Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

"You're Doug? The master carpenter's apprentice?"

Peter untied the young man's ropes, and it seemed to be him.

"It's me, it's me! Thank you so much for saving me. Did your master send you to find me?"

Doug rubbed his wrist, feeling incredibly relieved.

"No, he sent me to catch the thief because the statue was missing."

Peter tossed the statue of the Virgin Mary he found in the box in his hand. At that moment, the icon became evidence of his sin.

"Oh God, I'm so stupid, really. I just wanted to earn some extra money, but those two guys didn't want to give me a single penny. Now I'm a thief, and if the sheriff catches me, he'll handcuff me and whip me to death on the execution platform."

Doug was filled with regret.

Peter pressed further, "If you knew it was a crime, why did you steal the statue?"

"Because that statue looks so much like my Matilda, or rather, it's exactly the same. I feel like it was meant to be mine."

Doug's answer showed a lot of initiative.

"Since you like this statue so much, how could you bear to sell it?"

Peter couldn't quite understand Doug's actions.

"Although I really like this statue, Matilda doesn't. She prefers a necklace. But I'm too poor to even afford a beer. It's all my master's fault. I've been his apprentice for eight years, and he not only didn't teach me any real skills, but he also made me work day and night without giving me any pocket money. He just made me work for free! But someone told me that there's a crafts buyer in the woods southwest of the village who's willing to pay high prices for some things of dubious origin."

"Did that girl tell you herself?"

"No, it was my good friend Buffalo Bill who told me. He said it's Matilda's birthday tomorrow, and we should buy her something nice to please her."

"Another carpentry apprentice? You consider him a good friend?"

Peter was quite surprised, because Buffalo Bill had been speaking ill of Dugger at the carpenter's workshop.

"Of course, he's a good person. Although he can be a bit unreliable and clumsy at times."

Doug was convinced of this.

"Okay, tell me about that girl, uh, Matilda."

Peter changed the subject.

"She's such a good girl, very beautiful, very kind, maybe just not very smart."

Doug was lost in memories, a happy expression on his face.

Why do you say that?

You're an idiot yourself, yet you think others aren't smart enough? Where do you get your confidence from?

"All the furniture in her house was made by a clumsy person; it was always something broken. And she didn't even notice."

Doug remembered how adorable Matilda looked when she came to the carpenters' workshop complaining that the furniture was broken again.

"and then?"

"Okay, that clumsy guy is Buffalo Bill. Because of this, poor Bill always goes to repair those furniture, saying he drills holes all day and comes back exhausted... I told him I'd fix it for him in one go next time, but he refused."

Doug said with a gloating expression.

"Oh, so how often does he go to fix her furniture?"

Peter couldn't suppress the urge to smile.

"I go several times a week, sometimes more frequently. The poor guy comes back so tired he can't even speak, he just collapses into bed."

Doug shook his head and sighed. If Bill had agreed to help, he wouldn't be so tired.

"Next time, just say you'd like to go instead, or maybe you can go together. That would be easier."

Peter joked.

"Yes, that's a good idea. It's a pity I can't go back. Without my help, who knows when Matilda's furniture will be fully repaired!"

Doug was heartbroken.

Well, isn't this just plain simp? Simps really shouldn't be allowed in a house.

Peter patted Doug on the shoulder in sympathy and said, "Now that the theft has been exposed, what are you going to do?"

"Well, I haven't thought that far ahead. If I can't go back to the village, maybe I should recruit a gang of bandits. I'm a carpenter, I can build houses, they should need someone like me, right?"

Well, you're willing to do anything to buy a gift for your goddess, even joining a gang of robbers. Your moral standards are a bit low.

Peter threatened, "Stealing only gets you hung up and beaten, but being a robber gets you hanged."

"Oh, is it that serious? What should I do?"

Doug realized the seriousness of the problem and panicked for a moment.

"Well, what can I do? I'm a good man, the God Knight Peter Griffin. I can't stand seeing people suffer. Come back to camp with me; I'll at least get you some food."

I originally wanted to hire a short-term worker at the carpentry workshop, but now I can get a long-term worker who only provides meals without spending a penny.

"Ah, God has smiled upon me! Thank you so much, Sir Knight. I will certainly work hard for you."

Having narrowly escaped death, Doug quickly agreed.

What are your skills?

Peter wanted to see how good the other person was.

"I can do everything a carpenter can do: splitting planks, making furniture, building houses."

Doug started counting on his fingers, reciting his skills. And you know what? Eight years of apprenticeship hadn't been in vain.

"It's obvious that your master has taught you well and imparted all the skills he should have. Why do you still think that your master has been mistreating you?"

"You, you're right. I really did wrong my master. I'll apologize to him when I have the chance, um, when the village guards aren't around."

Doug was starting to regret his actions; he wondered why he had acted so impulsively and committed theft.

"Well, what's done is done. Let's eat first."

Peter kicked aside the heavily armored bandit's corpse, sat down by the campfire, picked up a piece of roasted deer leg from the bandit and started eating, then waved to Doug.

"Wouldn't it be... not good to eat it like this...? Or should I clean up the body first..."

Doug doesn't have that kind of mental fortitude. Forget about eating or drinking; he'd be lucky if he didn't vomit on the spot.

"what ever."

Peter continued to eat and drink, filling his stomach.

Doug's stomach rumbled a few times, and, suppressing the churning sensation, he buried the two bandits in the hole he had dug. Looking at the knight who was eating and drinking with complete nonchalance, he felt a surge of fear.

"It's dry well. There's still some food here, eat something to fill your stomach. Don't move around here, I'll be right back."

After Peter had eaten and drunk his fill, he told Doug to continue hiding there and got up to leave.

"Sir, where are you going? Don't leave me behind, I'm very capable."

Doug panicked a little, thinking that Peter was deliberately making an excuse to leave in order to avoid trouble.

Peter weighed the statue of the Virgin Mary in his hand and said, "The master carpenter is a good man. Now that the statue has been found, of course we should return it to him to prevent him from ruining his reputation by not being able to finish the work on time."

"Thank you, Sir Knight, you're so thoughtful."

Doug was relieved. He repeatedly told him to come back for him.

Peter waved his hand and strode toward the village of Trossky.

With a full sprint, they quickly arrived at the carpenter's workshop and returned the statue to the carpenter.

The carpenter said gratefully, "Thank you, Lord Peter, for this statue..."

"Found in the bandit camp in the southwest of the village."

"That robber..."

"I've already killed him."

"And my apprentice..."

He's not coming back.

Peter's words were vague, but the carpenter sighed and didn't pursue the matter further, only offering his thanks once more.

After leaving the workshop, Peter wandered around the village and found Buffalo Bill drinking in the tavern. His master told him to go find Doug, but he knew perfectly well that the idiot Doug was in the bandits' den. What was the point of looking for him?

"You're Buffalo Bill?"

Peter strode over and sat down in front of him.

"You are... the one who came looking for work, Peter?"

Bill recognized the person who had come.

"It was me. And I ran into Doug, who told me that you were the one who encouraged him to steal the statue to sell for money to buy a gift for Matilda."

Peter got straight to the point.

"You, you're lying! It wasn't me, I didn't!" Bill looked around in panic, and seeing that no one else in the tavern was paying attention to him, he mustered his courage and said, "I didn't make him steal anything! It was all his own choice, so don't blame me! Now that he's committed a crime, I've become the master's only apprentice, and I'll be the only carpenter master in the future!"

"A clever plan."

Peter applauded him, saying that for an apprentice, the plan was ingenious and that even if it were discovered, he would not be punished.

Peter continued, "Doug said you were a clumsy fellow, that the furniture you made for Matilda's always broke, so you often went there to do drilling work?"

"So what? Her husband's cooking skills aren't good enough, someone has to do the work, right?"

Bill boasted.

"If that's the case, why did you lie to Doug about buying a gift for your girl?"

"Isn't that how all simps are? Give him a chance to fawn over a beautiful woman, and he'll thank me."

Bill was even more pleased with himself.

"Bang!"

Peter raised his hand and slapped Bill across the face, leaving him crooked in the mouth and speechless. He then fell asleep without uttering a sound.

"Consider this slap on behalf of Doug. Even a simp has dignity; he's not part of your play."