“We have the best chefs in House Linde,” Count Brian said cheerfully.
“Tonight’s banquet will definitely satisfy Mr. Lawrence.”
Xue La pouted.
It seemed her father had misunderstood her intention.
‘She wanted to cook herself! Though there was a bit of selfishness.’
In the game Epic Fantasy Legend, even life skills could increase experience.
By stacking farming skills to feed back into combat, it was a playstyle that had to be evaluated.
‘Xue La needed this too much! The battle in the Manticore Cave earlier had explained everything. Just having Backstab was useless.’
‘When playing an Assassin, what mattered was the Endgame Build. A set of wheelchair plays: Shadow Sneak to cut the backline, Spider Web Trap to control and stun, Dagger Storm to harvest heads—whoever doesn’t laugh after playing this can be diagnosed with depression.’
‘The problem was that this set of plays required a huge investment of skill points and expert execution. And what had Xue La done? She had used the precious level-up opportunity from killing the Manticore, putting the resources into the Medical Panel to cure Luo Yi!’
‘The most infuriating thing was that she was just a tiny bit of experience short of leveling up. She definitely had to make up for this deficit by cooking to gain experience.’
‘As a girl from a small noble family, it was bittersweet. Xue La analyzed: the good side was that she could be a parasite and ignore serious matters, focusing on opening her own restaurant in this other world life, without even worrying about losing money, because her cheap noble father would definitely give her startup funds. At least a small goal of one hundred million, right?’
‘There was also the family’s land (though originally belonging to Miss Xue La) growing wheat and raising sheep. If she could optimize the industrial chain, grasp raw material supply, seize the blue ocean market…’
‘In short, the difficulty of opening a restaurant would certainly be much less than opening a restaurant on Earth before the transmigration!’
‘But another worry was Count Brian… how did he view her cooking hobby? Xue La was actually quite unfamiliar with the Linde family. In her past gaming experience, House Linde was just a noble symbol that oppressed the Brave.’
‘The supporting female character killed by Luo Yi had gotten what she deserved. But now she wasn’t the Brave, but a supporting female who might die under Luo Yi’s sword in the future!? Therefore, she had to carefully probe Count Brian’s thoughts. Would he accept his “daughter”s dream?’
The girl timidly spoke up.
“Ah… I know my own daughter can bake cookies and make pies,” Count Brian said without any particular thought, just pityingly patting Xue La’s head.
“If you have such an intention, you can send some small desserts to Mr. Lawrence.”
But to make a whole table of banquet, such complicated work, completely handed over to the count’s thirteen- or fourteen-year-old little girl? That was unreasonable.
House Linde was not a poor little knight family where the wife and daughter had to deal with soup pots like vulgar women!
Miss Xue La Linde was the pearl of this land.
Although she had few maids and her clothes were simple, Miss Xue La herself was a fair-skinned, rosy-cheeked little girl wearing a cute lace dress and white stockings.
Have his own daughter put on an apron and cook?
Unbelievable…
Count Brian simply didn’t plan to do that.
Xue La’s plan in her heart had failed.
But at least Luo Yi was awake.
As long as he lived, there was still a chance.
The credit for killing the Manticore—Xue La could guarantee that he absolutely couldn’t be left out.
That’s right, the “credit for killing the Manticore” that Kailuosi was fighting over was only in the second half.
The first half had been a mistake because Luo Yi was unconscious and there was no third-party witness.
Now, the monster expert Lawrence had come and used the broad-spectrum antivenom that was out of stock in Linde territory to cure Luo Yi’s poisoned state.
Inviting him for dinner was just to thank him for that bottle of antivenom.
This play wasn’t over yet.
“I have to say…” Lawrence spoke.
“Regarding the wound bandaging—a piece of lace that was actively torn… besides Miss Xue La, there could be no one else.”
At that time, among the children in the cave, besides Xue La who was a noble’s daughter, the other girls were from ordinary families.
Their parents might be farmers who came to town to watch the excitement, tailors who dealt with needle and thread, merchants who exchanged currency…
And the price of a piece of lace was too expensive.
“That’s right, Luo Yi…” Xue La spoke, actively pulling him in.
“It was you who protected me and killed the Manticore, so you have the credit, understand!”
The red-haired boy woke up groggily from his coma, only to find that besides his grandfather Roderick, there was also a girl guarding him.
A familiar girl.
“Xue La?” he said.
“Where am I? The Manticore…”
“Was killed, you idiot boy!” Kailuosi was very impatient.
“Whether the Manticore was killed by you, you need to speak with a clear conscience!”
“As long as it’s dead,” Luo Yi said.
“And thank you, Miss Xue La… that…”
“Grandpa, I’m hungry. Let’s go home for dinner.”
‘Heavens! What kind of person was Luo Yi? This was obviously a tense interrogation, but he had his mind full of food!’
‘Xue La covered her face. Was this Brave a bit… like a big idiot who only knew how to eat?’
Count Brian couldn’t help but laugh.
His voice carried far.
The lord of House Linde was generous and benevolent, his voice as loud as the great bell of the church.
Because he was amiable in business, the wheat and wool trade could be carried out smoothly in the Kingdom of Norsenia.
“Sure! The hero who killed the Manticore can certainly enjoy a feast—do you want roast lamb chops or oatmeal porridge with honey?”
“Whether he’s a hero is still hard to say,” Kailuosi said dissatisfiedly.
“He just stepped in dog shit. A little brat bandaged by Miss Xue La’s kindness—tell me, could that greatsword that killed the Manticore be lifted by this… little kid from a serf family?”
Kailuosi had originally wanted to curse “little bastard,” but Roderick’s eyes could kill at any time—so he swallowed hard and changed his words on the spot.
“Whether my grandson can lift a greatsword, we’ll know by trying,” Roderick actively showed off his muscles.
“I was a soldier of Bali Saihe in the old days, and I’ve killed more monsters with one sword than I can count on two hands!”
“Bali Saihe is already a recognized traitor by the royal family,” Kailuosi retorted.
“Be careful with your words.”
“The General is not a traitor!” Luo Yi spoke up.
“Grandpa told me…”
“Silence!”
Just as a pointless argument was about to unfold in the manor, Count Brian roared, stopping them.
“If he can lift the greatsword, that’s enough,” he said.
“I’m also very curious about who killed the Manticore and saved my daughter.”
He stared at Luo Yi, word by word:
“My daughter didn’t hesitate to tear a high-end dress worth one hundred gold coins just to bandage your wounds—do you know what that means? One hundred gold coins. You and your grandfather working for a hundred years might not be able to repay it!”
“So then,” Brian resumed his refined demeanor, “I believe in my daughter’s judgment. She wouldn’t misjudge someone. A boy worth saving with a hundred gold coins might indeed be the great hero who killed the Manticore.”
The count announced his final judgment: if Luo Yi could swing that greatsword, then the fact of killing the Manticore would be set in stone.
Kailuosi couldn’t bear it.
Under the pretense of “transporting the evidence,” he quickly ran to the armory behind the manor.
The manor was a noble’s residence, but it also had other functions, such as storing weapons.
For that, there was a blacksmith uncle.
“Do me a favor,” Kailuosi said to the blacksmith.
“Help me stuff some lead into this greatsword to make that little kid look like a fool…”
A knight who had become a scumbag could never stand those lowborn people who still gained the appreciation of noble lords.
Wasn’t that just adding to his own annoyance?
The failure of guarding, letting Miss Xue La end up in the Manticore Cave, and having a son die… this string of events was already bad enough.
If he couldn’t even turn a funeral into a celebration, turning his son’s cold body into a reward from the count, then Kailuosi would really be at a huge loss.
So, he had to kick Luo Yi out of the picture!