Kailos immediately made a hasty judgment upon seeing the unconscious Luo Yi.
“A dying peasant brat could take on a Manticore?”
He insisted that the one who killed the Manticore was not Luo Yi.
Brian was still waiting for that crucial expert to arrive.
Lawrence, a merchant specializing in monster goods.
Rather than arguing over who deserved the credit for killing the Manticore, Brian was actually more concerned about how many gold coins this Manticore corpse could sell for.
With the money, he could make up for the losses from the Harvest Festival and compensate the injured…
There might even be surplus to reward a hero.
So, would Lawrence be able to come?
Xue La also cared about that—but the urgent matter was Luo Yi…
The toxin had only been alleviated, not eliminated. How could her father Brian believe that he killed the Manticore based solely on Xue La’s testimony?
Moreover, there was an even darker reality.
After all, with her experience from playing games in her previous life, Xue La knew that Luo Yi, as the son of a tenant farmer of House Linde, hadn’t fared well in the original world line. To put it in game plot terms, he had killed the Manticore, but couldn’t guarantee that the credit belonged to him.
That shameless scoundrel Kailos… in the original world line, he had managed to snatch it away…
Xue La clenched her fists, but there was nothing she could do.
Playing a game was one thing. Solving problems was another.
In her previous life, this was one reason why she had delayed opening a shop.
She could make beautiful Western pastries and was about to finish her apprenticeship, but she was still far from running her own restaurant!
Cooking delicious food was just one factor in the success of a food business.
No matter how much experience playing games gave her, she would still hit a wall here.
All she could do was search her own panel to see if there were any other lifesaving methods.
Because other avenues had been tried and didn’t work.
When the unconscious Luo Yi and his silent grandfather Roderick first came into Xue La’s sight, the first thing she thought of was actually to beg her father, Count Brian Lind.
After all, he was the most powerful and wealthy figure in this land.
If her father just spoke up and summoned the best doctor to cure Luo Yi’s poison, there would be no problem at all, right?
However, that was also a bit difficult. The doctors were too busy.
The Manticore… was dead. But the trouble remained.
The victims of Manticore venom were not limited to Luo Yi. Those unlucky souls who had been stung by the Manticore’s tail during the Harvest Festival had already filled the small monastery under House Linde and the town’s hospital…
The crucial medicine was already out of stock!
Brian could only sigh helplessly and pat his daughter Xue La’s head.
His daughter was unhappy and directly shook off his hand.
‘This girl,’ Brian sighed inwardly. ‘Not many people can change my daughter’s temperament so much. Luo Yi… is interesting.’
Brian didn’t know Luo Yi, but he did know Roderick.
After all, a former soldier of the former Grand General of Bali Saihe, whose fields had become barren and who had to sell his labor as a tenant farmer to House Linde…
This was quite unexpected.
That failed battle, that old general stripped of everything.
Some rumors said he had become a pitiful beggar.
In comparison, old subordinates like Roderick could still become tenant farmers—that was considered good luck.
Originally, Roderick was strong and good at work. Count Brian had not considered letting this old man use his remaining strength, serving as an instructor in his manor to teach the guards.
A bunch of useless drunkards couldn’t even prevent a Manticore from attacking!
If they had known this would happen, why hadn’t they acted earlier?
At that time… it seemed that the bastard Kailos had opposed it, saying that an old man as an instructor training the guards would cause dissent.
Who would be willing to listen to the orders of a white-haired old man?
Yet this man’s grandson might have saved his daughter.
Brian had a preference in his heart. When he noticed that the cloth used to bandage Luo Yi’s wound was fine lace, he understood everything—he just didn’t want to break the silence first.
He was not just a father to his daughter. He was also a lord, needing to wear a mask of impartiality.
Xue La searched through her panel for a long time.
Finally, she found only a strange panel.
“An affection panel?”
Xue La complained.
“There are bugs even after transmigrating to another world?”
Xue La was not unaware of this panel. The affection panel was also an important part of the game.
It’s just that…
It was unlikely to be applied to Xue La, a throwaway maid side character, right!?
This was part of the party panel. Increasing affection could also add a large amount of experience points and skill points…
There were even special mechanisms and CG…
But why was it on Xue La?
She couldn’t figure it out. Shouldn’t this be a special panel between the hero Luo Yi and his main wife?
It couldn’t be that because she transmigrated, she was supposed to be Luo Yi’s wife, right?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
She was just someone who wanted to be a carefree noble parasite enjoying a comfortable life and opening a shop.
House Linde wasn’t bad, she had thought. This land produced wheat and wool, the noble owned several towns with a strong commercial atmosphere, so opening a shop was a sure profit.
Her only thought was not to anger Luo Yi, so he wouldn’t kill her off like in the original world line.
Therefore, she needed to appropriately farm affection to ensure Luo Yi wouldn’t hate her.
But this “First Stage Affection already maxed”… why did it look so suspicious!
Xue La felt like crying but had no tears.
The only good news was that the merchant named Lawrence had finally arrived.
As soon as he got down from the carriage, he was a bit unusual.
Not that he had a temperament completely different from nobles, nor that he was wearing some flashy clothes.
Lawrence…
As soon as he got off the carriage, he vomited?
Was there really a merchant in the world who got carsick?
Could he travel across the kingdom collecting monster materials to make money?
Just vomiting in front of a noble was a crime of grave disrespect…
Xue La hadn’t thought of that aspect. That shameless scoundrel Kailos was adding fuel to the fire.
He directly drew his longsword from its sheath and started shouting.
“Shameless wretch! How dare you vomit unclean things in front of Lord Brian!”
“S-sorry,”
Lawrence bowed.
“I’ve been traveling too long, and I smelled the stench of that Manticore corpse. I’m really exhausted.”
Brian scolded Kailos and explained the whole story.
Lawrence frowned and decided to check on Luo Yi first.
“This is interesting, really.”
When Lawrence talked about monsters, he was very knowledgeable.
“Manticore venom is always fierce. Without timely treatment, a victim won’t last a day.”
“Either someone provided medical support…”
Lawrence leaned down and carefully examined Luo Yi’s body.
“M-my grandson… can he be saved?”
Roderick approached and only asked this.
Kailos blocked him.
“Old man, don’t get in the way!”
Lawrence had no time to mind their bickering. He just unwrapped the bandage on Luo Yi’s leg.
“It seems the owner of this torn piece of lace is the one who administered treatment. The method was a bit rough, but the approach was correct. The toxin… should have been mostly removed by physical means, which is why he survived.”
Lawrence then took something out of his coat: a bottle of potion.
“Broad-spectrum antidote. It has a curative effect on most toxins.”
Lawrence said.
“Before I came to the manor, I already saw the situation here. House Linde is a minor rural noble. In the monastery and the alchemist-run pharmacy here, there’s a huge shortage of broad-spectrum antidote.”
Great! Xue La cried tears of joy.
With the antidote, Luo Yi could survive.
She really wanted to repay Lawrence properly.
Using her best skill: cooking.
Because Lawrence, clearly a merchant who roamed everywhere, had just at this moment caught homesickness?
“If only I could have a bite of my hometown’s stew,”
Lawrence casually remarked.
“Thank you, Lord Brian, for the gracious invitation. I will carefully appraise the value of this Manticore…”
“And thank you for saving Luo Yi.”
Xue La suddenly spoke.
“You want stew? This lady will cook!”