began, and the musicians returned to the performance platform in the corner, lightly plucking their instruments to fill the idle time before the Bard began their performance with soothing melodies.

At this time, the lead Bard temporarily excused themselves, heading through the staircase in the corner of the second-floor banquet hall to the first-floor lounge to change into the performance attire they would wear shortly.

Stewards brought up various freshly baked delicacies made by the kitchen via the stairs they used for access; large portions of roasted beef ribs laid out on ornate silver platters were delivered, accompanied by a young, good-looking cook who followed along.

The young cook, holding a large knife and fork, carefully carved the whole rack of beef ribs—half the size of a person—into portions for people to enjoy, with the best parts naturally being sent to the main table of the banquet.

As for the rest, guests who wished to eat could summon a Steward to help themselves.

The portion of beef ribs delivered to Jier was clearly about five times larger than those in the hands of the other Merchants. Mr. Scott explained with a smile, "Haha, everyone knows that Knights have much larger appetites than us normal people. A few years ago, the banquet restaurant would occasionally make this common-sense error, but after Autosfiten took over, he quickly corrected it. At least it didn't leave the Knights who occasionally visit Duoen Town feeling disappointed."

Mr. Autosfiten himself only asked for a few small pieces of the most tender beef, barely managing to eat a few bites, and didn't touch the rest at all.

Although Jier was not hungry—after all, he had been fighting against tough Monster meat these past few days—he naturally had no reason not to eat the tender meat ribs sprinkled with spices.

However, just eating meat could not satisfy him. Jier did not stand on ceremony and asked a Steward for a piece of bread fresh from the oven. He took the bread, which was the size of half a person's head, and tore it open. He ate the steaming bread paired with the sliced beef ribs, simply dipping them in sauce and stuffing them into his mouth in large bites.

Seeing Jier's way of eating, Mr. Bantuolisa laughed and mentioned that this way of eating was similar to that of the ancient Northern Three Kingdoms. He had visited there once when he was young.

Therefore, while eating, he began to tell the people around him about his business travels in his youth.

"You surely won't believe one thing, and even I myself don't believe it, but when I was young, I even met the Lady of Winter under the command of the God of Agriculture once."

As he said this cheerfully, the others at the table were all taken aback.

Mr. 'Flat-chested Aolier' was surprised, wondering why he had never heard this old fellow mention it before. Mr. Scott smirked and said, "Don't tell me you made this up on the spot? You aren't at the age of senility yet, are you?"

Old Mr. Bantuolisa waved his hand: "Why would I lie to you? I didn't say it before because there was no need to. I have been a follower of the great God of Wealth for a long time; meeting a god in person and having the god exist, telling people about it would only be asking for trouble."

Mr. Autosfiten covered his mouth with his hand and asked with bright eyes: "Don't keep us in suspense, tell us how it happened. It just so happens that you shouldn't tell your old-fashioned diplomatic stories today."

The old Merchant was a bit unhappy: "But Knight Jier hasn't heard it yet, he wants to hear this, right?"

Jier waved his hand: "Either is fine, either is fine. You can tell whatever you like, I am listening."

Mr. Bantuolisa, the Senior Steward of the 'Golden Sickle' Merchant Guild, then briefly recounted the personal story he had almost never told before.

"That was when I was in my twenties, about twenty-some years ago. To be honest, even today it makes me feel amazed. I hope the great God of Wealth forgives me; the story I am about to tell did not betray my Faith."

"At that time, I wasn't part of the 'Golden Sickle' Merchant Guild. I had organized a Merchant Guild myself, seven or eight people, all listening to me, specializing in transporting a rare commodity that the North lacked. To be honest, don't look at that place as having wind and snow for half the year; in reality, even in places that seem poor, the Nobles are very rich. After all, the Northern Three Kingdoms have existed longer than the Empire; the Northern Three Kingdoms were founded not long after the ancient Magic Empire collapsed."

"At that time, I heard that the Northern Three Kingdoms region lacked a type of self-heating volcanic rock—the kind of black, hard, and brittle rock produced only in volcanic craters. This peculiar rock, containing the rage of fire and the tolerance of the earth, would release the heat stored within it as long as it was struck, making it most suitable for the cold northern regions. Those wealthy Nobles would lay them on the floors of their castle halls; as long as someone walked on them, it would make the castle's originally cold hall as warm as spring!"

"I took out all my family fortune, chartered twenty cargo wagons, went specifically to the place in the south that produced this stuff, filled all the wagons, and then headed all the way north, crossing the entire Kingdom to reach the cold Northern Three Kingdoms region."

The others ate while listening to Mr. Bantuolisa tell his youthful story.

"As expected, there were plenty of troublesome problems along the way, but I was so clever back then. Whenever I encountered danger, I would take my Shop Assistants, abandon the wagons, and ride away on horses. At the same time, I specifically removed the axle locking pins of the wagons, leaving every force that had designs on me staring helplessly at twenty wagons full of stones that couldn't move! Haha! The Bandits all retreated in frustration, and some local forces even had to pay me to go back, because my wagons and the stone slabs on them were blocking the Shanglu completely."

"Just like that, it took me half a year to get there. To be honest, it's not that I hadn't seen snow, but you surely couldn't imagine what a snowstorm that could last for half a month looks like. At that time, most of the time we had to sit on the wagons and specifically send people to walk back and forth on the exposed stone surfaces, just to let them release heat to ensure the temperature of the Caravan, so that the horses that couldn't adapt to the local climate wouldn't freeze to death."

"It was one month after I arrived there, after I had sold about half of the heating volcanic rock and gained a great reputation locally, that I met the Lady of Winter—Cuinaisi."

"You surely won't believe it when I say it, but the incarnation of the Lady of Winter, who is a god, was a short little girl, not as tall as she appears in statues. She was wearing a set of colorful fur clothing made of animal skins, carrying a Giant Axe bigger than her own height, and just like that, she walked through the heavy wind and snow, and on a Shanglu where not even half a creature could be seen, she found me—uh, my Caravan."

"You surely don't know what a god would come looking for. Haha, she said she had been building a new palace for herself for the last hundred years, and while she was out cutting down some ancient trees, she heard from followers that there was a peculiar floor-heating stone from the south, so she came to find it herself."

"Haha, it sounds a bit disrespectful, but this reason was truly cute. I doubted her identity at the time, especially since the other party was dressed thinly, just a colorful animal skin wrapped around her body, yet she was carrying a Giant Axe bigger than a person. So I said I didn't believe it and wanted to see the truth of her words with my own eyes. You know, I was just talking nonsense at the time, but it actually came true."

"The Lady of Winter shouted a few words I couldn't understand, and the falling snowflakes gathered into a deer made of ice and snow, tens of meters tall, rising from under the feet of our wagons. And the Caravan's horses all stood there sleeping. Just like that, we held onto the wagons tightly, on the back of the tens of meters tall deer made of ice and snow that was rumbling, braving the huge wind and snow where you couldn't see anything for several meters, and walked for half a day before stopping in front of a palace in a huge mountain range."

Mr. Bantuolisa's story was exceptionally bizarre, simply beyond the imagination of the listeners around him. At the very least, Jier could not believe that the person who had experienced all this was sitting right before their eyes, eating with them.

"I can't remember exactly what that palace looked like. The Lady of Winter said it still needed some time to be finished, and before it was finished, she was embarrassed to let mortals like me see the unfinished state of the palace. In the end, the remaining half of the heating volcanic rock was all sold to this god. The other party was quite satisfied and gave me a whole chest of gold. Haha, it was only later, relying on this money, that I reached my current position."

"As for the other local Nobles who had made prior agreements, they didn't get to buy the agreed-upon stones, and I left the area as if fleeing. By now, my arrest warrant might not even have been revoked yet. Even if I explained that I sold them to a god, they wouldn't believe it, saying I must have sold them privately to some local Noble. But no one admitted to it."

The story ended, and the eating and drinking at the banquet came to a temporary pause. At this moment, the Bard, who had changed into a new set of clothes, walked out. The Stewards had already laid a new carpet in the center of the banquet hall, along with a small stage twenty centimeters high.

The Bard's performance was about to begin.

The ladies had long ago asked the banquet Stewards to move soft stools to the place closest to the performance, while the men also held their wine glasses, standing on both sides, ready to enjoy it.

Jier and the others had not stopped eating and drinking. At this moment, as soon as Mr. Bantuolisa's story ended, this side picked up right where it left off; clearly, there were still too many details to be excavated from the old Merchant's story.

It was just that Jier probably wouldn't have this opportunity, but Mr. Autosfiten, whose eyes were shining while listening to the story, was clutching the old Merchant's sleeve, asking about something in a low voice.

He clearly had not the slightest interest in the banquet's program.

It was far less exciting to him than this story about a god.

Jier did not know that not long after this day, Mr. Autosfiten said goodbye to Duoen Town. Although he did not resign from his position in the Merchant Guild, he took a long leave of absence, seemingly wanting to retrace the old Merchant's peculiar experience.

It was not hard for his close friends to guess why; this person had placed his hope of curing his physical weakness on a god. It was unknown what exactly was wrong with his body that required a god to personally take action to cure it.