Chapter 59: Favor

"Hey, hey, that was amazing! That sword move just now!"

Alton, the halfling, cradled his delicate, miniature lute in his arms and stared wide-eyed at Shanan.

As an adventurer pursuing the path of a bard—even without having officially attained a professional class yet—his combat style leaned toward standing at the rear of the party, using his music to support his comrades.

Therefore, stationed as he was on the rearmost wagon, he had witnessed almost the entire fight.

"You flatter me," Shanan replied with a smiling nod. "Your music was quite helpful, too."

It wasn't just idle flattery for the sake of social grace; the halfling's musical accompaniment had indeed enhanced his combat capabilities to a certain degree.

Even without it, those four goblins would still have fallen with a single strike, but he had genuinely felt the physical boost.

"Really? Oh no, not at all, hahaha!"

Hearing this, Alton beamed and laughed heartily.

Most halflings were like this—a simple compliment brought them immense satisfaction, and they were very easily contented.

It was no wonder their reputation across the continent of Ayfala was so good.

At the same time, despite his enthusiastic and curious nature, Alton knew his boundaries well and refrained from asking Shanan sensitive questions about his "combat techniques" or "weapon."

As if suddenly remembering something, the halfling quickly put down his lute, composed his expression, and turned his body toward the direction where the night owl had just flown.

With his ten fingers pressed together and crossed in front of his chest like two short swords, he bowed slightly.

Noticing the change in the other's behavior compared to before, Shanan could not help asking, "Are you praying to the Goddess of Luck?"

"Oh, no." After finishing the bow, a smile returned to Alton's face. "It's to Mr. Alvolin."

Shanan quickly searched his memory for the relevant information.

He was also one of the deities in the halfling Silver-Blessed pantheon.

——The [God of Vigilance and War], Alvolin.

Hearing this, Shanan grew even more puzzled.

While it was nothing out of the ordinary for halflings to pay homage to the deities of their own pantheon, still...

"The Lady of Smiles... is she not needed?" he asked cautiously, probing a little.

To his surprise, the halfling did not mind at all. While casually lowering his head to check the strings of his lute, he replied offhandedly, "She doesn't care about these things."

Tsk.

Shanan muttered silently to himself.

Come to think of it, throughout the entire kingdom, you could barely find a few related shrines or temples.

This existence evidently cared nothing for such trivial and dispensable rituals.

***

They were now very close to Karanful.

Aside from goblins, there were practically no other dangers to be found in the nearby wilderness.

The group hastily disposed of the corpses of those green-skinned wretches, walked a short distance further, and then made camp to rest.

They resumed eating.

The possibility of combat at any moment was just a regular occurrence for adventurers.

Even after having just hacked down goblins, their bodies stained with foul, stinking blood, they simply sat casually around the campfire and chatted as if nothing had happened.

One of them even casually plucked a piece of goblin intestine from the back of his jacket—reminded by a companion—tossed it into the fire, and continued taking large bites of dried meat.

Shanan sat alone in the corner of the camp, wiping his longsword with a piece of gauze.

To all appearances, nothing seemed different.

Yet he could feel the subtle shift in the camp's atmosphere.

Aside from himself and the halfling, the adventurers in the caravan either belonged to the same squad or had worked together previously.

Naturally, they harbored a degree of exclusion toward him as an outsider.

While it hadn't reached the level of hostility, he could still feel the aloofness and detachment emanating from them.

To this, he was quite content to remain undisturbed.

However, with the conclusion of this skirmish, that dynamic had imperceptibly changed.

Perhaps it was because Shanan's max-level [Whirlwind Slash] had been too eye-catching, or perhaps the battle had proven his reliability.

The attitudes of several members in the party toward him had noticeably improved. The adventurer who had led and commanded the battle even proactively walked over, lowering his posture to strike up a conversation with him.

Shanan didn't care much for such things, but seeing the other's polite approach, he engaged in some light socialization and exchanged a few greetings.

"Crackle."

A spark burst forth.

The orange-red flames intertwined gently against the backdrop of the night.

Shanan sat on his mat, the firelight reflecting in his eyes.

In his past life, he had been exhausted from work day in and day out, and on the rare days off he managed to squeeze out, he only wanted to lie flat at home.

Now, looking at the campfire shifting with the evening breeze before him, feeling the gentle warmth radiating across his skin,

it felt as though his entire mind and soul had sunk into it. Just gazing at the dancing flames could make him lose himself for an entire night.

From nearby, the faint sound of Jeff and the halfling chatting drifted over.

"Captain, you were pushing yourself way too hard just now!" Alton's tone was breezy. "It's not like you're under contract exclusively to us; you can just leave those things to us!"

"How could I do that? This caravan might not mean much to you lot—earn enough from a few more jobs and you're set. But for me, it's something I have to save up for over half a lifetime."

Jeff replied earnestly, determination shining in his gaze.

"Just for these few wagons?"

"Hehe." At that, the honest and simple-minded man revealed a somewhat embarrassed smile on his face.

"Both of my children are studying at the academy in Neum, and the tuition fees alone cost a considerable sum every year."

"I have to earn money..."

"What about after that?" The halfling continued the topic with his usual abundant curiosity. "When they grow up, what do they plan to do?"

"Will they inherit your caravan, or become adventurers?"

"No, no, no, not adventurers." Jeff instinctively waved his hands repeatedly, his expression resistant, before realizing the identity of the halfling before him and abruptly stopping. "Apologies, I didn't mean it that way."

Alton naturally didn't mind such things and simply smiled, gesturing for the man to continue.

"As for Jamie, the academy teachers say he has some talent in linguistics. Maybe... he could become a Common tongue teacher?"

"Lilina told me before that she wants to open a tailor shop. I've saved up quite a bit of money over the years, just need a little more."

Saying this, Alton seemed to remember something suddenly.

With an expectant look on his honest face, he asked the halfling beside him, "I heard that you worship the Goddess of Luck?"

"That's right!"

"Then may I ask... if I pray to the Goddess, will she bless me?"

"That depends on what you're praying for, specifically."

Jeff scratched his head and smiled good-naturedly. "Just to earn a bit more money, and for my family to be safe and healthy."

"You know how it is, doing our line of work, running all over the place north and south, we always run into..."

"She will."

Alton's expression grew serious and sincere as he answered word for word.

"The Lady of Smiles favors the brave, and she also favors those who work hard to live their lives."