Knight and Wand

Chapter 23 Olivia
"I'm sorry that you have left an unpleasant impression here." Olivia sighed softly, "The village managers were all conscripted by the lord to fight in the war, which is why those bastards are unrestrained and do whatever they want. Forget it, let's not talk about them. Let's continue with the previous question. Are you looking for a place to stay?"

Leon nodded: "We have been on a long journey and are very tired now. We really hope to have a place where we can rest in peace."

The blonde girl looked at the three people in front of her carefully and suddenly suggested, "If you are willing to rent a place, my family just happens to have some vacant farmhouses. The rent is only four dirs a month. What do you think? If you live near my house, those bastards won't dare to bother you anymore."

Leon was slightly stunned. He turned around and looked into the eyes of his companions. Lohak and Azerien also had puzzled expressions.

This girl is so kind to a stranger. Is she just being kind-hearted? Or is this a trap?
Olivia seemed to have misunderstood their hesitation, so she quickly waved her hand and said, "Do you think it's too expensive? The rent is negotiable. If you really have difficulties, I will talk to my father. Three dirhams a month will be fine."

"That's not what I meant, Miss Olivia."

Leon asked in confusion, "I just don't understand why you are willing to help? Aren't you afraid that it might be like what Boris said, that we are spies from the enemy country, or bandits wandering in the mountains?"

The girl smiled and said, "Kantadar spies will definitely not walk into the village speaking a foreign dialect. You are too conspicuous. As for the bandits, even if it is possible, it is better to let you stay where I can see you rather than letting you wander around the village."

Olivia said, proudly with her hands on her waist, shaking the stick in her hand and tapping her shoulder: "I am still very confident in fighting, don't underestimate me, even if you are really bandits, I am not afraid."

"Haha, having seen how majestic you were just now, I have no doubt about this, Miss Golden Lion." Leon joked with a smile.

Olivia's expression froze, and her eyes trembled slightly in embarrassment. Being called such a stupid nickname by someone outside the village made her cover her forehead helplessly: "Damn it. Those bastards, you heard it after all."

“It’s just a joke. It seems you don’t like this name.” Leon said with a smile: “I’ll have to trouble you to lead the way, Miss Olivia.”

It wouldn't hurt to go and see the farmhouse the girl mentioned. If the living environment there is suitable, the monthly rent of three or four dirhams is indeed not expensive.

After being exposed to the elements for so long, the three men's bodies and energy were exhausted. It would be difficult for them to continue their journey without resting for a while.

Besides, they really don’t know where to go next, so it would be good for them to stay in this village for a while to recuperate.

Olivia seemed very happy to get the answer. She raised her hand and pointed to the wheat fields outside the village. "My farmhouse is behind that, but I have to go to the village to say hello to my father first."

Leon motioned for him to wait a moment. He picked up the torn linen trousers on the ground and tore off a large piece of rag. Having experienced the experience of being coveted by village ruffians for their wealth, he wrapped the sword more tightly this time.

Following Olivia back to the village along the simple dirt road at the end of the village, Olivia started chatting with the three people as if they were familiar with each other: "I don't know what to call you yet?"

"My name is Leon, his name is Azerien, and this big guy is called Lohak." Leon patted his companions on the shoulder and introduced them.

After introducing themselves to each other, the girl seemed to open up and couldn't help but curiously ask the three about their experiences along the way.

Considering the mysterious powers in Leon, Lohak and Azerien didn't know how to explain it, so they remained silent in front of the girl.

In the end, Leon just picked and chose to talk about the journey.

Of course, considering the lesson that telling the truth is more difficult to explain, Leon did not mention anything about the soul of Miss Lola and the cursed land in the forest.

He just managed to escape the three of them from the mercenaries, and later had to take a detour to avoid the battlefield. He went into the forest and encountered a night attack by wild goblins and a chase by a mountain bear. These experiences are roughly described as they are not beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

As Leon chatted, he noticed that the blonde girl's bright eyes were getting brighter and brighter. It seemed that even just these things had greatly satisfied her strong curiosity.

The girl inadvertently glanced at the sword wrapped around Leon's waist.

"I've been wondering just now, where did you get the sword that Boris and his men were eyeing? Such gorgeous equipment and craftsmanship are really rare."

Leon didn't want to elaborate on the process: "We actually picked this up from a corpse we encountered in the forest. Its original owner might have been a noble who accidentally got lost while hunting."

"Oh?... How could a noble dare to walk into the Nightmare Forest?" The girl was confused, but seeing that Leon was unwilling to talk more, she did not continue to ask. The few of them walked through the village's messy farmhouses and came to the alley on the east side.

From quite a distance, Leon could hear the sound of iron hammering.

"My father's name is Brian, and he's the village blacksmith." Olivia led the three of them into the blacksmith shop at the intersection.

Inside the shed, a young apprentice was sweating profusely as he hammered rhythmically the red iron bar on the anvil.

An elderly bearded man nearby quietly watched the apprentice's movements.

The girl walked up to the bearded uncle, leaned in closer and raised her voice slightly: "Father, I have something I want to discuss with you."

The apprentice, who was originally concentrating on forging iron, suddenly heard Olivia's voice and got panicked. His hands shook and he hammered the wrong spot.

The old blacksmith Brian frowned and sternly told his apprentice: "Stay focused!"

After saying that, he relaxed his expression, turned around, and reached out to ruffle his daughter's hair.

Seeing the stick in her hand, Brian's expression softened and helpless: "Are you going to teach those little bastards a lesson again?"

"No, I promise! I just scared them this time." Olivia put the stick aside angrily.

Leon watched the father and daughter from the side and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that you can't judge a person by his appearance.

This burly old blacksmith had a fierce look on his face and was very tall and strong. It was amazing that such a rough man could give birth to such a petite and lovely daughter like Olivia.

And then there was his gray hair mixed with thick brown, which had nothing in common with Olivia's beautiful blonde hair.

Maybe the girl inherited good genes from her mother, Leon thought.

Old Brian patted his daughter's head with a smile, and then he noticed that she had brought three unfamiliar teenagers with her: "Who are they?"

"It's a traveler passing through the village."

Olivia explained to her father: "Hawke just came to me quietly and said that Boris had gathered people again, so I went to check the situation, and I saw that the bastards were trying to rob these outsiders."

"Those little bastards are getting more and more outrageous." Old Brian frowned and turned to apologize to the three teenagers in front of him: "Young men, I hope you haven't been hurt by some scum in this village."

Leon nodded slightly in gratitude and said, "I was just about to express my gratitude for this. Your daughter is a noble and kind girl. She was very enthusiastic and helped us out in time."

Olivia blinked and her cheeks blushed slightly. It was the first time she heard such straightforward praise. People from outside the village really knew how to talk.

Old Brian nodded with relief, and waved to his daughter and Leon and the others: “It’s noisy here, let’s go to the yard and talk.”

Several people followed the old blacksmith out of the workshop, and Leon suddenly noticed that the other party walked with a limp.

The old man may have an injured leg.

But even so, his slightly unbalanced steps were still very steady.

(End of this chapter)