As long as the meat was of high quality, simply stewing it would release a delicious aroma, sure to attract diners.
Lia opened her mouth in shock, stuttering a bit, âMe, together with Lin Da and Isa, take on that monstrous Abner? Heâs level 39, isnât he? This, thisâ¦â
âThis is really exciting!â
Lia laughed out loud, âThis miss is going to become the top swordsman in White Dove City!â
Lin Da frowned, âEven if Abner isnât the top swordsman of White Dove City, it still wouldnât be your turn.â
âThen who would it be?â
âOf course, itâs Isa.â
Lin Da spread his hands.
Lia: â!!!â
The carriage was in chaos for a moment.
The carriage Lin Da had spent a fortune on was nearly wrecked.
â¦
As evening approached, the street lights along Central Street lit up one by one.
Heading north along this street, one could see a fork in the road.
The road here was wider and cleaner than Central Street.
The reason was simple: the âMunicipal Districtâ was located here, housing officials and their families.
Based on the different ranks of officials, the lowest were the Sub-One-Star Knights, who lived in round distribution at the perimeter of the district, mostly jampacked in tall buildings like ants crammed together.
The deeper inside one went, the more luxurious the buildings became, culminating in lone mansions in the remotest part.
From a certain high-rise building in the middle layers, a manâs angry roar could be heard from the first-floor living room.
Several women passing by on a stroll stopped, startled by the noise.
âEh, isnât that Captain Yaoâs voice?â
âWho angered him? The usually composed Captain Yao actually losing his composure like thisâ¦â
âShh! It seems itâs because his daughter attended a disreputable party, itâs all over the neighborhood now.â
âAh? But Iâve always known Captain Yaoâs daughter as a top student, how could she be involved in such things?â
âShe must have faced some kind of shock. The child grew up without a mother, easily deceived by dark-skinned Beastmen adventurers. That group of âDark Beastsâ has plenty of scoundrels, big in size but nothing else good about themâ¦â
âExactly, exactly.â
The women gossiped as they quickly walked away.
Inside the living room, a silver-haired man with a square face sat on the sofa, beside him, the standard straight sword of the Imperial Knights.
Veins bulged on his forehead as he angrily pounded the coffee table with his fist.
The glass coffee table couldnât bear the load and cracked.
âStay away from that guy, Isa, your father is doing this for your own good! Just the news about his lewd parties, Iâve seen no less than five times!
Yesterday I met his team members.â
Heh, the way they looked at him was not how team members look at their leader, but like a group of depraved monkeys eyeing a mating partner!
My God, how do so many people like the same man?
I canât even begin to imagine how chaotic their private lives are.
And you, Isa, I have always been proud to have a daughter like you. One day you will inherit my sword and replace me to protect this city.
But look at what youâve done, you actually want to date the Ultimate Pervert? Knowing he has so many women, and still, like a moth to a flame? Itâs irrational!â
Yao looked at his daughter with a mix of frustration and disbelief.
âFather, Iâm grown up; I donât need you to nag me anymore!â Isa set down her basket of fruit and pastries heavily at the door, an apple rolling out.
Isaâs face was as dark as water, nothing made her sadder than her own father misunderstanding her.
âYou⦠ah!â
Yaoâs eyes bulged as he clutched his chest, shivering, and said, âYou might as well kill your father with anger, having a shameless daughter like you is simply mortifying!â
âYouâre the one who is shameless, you know nothing, how dare you judge me, Iâve said it several times, Lin Da isnât the kind of person who throws lewd parties! Father, I hate you!â
Isa wiped her tears, quickly walked out of the living room, and closed the door.@@novelbin@@
Through the slowly closing door, she saw Yao spitting dark purple blood into the trash bin. It was an old problem of Yaoâs, he had been attacked by the Cold Poison Feathered Snake in his youth when he entered the World Tree and had never fully recovered.
Isa learned from her fatherâs old teammates that at that time, Yao could have used the gold coins heâd saved from adventuring to buy some Dragon Blood mixed with the Antidote Herb to neutralize the poison. Unfortunately, she was born at that time, a period when expenses were high.
Yao decided to save the gold coins to let her become an outstanding swordsman.
Isaâs mother had died early, and she was raised solely by Yao. Her swordsmanship was taught by Yao, and her upright character was inherited from her father; she could say that Yao was the person she respected the most.
But as she grew older, Yaoâs thinking became more conservative, more stubborn.
Stubbornly, she was seen as a daughter who was led astray by Lin Da, participating in the chaotic party behind her fatherâs backâa news story that was born on the night of the fireworks festival.
Reporter Kami secretly photographed her wearing a yukata, hanging out with Lin Da and others, boarding the same carriage.
The fireworks festival was also known as the bang bang festival, in every sense of the word.
It was inevitable that Yao would speculate wildly.
But in reality, nothing happened that day.
Due to the conflict with Yao, Isa hadnât gone to meet Lin Da when the tenth level of the Great Mystery Continent opened.
On one hand was her father, who had raised her; on the other was the adventurer she liked⦠Isa couldnât help but be confused.
She aimlessly walked down the brightly lit Central Street.
People bustled around, the aroma of baked bread wafted from inside shops, adventurers roared with exaggerated laughter in pubs, elves dressed as bunny girls bashfully blushed, bending over to hand out flyers for the café to passersbyâ¦
Central Street was as bustling as a festival every day.
But as Isa walked on this street, she felt unusually alone, uncertain of where to go.
A couple passed by her:
âThe performance match is tomorrow, I heard theyâre setting up Lin Da and Lia to duel.â
âHeh, I hope Lia beats up that scumbag. Captain Lia kicked him out; it must be his own fault. Why else would she kick him out?â
âI thinkâ¦â
âDo you want to go to the sofa tonight?â
âLin Da is just a scumbag! We must support Captain Lia!â
The cat girl smiled satisfactorily.
The male with a turtle shell was about to defend Lin Da, but upon seeing his cat girlfriendâs fierce gaze, he drooped his head and murmured.
The couple walked away, leaving only the remnants of their conversation echoing in Isaâs ears.
Isa thoughtfully remembered; she had almost forgotten about the performance match.
Along the way, she heard many rumors about the performance match.
The Adventurersâ Guild, seeking to hype up the event, dug up old stories between Lin Da and Lia:
The Black-Hearted Snow Goose Captain refusing to pay wages, maliciously firing team members!
Lin Da returning reinvigorated, vowing to avenge this grievance!
The Turtle people commented: Lin Da is likely using this opportunity to show his loyalty to Lia, aiming to return to the Snow Goose Adventure Team.
The rumors grew more and more outrageous.
Isa even heard an elf girl say that Lin Da planned to confess to everyone from Snow Goose at the performance match.
Despite knowing these were all false rumors, Isa still felt uneasy hearing them.
Things were already strained with her father; if Lin Da got together with Lia tooâ¦
Suddenly, Isa felt like getting drunk at a pub.
Apart from the duel between Lia and Lin Da, the highlight of the performance match was the three captains banding together to face Abner, the strongest adventurer of White Dove City.
âLin Da has not contacted me at all.â
Ever since Monica disappeared, Lin Da had become very busy. Isaâs side also mobilized members to search the wilderness.
Once Monica was found, both sides urgently joined the strategy for the World Tree.
Like interlocking gears, they did not stop.
Busy as they were, their relationship seemed to grow distant.
âNo, itâs just that both sides are simply too busy.â
Isa bit her lip, feeling anxious.
Even so.
She couldnât convince herself with these words.
Tomorrow was the performance match, a grand occasion not to be messed up, attended by many merchants and adventurers from afar.
Why hadnât Lin Da contacted her to strategize?
Of course, Isa was unaware at the time that the party held by Lin Da tonight was unsuitable for Ice type adventurers to attendâ¦
Anyway.
Isa bought some souvenirs, took a carriage, and headed for the Phoenix Tail Flower Teamâs villa.
Taking advantage of the fact that it wasnât too late.
She needed to have Lin Da call Lia, and together, the three of them would discuss strategies to deal with Abner.
Before long, she arrived at the Goldfinch District.