Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 166 Cold Wind and Hot Fire

The heavy, white snow finally arrived before the winter festival. Amidst the swirling snowflakes, pedestrians hurried along the road. Soon, the entire Mayara hymn was enveloped in pure white, and for a moment, the whole world seemed to fall silent.

Border Wharf
As the snowflakes grew larger and the snow on the ground became thicker, the workers who could no longer work gradually left the dock, and the entire dock became deserted, with only a few patrol personnel moving back and forth between the cargo holds and the ships.

By this time, Badam, who had been kicked to the ground, was covered by snow, forming a small snowdrift.

After an unknown amount of time, the small snowdrift trembled slightly, and then a pale, bluish hand emerged from it.

Immediately afterwards, Badam, shivering from the cold, crawled out of the snowdrift. As soon as he got up, Badam felt extremely cold. He shakily put his hands to his mouth, trying to breathe on them to warm them up, but his already stiff body had almost no temperature left, so naturally, no warm breath could come out.

With no other option, Badam rubbed his numb cheeks with his stiff hands, then tightened his clothes and staggered toward the dock exit.

After walking only a few steps, Badam seemed to suddenly remember something, so he returned to the snowdrift where he had been lying, squatted down, and dug around for a while, but found nothing.

"Damn it! These bastards, do they think I'm dead?!"

"Damn it, my copper coins~~~"

Unable to find his wages, Badam left the dock again, cursing. He was in terrible shape and needed something hot to eat, otherwise he was afraid he wouldn't survive the long night.

Rotten Mushroom Tavern

The spacious and lively tavern is the favorite place of the local working class. It is a gathering place for all kinds of people: miners, day laborers, local bullies, various peddlers, strippers, prostitutes, petty thieves, pimps, gamblers, loan sharks, you can find all kinds of people from the lowest rungs of society here.

Surprisingly, despite the large number of people from all walks of life gathered here, they behaved with remarkable harmony. Everyone was deliberately maintaining order. Of course, it wasn't that these people had suddenly become so sensible; rather, it was because the owner of this place, Marigoldo Yang, was a figure with connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles, who was in charge here.

The painful lessons of the past have taught the troublemakers living in this area what the bottom line is and what rules cannot be challenged. After all, the dozens of skulls on the wall behind the tavern bar will make any irrational person think twice before doing anything reckless.

Here, Marigoldoyan set a few very simple and easy-to-understand rules: no credit, no fighting, no forced transactions, and anyone can consume, even the homeless.

But aside from these rules that don't seem particularly difficult to follow, if you're willing to spend five copper coins, you can get a large mug of cheap beer with lots of foam and a plate of grilled mushrooms covered in seasonings.

Of course, if you're willing to spend an extra ten copper coins, you can also get a big bowl of rich and fragrant stewed meat soup. Although you can only see a few shreds of meat in it, it's served with long strips of black bread, providing great comfort and a feeling of fullness for people who are tired after a long day.

If you can spend fifty copper coins at the Rotten Mushroom Tavern in one go, then you are the most honored guest in the tavern.

The snow was falling heavier and heavier, and as the number of customers in the shop increased, Marigoldo Yang, who had a big beard, nodded with satisfaction. Since he retired from the city defense patrol brigade twenty years ago and opened this tavern, his life had finally improved after years of hard work.

Although I spend most of my income on this through various means, the benefits are immediate. As an old tavern that has been in the lower city for twenty years, the support comes not only from my own principles of conduct but also from various other sources.

This invisible care allowed Rotten Mushroom to survive crisis after crisis. Now that he is getting old, Marigoldo Yang's only wish is to live a few more years, until his son, whom his mistress gave birth to, is a few years older, and then he will pass the tavern on to him, and finally he can enjoy his retirement.

Just as Marigoldo was leaning against the bar, lost in thought, the tavern's wooden door was suddenly flung open, and a howling wind carrying swirling snowflakes rushed into the room, causing the customers sitting at the door to immediately start cursing.

"Damn it, you guys come in here and close the door."

"Hey, you filthy goblin-like bastard, did you fucking forget how to close the door?"

"Damn it, shut the door right now!"

"、、、、、、、"

As the angry shouts grew more intense, Marigoldon squinted towards the doorway, carefully identifying the person entering, before yelling:
"Hey~~ Badam, come in quickly, want a shot of strong liquor to warm yourself up? Damn it, come in quickly, you're going to burn out all the heat in the house."

After standing at the door in a daze for a moment, Badam was assaulted by the mixed smells of fragrance and stench inside the tavern, and only then did he feel his soul slowly chasing after him from the snowfield he had just walked through.

Along the way, Badam was so cold and hungry that he felt like he was about to collapse by the roadside, but he miraculously made it. Badam, who was like a block of ice, didn't even know how he got to the tavern door.

Grateful to have survived, Badam shakily moved toward the bar, ignoring the insults coming from the nearby tables.

"Give me a big bowl of stewed meat and offal soup, hot, and two large glasses of strong liquor."

Looking at Balam, who was trembling like an ice sculpture, Marigolo Yang couldn't help but ask curiously:
"Hey, didn't you go to work at the docks today? How did you end up like this?"

Balam took the cheap liquor from the bartender, and shakily brought the glass to his lips. As a large mouthful of the bitter liquor entered his mouth, it felt like a raging fire, rushing down his throat and into his stomach. Feeling the warmth in his belly, Balam let out a satisfied burp.

"Damn it, I've had the worst day ever. That damn Stora, that biting dog of the Chamber of Commerce, don't let me get a chance, or I'll make him pay."

Looking at the indignant Balam, Mariglo Yang instantly imagined what had happened. It was nothing more than this drunkard arguing with the dock management again. It wasn't unusual, since this guy would do something like this every now and then.

Balam, feeling his body warm up, stopped trembling. When he saw the waiter bring out a steaming bowl of stewed meat and offal soup from the serving window, he couldn't wait to stand up and go to it. Only after the bowl of hot meat soup entered his stomach did he feel truly alive again.

As soon as the wooden bowl was placed on the table, the ravenous Balam eagerly attacked the food inside, not caring at all about the scalding hot broth that had just come out of the pot.

Half a bowl of broth was quickly swallowed by Balam under his attack. The scalding soup even caused a fine layer of sweat to seep from Balam's forehead. Feeling that he had finally come back to life, Balam let out a long breath and then looked at Marigroyan, who had been staring at him.

"Boss Yang, why is there less and less meat in your broth? I've already eaten half a bowl and I can't taste any meat at all."

Faced with Balram's slightly sarcastic, joking question, Mariglo Yang couldn't help but roll his eyes.

“Damn it, fifteen copper coins, a big bowl of steaming stewed meat and a long loaf of black bread. Go ask around anywhere in the whole of Hymn Mayara and you won’t find a better deal than my old Marigoldoyan’s.”

"You bunch of pigs should be grateful you have anything to eat. Prices have skyrocketed several times recently, and you should be secretly happy that I haven't raised prices yet."

Hearing the hotel owner's angry curses, Balam could only manage a forced laugh. On one hand, what the other party said was indeed true, and on the other hand, he was currently penniless and worried about how to pay for the meal.

"Hey, you're right, I encountered something similar today." He took another big gulp of cheap liquor. The spicy and pungent taste was a wonderful feeling. If he could, Balam would like to spend the whole day immersed in liquor.

"Today I went to Stolla to unload cargo, and as usual I would get eighty copper biks after unloading a ship, but today this damn guy only gave me fifty."

"Damn it! Damn it! That's a full ten copper chips, enough for two drinks of mine."

As he spoke, Balam slammed his fist on the table as if to express his dissatisfaction, as if the wooden table were Stora herself.

While trying to gain sympathy, Balam also secretly glanced at the tavern owner, Marigroyan.

Sure enough, Balam's words successfully caught the other party's attention. Of course, it's also possible that it wasn't his idea, and the rising cost of living was also causing old Mario Yang a lot of distress.

"Damn it, those damned noblemen took the vast majority of the profits, leaving us with only this little bit."

As he spoke, he stretched out his thick little finger and gestured with it.

"They won't even give us this little bit now."

"Damn it, do you know?! Do you know how much it costs me to buy a bag of rye flour these days?!!"

Customers drawn by Marigolo Yang's roar turned to look, including some dockworkers.

"One bag costs twenty silver coins!!!"

Do you know what this means?!

"That means sooner or later, I'll be selling you bread for fifty pounds a piece!!!"

"Fifty!! Fifty pounds!!!"

As Marigolo Young waved his stubby finger at the crowd, the entire tavern was jolted.

As a group of people struggling financially, we naturally don't have any particular feelings about economic development or changes in the situation; at most, we just feel that life has become more difficult lately.

However, their lives were already very difficult, it was just a little more difficult. In terms of daily life, it meant that the usual one beer each in the morning, noon, and evening had become two, although some lazybones might only get one.

It wasn't until Boss Yang of Marigolo roared that everyone realized that their lives were indeed more difficult than before.

Some people have already started reminiscing about the last time they ate meat.

Seeing that the tavern owner seemed to be in a good mood, Badam chimed in with a few words. After Marigroyan had vented his anger, he quickly put on what he considered a rather pleasing smile.

“Brother Marigolo Yang, you are absolutely right. Those greedy and arrogant nobles are the most deserving of death in the world. The world needs more people like Brother Marigolo Yang.”

Badam's flattery pleased Marigloyan greatly. He downed the wine in his oak glass in one gulp and then let out a burp without any regard for his image.

"Hahahaha, you little rascal, you really know how to talk today."

Seeing that the tavern owner was in a good mood, Balam mustered up his courage.

"Hey, Boss Marigolo Yang, I was supposed to go to the docks today to do some work and earn some living expenses, but that son of a bitch Stora is incredibly ruthless. Not only did she withhold my wages, she also kicked me unconscious. If I hadn't been lucky, I would have frozen to death outside today."

Seeing the guy stammering, Marigoldan raised an eyebrow.

"You son of a bitch, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"It's...that's..."

Balram stammered, staring wide-eyed at Marigoloyan.

"I don't have a single copper coin left. Those damned guys took all my valuables after I passed out."

I might have to pay for today's meal... I might have to owe it first.

But I promise I'll go out and look for work again tomorrow, and as soon as I earn some money, I'll immediately make up the difference."

Bang.

Marigloyan slammed his large hand on the wooden table at the bar, his eyes wide as bull's balls, startling Balam so much that his heart skipped a beat.

"What did you say!!!!!"

"I, I, I..."

Just as Balam was at a loss for words, Marigloyan let out a hearty laugh.

"Hahahaha, you damned pig. I don't offer credit here, but I like to take a look at you today."

"Go on, clean the toilet and tidy up the kitchen. That'll cover your meal today."

　Sorry, something trivial came up and I forgot to post it.

　
(End of this chapter)