Wood sat alone in a corner of the Tavern Hall.
On the table before him were a half-finished glass of water and two or three simple dishes that were easy to eat.
It could hardly be called a feast.
Of course, it was not because he was short on money and needed to save on food expenses.
In truth, as a personal guard the Wickliff Family had trained for many years, he had practically watched the young master grow up, and the master and the mistress had never treated him poorly when it came to money.
The savings he had put away over all these years would be enough for him to spend his old age in comfort, even if he spent every day drifting among Newm City's high-end restaurants and squandered money as he pleased.
It was just that the harsh years he had spent in the slums as a child had long since made frugality a habit.
Three meals a day, enough to fill his stomach.
That was already enough to satisfy him.
And aside from that, Wood's greatest wish was to stay by the young master's side, guarding him until he himself grew old.
The mistress had been gone for many years. The grace of pulling him out of the mire of the slums and giving him a new life was something he could never repay.
All he could do was turn all the gratitude in his heart into the due diligence required of a guard, watching over and protecting the only child the mistress had left in this world.
Unfortunately, he had been born lowly after all, and his talent was even more dull and wretched. Even with the Wickliff Family pouring resources into him, he had only barely obtained a Profession Level and become a