"Mr. Oliver? I rarely see him adorned in gold," Surya followed up.

"That's because Oliver is now wealthy, Lady Surya. You must know, merchants are unlike nobles, they are counterintuitive," Veronica said, dressed in a vintage layered velvet pencil skirt, a sweet smile on her glowing face. "Isn't your impression that merchants in Winford's court are always plainly dressed and meek?"

"Indeed, a few merchants do business with my father, and every time I encounter them in the palace, they're dressed modestly and cleanly," Surya nodded thoughtfully, the lady knight having grown up in the court. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"The smaller the capital, the smaller the scale of the merchants, the more they dress in gold to show they have money and capability. Conversely, the merchants with vast trade networks and substantial size are more low-key," Veronica laughed, the Jialan Witch explaining to Surya. "Otherwise, if they upset the nobles, they might not be killed but easily replaced. How can merchants compete with nobles?"

"I see, no wonder when my father meets those merchants, they're all cautious and soft-spoken," Surya nodded repeatedly. "I remember the first time I saw Mr. Oliver, he was dressed quite extravagantly, now he only wears a gold ring and silk clothes, like an ordinary courtier with no other jewelry."

"Knights are different, Veronica, I heard when Laine first met you, he was just an Elite Tier warrior?" Teresa asked curiously.

"Yes, Laine was just a Ranger Knight then, donned in chest armor, looking grungy. I remember my mood wasn't great, I threw a Fireball Technique at him, and Laine, just in his early twenties, was left with a soot-black face, showing only white teeth," Veronica reminisced casually. "Originally a bit handsome, his face was burned to a mess."

"Hahahahah~" The room was filled with laughter, with only Laine's face turning red.

"Same here, when my mother and I attended Laine's Kingdom Knights promotion ceremony at the Nord Royal Court, he pretended to drop something under the table at the banquet... and peeped sneakily," Teresa's face was slightly red as she spilled Laine's embarrassing past.

"Exactly, exactly! Laine especially liked..." Surya joined the conversation as well.

Laine, blushing, urged them to chat without him, saying he'd go and check downstairs.

The Count hastily descended, yet laughter from upstairs reached his ears occasionally.

Three women make a play.

The innkeeper was calculating the accounts, seeing Laine come down, he immediately bowed. "Your lordship, any orders? Is there an issue with the room?"

"No issues with the room, I just have something to ask," Laine stood at the front of the bar, speaking softly.

"At your command, Your Lordship." The innkeeper, aware of the great support behind Oliver, glanced around. At this time, it's not the peak season for trading, so there were few customers.

"No need to be so tense, I just want to ask, how is the situation in Hemgart?" Laine gestured, indicating he didn't want to pry into any secrets. "Trade, public security, those things?"

"Not very good, since Duke Casvan's invasion, although the Empire and Brittania's alliance remained intact, most merchants are still cautious, or choose to trade by sea from Marinburg. Count Reinhardt von Markensen is uneasy about the gradual decline in trade volume, attempting to negotiate slightly lowering tariffs with Duke of Montfort Fulcard to encourage trade," the innkeeper said. "Of course, Count, there are still many caravans trading through Axe Bite Pass."

"What about public security?" Laine wasn't surprised upon hearing this and continued to ask.

"It's okay, lately there's been less activity from Greenskin and Beastmen," the innkeeper breathed a sigh of relief and continued. "But rumors say the sewers and deep mines of Hemgart are quite unsettled, with large rat sightings, some human-sized rats! These rats occasionally emerge from the sewers and mines, attacking livestock and abducting humans."

"Human-sized rats... Skaven Ratmen?!" Laine's expression slightly changed, his brows furrowing. "Has Count Hemgart not sent troops to cleanse the area?"

"Shh~ My Count," the innkeeper quickly looked around to ensure no attention was drawn here, then whispered, "Lord Laine, in the Empire, very few know of the Skaven Ratmen's existence, and it is only limited to the upper nobility."

Laine's brow furrowed further.

In Brittania, everyone is aware of the Skaven Ratmen's threat, with the Knight Kingdom engaged in intermittent warfare against them since its founding, especially in the southernmost Kakasong Duchy.

The Ratmen have never managed a large-scale invasion, thanks to the Wood Elves in Aisloron Forest, who are their nemesis. Each time the Ratmen invade, the Wood Elves drive them to flee.

It's different in the Empire, where the last significant battle with the Ratmen was centuries ago. Due to the Ratmen's deliberate low profile, civilians have largely forgotten their existence, with records only in the Great Noble's chronicles, which are often vague.

"How is Count Reinhardt handling this?" Laine adapted to customs, knowing it's inappropriate to widely publicize the Ratmen's threat since he wasn't an Imperial noble.

"The Count is taking it seriously. He has not only brought out part of the family wealth to recruit a batch of sewer cleaners but also dispatched a troop to investigate the deep mines. However, this troop hasn't returned yet," the innkeeper continued.

"Understood." Laine suspected the Skaven Ratmen might be infiltrating this city, planning to discuss it with two new Rick Guard recruits once they returned.

After some time, Rick Guard recruits Rudolph and Wagner returned, looking disgruntled, sat right in the inn lobby, "Boss, two mugs of top-notch rye beer, hurry."

"Ah! Right away, Your Lordships." The innkeeper quickly filled two glasses of dark beer from the barrel, cautiously asking, "May I ask, what happened?"

"Did the transit document get approved?" Laine curiously asked too.

"No, Count Reinhardt wasn't at the count's castle," Rudolph said displeased, downing several mouthfuls of dark beer. "Those attendants held us up for ages, until finally telling us the Count wasn't in, nor did they know where he went. The transit document can only be sealed when the Count returns, which will be tonight, so it means tomorrow for sealing, then applying, and you won't set out until the day after."

"That's not a problem; we're fine staying another day," Laine shrugged, knowing everyone faces trouble, so an extra day wasn't a big deal.

"Just have to," Wagner was easygoing about it, treating the journey as tourism. He toyed with his Revolver Pioneer Knight Fire Cannon. "Speaking of, I saw a cow in the city center, chewed up terribly..."

Laine, Rudolph, and Wagner chatted in the lobby for a few minutes when suddenly, the ground shook violently, and the house trembled, spilling Wagner's beer onto his face.

The Oliver Inn vibrated dramatically, dust falling from the ceiling.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Explosions resounded from the distance outside the inn.

"What's happening? What happened?" Laine and others were shaken to the ground, but as professional soldiers, they immediately climbed up, and Rudolph and Wagner's Knight's Squires began to equip the two Rick Guards.

Laine scrambled from the ground, running to the inn's entrance and opening the door, only to be stunned by the scene before him.

In the distance, thick smoke billowed from the Hemgart military camp.

In the streets, groups of near-human-sized Ratmen poured out in swarms from sewers, gutters, and building corners, slaughtering Hemgart's civilians!

"skaven~ yes yes!"