Chapter 55: Still Dare to Return

Tibbers was startled by his own guess and cautiously asked, "You're only 30?" Perik, sensing the stranger's unfamiliarity, replied, "Feeling old, huh, uncle? Let me tell you, I look relatively young. Look at the guy next to you; he's only 25 but looks even older than me. Haha! By the way, uncle, you still haven't told me where you're from."

"Oh! Oh! I'm from the neighboring Lawson family territory," Tibbers responded, still in a state of disbelief, as if in a dream.

Upon hearing his origin, the four or five men at the table immediately stood up. Perik grabbed Tibbers' collar, eyes wide with urgency. "Say that again, where are you from?"

Seeing Perik's sudden change in demeanor and being surrounded by burly men, Tibbers panicked. "What's going on, everyone? Don't... don't hit me! Let's talk this out."

"Say it again, where are you from?" Perik's loud voice drew the attention of the entire tavern. Everyone thought a spy had infiltrated, and their faces turned hostile as they closed in, some even drawing their swords.

Tibbers, unsure of what was happening but seeing everyone closing in, was terrified. Perik, still gripping his collar, shook him vigorously. "Quick, where are you from?"

"From... the... Lawson family... territory," Tibbers stammered.

Instantly, the tavern fell silent. Suddenly, someone shouted, "Fuck! You guys finally came back!"

"Fuck!"

"Shit, you finally came back!"

Cheers erupted throughout the tavern, and Tibbers was bewildered by the scene. Perik's stern expression turned to a smile as he released Tibbers' collar and even smoothed it out. Excitedly, he said, "Brother, you guys finally came back!"

Tibbers still didn't understand what they meant by "finally came back." Before he could ask, everyone crowded around, blocking him in.

"Brother, what did you bring this time?"

"Brother, I asked you to bring me a wife last time. Did you bring one?"

"Brother..."

Surrounded by respectful addresses of "brother," Tibbers finally realized they were expecting supplies from the family. He wanted to tell them he hadn't brought anything this time but couldn't bear to disappoint their weathered faces and eager eyes. So he said, "Everyone, may I speak?"

Realizing they had been bombarding him with questions, the crowd fell silent, giving Tibbers a chance to speak. He cleared his throat and said, "I understand your feelings, but winter is coming, and the sea will freeze. Our ship can't come in. You'll have to wait until spring for the goods to arrive. I'm just here to prepare the port; otherwise, we won't be able to unload the cargo."

Hearing there were no goods, the crowd was disappointed, but knowing the goods would come in spring gave them hope. They expressed their concerns, "You won't have any more trouble this time, will you? I heard your place got hit by orcs and bandits multiple times. I thought you'd never come back. Make sure to hold out this time. If there's any danger, let us know immediately. We have money but nowhere to spend it. We'll help you kill enemies for free."

"Don't worry! This time there won't be any problems. Just wait for spring to get your goods," Tibbers reassured them.

Hearing this, the crowd cheered up and eagerly placed orders. Some wanted women, some southern wine, some lace underwear—black, of course... They wanted everything.

Originally, Tibbers had come to recruit people, but it turned into a big order meeting. Many more people came, and the tavern was soon packed. Their eagerness for goods wasn't unfounded. In this northern land, there was plenty of land and rich forest resources. However, you couldn't buy even a button here, let alone other supplies.

The root cause was the various checkpoints on the road to the north. These checkpoints strangled the northern trade route with high tolls and extortion. Local lords collected high tolls but didn't maintain security, leading to rampant banditry, often by the lords themselves. This dramatically increased the cost of goods transported to the north, coupled with the risk of being robbed. Many trade caravans were reluctant to transport goods north because a single trip could lead to losses.

The people here fought orcs daily, earning plenty of bonuses. But having money and no goods to buy was like holding scrap iron. Hearing the Lawson family was sending supplies again, they were ecstatic.

Despite the general excitement, one person quietly sat in the corner without participating. His name was Alan, a magic apprentice. Hearing the news, he smirked, quickly finished his drink, and hurried home.

"Teacher, the Lawson family is back! We'll soon be able to buy affordable magic stones again," Alan excitedly reported as he rushed into the study.

Daclian, writing at his desk, paused for a moment upon hearing the news, then resumed writing. "Where did you hear this?"

Alan, puzzled by his teacher's lack of enthusiasm for the good news, thought, "Teacher is really strange, always wearing a mask. He even seems a bit unhappy about such good news." Despite his confusion, Alan obediently replied, "A man from the Lawson territory is in the tavern, taking orders for goods. I didn't want to deal with the rough guys there, so I came back to tell you first. Teacher, when should we call him over? We're running low on many magic materials."

"I see," Daclian continued writing, saying, "List the materials we need and give it to him later."

"Teacher, shouldn't we call him over? Don't you have any special instructions?"

"No, just go and list the materials."

"Okay, I'll go list them now," Alan replied, leaving the study with excitement.

After Alan left, Daclian finally stopped writing and leaned back in his chair. The eyes visible through his silver mask gleamed with malice as he murmured, "You dare to come back?"