Outcasts

[Detect Poison]

After casting the spell on the table full of dishes and confirming there were no issues, Zuo Si finally felt at ease and began to eat.

He had to admit, as a coastal city near the tropics, Caledon's seafood was absolutely top-notch on the Faerun Continent.

Whether it was oysters the size of an adult's palm, baked with minced garlic, ginger, and spices, or mackerel with its tender, fresh, and smooth texture, the taste was exceptionally good.

Paired with rich peppered lamb soup, anyone who tasted it couldn't help but give a thumbs-up.

Moreover, the food at the Happy Hour inn was generally served in generous portions.

The plates were about thirty centimeters long and ten centimeters wide.

The food was piled densely on them, forming a small mountain-like peak.

The bowls were typical large soup bowls.

It was estimated that a hearty bowl of broth with two large pieces of bread would fill even a strong adult man to five-tenths of his capacity.

Most importantly, the prices weren't high.

Even a full plate of oysters, carefully pan-fried with spices, cost only one silver coin.

In other words, about half of the gold coin Zuo Si had given to the innkeeper earlier should be considered an extra tip.

From the price of the food, it was clear that the lives of ordinary people were completely different from those of spellcasters.

For the former, one gold coin often meant enough to feed themselves and their family for a month of carefree living.

But for the latter, the same gold coin could at most buy one or two parchment scrolls capable of holding magical power, or a dozen empty bottles for potions.

The stark contrast and peculiar financial system fascinated Zuo Si.

He would sometimes let his imagination run wild.

He envisioned legendary spellcasters, dragons, who held millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of gold coins, suddenly taking out all their money to buy a basic necessity, like grain or salt or steel.

Then, through monopoly, they would forcibly raise prices, causing how much terrifying damage to the markets and trade of various countries and city-states in this world?

But unfortunately, such a situation would never happen.

Because for dragons, collecting treasure was never about spending it, but about satisfying their innate greed and hoarding tendencies.

Similarly, high-level or even legendary spellcasters wouldn't be so bored as to do such a thing.

Their vast fortunes mostly existed in the form of magic items, scrolls, gemstones, potions, wondrous items, books, spell components, and so on.

"This world is mysterious and wonderful. And my body is only about ten years old, there's no need to rush. I'll have plenty of time to explore it bit by bit later."

Zuo Si muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, his eyes flashing with an unusual light.

After the urge to explore the unknown and adventure subsided within him, he casually tossed an empty oyster shell onto the table.

Looking at the remaining four-fifths of the food and soup on the table, the soldier quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and looked up, asking in surprise, "Master, are you full already?"

"Mm, more or less. One of my teeth has been a bit loose recently, and it looks like it'll fall out soon, so my appetite isn't particularly good."

Zuo Si sighed with a hint of helplessness and subconsciously touched his left cheek.

As everyone knew, humans replace their baby teeth with permanent teeth between the ages of six and twelve.

His body was currently in this period.

And it would continue for the next year or two until his last baby tooth fell out.

It was quite an agonizing process.

Especially for someone with an adult soul.

Zuo Si couldn't even imagine if his front teeth fell out and he lisp, would it affect his spellcasting?

Or would he directly gain a debuff that increased the chance of spell failure?

Just as the soldier was about to say something more, he suddenly noticed that a group of dirty, raggedly dressed, barefoot children had appeared at the inn's entrance at some point.

They were generally very thin, the oldest being about fifteen or sixteen, and the youngest possibly not even ten years old.

All of them stared with eyes full of longing at the leftover food and soup on the table, swallowing saliva continuously.

"Damn it! Who let you brats get close to the inn? And showing that disgusting expression to a distinguished guest! Scram! Get out! Don't let us see you again!"

A waiter noticed the group of children and immediately put on a fierce expression, waving a stick in his hand to drive them away.

None of the customers in the inn stood up to intervene; instead, they looked like they were about to watch a show.

Some people even loudly urged the waiter to hit them harder, preferably until blood was drawn.

Zuo Si frowned instinctively at this blatant bullying of the weak.

If he were in the Floating City Tower, where he could barely protect himself, he naturally wouldn't step in to meddle.

But now, he had regained his freedom, and the education he had received and the values he had been forced to temporarily abandon were showing signs of recovery.

The soldier keenly noticed this and immediately asked in a low voice, "Do you need me to step in and stop them?"

"Go ahead!"

Zuo Si nodded after a moment's thought.

The soldier didn't say a word and immediately stood up, walking towards the door. He grabbed the employee who was about to start a fight.

The employee had originally intended to turn around and give the oblivious busybody a beating, but upon seeing the soldier's face, he immediately stopped all movement. He forced a strained, awkward smile and asked, "Mr. Guard, is that you?"

"The master doesn't want to see those poor children get beaten," the soldier replied directly.

"Is that Lord Soth's decision? He truly is a kind-hearted man. However, you are outsiders and don't understand the situation in Caledon. They aren't ordinary children; they are a group of Outcasts." The employee patiently explained.

"Outcasts?" The soldier's face showed confusion.

Taken literally, they should be people who were abandoned or cast aside.

But the problem was, Calishite was a nation that recognized slaves as the private property of their masters.

How could they possibly abandon any human capable of labor, even if those humans were just children who hadn't grown up yet?

The employee nodded seriously, "That's right! Outcasts!

Don't be fooled by their harmless appearance; they are all infected with lycanthropy.

Once provoked and losing their minds, or during a full moon, they will immediately fall into a frenzied state.

Anyone bitten and not treated in time will also become infected.

Outcasts usually live in the sewers, scavenging for scraps of food.

These underage youngsters running up here themselves likely means there was a conflict in the sewers.

Their tribes or clans were overrun by other lycanthropes, forcing them to come to the surface to find something to eat.

In Caledon, no one wants an infected person with lycanthropy near them.

Because you never know when they might suddenly go berserk and take a bite out of you.

The Thieves' Guild occasionally hires Outcasts, but they would never allow them near the districts they control, nor would they permit them to spread lycanthropy within their sphere of influence."

After hearing this, the soldier looked at the children with a noticeable degree of wariness.

Although he personally felt confident he could easily kill these scrawny little things even if they transformed into lycanthropes like werewolves or ratfolk, Zuo Si's safety always came first.

He didn't want any potential danger to get close to his master.