What did you do with the dice?

Although Rusalka did not bring Esdi's people this time, she claimed that she was "forced" to bring her because she could not resist Ai Li's pitiful pleading.

But Rusalka couldn't stand Phoenix's sharp eyes, so she had to throw her to Charron's car.

Challens, together with Sanita, two elves, and Phoenix, there are seven people in the team in total, and only one more person is needed to complete the team.

After the army was settled, it was handed over to Caster and a group of knights for management, and the group went to live in the luxurious city lord's mansion.

Kaster is now the official leader of the Shaddoll Army. When Rusalka is busy, he and several knights who were previously recruited to follow Rusalka are the heads of the Shaddoll Military District. He is the leader of a group of knights, and the overall person in charge.

There is nothing wrong with this. After all, Caster is also a talented paladin, and he is a martial arts expert. He was also the first one to follow Rusalka, so naturally he enjoys the highest treatment.

It is understandable that Qingfeng is the second in command, because Qingfeng is very powerful and has been following the Sani Tower for a long time, so his status naturally appears to be higher.

But what Rusalka could never understand was that Lei Xiujia, the pure rogue knight who had jumped over from the Barony of Whitemyre, was actually the third in command. Moreover, after inquiring, it turned out that his popularity in the army was even much higher than that of Custer, and he was deeply favored by his subordinates and supported by the soldiers.

When fighting, he never goes to dangerous places in person, and always stays in safe places. You can say he is a slacker, but the tasks he carries out every time he goes to battle are also very important - do you dare to say that protecting the logistics troops and supervising the efficiency of logistics transportation are useless?

At least when Lei Xiukai was in charge of transporting supplies, his efficiency was really high and his execution was in place, comparable to Rusalka and Sanitieta leading the troops in person. This was probably related to his emotional intelligence and personal charm.

Rusalka always felt that it was a bit of a waste for him to be a knight in charge of soldiers with his talent, but Sanitieta said that he was just right. Although Lei Xiukai would definitely be excellent if he switched to municipal management, municipal management personnel could not be as good as he is now after switching to the army. This is the principle of making the best use of everything and everyone.

By the way, the current number one in the army's popularity list is Phoenix, the well-deserved champion, whose popularity is eighteen streets ahead of the second place. Any male creature in the army will praise her. Even war horses will "actively" crawl to her with just one look when they see her, no matter how bad their temper is.

To call her a hexagon is an understatement. She can only be described as a round god of war. Everyone who comes here says they envy Rusalka.

After all, who doesn't want a white cat that can cook, make snacks, do housework, be a maid, warm the bed, be affectionate, get gold coins, kill people, and even never leave your side?

Rusalka herself said, "Are you jealous? I exchanged my health for it. Maybe the first hour was indeed my own, but the rest of the night was forced upon me. The moment I started losing health, I knew this was going to be a one-sided battle."

The two elves said they didn't dare to express themselves, and what Phoenix said was right.

The second place is Rusalka. Although I feel that I deserve it, after all, a good general who leads by example is really hard to find in the world. Not to mention that since Rusalka debuted, the lives of the people in the Pearl Tears Territory have been getting better and better. Even the surrendered viscounts on the border have seen a certain improvement in the quality of life of the residents after citing the laws "promulgated by the Lord of Pearl Tears" (actually it was Sanitieta's idea).

The military and the people are one family. The military follows the will of the people.

Sanitta said that he was just a 20-charm filter. Without this 20-charm, he was just a pure warmonger. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was a lackey for the God of Death to boost his performance. He would fight wherever he went, and the God of War should abdicate and let him take over.

The third place is Sunita, who is mysterious, powerful, and has invincible strategic skills. You never have to use your brain when fighting him. Just for this reason, countless officers who know how brain-intensive it is to command an army give him thumbs up.

Rusalka did not say anything about this. He was the second place, so he naturally accepted the "jealous words" of the third place with a broad mind.

The fourth place is Lei Xiukai, but the soldiers are always reluctant to give a direct evaluation of him. Of course, this is also summarized by Sanita's indirect suggestions. Anyway, he can lead the soldiers to find ways to survive, teach them how to live and have fun when not fighting, use Rusalka's system to get more military pay, and actually bring benefits to the soldiers and the masses. He is definitely popular.

Led by the messenger, the group arrived at the City Lord's Mansion.

In fact, the location of the City Lord's Mansion can be recognized without an envoy. Rusalka has now learned how to quickly identify the location of the City Lord's Mansion in Sinidi - just find the clock tower.

Chapter 195 Prelude to the Banquet (3)

The design style of the Hendalia City Lord's Mansion is a very classic four-season landscape garden. Different from the style of most nobles who like to decorate their homes in a magnificent manner, this landscape design is precisely a "low-key style".

It is now the end of winter. In order to preserve the most beautiful scenery of winter and keep the blooming plum blossoms and the snow scene in harmony, the manor has specially used magic means to carve ice runes on the wall to cool down, keeping the red plum blossoms decorating the branches and the white snow covering the ground.

There is also a large pond in the garden, in which there are some goldfish, turtles, and several big white geese floating on the water. If you gently stir the water with your hand, you will find that the water in the pond is warm, unlike the cold winter weather in the manor. No wonder so many animals gather in the pond, it turns out that they are enjoying the winter hot springs.

Some servants were "sweeping the snow" - smoothing the snow on the ground, while others were responsible for wiping the surrounding rockery and rocks, clearing the leaves blown by the wind, feeding the animals in the pond, and ensuring that every part of the manor was kept perfect, forming a flawless whole.

Rusalka couldn't help but sigh that the city lord's mansion in a big city was more impressive. Although the city lord's mansion in Silver City also had a manor-like courtyard, the servants habitually used the vacant land to grow vegetables. In winter, it was just a barren field, but in spring, it was a sea of ​​green seedlings and plants.

In the summer, there are a lot of mosquitoes and other insects. At night, the yard is full of squeaking noises. Rusalka is really curious about how the servants can sleep without turning on the soundproofing barrier. They can't do the same as herself. After taking a long rest, the whole night will pass by in the blink of an eye.

The best time to see the scenery is in autumn during harvest time, when the city lord’s mansion is filled with the fragrance of fruits and vegetables.

When Rusalka and Phoenix were taking a break in the grove of the City Lord's Mansion, they picked a few fruits from the nearby fruit trees and put them in their mouths.

If you insist, can this kind of farm-style land use be considered an "agricultural landscape"?

Rusalka: (Can I also use magic to make our manor in Silver City remain in the harvest season of autumn all year round?)

Sanita: (You want to let nature experience the power of capitalists, right? Do you think there is magic in the world that can make your crops harvest all year round? Then I think it would be more appropriate for you to be the God of Nature.)

Rusalka: What you said does seem to make sense, brother.

Marquis Henda Dia, the lord of Hendalia, personally greeted Rusalka at the gate with a welcoming team carrying musical instruments and rolling out the red carpet. He ordered the servants to Rusalka's carriage and took the initiative to help them with their luggage. "Welcome everyone from the Pearl Tear Territory. How do you like my mansion?"

Rewi Alley praised simply, "Very beautiful."

Shana looked around. She had seen snowy scenes before, so it wasn't so strange anymore. "It feels just like our Elf Forest, except that winter is stored away here."

Alice stared at the wall in a trance, frowning slightly: "The concentration of fire elements around here is so low. If the runes on the wall were replaced with fire runes..."

Charrones and Phoenix did not speak. The former did not like to engage in red tape with the nobles, so he simply played dumb; the latter did not like to talk nonsense, so he never commented on anything other than the enemy, and never used more than one word to comment.

But since Marquis Dia had brought up the subject, Rusalka couldn't help but want to show off her "profound" cultural attainments. After a long pause, she looked at the plum blossoms and uttered, "I know it's not snow from afar because of the subtle fragrance."

Sani Iron Tower: "Sparse shadows slant across the shallow water, and a faint fragrance floats in the moonlight at dusk."

High judgment.

However, this world's poetry is more developed than its verses. Therefore, even Rusalka's forced recitation of the sentence structure made the Marquis Dia, who knew nothing about poetry, nod repeatedly. "What beautiful words! I didn't expect the Marquis of Pearl Tears to be not only skilled in combat, but also so talented in literature. He is truly a man of both civil and military talents. I admire him greatly."

"No, no." Rusalka's words sounded a bit modest, but in fact his mouth was almost splitting with laughter.

What does it mean to stand on the shoulders of giants? This is it.

Marquis Dia thought that Rusalka and Sanita were also like-minded people, and it was a rare opportunity to meet common enthusiasts with whom they could have an equal dialogue, so he took the initiative to introduce the design concept of the manor to Rusalka and his group.

Although Rusalka has no artistic talent, he is very good at supporting the main character. Whenever Marquis Dia said something, he would add an interjection "Wow~", "That's amazing~", "You've got to be the best~". Marquis Dia, who had never been exposed to the earth's crosstalk culture, must have thought that he was really sighing about his "talent", and spoke even more happily.

As for Sanitta, he was well-read and had a liberal arts background, so he knew a little about this kind of artistic content. After all, relying solely on Rusalka to carry the show would definitely not keep the topic going. So every time Rusalka finished her talk, Sanitta would analyze the point of view and give the Marquis an introduction to continue.

After some conversation, it can be seen that Marquis Dia is not only a nobleman with great artistic pursuits, he even has special talents. From the architectural structure design of the entire city of Hendalia to the planning of the gradient fields outside the city and the small commercial streets along the road, etc., all the plans were drawn by the marquis himself.

Sanititaton felt that Marquis Dia was indeed a rare talent in urban planning and design. Although most of the nobles of Sinidi had bad character, those who could sit in the position of head of the family, or above the viscount, were almost no mediocre people, and they all had some talents.

If such a person could be recruited, perhaps Rusalka's casually made-up railway design plan, or the previously mentioned whimsical idea of ​​using the wizard tower as a signal tower, could really make a breakthrough in design. Unfortunately, he is a marquis on par with Rusalka. In the terms of the game, he is an NPC who cannot be recruited.

Sanitta thought to himself: Well, I'll consider whether I can have a good relationship with him later.

Afterwards, he personally brought Rusalka and his party to the guest room area. They found that the city lord's mansion had built a villa with a courtyard specifically for the guests' accommodation. Unexpectedly, the small villa in Zhuleiling that could accommodate nearly a hundred people in the past could only be used as a guest room here.

Tsk, those damn rich people. Rusalka was secretly jealous.

He longed to have the wealth equally divided among those above him, and the pennies clearly divided among those below him.

Marquis Dia said, "We may have a lot more guests coming in recently, so you can't just pick a room randomly, you can only choose a floor. Please bear with me. Currently, the fifth floor is where His Majesty the Grand Duke and his family live. The fourth floor is the servants' rooms and storage room. The floors below the third floor are currently vacant. You can choose any floor to live on."

There didn't seem to be anything worth discussing here, and the decoration styles of the five floors seemed to be similar, so Rusalka chose the second floor.

There are 10 rooms on each floor, which is more than enough for 7 people to live in 10 rooms, not to mention that there are three groups in Rusalka's group who share a room with two people. Rusalka and Phoenix will definitely live in the same room, Shana and Alice will live in the same room, and Sanita will live in the same room with the eldest prince in order to ensure his safety and find a meat shield to deal with emergencies.

Ai Li was the worst off, having to live in a room by herself. However, Rusalka took into consideration that she had Theresa to accompany her (probably), and when Theresa's envoy came, she could live with him if she was happy, which meant that there were probably two people in a room.

So only 4 rooms are needed in total, four rooms side by side. Sunita lives in the middle room. Rusalka follows Phoenix's habit, so she chooses the position at the end of the corridor farthest from the stairs. The two elves live in the room near the stairs, and Aerie lives in the middle between the elves' room and Sunita's room.

After the servants delivered the luggage to everyone's room and sorted it out a little, I realized that the day had passed so quickly and it was already time for dinner.

Phoenix's cat food reminder is always very accurate. Before 6 o'clock in the evening, she will change her clothes, raise her tail, and say "dinner" to Rusalka.

If she were at home, she would have dragged Rusalka to the restaurant directly, but now she was in someone else's house, and she had to wait for their rules to have dinner. Fortunately, the meal time here was also very punctual, and several maids soon came to the second floor and knocked on the door, inviting them to the restaurant for dinner.

As Sanitieta walked out of the room, he put the book into the small storage pocket sewn on the lining of his clothes. This pocket was a magic prop with a small space of one cubic meter inside, which was just enough to store some miscellaneous items.

The downside is that if the robe is damaged, the contents will be lost as well.

Rusalka: (You've been reading this book called "Devil's Notes" lately. Is it that good? Doesn't it have beautiful illustrations of demon girls? Like the demon girls in the game "Hell Pickup King"? By the way, I like three-headed dogs.)

Sanita: (So you’re still a beast-ear control freak, right? This book was sent by Kate’s Chamber of Commerce. They must have had dealings with demon believers, so the books they sent must be authentic. I’m also very interested in the demon race. I’m curious about what kind of ecosystem these creatures, whose desire for conquest is comparable to that of the Zerg, rely on to survive.

This demonic power, transmitted through blood and the demonic stones within the body, seems like canned knowledge. If the side effects are merely as the author describes, aside from incompatibility with the powers of the Twelve Gods and a slight emotional impact, then why does next door Esdie harbor an unprovoked hatred for demon believers, like a "witch hunt," and kill them on sight?

Rusalka: (Faction issue?)

Sanitta shook his head. "I've read in books that there are a small number of demon believers and even good people. The Paladins of this world don't adhere to the Black Knights' belief in revenge and the destruction of all evil. They're more inclined to the White Knights' doctrine of the Virgin Mary. Phoenix was once considered a villain, but didn't the old knight who once attacked Phoenix relent and let her go?"

Rusalka: (I don't know. I feel like the term "Demon Follower" is the same as the term "cultist" in the game. I just attacked them when I met them, so it's like writing "I am the enemy" in the name.)

Sanitita: (Probably. I previously used [Communication] to ask the system if the factors we need to return home are related to demons, and the system replied [Yes]. Remember before the time travel, the DM said Hell was a high-level map? Since we already know that we'll have to deal with creatures like me sooner or later, I've been studying the book's records on demonic power and demonic creatures recently to prepare early.)

Rusalka: (I thought you wanted to play with some demonic powers, too.)

Sanita: (Forget it for me, but you might consider it. After all, you're already a heretic warlock comparable to a demon follower, so adding some demonic power won't hurt. It also lets you see whether the incompatible Benbi talent you chose is purer, or whether the demonic power is more compatible.)

Rusalka: (Fuck, you’re treating me like Master Lu, benchmarking your hardware?)

Led by the maid, the group arrived at the door of the restaurant. The waiter standing at the door opened the door for them, and they saw two guests already sitting at the seats in the restaurant.

One was a kind old man in a white robe. Judging from the age of the Earth, he was about 65 years old. He looked like an ordinary person rather than a transcendent being like a priest or a paladin. He was smiling and nodding at Rusalka.

The other person sitting next to him was a small, hooded man in a white robe. He was staring intently at the exquisite dishes on the table that looked like a full banquet, and he didn't even care that Rusalka and the others came in.

But to be honest, Rusalka felt that this guy was probably not a human - humans in this world probably didn't put two raised triangular earmuffs on their hoods to pretend to be cute like cats - after all, orcs were not very popular in the eyes of humans in this world.

Marquis Henda Dia had already sat in the main seat. Although according to aristocratic etiquette, the guests should be seated first and the host should enter last to announce the start of the dinner, but today was special. Marquis Dia was the one with the lowest status in this banquet, so he also flexibly adjusted and expressed his special respect to the guests by taking his seat first.

Marquis Dia pointed at the two men in white robes and said, "Let me introduce them. This is Zamir, the envoy from Esdi, and his guards. They've just arrived, so it's a good opportunity to have them enjoy dinner first and meet up with each other."

Then, he pointed at Rusalka and said, "This is the rising star of Snidi, Marquis of Pearl Tears Rusalka, and his retainers."

After saying that, he improvised and added a teasing remark to try to bring them closer: "Haha, what a coincidence that you two both chose to hire a member of the Filin tribe as a guard. Is there some kind of explanation for this? Why don't I try to raise one myself?"

After he finished the introduction, Rusalka waved and greeted the smiling old man, then took the group of people around him and sat down opposite him one by one.

Rusalka and Phoenix both looked at the front of the hood of the white-robed Filin, but they could only see a dark area on the face, as if there was some kind of black hole in the hood that could swallow up light.

Before Rusalka could even think of asking her good friend to stir up a gust of wind to blow off the hood of this pretentious cat who was trying to maintain a sense of mystery even while eating, the other party took the initiative to speak, asking in a somewhat surprised tone, "Is it Phoenix?"

The tail shaking behind Phoenix froze for a moment. She had many enemies in the Filin tribe, but not every member of the Filin tribe was her enemy. Maybe when the Shadow Association was founded, there were also fans who knew her?

So she asked back, "Who are you?"

After Phoenix said this, which was considered as a confirmation, the cat in white robe took off her hood on her own initiative, revealing her short black hair and black ears. Although she closed her eyes, her appearance was exactly the same as Phoenix. To Rusalka, she was just Phoenix with dyed hair.

The black-haired cat still had her eyes closed, her mouth slightly parted, and she spoke with a hint of anger in her tone, "I am your sister."

Rusalka was so shocked that the chopsticks in his hand dropped. He kept remembering the prophecy that Phoenix said: "Her sister said that when the door opens, the two will meet again."

It seems this refers to the cafeteria door?

Chapter 196 Prelude to the Banquet (4)

Compared to Rusalka's exaggerated reaction, Phoenix, the poor cat who finally saw her long-lost sister, didn't show much emotional reaction. She just nodded and replied, "Long time no see."

Afterwards, her eyes were focused on the table which was filled with nearly a hundred different dishes.

This is the legendary life attitude of "As long as the world doesn't explode, let's eat first, and deal with anything else after dinner", which is very much like Phoenix's daily feeling.

The dishes on the table were indeed more sumptuous and luxurious than anything Rusalka had ever seen in her two lifetimes combined.

It’s a pity that I didn’t have a mobile phone, otherwise I would have taken a photo to share on WeChat Moments: After traveling through time, I came to the home of Marquis Dia, the lord of the big city of Hendalia. I had a home-cooked dinner, and there were two beautiful cats beside the table, which were very appetizing. If I could see them cuddling, this beautiful scene would be enough for me to eat two bowls of white rice in one breath.

It can be seen that compared to the cat group who are preparing a small family drama here and whose ears are shaking rapidly as if they received a telegram, Ai Li is so excited that her hands are shaking slightly. You can even hear the symphony of hunger formed by her constant swallowing of saliva and the rumbling of her stomach.

Ai Li: Oh Lord Light, this is a dinner so extravagant that it can be called a sinful dinner. Nearly a hundred dishes can be eaten in one meal. Is this a trap set by "Gluttony" in the Church of the Seven Sins to lure people in?

But I will not give in, because I am determined to become a staunch believer of Sister Huiyao, so now I am just following a noble like Rusalka to experience this kind of decadent life. The purpose is of course... is... to get involved myself. Only by experiencing this kind of life myself can I fulfill the will of the Saint and guide Rusalka in the right direction.

At this moment, facing this table full of dishes, although my body instinctively desires it, the Saint's voice seems particularly clear at this moment. At this moment, she must be telling me...

"When is dinner?"

Alice next to her picked up the chopsticks and knocked on the table, directly shouting out Ai Li's thoughts, the main point of which was that she was an elf who didn't understand human etiquette.

Just eat, why so many rules?

Just at this moment, the door of the restaurant was opened again by the maid, and Grand Duke Delai and his entourage walked in. Excluding the guards he left standing at the door, there were a total of five people including him.

If I had to describe it, at first glance, Grand Duke Delai looked like a sleeping lion, majestic and inviolable, with neat short black hair and a very strong physique, almost as strong as the great knight Komodo who once stood on the top of Mingyue City. He also carried a huge sword on his back, and it seemed that like the eldest prince, he was a martial arts expert.

He was wearing a loose leather robe, but through the gaps in the robe, it was not difficult to tell that he was probably wearing a heavy armor. He had no expression on his face, but he could create an extremely serious aura around him. He just casually glanced at the side of the dining table, and the two elves who were clamoring for food shrank their necks and their voices became three times quieter.

On his left and right sides followed a young woman who was obviously dressed as a wizard, and a young man with a worried look on his face. Both of them had the coat of arms of the Grand Duke Delai family painted with a border city wall on their clothes, indicating that they were of high status.

Looking at the two people behind him, they should be dressed as staff members and envoys' attendants, except that they have family crests tattooed on their clothes.

Marquis Dia took the initiative to stand up and bow, then introduced to everyone present: "Your Majesty, this is Lord Pearl Tear, and this is the envoy from Esdi."

The relationship between Rusalka and the Grand Duke was definitely not good. They probably both hoped that the other would die soon, so the two of them just exchanged a glance as a greeting. However, when the Grand Duke's eyes swept over the eldest prince who was sitting to the side with his head lowered, trying to make his presence less noticeable, he stopped looking at the latter and sneered, "You're still alive."

Knowing he couldn't hide, Prince Charens simply gave up. He raised his head and looked directly at Grand Duke Delai, smiling back. "Indeed, I'm lucky enough to have survived, thanks to the hardships my ancestors put into building the kingdom."

Grand Duke Delai did not continue the topic, but instead turned his attention to the two elves who were facing a formidable enemy: "I didn't expect there were elves in the Pearl Tear Territory."

The two elves didn't dare to speak, for fear of being recognized.