A strange world

"For me?"

Fast on the other side nodded.

Annan picked up the gold-gilded invitation letter, which was valuable in itself, and unconsciously rubbed the rough gold sand on the surface. Fast had to remind Annan again before he remembered to open it.

[To: Your Excellency Annan Warlock

We sincerely invite you to attend tonight's banquet at the mayor's mansion.

——Mayor Hassan Midkin]

But the content is just written in ordinary ink.

"Why did you invite me?"

Annan confirmed that the name before "Your Excellency Warlock" was his own.

"Because you are already a 'big shot' like us."

Fast liked Annan. He has a strong thirst for knowledge, a friendly attitude without prejudice, and is a warlock. Only his ignorance of common sense prevented him from understanding...

"Because of the warlock?"

Annan really doesn't have much idea. All because he didn't put much effort into this identity. Whether he is adopted by Aunt Susan or finds two jobs, he is just trying to survive in this world.

Even though many contents in the library and the Warlock's Notes reminded Annan that spellcasters were equal to nobles, he still didn't have much concept, such as the privileges and luxurious life of nobles... For Annan, suddenly becoming a Warlock was like preparing to explore the underground. A newcomer to the city found a treasure chest at the entrance of the cave that should be guarded by the leader monster - should he continue to explore the dungeon or go back home?

"Because of the warlock."

Fast nodded. "Mr. Victor is just a mage apprentice. Why do you think he can live in a wealthy street and open a library?'

"Because of his knowledge?"

"Where does his knowledge come from?"

"His identity."

"That's the reason." Fast reached out and brushed Annan's collar, "So even if you dress like the poor all day long and hang out with the poor, you are still a noble spellcaster. Do you think the Warlock Protection Association is Made up?"

Annan doesn't think so... The Warlock's Codex clearly states that the Warlock Protection Association is a paranoid and crazy group that spans multiple worlds. But if you're a warlock, you'll love them.

It's just that Pinglin Town is a small place, Breeze City is not that big, and Ruikan'er Kingdom is also a remote place.

"Then do I have to keep the appointment?"

Annan planned to ask Mr. Fast for his advice.

"You can reject them as you like. I can imagine that there will be nothing but praise and wooing at the banquet."

Fast did not want him to go, and the bard had the opposite opinion.

Annan has never seen real prosperity, even if he has been to Breeze City once. Just say the bard complained about the tavern countless times. In the Dawn Tavern, there are only guests, only drinking, and nothing else to do.

A real tavern will have: part-time job takers, mixed gangs, customers of all races, insults and fights, a smoky second floor, and alluring and naked girls.

"If you don't understand something, learn it. The cost is part of growing up."

Like a woman's slender fingers crossing the strings of a piano, the bard sang about the drunken life and death of the southern nobles:

"Cut open the lamb to reveal a suckling pig; cut open the suckling pig to reveal a white goose; peel open the white goose to reveal a tuna; cut open the belly of the fish to reveal a young duck; tear open the young duck to reveal the delicious food The eggs are among them. The nobles threw away the lambs, suckling pigs, white geese, tuna, and ducklings, just to enjoy the nurturing pearl..."

The minstrel's singing prompted some guests to order some food.

"Are these true?"

Annan gained a new understanding of the waste and extravagance of the nobility.

"Fake."

Then the bard continued: "Just lamb and eggs? Are you insulting those 'nobles'?"

"Titan meat, unicorns, dragon eggs... these are the parts of the dish that are thrown away. To put it simply, they are just for the common people to understand."

The further south you go inland, the more extravagant the trend becomes, and the joyful god system becomes more popular. It is said that some towns are so exaggerated that even neutral gods such as the goddess of wealth cannot stand it and withdraw from the church. It was only a matter of time before they were corrupted.

"Those professionals just sit back and watch?"

"No. They'll join in too."

The bard's narrative sounds like the noble is rotten to the core. He also gave an example: "Suppose a nobleman suddenly appears now. He takes a fancy to your potential and bears all your future expenses. The price is only to protect his family. Would you agree?"

Yesterday, Annan might still refuse, but after knowing the expenses he would face...

"Coaxing, inducement, marriage, threats, using all means to tie you to the family, don't worry about anything, just increase your strength, just like... a pig in captivity. And then collapse instantly as the carnival reaches its peak."

The emotional bard temporarily decided to tell a story tonight:

Five months ago, a city-state in the south was captured by a rat tide. Although there are two towering mage towers and hundreds of thousands of noble private soldiers and professionals, the legendary mage has opened a legendary defensive shield in the city. But when the terrifying rat tide stretches for hundreds of miles across the land, when the cavity blasted out by the magician array is filled in by ratmen one after another in an instant, when the legendary defense cover is covered with gnawing rats, when the bloated and towering magician tower collapses , this city with a population of hundreds of thousands was quietly annihilated like papyrus under the violent wind and rain.

The bard's description is so vivid that the guests forget to drink and the food cools.

"Are these true?"

Annan still asked, and the bard said it was true, but he didn't know where it happened or how far away it was.

"Coming with the wind again?" Fast teased him, "It seems that the wind is strong enough."

Most of the guests thought so, because the south was too far away for them, and many people would never leave their county throughout their lives.

Annan does not.

The bard had no reason to cheat, and for the bard profession, "come with the wind" means a revelation from the gods - that is the true story.

He thought the world was safe enough, but now it seems that it is only generally safe. Individually, their life and death are insignificant.

Annan decided to keep the appointment, then ran to the cellar to find Soruman Bronzebeard, and gave him the invitation letter to help melt it into gold nuggets. Returning to the tavern, I happened to meet the bard persuading Fast and Annan to attend the banquet together.

"Originally I didn't want to attend a boring party..." Fast sighed and looked at Annan's linen coat, "I'm going to buy a dress tomorrow."

"I do not have money……"

"I'll lend it to you."

After the frightening tale of the rat tide, the bard tells an inspirational story to lighten the mood of the guests. Annan didn't pay attention at first, but at a certain moment, he heard the bard say, "The time you spend on the rose makes the rose important."

Annan looked sideways.