A Game of Cards

The golden ears of wheat bent low with their weight.

The ripe wheat ripened so joyfully and deeply, like strings of golden beads of sweat.

The wheat swayed back and forth like waves, lapping against each other.

The wheat ears stood tall, gleaming in the sunlight.

"I used to be the class representative for Chinese language in elementary school," Lowell said with considerable pride, hands on her hips.

In the square, preparations for the Harvest Festival were nearing completion. Villagers were busy stacking the last few bundles of golden wheat straw into piles, and the air was filled with the sweet aroma of newly brewed fruit wine and the warmth of freshly baked bread.

But the atmosphere was completely different by the stone steps in one corner of the square.

Sein sat cross-legged, an old cloth spread out in front of him, on which several hand-drawn playing cards were scattered. He was sitting in a circle with several villagers, a blade of grass between his teeth, a nonchalant smile on his face.

"Hey! You guys' here?" Sein spotted the three approaching and waved, casually tossing two copper coins toward himself. "Want a couple of rounds? Girls can skip this, but Lowell, come play with us!"

Fern stopped abruptly. She looked at the few copper coins in front of Sein as a wager, her pale purple eyes narrowed slightly, her lips immediately pouting, her little face puffed out, filled with undisguised disdain.

Without a word, she grabbed Lowell and Frieren by the back of their collars, one in each hand, and started to pull them back.

"This person won't do, Your Excellencies." Fern's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable resolve. "Let's go back quickly."

"Ah? My spellbook..." Frieren was pulled backward, her emerald eyes still staring blankly at the square, muttering to herself about the spellbook she had been longing for.

"No," Fern said firmly, pulling the two of them away. "Gamblers are the worst kind of people."

Lowell was pulled back slightly, smiled helplessly, and tried to smooth things over. "Haha, a minor flaw doesn't detract from his overall merit. Compared to his ability to save lives effortlessly, this little imperfection is nothing. A little gambling is harmless fun, and the stakes are only a few coins. He might not even be able to afford a strawberry pudding after playing all day."

Fern stopped and thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook his head. "No. Good and bad cannot be neutralized. You can't cover up the fact that someone did a bad thing just because they did a good deed. Gambling is bad."

She paused, glanced back at Sein and the card game in front of him, and softened her tone slightly. "But... well, it doesn't seem like a big bet. Maybe it's similar to the Duel Disks people use for fun at the academy? Anyway, Lady Frieren and I can't get too close to people who are gambling. Lady Lowell, you should go and persuade him yourself."

Lowell chuckled and reached out to ruffle Fern's hair. "You're quite good at protecting my Frieren, aren't you? What a good girl." He paused, deliberately lowering his voice, "Remember to protect her well. According to the lifespan of elves, she's only about thirteen or fourteen years old in human terms. She's still quite a baby."

"Huh?" Fern was taken aback at first, then her face darkened. She instantly released Lowell's collar and instead hugged Frieren tightly from behind, like a mother cat protecting her cubs, glaring at Lowell with wary eyes. "Lord Lowell is a pervert! How could he lay a hand on a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child!"

Lowell spread his hands innocently. "No, I'm innocent! I was just talking about the concept of relative age... Can you calculate the growth cycle of elves like that? Otherwise, elves would have gone extinct long ago..."

"Anyway," Fern's expression softened slightly, but she still interrupted him, holding tightly to the bewildered Frieren, "Lady Frieren and I will head back to the inn first. You can handle Mr. Sein yourself."

After saying that, she grabbed the dazed Frieren and headed towards the inn without looking back. Frieren kept turning back, her gaze still fixed on the honey cake stall in the corner of the square.

Seeing this, Sein couldn't help but laugh out loud, and winked at Lowell: "What's wrong, Lowell? Are you being rejected by your lover and daughter?"

Lowell walked over to the card game, sat down casually, and straightened his collar, which had been wrinkled by Fern: "Come on. My lover is indeed my lover. How could Frieren look down on me? Besides, Fern isn't my daughter; she considers herself our mother."

Sein shuffled the cards, his smile undiminished, "Really? Anyway, enough chit-chat, let's play a few rounds?"

Lowell didn't take the cards. Instead, he looked Sein into the eyes and cut straight to the point. "No cards. Come with me, let's become adventurers."

Sein his shuffling motion, then chuckled and shook his head, setting the cards down again. "How could that be... I... have reasons for having to stay here."

He stroked his chin, glanced at Lowell's serious expression, then his eyes darted around before he pointed to the cards on the ground. "Alright, how about this, Lowell? You play a few rounds with me. If you win, I'll consider your offer, how about it?"

Lowell raised an eyebrow, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, "Are you sure you want to play with me?"

Sein pushed the cards in front of Lowell, a gambler's smile a mix of confidence and defiance on his face, "Of course. What, you're scared?"

Lowell smiled slightly and picked up a card.

"Okay, then don't cry."