Knights Arrive

A profession was a summary of one's past life.

On the way back to the village, Xian kept pondering this question.

Most of his past life seemed to have been spent at school. He got up at six every day, washed up, went to class, and could not get into bed until ten at night. It was practically more Sparta than Sparta itself. He had finally gotten into a fairly decent university, only to be relentlessly grinding for GPA points, staying up until dawn binge-watching online courses from exhaustion.

His past life could practically be summed up in four words: an academic workhorse. But how could there be such an absurd profession? Xian sighed. Before he knew it, he and Berg had returned to the village.

The setting sun cast its lingering glow across the village's dirt paths. The distant orchard rippled with emerald green waves in the evening breeze, while the faint fragrance of food drifted through the air.

"Your Highness, you're back!"

Anlìyà stood at the village entrance, her face filled with delighted surprise. She had changed back into that patched bodice, but it did nothing to diminish the girl's beauty.

Her golden hair shimmered softly beneath the sunlight, while her sapphire-blue eyes resembled reflections of the sky.

A woven basket hung from Anlìyà's left wrist. When she lifted the linen cloth covering it, four neatly arranged White Bread loaves, still steaming, were revealed.

The three entered the village together and headed toward home.

"Your Highness, you must be tired after hunting. This is freshly baked White Bread. Please have some."

The girl took out a piece of White Bread from the basket, spread some jam made from red fruit over it, and handed it to him expectantly.

"Thank you."

Xian accepted the bread and took a small bite.

A simple, pure wheat fragrance instantly bloomed in his mouth, mingling with the light aroma of the jam. It was mildly sweet, with just the right hint of tartness. The warmth of the bread made the jam's scent even richer, and every bit of fruit pulp burst between his teeth, leaving an endless aftertaste.

"Delicious!" Xian praised it as he took another huge bite.

"As long as Your Highness likes it." Hearing his praise, the girl's happy eyes curved into crescents. Her lips rose involuntarily, revealing pearly white teeth.

"Big Sister Anlìyà, I spent all day hunting with Your Highness. Can I have a piece of White Bread too?"

Berg twitched his nose and stared fixedly at the remaining three pieces of White Bread in the basket like a starving wolf.

Though he was an excellent Hunter and did not lack meat in his daily life, he had never been willing to eat White Bread this sweet and fragrant.

"No, Little Berg. I was only responsible for baking it. The Fine Wheat used for the bread was specially brought by everyone for His Highness."

Anlìyà refused without hesitation.

At that, Berg immediately turned his head and looked at Xian with pleading eyes.

Clearly, he had realized that begging Anlìyà was useless. He had to beg His Highness instead.

"I'll have one more. You can each have one of the remaining two pieces of White Bread," Xian said with a faint smile.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Before Anlìyà could react, Berg snatched up a piece of White Bread with incredible speed. Then, like a hungry tiger pouncing on prey, he wolfed it down in just a few bites.

"Idiot Berg."

Anlìyà kicked Berg irritably, then picked up a piece of White Bread herself and began eating it in small bites.

"Thank you, Your Highness." For some reason, the girl's steps became lighter. As she looked at the handsome face of the young man beside her, an extra trace of tenderness appeared in her gaze.

"Your Highness, the cellar you instructed us to dig is finished. Would you like to take a look?"

"Alright."

Inside the dim cellar, basket after basket filled with red fruit had been neatly placed on a floor covered in dry straw.

A faint fragrance lingered in the air, and tiny droplets of moisture had condensed along the walls.

"Your Highness, after placing the red fruit in the cellar, its storage time has increased greatly. It will last long enough for my foster father to find a new traveling merchant to buy it. And the jam made according to your method—everyone who tasted it thought it was delicious. It will definitely sell for a good price."

Anlìyà reported softly, her eyes full of admiration as she looked at the young man.

His Highness truly deserved to be a noble prince. He was so knowledgeable that he even knew how to preserve fruit and make jam.

"Mm, that's good."

Xian nodded as he casually picked up a crystal-clear red fruit from a basket and took a large bite.

He had merely tried to recall those random short videos he had watched before and guided them with a give-it-a-try attitude. He had not expected it to actually work.

Tap, tap, tap.

At that moment, Berg, who had also wanted to take a red fruit but had his hand sharply smacked by Anlìyà and was staring resentfully at his sister, suddenly turned serious.

"Your Highness, someone is riding into the village, and there's more than one horse," Berg reported quickly.

As a Hunter, his senses were sharper than those of ordinary people, allowing him to hear the distant sound of hooves.

Multiple horses. Xian frowned slightly.

If it was one horse, it should have been a traveling merchant. But if there were multiple horses, then it could only be—"I am Thorin Brook, Servant Knight under the great Hughes Lord! All villagers of Fruit Basket Village, assemble in the center of the village immediately!"

At that moment, a sonorous, powerful voice spread through the village like a great bell.

Immediately afterward came waves of hurried footsteps. Clearly, the villagers were gathering in the center of the village.

"Your Highness, are you coming with us?" Anlìyà asked.

Everyone in the village had to go, so naturally she would be going with Berg as well.

"Is the straw hat I asked for finished?" Xian thought for a moment before asking.

"Aunt Hanna has finished weaving it," Anlìyà said.

After learning that it had been requested by the prince who had saved the village, Aunt Hanna had worked day and night without rest, allowing her to finish it in an extremely short time.

"Let's go."

The lingering rays of the sun fell across the Old Oak Tree in the center of the village, its mottled shadows swaying across the ground.

The place was already packed with people, who surrounded the Old Oak Tree so tightly that not even water could pass through.

Beneath the oak's shade, a knight seated on a tall horse waited quietly.

His face was weathered, his gaze cold, and a thick beard covered his face. He stood a little over 1.7 meters tall and appeared to be around forty years old.

The knight wore Chainmail that gleamed beneath the sunlight. It was woven from hundreds of steel rings, its surface smooth as a mirror and incomparably sturdy. A ferocious Wolf Head had been engraved in the center of his breastplate, even its fangs carved with lifelike detail, enough to send chills down one's spine.

Most eye-catching of all were the two lines of emerald green labels above his head: Servant and Knight.

Behind the knight stood several attendants who were also mounted on horses, as well as a carriage clearly meant to carry tax money.

"Green Status Blessings and Profession Blessings. Is this what Berg meant by a Transcendent Rank?"

Hidden among the crowd, Xian watched the scene thoughtfully.