Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1833, 1805: A Lively Tribute Ceremony
Knight Rodel and several other servants quickly tidied up the house.

The house itself was neither large nor luxurious. Or rather, apart from the room where the two fingers were located, which Lan En did not see, he did not find anything luxurious in the round table hall.

The Faded Ones gathered in the Hall of the Round Table were all warriors, warriors who had once followed the First King, Griffin, in his conquests of the Borderlands. They were not accustomed to such luxury.

A bed was cleared out from the pile of books, and a storage box was placed around it, along with armor racks and weapon racks commonly used by soldiers.

They also laid out a carpet for the Qilin in the cleared space.

After Lan thanked them, they left the room and went back to their work.

Lan En sat on the bed and patted it to make sure the bed could support his weight.

The Qilin lay on the carpet stretching, while the plush ball ran around in the small space.

Take out the supplies and equipment from the space expansion pack and arrange them.

Finally, a large package was piled up between the armor rack and the weapon rack, which looked like it could easily lie on it and use it as a bed.

Choosing every spare moment to organize and refine one's preparations is the hallmark of an excellent warrior. Thanks to the training methods of the New World Palico, Plush Ball is highly professional in this regard.

The kitten was busy and lively, while Lan En began to think.

Although they haven't been in this world for long, a flood of information has already washed over the Witcher's preconceived notions.

The world is so different that even the concept of 'death' can be very different.

It's tiring to get your mind to accept new ideas, but it's also quite fun for Lan En. It's a way for him to find enjoyment while fulfilling his duties and traveling between various worlds.

The candlelight in the round table hall was bright enough that the servants not only set up candlesticks but also placed lit candles in the dim corners.

The scent of burning candles mingled with the smell of ink from the book pages, creating a sense of peace.

The Witcher scratched his head.

This journey to the new world through the celestial convergence rift was a bit rushed, to be honest.

During the interval between the last chaotic magical tides, he first fought a war in the North. Then, to repay Cassandra's favor, he accompanied her on the Odyssey through the ancient Greek world. Finally, upon their return, he participated in post-war peace talks.

The schedule during a single break is packed to the brim.

Cassandra herself didn't think there was anything wrong with helping Lan En, but given his personality and beliefs, it was impossible for Lan En to say that just because Cassandra didn't care, he wouldn't care either.

If he is that kind of person, then they will not fall in love.

Abe no Seimei was originally invited by Lan En from the magical Japanese Sengoku period to provide technical assistance in perfecting his next enhancement plan.

As a result, even the great Onmyoji himself complained to Lan En that after arriving, he had hardly seen Lan En spend any time conducting research together.

But there was nothing we could do; it was just a war that had broken out.

The outcome of the negotiations not long ago can be described as perfect for Lan En.

His demands were all recognized at the negotiating table in the form of laws and treaties.

Sintra broke free from the 'protection' of the Nilfgaardian Empire—which had claimed to be 'protecting' Sintra since the occupation—and regained its independence.

Naturally, the Knights of the Ember will immediately set off to return home and attempt to take over the current management system of Sintra.

But anyone with a brain knows that the Nilfgaardians would leave behind a mess and unexploded landmines when they retreated.

After all, Lann had already realized that the so-called Nilfgaardian Empire was actually quite similar to the British Empire of yesteryear.

Their similarly flawed and immoral natures are naturally readily apparent to history enthusiasts.

At this point, without a strong guarantee of rule, if Lann had just taken over Sintra according to the treaty and then turned to internal strife, it would be his own problem, and he would be firmly blamed.

So even though Alexios was very curious about the so-called 'other world', Lann still managed to persuade the falconer siblings to stay put.

With two Greek 'demigods' leading the charge, the Ember Knights' fighting power was sufficient to suppress most of the chaos and maintain a strong rule.

Once Lann returns and has more time, these messes and landmines will be properly dealt with. Only then will Sintra be able to truly stabilize its existence as a kingdom.

After briefly reviewing his arrangements in the magical world, Lan En couldn't think of any key mistakes or oversights for the time being. So he was able to immediately adjust his mindset and eliminate the things from other worlds from his mind.

Currently, this newly discovered other world is well-ordered and dazzlingly beautiful, like gold. However, Lan En knows that he has only been there for a day.

Within this golden dynasty, my understanding of it is merely a hazy, indistinct view.

Perhaps beneath this dazzling gold... something amiss is lurking.

Lan En has seen countless cases on his journey where the appearance and the reality are vastly different.

He has a clear understanding and rational perspective on this.

However, cognition is based on the intake of information.

The books collected by the faded ones in the round table hall must be more valuable than those of ordinary people in the Golden Dynasty, right?

Lan En pulled a book from the pile of books that had been cleared away to make room for the bed, and decided to start from there.
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Lan En was certain that the Faded Ones in the Round Table Hall were indeed very busy.

Dolores hasn't returned for seven days since she left after their conversation at the gate that day. If nothing unexpected happened during the mission, then the Faded Ones' mission cycles seem to be quite long.

Judging from the expressions of the servants and guards in the round table hall, it was clear that Dolores's departure time was not a cause for concern at all.

During these seven days, Lan En spent most of his time in the round table hall, appearing to be very reclusive.

In the process, he devoured Sir Gideon Ophniel's entire collection of books with such efficiency that most of the servants in the Round Table Hall who occasionally watched assumed that this faded man was the kind of warrior who didn't particularly enjoy reading.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have flipped through the book so carelessly and perfunctorily when his mind was completely blank.

It seems like they're just deceiving themselves to relieve anxiety, rather than actually reading attentively.

Aside from learning about the world through books, Lan En's occasional outings were limited to wandering around Rodel City.

And coincidentally, Rodel seems to have a rather lively event today.

The inner city avenue of Rodel was bustling with people. Even in the vast city, one could feel a sense of congestion, and the feeling of congestion was becoming more and more severe as the crowds gathered.

Lan En drifted along with the crowd, the velvet ball now perched on his shoulder.

Hey! Stop pushing!

"[Gold]! Prince Godwin!"

"The prince hasn't come out yet! Can't we keep quiet?"

Lann had by now been squeezed to a spot on the terrace next to Rodel Avenue.

"Oh! So they can be noisy too, boss!" Fluffy Ball exclaimed, looking around at the crowd from Lan En's shoulder. "I thought they'd be well-behaved their whole lives, meow!"

Compared to the long queues and lack of anxiety when entering the gates of Rodel, the current crowds of the Golden People are indeed noisy and crowded.

“They are human after all.” Lan En stepped aside, trying to avoid the unlucky guys who were being pushed towards him. “Humans always have emotions. Some are stronger, some are weaker.”

Amid the crowd, the sound of wooden blocks colliding could be heard.

These sounds came from the clothing worn by the residents.

The Rodels, or rather the ordinary residents of the border region, often wore a thick wooden board around their necks, similar to a shackle, as part of their everyday clothing.

The image of a tree is carved in gold on it.

The tree pattern symbolizes that they are people of the golden tree, while the shape of the neck and hand yoke symbolizes self-restraint and self-control.

In Lan En's eyes, this was a form of deepening faith through self-punishment.

In such a surging and dense crowd, Lan En and the velvet ball became inconspicuous.

On Roderick Avenue, two rows of gleaming Roderick Knights split into two lines, blocking the crowd and clearing a lane in the middle of the avenue.

"Dong Dong Dong~"

Heavy footsteps echoed on the main road.

Two ferocious mountain demons strode over.

Their abdomens looked as if they had been hollowed out, their entire abdominal cavities exposed and sunken. And a thick, long nail had pierced through them from behind.

Long spikes connected to chains pulled the heavy and imposing carriages behind.

Having already gained a general understanding of the history of the border region from the books, Lan En frowned as he looked at the mountain demon.

However, the residents of Rodel in the surrounding area did not seem to notice anything amiss.

They just kept excitedly discussing the great figure who was about to appear, and casually mentioned some trivial matters.

"Who are the people from Ningmgefu who have come to pay tribute this time?"

"I heard his name is... Hyde? Or maybe his surname is Hyde? Anyway, he's a nobleman with a small castle in a remote place. Aren't most people like that in Nymgford?"

Ningmgefu would regularly pay tribute to Rodel as a sign of loyalty.

But the people of Rodel didn't care much about such trivial matters. Every day, a steady stream of people came to worship the Golden Tree, including many nobles and heroes. Who cared about this?

What truly excited the Rodels was that whenever a tribute mission from Nymgford arrived, the Golden Dynasty prince, [Golden] Godwin, would personally appear to show his respect.

Today is no exception.

The mountain demon stopped pulling the cart ahead of time, and the people on the cart also got off early to show their fear and trepidation.

The person getting off the bus was wearing a blue coat with fur trim, but his face was obscured because he was wearing a mask and a hat.

The mask was made of silver and depicted a wrinkled, wise, gentle, and non-aggressive face.

This is a very appropriate gesture for those who come to the center of power.

(End of this chapter)