The Miracle Lord, the God Of War - Chapter 54

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

 The leg bone in Fine Wine had already been removed, and the meat of the leg had been flawlessly cut into even strips, each the same size. Sean tried a bite of one of the strips, and the delicate, smooth texture seemed to create the illusion that it was melting in his mouth. Even biting down lightly caused its juices to flow out, and the slightly viscous meat juices had a peculiar fragrance of wine. The meat had a consistency that was fat yet not greasy, and he wanted to continue savoring the flavor on his tongue even after he swallowed it.

 After doing a careful tasting, Sean was filled with a wholesome pleasure. He did not even want to speak at that point, quickly sweeping up the delicacies placed in front of him.

 The same scenario was also happening with Cecilia, but compared to Sean’s wolfish behavior, she was a proper aristocratic young lady, and she was much more elegant and reserved.

 When he saw that his two hosts had no interest in continuing their conversation, Alfred had no choice but to keep his mouth shut. He continued to eat his minced meat stew, not touching a single one of the delicacies.

 “This food doesn’t suit your tastes?” Sean saw what Alfred was doing and finally raised his head to look him in the eyes.

 “That’s not it,” Alfred replied, shaking his head.

 “If that’s not it, then eat it,” Sean told him impassively. “I ordered this portion for you. If you’re not going to eat it, wouldn’t it be such a waste?”

 He hesitated for a short while, but Alfred still refused to touch any of the food on the table. In response to this, Sean also decided against making any further remarks. After all, each person had their own set of principles to follow.

 As Sean’s table fell silent, the other customers in the vicinity also stopped taking notice of them or targeting them, allowing them to enjoy their dinner in a rare amount of quiet.

 Not too long after that, Sean and Cecilia had finally finished their dinner. Alfred also chose this moment to sit up straight, as he knew they were finally going to address the main topic.

 Sean put down his dining cutlery, then turned to look at Cecilia and laughed, “Isn’t there something you haven’t taken care of?”

 “I am an exceptional magician, and I will not imbibe alcohol,” Cecilia declared resolutely.

 “If you aren’t going to drink it, I will force it down your throat.” Sean had said this in a casual tone, but it made the color of Cecilia’s face change because she knew that Sean always did what he said he would. However, despite racking her brain, Cecilia could not think of a logical reason for this. Why was Sean so adamant that she drink this alcoholic beverage? What kind of benefits could it possibly provide?

 “Treating a child like this, it’s a little…” Alfred was finding the whole affair quite disagreeable.

 “This stuff is actually really good for you,” Sean chuckled lightly.

 Cecilia also stopped hesitating, and following Sean’s instructions, she picked up the first small cup. It was filled with a green-colored liquid that did not have the smell of alcohol, but rather a kind of sweet fragrance. Cecilia downed the drink in a single mouthful, and the sweet, dry flavor made her eyes light up. It was the kind of flavor that would be popular with many people, and she even savored the taste in her mouth for a while before swallowing it.

 “I didn’t lie to you, did I?” Sean continued with a laugh, “Now you try the second cup.”

 Alfred’s gaze was beginning to look quite upset.

 Cecilia did not take a moment to think about it, downing the second cup in a single gulp much like before. However, the moment she did so, her whole face instantly flushed a bright red. She was obviously feeling very uncomfortable, and her only recourse was to hastily swallow the beverage, then drink some more juice to relieve her mouth of the spicy burning sensation. But the moment the alcohol went down her throat, the hot burning feeling immediately made Cecilia have a violent coughing fit. The very next instant, the pain coming from the inside of her chest cavity made Cecilia let out a shriek of pain.

 “Bang.”

 Cecilia’s head dropped, and she fell into a deep sleep straight away.

 “Making this girl drink alcohol at such a young age isn’t good for her.” Seeing how quickly Cecilia had gone unconscious, Alfred could not help but let out a sigh. “Especially so when it’s such a strong drink. Even some fully grown adults can’t handle this, and she’s still just a small child.”

 “Yes, the drink is strong, but it’s still good stuff. You wouldn’t understand.” Sean shook his head, then he changed the topic, not wanting to dwell on it any further. “The real reason I came to look for you is that I wanted to invite you to join us.”

 “Join you?” Alfred blinked his eyes in uncertainty.

 “I want to start up a mercenary team. You’ve already seen the current candidates, it’s just me and this child.” Sean shrugged his shoulders without a single shred of self-consciousness, continuing, “So, I’m here to invite you to join our team.”

 “What could I possibly offer to this team,” Alfred sneered in a self-deprecating way, but the despondence in his tone of voice was impossible to conceal.

 “There are countless ways you can make yourself useful to us.” Sean knew exactly why Alfred was acting out in this way. Back then, people had already sorted this out in the forums. “You are much more important than you believe yourself to be, or at least that’s how I see it… At the moment I still have not registered this mercenary team of mine, but you need to trust me when I say the team won’t just comprise of the three of us here. If you would allow me to be blunt, from the very beginning, this mercenary team was destined to be famous throughout the world.”

 “That’s an ambitious goal.” Alfred only laughed, as he was not convinced by the blueprint that Sean had drawn out for him.

 The truth was, at his age, he would never be so easily moved by these kinds of statements. However, he had tried to join a mercenary team in the past, but it was a shame that, for certain reasons, none of the mercenary teams staying in Cyroda Village would take him in. He could have left Cyroda Village to look for work somewhere else, but he was reluctant to do so. Thus, he ended up at the Fine Wine & Sharp Blades tavern, making a living doing menial tasks.

 “Are you telling me that you’re willing to continue living here like this for the rest of your life?” Sean pouted his lips, showing a look of disdain. “Here, all you get is malicious slander and scorn from other people. You need to think clearly about this. Only by leaving this village will you get the chance to start a new life, isn’t that right?”

 Alfred’s eyes flashed with a hint of sadness, but he did not say anything to refute Sean’s arguments.

 “Do you think that staying here is for the good of your daughter?” Seeing that Alfred had no intention of reacting, Sean finally could not help raising his voice.

 As expected, the question drew the attention of Alfred. He raised his head and fixed his stare on Sean, his eyes filled with a ferocity that had not been there before. At this moment, Alfred was no longer a man with a tired and sorrowful demeanor, but more like a wild beast who had chosen to devour a man. The sense of awe coming from his body was so intense that many of the patrons drinking near him were taken aback. Everyone watching discovered at this moment that Alfred’s blood had not yet run cold.

 Yet, Sean did not seem to care at all about the change in Alfred’s aura.

 Conversely, it would be strange if Alfred did not have this kind of change in aura, as Sean would begin to doubt if the person in front of him was the man who would become the God of War in the future.

 In fact, as the story goes, Alfred was also quite a tragic character.

 He had been the head of a small mercenary team, leading around a dozen subordinates who were all rank three fighters. He was not particularly strong, but he was principled and knew where to draw the line, so he was fairly well-known among the mercenary circles in the Tindus Domain. Thanks to these qualities, many people were happy to cooperate with his mercenary team, as they would not have to worry about getting stabbed in the back– many other mercenaries were conducting business dishonestly like horse thieves and bandits.

 However, during one of their escort missions, Alfred’s team was completely wiped out, along with a few other mercenary teams who were on the same mission as them. After that, the Tindus Domain Mercenary Guild also put together a rescue squad at once to search for them, but they could not find anything at the scene. In accordance with the customary practices of mercenary teams, the families of mercenaries who were killed in action during a mission would naturally have to be compensated by the mercenary team. However, because the mercenary teams involved in the incident were all small mercenary teams, and they met the tragic end of having all members perish, needless to say, the families of the mercenaries involved all led miserable lives.

 Among them, Alfred’s wife was unable to bear living a life of poverty any longer and remarried, taking their daughter with her.

 She was married to Sir Fregan, though only as a concubine. Even so, because she was still considerably young, attractive, and had an amazing figure, she was frequently doted on by Sir Fregan, and her lifestyle also became more luxurious than before. Even the daughter she had with Alfred was very much loved by Sir Fregan, and with the way that aristocrats tended to do things, Sean was sure that he did not love her just because he loved her mother.

 At first, everybody thought the story would end there, but nobody expected that after going missing for three years, Alfred would suddenly return. He came back with a bundle of money, and went door to door, visiting the families of the other mercenaries who died and giving them their share. It was only then that the villagers learned that towards the end of the fateful escort mission, they had encountered a notorious wolf bandit. Alfred had narrowly escaped the jaws of death and spent three years to finally avenge his comrades.

 Then, the story began to get slightly complicated.

 Alfred’s wife had grown accustomed to her life of luxury and was naturally unwilling to return to Alfred’s side, but even if she had wanted to, Sir Fregan would not allow it. Faced with this outcome, Alfred only sighed and kept his peace. What he did not expect, however, was that his request to take his daughter with him would also be unanimously rejected by both Sir Fregan and his ex-wife.

 As an even more serious consequence, Sir Fregan used his authority as the governor of the village of Cyroda to pass down an order forbidding the people of the village to have any interactions with Alfred and even went so far as to spread rumors that maliciously slandered him. In the past year, Alfred could have been considered the most unwelcome and pitiable person in Cyroda Village. Even the villagers had come to believe that Alfred’s blood had already run cold and that his edge had been blunted.

 Until this day!

 Until this moment!

 The aura that Alfred had had in years past was still there!