The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 22 Ruins and Dragons

[June 8, 1000 of the Lost Calendar, Xingmei Town, after the rain has cleared.]

The day after I was kicked out of the tavern, I encountered a kobold...

As dusk fell, Tang Qi lit a lamp and began writing furiously.

In less than a day, he experienced a series of events, including obstructing the trial, tracking down Xingmei, venturing into the cave, and assassinating the jackal.

It seems that the diary served to stimulate Tang Qi's desire to express himself.

It made him, who should have been exhausted, feel as if he had drunk from a sweet spring and was full of boundless energy once he picked up a pen.

"When a slave possesses inexhaustible labor power, he will become the first slave in history."

Damn it, so "Scholar's Pen" was referring to himself!
Since this was an experience of the day, there's no need to fabricate anything.

This resulted in him rarely experiencing writer's block; he only paused when certain details were unclear.

This talking dog-headed man orchestrated everything.

But considering its nascent understanding of human nature, it sometimes cannot explain itself clearly. Allow me to piece together the details—

Tang Qi suddenly turned around and looked at the 'wise man' Kuru, who was huddled in the corner, clutching his staff and diligently studying spellbooks by the dim candlelight, and asked:

"Are your offerings meant for your master or for the gods you worship?"

Because of their weakness, kobolds often take on powerful creatures as masters in the caves, such as enormous earthworms and spiders...

However, in the dog-eat-dog world of nature, even the most powerful 'masters' do not necessarily live long, resulting in frequent changes of masters.

But Kuru blinked:

"Egg!"

Tang Qi asked matter-of-factly:
"Your offspring's eggs? Offering your own eggs as a sacrifice is considered a ritual within your tribe?"

Kuru quickly shook his head. Seeing that Tang Qi didn't understand what he meant, he could only start gesturing.

"Kuru, underground, escape!" It made a running motion.

"Found the nest, start digging!" it pretended to be digging with a pickaxe.

“Open space, eggs, majesty, offerings!” It gestured a circle that looked about the size of an ostrich egg.

Tang Qi raised an eyebrow, realizing that things weren't as simple as he had imagined:
You mean—

You and your people fled and migrated up from the deeper underground.

Having unexpectedly discovered that vacant lot, which could be used as their nest, they decided to usurp it?

"Rua!"

"Then, while digging the safety tunnel, they unexpectedly discovered an egg, and decided to enshrine it. Why?"

It continued gesturing at the egg, even mimicking kneeling in worship:

"Ancestors, respect, fear!"

"You sensed an aura of majesty emanating from your bloodline, inspiring awe and submission?"

Afraid that Kulu wouldn't understand the wording, Tang Qi also started gesturing wildly.

"Rua!"

Kuru thought this human was incredibly clever, easily filling in the blanks with sentences that Kuru couldn't possibly express.

He quickly wrote down Tang Qi's pronunciation and vocabulary in a notebook using symbols that only he could understand, so that he could practice the common language in the future.

Tang Qi fell silent.

He could feel his fingertips trembling slightly as he held the pen.

And all of this stems from those few—

excited.

As time goes by, perhaps most people will forget the bloodline of the kobolds.

However, he had only a superficial understanding of it.

As members who inherited a meager amount of dragon blood, the kobolds habitually worship their 'ancestors,' and even regard it as an honor to be the offspring who guard their ancestors.

Glory will give them courage and make them stand out from the crowd.

The 'egg' that Nakuru mentioned likely contains a sleeping...

A giant dragon?

No poet could resist becoming a dragon knight, you know what I mean.

Just as Tang Qi was trying to connect the 'ruins'-like nest in the cave with the 'dragon egg'.

But then, at the most inopportune moment, there was a knock on the door—

"Sir Poet, dinner is ready. Or may I bring it to your room?"

"I'm coming right away." The feeling of hunger came at just the right time, and Tang Qi finally broke free from his selfless 'slave' state.

Upon opening the door, one is immediately struck by Catherine's truly magnificent face:

“I’m sorry to bother you, but it’s a town tradition to prepare a big dinner at home on the eve of the harvest festival.”

I'm not sure if you'd like to experience this atmosphere, but I feel obligated to.

“No need to be so formal, ma’am. Your respect pleases me, but I don’t want you to be too respectful. It makes me uncomfortable.”

Tang Qi shrugged somewhat awkwardly.

"Didn't we get along well last night? Please be natural."

Hearing him say that, Catherine couldn't maintain her polite smile any longer. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and her expression became more lively.
"To be honest, I regret my attitude towards you last night."

I can't even imagine what misfortune Ambani would have suffered today if I had driven you away.

"That's a false premise, because I'll definitely stay here no matter what, even if it's just so I can see you every day."

Tang Qi tried to take her hand in his so he could kiss her fingertips.

He was imitating some court etiquette in order to appear more refined.

But the proprietress, who came from a farming family, couldn't stand this.

He quickly withdrew his hand, his brow furrowing slightly, showing some discomfort.

"Please don't say such ambiguous things, it makes me uncomfortable."

"Ahem, sorry. I just wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself—Donkey Weinberg."

Just call me Tang Qi. I'm currently trying to be a travelogue bard, and the tentative title is "The Diary of Not Knowing What to Name."

"Catherine Nova, a tavern owner who hopes one day to read 'The Diary of Not Knowing What to Name'."

"So, most of our wishes will probably come true?"

Their conversation made the atmosphere, which was originally filled with politeness and courtesy, become more and more casual.

Catherine noticed Kulu, engrossed in his studies in the corner, completely concealed by a robe and tattered cloth, and not yet recognized:
Would that gentleman like to come downstairs for a meal?

Tang Qi hesitated before explaining, "If it won't scare you, because it's actually a... dog-headed man."

Catherine was so startled by the lack of any prior warning that she took a step back.

But she quickly regained her composure and, with great discretion, chose not to inquire further.

"The Golden Oak will not refuse any guest, especially since it is your friend. In fact, I would also like to remind you that there are actually two mercenaries downstairs."

"Weren't they supposed to be having a family reunion dinner? What are they doing at the tavern?"

"Perhaps the manor is too empty, and they have nowhere else to go. But we didn't see that Mr. Jackal today."

Then you'll probably never see him again.

Tang Qi inwardly grumbled, thinking of the black snake inevitably bringing up the real business:
"By the way, if I want to buy some star plum blossoms, who would be a good person to talk to in town?"

"The shelf life of star plums is very short, so they may not be suitable as a staple local product..."

After hesitating for a while, Tang Qi roughly explained his plan to "pass off inferior goods as superior ones" to Catherine:
"So I need to prepare at least 300 kilograms of star plums to try to cover up the whole thing after the caravan arrives tomorrow."

“300 kilograms...that’s not a small amount, but fortunately the plums in town are cheaper than wheat.”

Catherine pondered for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands and said,
"I understand. Leave this to me."

Tang Qi blinked, surprised that Catherine, who was known for being "stingy," would actually take the initiative to do the work.
"Will it not trouble you?"

"Don't say that. You're Anbi's benefactor, how can these small favors be considered 'trouble'?"

Catherine extended her index finger and waved it from side to side in front of Tang Qi.
"Moreover, as an outsider, it would be quite eye-catching for you to suddenly purchase such a batch of star plums from anyone."

Tomorrow is the harvest festival, and there will be many people and distractions.

If someone with ulterior motives discovers that the batch of Star Plums you purchased appeared among the 'Radiant Stars' submitted by Black Snake, they might expose you for reasons such as profit or jealousy.

"indeed so……"

"But I'm different—as a tavern owner, I can use the tavern's name to purchase more Star Plums."

In this way, outsiders won't notice you, and I can save you money by offering you local wholesale prices.

In this world, nobody would turn down saving money, right?

When the topic of 'finance' comes up, Catherine's eyes seem to light up.

And the pain point she mentioned was indeed a dilemma for Tang Qi.

The phrase "stingy" might actually represent shrewdness more than anything else.
Immediately afterward, Catherine hesitated for a moment:
"Even so, you still need to be careful."

"why?"

　Let's change the time: one chapter at noon and one chapter in the afternoon each day.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)