Chapter 32: Faithful Henry
Levi ordering her around like that was one thing.
Even if Levi truly wanted to rock the carriage with her, Yalina might not have been entirely unwilling to accept it.
But being teased and harassed by these despicable scum? That was something Yalina absolutely could not tolerate.
She suddenly drew her short sword, and a pressure along with killing intent belonging to a knight-level existence spread out.
If they were seasoned veterans, they might have sensed that indescribable pressure.
Otherwise, anyone of the same knight-level would at least notice something.
But unfortunately, these city guards were all old street thugs—mostly riffraff by background. Although they felt that something was off, they still failed to recognize Yalina's strength.
If they had known she possessed knight-level power, they would never have dared to act so recklessly.
The captain of the city guards let his gaze roam brazenly over Levi and Yalina. Seeing her draw her sword, not only was he not concerned—he even found it amusing.
"Careful, beautiful lady. Don't go cutting your own hand," he said.
The guards beside him burst into laughter. "Yeah, our captain would feel bad for you!"
"Enough!" The captain shot his men a look, finally making them stop laughing. Putting on a serious face, he asked Levi and Yalina, "What are you here for?"
"Just passing through. Staying the night," Levi replied calmly after glancing at him.
"Passing through? Staying the night?"
That's more than just a simple toll.
"You two clearly aren't locals. Who knows—maybe you're spies sent by some rival lord? Or… fugitives?"
He deliberately stepped closer, lowering his voice—but loud enough for everyone nearby to hear: "For the safety of the entire city, we'll need to conduct a thorough inspection. How about this—since you look like respectable people, give us ten silver coins, and we'll pretend we saw nothing. You and this young lady can enter the city peacefully."
Ten silver coins—that was equivalent to a thousand copper coins, a hundred times what that free commoner farmer had paid earlier.
They really knew how to size people up.
Levi finally couldn't help but laugh.
He might be wary of the Magic Mirror Queen, but these trash? They weren't even worth considering.
So he directly said to Yalina, "Handle it however you like."
The moment Yalina heard that, her gaze sharpened, and she drew her short sword.
This blade had followed her through battles over these past days, drinking its fill of blood. Its surface was covered with nicks from combat.
Anyone experienced could have noticed the signs immediately.
But these guards did not.
Instead, seeing Yalina draw her sword, they let out strange cries, pulling out their weapons as they moved to surround her.
The closest one—the captain—drew the longsword at his waist and tried to strike first, aiming at Levi.
But Yalina was faster.
A flash of cold light.
She swung her short sword in a single slash.
The captain's hand was severed cleanly at the wrist.
Blood sprayed out in an instant.
"Ahhh!"
The captain staggered back, screaming, "My hand!"
"My hand!"
"Attack!"
"Kill them!"
He shouted orders to his men.
But these people might bully ordinary civilians—after witnessing Yalina's strike, they were completely intimidated. Their expressions shifted uncertainly, and none of them dared to approach.
They knew—they had likely run into someone they couldn't handle.
For a moment, no one dared to advance.
But they didn't retreat either.
The situation fell into a tense stalemate.
Levi's expression grew slightly impatient.
Yalina noticed it immediately. Holding her short sword, she prepared to deal with these vermin one by one.
Just then, a carriage came rushing toward them and stopped not far away.
This carriage was anything but ordinary—luxurious beyond compare. Compared to it, Levi's alchemy carriage looked like something a country bumpkin would use.
It was pulled by eight horses. The carriage itself was massive—twice the size of Levi's. White feathers were fixed to the horses' heads, fluttering in the wind, and their harnesses gleamed with gold.
A tall, honest-looking middle-aged man was driving it.
The moment the city guards saw the carriage, their expressions changed drastically.
Because on the carriage, they saw a symbol that was both familiar and distant.
The royal emblem of the Kingdom of Amtyr.
This was a royal carriage.
This was no trivial matter.
The tall, honest-looking middle-aged man frowned slightly when he saw the scene. He glanced at the city guards, then at Levi, whose expression remained calm, and at Yalina, whose muscles were taut with tension.
His gaze swept over Yalina for only a moment—but lingered on Levi for several seconds.
Others might not have noticed, but his instincts told him that Levi was far more dangerous than this knight-level Yalina.
He was someone who made his heart ache with a sharp, piercing sensation.
And he had not encountered such a person in many years.
Let alone someone so young.
He could not afford to make an enemy of him lightly.
The middle-aged man quickly reached a decision.
He took out a square ring engraved with the royal crest from his chest and said to the city guards, "I am Sir Henry of the royal family. I am on urgent business. Clear a path immediately."
The city guards looked at each other, hesitating, none of them moving.
This was because the place they were in—Graystone Town—belonged to the territory of the Blackmount Marquis.
They served the Blackmount Marquis.
The royal family was certainly not simple, but "the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal."
These city guards obeyed the orders of the Blackmount Marquis, but they were not necessarily obligated to obey the royal family.
Thus, they hesitated.
Moreover, they were not certain whether this so-called Sir Henry's identity was genuine.
Without the Blackmount Marquis present, relying on nothing more than words and a ring made it difficult for them to believe him.
Seeing this, the so-called Sir Henry's expression immediately turned extremely unpleasant.
He was far more direct than Yalina.
His body flickered—and a residual afterimage remained where he had been standing.
Like a speeding carriage, he slammed into the city guards blocking the gate, sending them flying.
They crashed onto the ground, coughing up blood, their eyes unfocused—clearly not long for this world.
Seeing this, the remaining city guards scattered in terror, no longer daring to block the way.
They allowed him to resume driving the carriage into the city.
Before leaving, he threw out a single sentence: "If you have any objections, tell the Blackmount Marquis to come find me!"
Levi had Yalina drive the alchemy carriage and followed behind the luxurious carriage into the border town.
At the same time, he cast a Level 5 Detection on the frowning middle-aged man.
[Name: Henry Bass]
[Identity: Knight of the Kingdom of Amtyr, Great Knight, Personal Guard of the Prince of Amtyr, Guardian Knight of the Prince's Mother, Supporting Character in The Frog Prince fairy tale instance]
[Strength: 8.22]
[Constitution: 7.23]
[Agility: 7.64]
[Spirit: 1.99]
[Charm: 1.2]
[Abilities: Earthshaking Giant Bear Knight Breathing Technique, Lance Mastery, Guardian's Wall, Desperate Roar]
[Note: Because Prince Grein of the Kingdom of Amtyr disappeared under his protection, he feels deep guilt. His inner pain is so intense that he needs to bind his heart with iron bands to keep it from tearing apart. He is currently searching everywhere for Prince Grein's whereabouts.]
...
Levi's expression stiffened slightly.
He hadn't expected to encounter a character from a fairy tale.
The Frog Prince!
Unfortunately, just a supporting character.
And not even an important one—merely someone who appears at the very end of the story.
Relying on him, who knew how long it would take to find the so-called Frog Prince?
In truth, the Frog Prince himself wasn't important to Levi.
He recalled the intelligence he had obtained some time ago—about a powerful witch capable of cursing people into frogs.
Was this powerful witch the same person as the vicious crone who had turned the prince of the Kingdom of Amtyr into a frog?
If so, why would she do such a thing?
Could it really have been ordered by the Magic Mirror Queen?
Levi felt that was unlikely.
His eyes flickered as he pondered for a long time, eventually deciding that after settling down, he would use another intelligence detection to see if there were any new leads.
Nowadays, Levi did not use this Detection every day.
The magic consumption was enormous, and he did not know when the powerful witch sent by the Magic Mirror Queen would appear.
He had to ensure that his strength remained at a certain level as much as possible.
Otherwise, if his magic power fell into a low state due to various reasons—such as practicing spells—and that powerful witch suddenly appeared, Levi would be in danger.
Of course, Levi was not without options.
He could transform into a Greater Demon Owl and fly away—most likely escaping successfully.
But Yalina and Miss Nightingale Odelle would be in far greater danger.
Levi still had a conscience.
So he tried, as much as possible, to prevent such situations from happening.
But sometimes, it was impossible for Levi to do nothing at all—there were times when he had to take risks.
That said, it wasn't really a risk.
After all, with Detection, Levi could often seize the initiative and anticipate his enemies' moves.
With that in mind,
Levi's alchemy carriage entered the rather hard-to-describe Graystone Town.
Under Yalina's control, it eventually stopped in front of the only tavern in town that looked somewhat decent.
The Wild Wolf Head Tavern!
That was the name of the place.
Even from outside, the soundproofing of the door was poor. Levi and Yalina could already hear the noisy clamor inside.
The attendant at the entrance had sharp eyes. The moment he saw the alchemy carriage stop, he hurried over.
"Welcome, friends! What'll it be? Ale or wine? Today's drinks are fresh."
It was worth noting that taverns were extremely common in this era—everyone drank, whether commoners or nobles. The only difference lay in the quality of the alcohol, and many people even brewed their own.
One important reason was that towns in this era lacked proper sewage systems. Human and animal waste, slaughterhouse refuse, and tannery runoff were dumped directly into rivers or streets. Even well water was often contaminated by leaking cesspits.
This made drinking raw water dangerous.
Alcohol, however, had antibacterial properties.
Beer and low-alcohol wine—usually around 2–5% alcohol—could kill most pathogens during fermentation.
So, drinking a cup of beer was safer than drinking a cup of untreated water.
As for the "fresh" the tavern attendant mentioned, it was because alcohol in this era could not be preserved stably for long periods. The sooner it was consumed, the better.
Thus, "freshness" was a core indicator of quality, not a marketing gimmick.
Most beer in this era was unhopped pale ale, low in alcohol and high in residual sugar, making it highly prone to spoilage.
And sealing techniques were poor.
Alcohol was mainly stored in oak barrels or ceramic jars. There was no cork-and-glass-bottle sealing system—though it might exist somewhere, it had not appeared in the regions Levi had traveled through.
While barrels allowed for slight oxidation and aging, their poor sealing meant the liquid easily came into contact with air, leading to oxidation, flavor degradation, or worse—turning into vinegar.
Acetic bacteria would convert alcohol into acetic acid, making the drink sour.
As a result, alcohol in this era had a very short shelf life.
Beer, for example, could turn sour in two to three days during summer, while in winter it might last one to two weeks.
That was why "fresh" mattered so much.
Only ale or beer that had not yet soured, had not turned cloudy, and still retained faint carbonation could attract customers.
In an age without refrigeration or preservatives, time was the enemy of alcohol.
The beer and wine Levi had previously obtained were all consumed within a short period.
After that, during their travels, they could only drink water.
Since they were often in the wilderness, it was impossible to obtain "fresh" alcohol.
At the time, Yalina had only recently joined them and had been quite worried.
After all, even boiled water carried certain risks in this era.
But the water Levi used was directly gathered through the Gathering Technique, collected from water sources or even the air itself. It was essentially filtered beforehand, comparable to modern purified water. Even if consumed without boiling, it would not cause harm.
On top of that, Levi often had Yalina boil the water anyway.
Which made it even safer.
Since leaving the Candy House, after finishing the wine from their food supplies, Levi and Yalina had not had alcohol for quite some time.
Levi himself didn't care much for alcohol.
But when Yalina heard the words "fresh alcohol," her throat couldn't help but move.
She was craving it.
And not just her—Miss Nightingale Odelle's beak had gone bland as well.
Well, she was a bird now.
Yalina and she both looked at Levi eagerly, like little puppies.
Levi casually nodded.
The tavern attendant—a young man dressed plainly but cleanly—immediately brightened. Taking the hint, he led them inside.
A strong smell hit them head-on—a thick mixture of sour ale, greasy stew, damp wool, and wood smoke.
Levi held his breath immediately.
Yalina, who had been traveling with Levi in the wilderness for some time now—thanks to the Gathering Technique, their living conditions had actually been quite decent. Even without bathing, her body carried no odor, and the same was true for the alchemy carriage.
For a moment, upon smelling this stench, she almost felt the urge to vomit.
She barely managed to suppress it.
She then turned her gaze toward the tavern.
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