Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1832, page 1804: Inside the Hall
"On a mission?"

Lann didn't find it troublesome at all; after all, a demon hunter's job can be done anywhere.

But blindly focusing on completing tasks is a bit mindless.

"My physical condition and skills have never been a problem. But I don't know what the faders of the Round Table are trying to do?"

In other words, his physical abilities have always been perfect; he just doesn't understand things in his head.

Lan En hoped to gain more information and understanding about the world from this obviously unusual round table.

Torisha's speculation about 'mental damage after being deprived of the blessing' is a very favorable explanation for the current situation.

“There’s no rush,” Dolores said with a smile as she turned back as she walked towards the outside of the city walls. “You can take a good rest for a while.”

“There is a library in the Round Table Hall. Although Gideon is busy outside right now, he doesn’t mind sharing this knowledge as long as you don’t mess up the library.”

With that, the woman dressed as a man hurriedly walked out of the city wall and disappeared into the bustling Roderick Avenue.

Lan En could tell that she was really in a hurry.

Lan En, Rongbuqiu, and Qilin looked at each other, and the kitten jumped off Qilin's back with a "whoosh".

Then the three of them turned around and looked at the person that Dolores had called over.

The person who came instinctively straightened their helmet and stood at attention.

It was none other than the same Knight Rodel who had led the man in earlier and hadn't gone far. Dolores beckoned him over and assigned him another task.

"Please follow me, Lord Faded One."

His attitude was now more respectful than when he brought Lan En and the others in earlier.

This is likely because Dolores has already confirmed Lann's identity as a Faded One.

Although he had seen Lan En's pupils before, it would be better if his identity were 'officially verified'.

"Thank you for your trouble," Lan En thanked him, and then introduced his friends, "This is a velvet ball, and this is a Qilin."

This Knight Rodel held the wise beast in the same esteem as he held Lann himself.

He bowed to the qilin and the velvet ball, placing his hand on his chest.

This shows that although the so-called qualifications for becoming a king are an ancient tradition, they still enjoy considerable popularity in Rodel and the border regions today. This is what is known as 'legitimate legal reasoning'.

Hello, meow!

"Whoops."

The plush ball bounced a little and waved playfully at the other side, while the Qilin raised its head and snorted.

Knight Rodel was somewhat flattered by this.

It's likely that other heroes with the potential to become kings don't have wise beasts like the Fluffy Ball and the Qilin, who are cheerful, lively, and easy to talk to.

As instructed, the Knight Rodel led Lann and the two wise beasts into the Round Table Hall.

As a small fortress in the city of Rodel, the main building of the fortress is quite large, and according to Lann's observation, it seems to be connected to many other places.

With stone walls and wooden floors, there's no point in talking about lighting. Dim lighting is the norm in military fortresses.

However, since the Round Table Hall was, after all, the base of the Faded Heroes and was supported by the Golden Clan, the warm candlelight shone everywhere.

The exact time of its construction is impossible to ascertain, even for someone with Lann's keen observation skills. Within this golden dynasty, the erosion of time seems to have become less pronounced.

The wooden planks and stone walls on the ground looked very old, but they were still solid and stable to walk on.

Shields and crossed swords and halberds hang on the walls, and display racks supporting armor are everywhere.

"This is the first floor of the Round Table Hall," Sir Rodel said, turning back to explain as he pushed open the door and entered. "It mainly serves as a ceremonial hall. This side is the armory, where ordinary weapons and armor are stored, and the other side is the kitchen and dining hall."

"Of course, the dining area for all of you Faded Ones is on the other side of the first floor, while this is where we, the soldiers on duty and servants, eat."

The hall in front of us was covered with a smooth red carpet, and under the torchlight, it certainly looked solemn.

Continuing to lead the way, at the stairwell leading to the second floor, Knight Rodel pointed to a corridor room deep to the side of the stairwell and said that was the Faded Ones' dining table.

Go up the stairs to the second floor.

"Dang, Dang, Dang..."

The sound of hammers striking anvils echoed and reverberated throughout the round-table hall.

When Lan En and his companions passed by, they saw that he was a mixed-race blacksmith.

Its entire body is covered in thick, gray, horny skin like a rhinoceros, with recurved feet and a reptilian tail.

It seems that it used to have a lot of horns, but now there are only bumps left after the horns were sawed off.

He's not young anymore; his sparse hair has already turned gray.

He was at the top of a staircase in the round table hall, with chains nailed to the wall around his ankles. Presumably, he was a prisoner? A convict? A slave laborer?

Lan En was unaware of the situation and therefore refrained from making any assumptions. However, this mixed-race old man was clearly more intelligent than any other mixed-race he had encountered before.

There was no fire or furnace in the place where he forged weapons; he simply struck them with a hammer.

This must be some kind of unusual forging technique, because Lann had also seen it at the giant blacksmith in Anor Londo, the world of fire.

The giant forged weapons for the gods of fire, a practice that began in the age of gods.

He held the forged weapon blank between his fingertips, hunched over, and hammered incessantly on the relatively small anvil. And then it was done!
There was also no stove.

Ever since the giant blacksmith used the [Wedge Stone Disc] to forge and enhance [Turbid Flow - Annihilation] for Lan En, Lan En has found this kind of craftsman to be exceptionally skilled.

As for Berengal?

—The old buddy isn't quite there anymore, he needs more practice.

A group of people passed by, and the mixed-race blacksmith raised his eyes, revealing a brilliance in them that far surpassed that of ordinary mixed-race individuals.

Lan En wanted to chat with him for a bit, but the knight Rodel, who was leading the way, didn't seem to want to linger around him.

"My Lord Faded One, he is merely a hybrid, a prisoner of the Hall of the Round Table. If you wish to repair or forge weapons later, you may always come to him. Shall we continue?"

Since it was Knight Rodel who led the way, and the conversation could indeed take place at any time, Lan En first gave the mixed-race blacksmith an apologetic look, and then continued his tour of the Round Table Hall.

The hall with the round table was spacious and high, even the corridors were so tall that the Qilin could walk along at a leisurely pace.

The mixed-race blacksmith glanced indifferently at the group of people in front of him.

Until a small cat with yellow, black, and white markings walked quickly past him and waved.

"Goodbye, meow, Uncle Blacksmith!"

He was a little stunned, and scratched his head with the hammer.

The room behind the hybrid blacksmith seemed to be used for alchemy or perfumery, because Lann smelled a complex herbal scent there, the same as that on Torisha.

There are also equipment for extraction and distillation.

On the wall of this room hangs a beautiful painting with a thriving golden tree in the background, but in front of the golden tree is a blonde woman with outstretched arms, in a gesture of 'inclusiveness and redemption'.

The blonde woman had her head down, obscuring her face, yet she still possessed a divine quality. Two golden braids, styled into plaits, swayed in the breeze, one long and one short, the shorter one clearly cut off, appearing jarring.

There was also a painting on the wall outside the room, depicting a white-haired warrior carrying a lion on his back, wielding a long-handled axe, and gazing resolutely into the distance.

Apart from these two, the paintings on the walls of the round table hall are mostly landscape paintings.

Opposite this room is the reason why the Round Table Hall got its name.

It was a circular room with a large round table in the center, on which were many weapons, some new and some old.

There are hand-and-swords and short swords that are suitable for ordinary people, as well as greatswords that seem too long in Lan En's hands.

The weapons were arranged in a circle, aimed at the center of the round table, and inserted diagonally.

"Behind this door are [Two Fingers] and [Unfingers]," Knight Rodel respectfully introduced. "But please forgive me, Faded One, it would be better if you came to pay your respects only after the other heroes of the Round Table have returned and if Two Fingers summons you."

It seems that under normal circumstances, even those who have faded should not easily see the so-called "two fingers".

“I have no objection to that,” Lann replied calmly. “But if possible, could you please take me to the library that Ms. Dolores mentioned? I’m currently quite confused about many things.”

“Of course, sir,” Sir Rodel said immediately. “I’m about to take you there, please follow me.”

This circular room, which houses the round table, has four exits.

One of them was the door they had just come through, another was the door to the two-finger room, and the third was a door leading to the terrace, overlooking the first-floor lobby.

The last remaining door leads to another corridor and a room.

As soon as he walked over, Lan En was certain that this was the library.

Because the shields, weapons, and oil paintings that were hanging on the surrounding walls had been taken down and casually piled up in the corners where they wouldn't get in the way.

The wall space is occupied by one standing bookshelf and one hanging bookshelf after another.

It was covered with thick books.

“Many of the rooms in the library did not originally belong to Sir Gideon Ophniel,” Sir Roder said with a shake of his head, “but there’s nothing we can do. The Sir has collected so many books that they have taken up a lot of rooms to store them.”

“If you have no objections, we will clear out a room inside for you and your companions to rest in. After all, the Round Table Hall has never had a new member before…”

Even now, Knight Rodel's tone still carried disbelief. He couldn't believe that in this day and age, there were still Faded Ones outside the Round Table Hall in the Borderlands.

"No, I have no objection. Let's do it this way."

The Qilin peered out and sniffed around on the bookshelf, while the velvet ball was interested in the weapons and shields in the corner, patting them with its little paws.

Lan En looked at the books and was in such a good mood that he wanted to whistle.

(End of this chapter)