Volume 6 Chapter 62
by Golden DragonVolume 6 + Chapter 62: The Bard
“Isn’t the Elven Kingdom in this state precisely because of you dragons?!” The bear-man rebuked Xia Yi angrily.
Hmm?
Dragons?
This matter involved dragons as well?
Xia Yi was somewhat eager to hear what information the other party might reveal.
“Bear One, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t just say whatever you like,” Atiya said.
“Bear One?!”
The bear-man was taken aback upon hearing that nickname.
“Yes, look at how big you are and how clueless you seem, so I’ll call you Bear One. How about that?” Atiya explained. “It’s a cute nickname!”
Xia Yi observed that Atiya seemed to harbor no ill intention.
However, from the bear-man’s perspective, this was nothing short of an insult.
“You, you…!” The bear-man’s eyes widened, and he crushed his glass in his grip.
“Bear One, how careless of you! You can’t even hold a glass, now you’ll have to pay for the damage,” Atiya waved her hand. “Oh dear, Bear One really is a dunderhead.”
Xia Yi felt that, in a certain sense, Atiya was a genius at provoking people.
“I’ve had enough of you, you foolish woman!!”
Bear One let out a roar and lunged at Atiya, opening his gaping maw and revealing his ferocious fangs.
The other patrons were terrified and quickly scrambled out of the way.
Atiya calmly applied a joint-locking technique, using the bear-man’s momentum to slam him onto the ground and pin him down.
“What’s happening? Why, why can’t I move?!”
Bear One couldn’t believe he had been subdued by a woman.
“Aaaah!! The power of the bear!!”
“Sorry, but bears can’t beat dragons,” Atiya said easily.
After all, when it came to sheer strength, few races could rival the dragons. So it was only natural that Bear One was pinned to the ground.
“Bear One, you still haven’t said why the Elven Kingdom is inaccessible,” Atiya inquired.
“It’s all because of your dragon race’s evil Silver Dragon Princess!!” Bear One roared. “She’s the one who did all this!!”
“Huh?” Atiya frowned and looked over at Xia Yi.
Xia Yi herself was utterly bewildered.
When exactly did I do such a thing?
“The evil Silver Dragon Princess used treacherous schemes to control the vampire race and employed violence to force the fox race into becoming allies of the dragons!”
“The Silver Dragon Princess’s plan is to conquer this entire land! Now she has set her sights on the Elven Kingdom. She used terrible magic to wrap the Elven Kingdom in thick fog, preventing anyone from entering. All of this is to force the elves to submit to her!”
“Before long, the Elven Kingdom will fall into her grasp as well. All the rulers of the higher races will be manipulated by the Silver Dragon Princess, the Elf Princess is her next target!”
The bear-man asked in an angry voice, “You dragons, dare to deny it? Many races say you did it, everyone knows!”
“Sigh.”
Xia Yi sighed.
She had hoped for some useful information, but it turned out to be the same old thing, baseless rumors fabricated about her.
She had already experienced this kind of thing many times before.
Still, she wasn’t angry after hearing it.
After all, the recent movements of the dragon race had made other races feel deeply uneasy. Even if they couldn’t confront the dragons directly, they couldn’t afford to lose the propaganda war, so they resorted to slinging mud and slandering the dragons.
“Is this some kind of joke? How boring.”
Atiya found it uninteresting. She looked at Xia Yi.
“Milady, shall I twist off Bear One’s head for you to kick around like a ball?”
“How careless of you!!”
Seizing the moment Atiya’s attention wavered, Bear One mobilized all his strength, sprang up from the ground, swung his claws, and swiped at Atiya’s head.
“Bear One, you really are quite dumb.”
Atiya raised her leg and delivered a kick, sending Bear One flying onto the bar counter and smashing a row of bottles.
Everyone else was stunned.
This bear-man was a locally renowned mercenary, capable of tearing apart magical beasts with his bare hands. The many scars on his body were hard-won proof of life-or-death struggles.
Before Atiya, however, he was like a little teddy bear, easily toyed with and completely disregarded.
Many people had never seen a dragon before and only knew of them through hearsay.
Someone like Bear One, upon encountering dragons, felt unconvinced and didn’t believe they were as formidable as the legends claimed.
Now, everyone’s eyes were truly opened.
“Bartender, the broken bottles are on his tab,” Atiya said, pointing at Bear One lying on the bar counter.
“Da… damn it…!”
Bear One felt humiliated. He got up, ready to fight again.
Just then, a figure rose from a corner.
“Everyone, please calm down. We could all become friends sitting down together and opening our hearts, so why hurt each other?”
“Is that good? No, it’s not.”
“Instead of angry quarrels, let us all enjoy fine wine together~”
After these somewhat eccentric words, the sound of a lute filled the tavern.
Xia Yi saw a drunken elven male, holding a portable harp, smiling as he walked between Bear One and Atiya.
With exquisite technique, he played the harp. The melodious and enchanting music seemed to possess a mysterious magic, gradually soothing people’s moods.
The previously enraged Bear One slowly calmed down.
“A bard?”
Xia Yi could clearly feel that the elf was infusing his magical power into the harp, granting the music an additional magical effect.
Strictly speaking, bards were also a type of mage, but their method of spellcasting involved playing instruments to produce enchanted melodies, thereby achieving various effects.
“Correct, my beautiful and noble lady. My name is Balan, a wandering bard passing by.”
Balan bowed to Xia Yi.
“Today, allow me to perform one of my proudest compositions for you, my lady.”
Xia Yi realized that he had subtly defused the conflict between Bear One and Atiya, effectively extricating her from a difficult situation.
Moreover, this bard had recognized that Atiya was her attendant.
He certainly had sharp eyes.
“That is a truly beautiful piece, Balan,” Xia Yi replied.
She caught the scent of alcohol on him, this elf had drunk quite a bit. He had been asleep in the corner earlier, unnoticed, probably woken by the commotion of the fight.
“Are there still elves in Sanger Town?!” Bear One was very surprised.
“Indeed, though I am merely a singing minstrel, I am still a pure-blooded elf.”
As he spoke, Balan did not forget to pluck his harp.
“Bear One, allow me to correct you, the situation in the Elven Kingdom has absolutely nothing to do with the dragons.”
“Nothing to do with dragons? But we’ve all heard from others… Wait, don’t call me Bear One!”
“Don’t just blame everything that displeases you on the dragons, that won’t solve anything.”
Balan walked to the counter.
“Bartender, could I have a glass of green apple wine?”
“Balan, you still haven’t paid off your previous tab!” the bartender said unhappily.
“I could trade some of my music for… ”
“No! You already owe too much!!” The bartender shook his head, refusing.
“How~ sorrowful~”
Balan began to play a melancholy little tune.
Xia Yi decisively took out gold coins and placed them before the bartender.
“Let me cover Balan’s drinks. Whatever he wants to drink today, I’ll treat him.”
[Translator’s Note: Please join the Gravity Tales’ Discord Server, if you want to hang out.]
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