Chapter 123: [123] Parasites

As the whispers began to fly, the wood elves in the carriage, those who actually knew Eliron’s true age, gave him a blank stare.

’Is he serious right now?’

He was so young that he had just recently left childhood, yet the oblivious humans couldn’t tell.

While wood elves were able to tell the general age of their people, to humans they all just looked ’young.’

Yen, on the other hand, was dying of laughter at the back. She had a pillow over her face, laughing into the fabric.

Eliron was doing his best to keep a straight face.

’Since I have no other choice, I’ll have to Karen my way through!’

The baron’s son’s face contorted with rage. “You will follow my order whether yo—”

“Be quiet, boy! I was in Kingsbridge long before your old man became adventurous with his third leg, show me some respect!”

Pft—

The onlookers held back their laughter, wide smiles etched on twitching lips as they watched the scene.

They had all seen hell in his hands. Seeing someone not afraid to trade words with him was refreshing.

The man opened his mouth and closed it again.

Finally, with no words left to say, he unsheathed his sword.

Swish!

Eliron, unmoved by his elaborate display, leaned even closer as though daring him to strike.

But seeing that things were about to escalate, an older knight who had been quiet so far stepped forward.

He looked like the actual person in charge of gate security, unlike the lord who was clearly throwing his weight around to feel important.

“My lord, they are on an ambassador-grade permit. The city guards are not permitted to search them—”

“I don’t fucking care! I say what goes here, not some age-old permit!” he barked.

He pointed his sword at them. “I’ll have you all arrested for obstruction. Maybe after being slowly tormented by the giant rats of the labyrinth, you’ll grow a brain between those aged ears.”

The older knight sighed.

’Why did this have to happen during my shift?’ he mused, slowly shaking his head.

Not only were the lord’s orders greatly slowing down their work, they had definitely earned the scorn of some well-respected merchants…

’I have to talk sense into him for all our sakes.’

“Denying their entry will be a direct opposition to the baron’s words. It can be seen as treason…” the knight said.

Immediately he heard this, and the baron’s son deflated like a balloon.

Eliron blinked. ’Hmm? Daddy issues?’

The baron’s son then lowered his gaze to meet Eliron’s, his eyes burning with rage as he stared at the wide grin plastered on the wood elf’s face.

“I do hope you have fun in Kingsbridge.”

A well-masked threat.

Eliron smirked. “Don’t tell me what to do, kid.”

The gates once again swung open, and their carriage marched right through, leaving the angry lord fuming in the rain…

“Tch..” Eliron clicked his tongue. “Imagine telling the elven lord to step out into the rain.”

He grabbed his necklace and raised it to the light, the golden bird gleaming.

“It looks like this no longer has any meaning…”

Although he wore it openly, no one seemed to even have the faint inclination that it was a sign of nobility.

“Didn’t my brother visit this town in the past?” Eliron turned to ask Ash.

“He did, my lord, but he never did meet with the baron.”

Eliron raised a brow. “Then how did the deal get renewed?”

“That was a century ago… we are due to renew it soon.”

“Oh, I forgot how short human lives are.”

“And even then, we rarely get to meet the baron. It is often done through proxies,” Ash continued.

Eliron’s facial expression shifted slightly as he sighed.

“I see…”

That meant although they were still benefiting from the baron of Kingsbridge, it was more of a parasitic relationship at this point.

The discounted sales of goods were coming out of the baron’s pockets, while they benefited from it without having anything to offer.

That was why they were not regarded in the city. It was also probably why the baron’s son had called them freeloaders right to their faces.

Eliron didn’t feel angry. Why would he when he was technically right?

Artaris had had nothing reasonable to offer Kingsbridge for centuries now.

But that would soon change…

There was no loyalty in a beggar-servant relationship, just pity. He had to restore his relationship with the barony and place them on equal footing somehow.

Only then would they be able to work to the good of both kingdoms.

But first, he had to arrange the meeting with the baron.

“Should I hurry over to the nearest inn?” Artie asked, glancing at him. “I wouldn’t want to stress your aged bones…” she teased with a chuckle.

The entire group broke out into laughter, including Ash, who had been stoic so far.

Eliron let out a small laugh as he leaned back. “Sure, lead the way!”

Following Ash’s directions, Artie steered the carriage over to an inn deep inside the town.

Due to the heavy rain, the streets of Kingsbridge were stripped bare, but this was when businesses like taverns and inns thrived.

Once they got settled into the stables, they all got out of the carriage and stared at the downpour from the shade.

“Yeah, I’m not stepping into that…”

’I can’t believe I’m about to use an SSS ranked skill as an uber—’

Eliron raised his hand and moved it in a circular motion. As he did, a large glassy portal appeared right in front of him.

’Well, who cares?’

He would have even used it to enter Kingsbridge if he could, but he could only create portals to places he had been before or could see.

If either one of those two conditions was not met, then the process became a little more complex.

“Ladies first…” Eliron said, motioning at the portal.

The portal led them right underneath the shade over the front door, not a single drop of rain touching their bodies.

“How handy…” Artie muttered as they stepped in.

As opposed to the harsh cold outside, the tavern was as warm as a hearth. There were two fireplaces at either side of it, the flames burning gently.

Polished wooden chairs and tables lined the space, the low hum of chatter reaching their ears, accompanied by the invigorating smell of food.

Right above the counter was a large sign reading “The Merry Dragon.”

All eyes were locked on them from the moment they entered, and Eliron expected that this would be a regular occurrence considering how rare it was to see them.

It was not even their ears alone. From their airy clothing, it was a dead giveaway that they were foreigners.

They all moved to a free table at the side of the inn and settled in.

Once they were seated, Eliron’s eyes landed on an unsavoury group seated at the center of the inn, their loud voices drowning out everything else.

’Are those—’

His gaze darkened as he watched them.

Red Streak Mercenaries…

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