Chapter 657 My Little Sweetheart

Zanfrey, the third son of the Wilmot family and bloodline successor to the legendary Shield of the Silver Lake, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and raised in the Imperial Capital, the heart of the Servia Kingdom.

Winsor hailed from a fishing family in Salt Rock Port. The most valuable thing he had ever touched was a Golden-Horned Ray hauled from the sea. His family had relied on the money from selling it to overhaul the small fishing boat they depended on to survive, and he had grown up amid scorching suns and fierce storms.

Under normal circumstances, even with the Wilmot family in gradual decline, their vastly different backgrounds meant their only possible interaction in this life would have been Winsor catching another expensive fish from the sea. After a complex series of exchanges, it would finally end up on Zanfrey's dining table.

Given the noble youth's arrogant nature, he might even complain that it did not suit his taste, take a couple of casual bites, and leave the rest for the estate's servants to enjoy.

Right now, however, a recruitment order from the kingdom's borderlands had brought these two youths from completely different worlds together, giving them a chance to cross paths.

How they met wasn't complicated.

Placed in the same conscript squad for the long journey from Salt Rock Port to Bloodcast Keep, an extrovert like Zanfrey naturally found it impossible to just keep his head down and travel in silence.

Along the way, he constantly tried to socialize with the people around him.

Unfortunately, reality fell far short of his expectations. He had imagined everyone would immediately bow down and elevate him to a pedestal the moment they heard he was a scion of the Shield of the Silver Lake's family.

The Imperial Capital had spent years weakening the family's influence, and many of the uneducated commoners in the squad had never even heard of the Shield of the Silver Lake—a kingdom legend—even though the very land they lived on had been conquered by an army he led.

They had absolutely no reaction to the name Zanfrey declared.

Any awe they did show was entirely due to his status as a noble's son and the guard standing beside him.

In contrast, the adventurers in the conscript squad were clearly more knowledgeable. At the very least, they recognized the Shield of the Silver Lake as the legendary figure who had earned illustrious war merits in the Calm Peaks Province.

Of course, this wasn't because they had received much education or loved studying to enrich their minds.

It was purely because their status as adventurers freed them from grueling labor. After completing a quest, they simply gathered in taverns to drink and boast, with no need to worry about the trivial matters of daily life.

Over time, the varied knowledge and information they absorbed—even if much of it consisted of unverifiable rumors—still added up to more than what ordinary commoners knew.

But it was precisely this wealth of knowledge from the adventuring industry that allowed these adventurers, each harboring their own ulterior motives, to notice Zanfrey's peculiarities.

He genuinely looked like he came from a noble family, but whether he truly belonged to the Shield of the Silver Lake's bloodline as he claimed was highly questionable.

In their view, if the third heir of such a prominent family were to travel far from home—especially to a place like Bloodcast Keep—how could he possibly bring only a single guard?

Moreover, given his background, even if he truly wanted to serve in the military, he could have just used his family's connections to put in a word with someone in the army. He would likely have been parachuted into an officer's position from the start. Why would he need to head to the front lines as a grunt like the rest of them, especially in a place like Bloodcast Keep where the Shield of the Silver Lake should wield considerable influence?

Putting it all together, one didn't even need keen investigative skills. Simple experience was enough to determine that this noble youth was either lying or a reckless fool who had secretly run away from home.

Fortunately, Ake—who accompanied him as both guard and steward—was ultimately a Level 3 Class Holder. Even if he couldn't stop his young master's conspicuous behavior, he helped block the stream of malicious glares and probing attempts.

The adventurers made contact with ill intentions, while the ordinary commoners maintained their ignorant awe.

Zanfrey's plan to rise to power in Bloodcast Keep and reforge his family's glory came to an end before it even began.

Just as he was feeling utterly disheartened, the noble youth from the Imperial Capital suddenly made a discovery. The gray-blue-eyed boy in the squad—who had been lifeless, silent, and entirely focused on walking since they first met, and whom Zanfrey had assumed was no different from the other commoners—had actually heard the name of the Shield of the Silver Lake, Grove Wilmot.

Under Zanfrey's relentless questioning, he could even recount many tales about this legendary figure.

For a time, the pleasant surprise brought about by this strong contrast made Zanfrey immediately treat Winsor as one of his own, viewing him as a friend throughout the journey.

Compared to those malicious adventurers, Winsor was just an ordinary person who posed no threat. Since they were the same age, Ake, as the guard, did not stop his young master's actions.

However, Winsor remained somewhat lukewarm toward the noble youth's enthusiasm.

The only reason Winsor knew the tales of the Shield of the Silver Lake was because of the little stories his father had told him by his bedside and on their boat during his childhood.

He himself was not particularly interested in the kingdom legend.

Coupled with his currently disheartened state, he couldn't muster any interest in anything. Even with Zanfrey pestering him relentlessly by his side, he usually only replied with one or two sentences for every dozen words the noble spoke.

With his outgoing personality, Zanfrey didn't mind this at all. He considered the other boy his friend, and they had interacted this way all the way from Salt Rock Port to the present.

After arriving at Bloodcast Keep and completing their registration, Zanfrey immediately brought Winsor to a tavern reputed to have excellent food, declaring that he was treating him to a grand meal.

"Take a look and order whatever you want!" Zanfrey grinned. His dazzling blond hair reflected the bright tavern light as he patted his bulging waist pouch at Winsor, who was sitting beside him. "Don't worry, this meal is on me."

Sitting to the side, Ake couldn't help but frown at his young master's raised voice over the noisy tavern and his deliberate action of lifting his cloak to reveal the bulging pouch.

He didn't know how many times he had said it already; a youth who had never suffered a severe lesson would never learn—but as a guard, he couldn't exactly allow his young master to suffer a massive loss either.

He opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

He simply made a mental note to have a good talk with him once they returned to their room. For now, however, he further heightened his vigilance.

At the same time, facing his companion's generosity, the expression on Winsor's face did not change.

He just forced a smile and politely thanked the noble youth who had dragged him over and insisted on treating him.

He glanced at the menu posted on the wall ahead, his gaze lingering on the prices listed next to each dish.

In the end, he ordered the cheapest Sauerkraut and Black Bread Set Meal, along with the free glass of water that came with it.

"Hey, why did you only order this? Don't worry, you don't need to save money for me!"

Compared to when he first departed the Imperial Capital, Zanfrey had grown a bit after spending so many days in the borderlands.

In the past, if a traveling friend had ordered food like this, even if he didn't blow up on the spot, he would have sulked about it for days.

Now, however, he didn't even tell the tavern boss to cancel Winsor's cheap order. Respecting the other boy's choice, he simply planned to order a lot more—so much that the three of them wouldn't be able to finish it.

Since it would all go to waste in the end anyway, given Winsor's personality, as long as Zanfrey pointed out the difference in the dishes' prices, Winsor would likely leave the cheap sauerkraut and black bread for last.

Right as the two were ordering...

Accompanied by extraordinarily heavy footsteps, a thick female voice filled with mockery suddenly rang out from the side. "Oh~ Where did such a generous little sweetheart come from? How about you treat Big Sister to a meal too?"

Although the distance from the Imperial Capital to Bloodcast Keep was quite vast, taking Zanfrey's personality into account, Ake had planned their route to avoid major adventuring hubs like Rivervale Town.

Therefore, even though they frequently stayed at various inns along the way, they hadn't encountered many powerful Class Holders.

Even on the rare occasions they did meet one, those individuals would sense Ake's Class Level beside Zanfrey and refrain from approaching rashly.

But the situation right now was different.

Without a branch of the Adventurers' Association stationed there, Bloodcast Keep's facilities and scale were nowhere near those of a major adventuring hub. However, due to a series of highly attractive recruitment measures recently issued, the density of adventurers here right now was no lower than that of an ordinary hub.

Furthermore, a large portion of them possessed considerable strength.

A Level 3 like Ake was clearly not enough to make these people back down.

Looking in the direction the voice came from, a massive, obese figure entered their line of sight.

She was barely over five feet tall, yet she looked to exceed four hundred pounds.

Her extremely bloated body had almost lost any discernible structure of a waist or abdomen; from a distance, she looked like a giant ball of meat.

Her head was wedged squarely between her shoulders, with only overlapping layers of fat remaining where her neck should be. A pair of narrow eyes, struggling to squeeze out from the crevices of flesh, flashed with a dangerous light.

Her most eye-catching feature, however, was her pair of thick, stout legs. Each boasted a circumference comparable to an adult man's waist, steadily supporting the terrifying frame above.

Then there were her two long, ape-like arms, which hung down naturally and could almost touch the ground.

"Fat Hyena" Magda.

The captain of the Ghost Face Spider Adventurer Squad.

A senior Warrior boasting a Class Level as high as Level 5.

The squad name Ghost Face Spider originated from a nickname others had given Magda to mock her before she became famous.

"Ghost Face" referred to the wrinkles formed by the mounds of fat piled on her back, which resembled the hideous visage of a legendary abyssal demon.

"Spider" described her two long arms, which completely defied normal human anatomical structure. They could almost touch the ground when she stood upright, looking like the pedipalps of a spider.

The birth of such a nickname was entirely due to the people around her mocking her physical characteristics.

Magda didn't actually mind it much. In fact, as her strength gradually increased, she felt more and more that the title was quite fitting. It possessed considerable recognizability while exuding an inexplicable deterrence.

Not only did she name the squad she founded after it, but she even hoped others would call her that from then on.

However, according to the unspoken rules of the adventuring industry—at least when it came to nicknames—no matter how strong a person was, things would never go entirely their way.

Thus, "Fat Hyena" Magda was born.

The word "Fat" simply and clearly corresponded to her bloated body, while "Hyena" reflected Magda's reputation within the adventuring circles of the Calm Peaks Province.

"My little sweetheart, how about you treat Big Sister to a meal too?"

She deliberately pinched her throat, turning her originally deep, muddy voice into a twisted sound that gave listeners goosebumps.

The Fat Hyena's eyes, struggling to squeeze out from the folds of flesh, darted around. Her lust-filled gaze made no attempt at concealment, continuously sweeping across Zanfrey's fair face with intense aggression.

Sensing her approach, Ake stepped forward almost immediately, shielding his young master behind him.

"Madam, if there has been any offense, we offer you our—"

Compared to a clean youth with fair skin, the weather-beaten middle-aged man before her was clearly not Magda's type.

Seeing her line of sight blocked, Magda viciously cut Ake off before he could finish. "Piss off! Don't get in my way!"

Ake's expression turned ugly.

This wasn't because he had been humiliated in public. As Zanfrey's guard, Ake's main concern was the rapidly deteriorating situation on the floor.

Through aura perception, he realized that the Class Level of this uniquely built adventurer before him was likely far above his own.

The iron armor she wore—which looked ordinary but actually had to be custom-made for her figure at a high cost—also proved this point.

After all, the financial resources of an ordinary adventurer simply couldn't support such custom gear.

Beyond that, Ake noticed something else.

Just as the woman stood up from the seat nearly crushed under her weight and walked toward them, the adventurers chatting nearby simultaneously retreated in fear.

This demonstrated her prestige among the local adventurers.

Even the three adventurers who had just been sitting at her table possessed aura strengths similar to his own, all roughly around Level 3.

Taking everything into account, the highly experienced Ake had already formed a general assessment of this abnormally obese adventurer.

She was an adventurer with a Class Level of at least Level 5, an elite small-scale professional team, and a notorious reputation.

'This is going to be difficult—' Ake thought.

On the surface, however, he still made a final attempt.

"Please calm down, madam! If possible, I will pay for all the expenses you and your team incur in the tavern today as compensation for offending you."

"Is that so—" Magda's personality was completely unpredictable. Just a moment ago, she had worn an angry expression, as if she were going to charge forward and ram Ake aside in the next second. But upon hearing his words, she inexplicably became accommodating.

Pinching her throat again, her lustful gaze seemed to pierce right through the man blocking her path to see Zanfrey behind him.

"That works. But—I want my little sweetheart to sit on my lap and feed me bite by bite."