"How could it be...?" Frey was slightly stunned and turned her head in disbelief to look at the girl beside her—Qian looked a bit younger than her, but her experiences made her appear much more mature.
"I am a mercenary, selling my life for money and survival. People like us are destined to eventually die in the next battle, which seems like a natural conclusion for us. Originally, I had no complaints." Qian seemed to recall her past as well. She held her wooden cup and swirled the golden liquid inside, quietly saying, "But because of an accident, the Lord changed my life, making me realize there is another way to live."
"I... don’t know if I should be grateful to the Lord. I can somewhat understand what the Lord wants—he wants me to pursue something... But besides fighting, what else can I do?"
"So compared to this, I would rather be myself and die peacefully, rather than have it be someone else’s doing."
"I’m sorry," Frey suddenly said.
"Huh?" Qian was taken aback.
"I’m sorry, Qian. I never knew about your life. I think my desire to return to the past may have been a bit selfish. Brand is right, if we don’t strive for it ourselves, no one can give us the peaceful life we desire," Frey quietly replied, "The people of Erune are far from being able to indulge in comfort."
The mercenary girl stared at her blankly.
Some things Frey was beginning to understand gradually, but they still remained a mystery before her.
At this moment, a wave of cheers erupted outside the house, and the bar door burst open with a bang. Romantic came rushing in, holding a large basin and shouted, "Medisha took first place again! The ale is all sold out, come and help!"
"Be careful!" Frey hurriedly reminded.
"I know, I know," and then a scream came from the kitchen, "Ah, my roasted meat!"
Brand shook his head helplessly as he walked in from outside, but he seemed to be in good spirits. He glanced at Frey and Qian and smiled, "Two beautiful ladies, aren’t you going out to celebrate with everyone? Our Little Princess has won the title of archery champion."
The future Valkyrie widened her eyes at him, "Brand, what are you wearing!"
"Uniform, it’s the Erune cavalry uniform, how do you like it?" Brand raised his hand holding the roast meat, revealing some conspicuous oil stains on the deep blue uniform—obviously traces where someone had wiped their hands.
"You... How can you wipe your hands on the uniform? The uniform represents the Kingdom’s dignity, it is a soldier’s greatest honor. Brand, you... you are too much!" Frey was almost beside herself with anger, temporarily forgetting her previous sorrow.
"Oh, that... I just did it absent-mindedly." Brand answered innocently.
"Absent-mindedly?"
"Ha, Frey, you carry on. I’ll go out and check again." Brand, seeing the future Valkyrie about to explode, hurriedly laughed off. Evidently, what this young lady learned at the Royal Knight Academy had given her an overabundance of honor, hastily trying to back away.
"Stand right there, Brand!"
At this point, anyone standing still would seem foolish, Brand deeply understood this. He initially came to show off the cavalry uniform to Frey and Qian, unexpectedly achieving the purpose of showing off, though the end result was beyond his expectations.
Fortunately, this little incident couldn’t spoil his good mood at the moment.
The cavalry uniform on him was produced by the Lengshan Domain’s own cotton and dye workshops. Except for the cotton, which was transported via Ambeser maritime route, the uniform was almost entirely sourced from Tonyger.
This territory, once barren and impoverished, producing almost nothing besides silver.
The root of change came from the increase in population, due to exhaustive preparations for previous wars, a large influx of refugees or those transported into Tonyger, and the food supplies from Ambeser swiftly converted the increased population into usable labor.
Two months ago, under Bai Lu’s guidance, cotton workshops, dye workshops, blacksmith workshops, copper shops, clay and pottery, even weapon and armor manufacturing bureaus were established. After nearly half a year of careful management, Tonyger was no longer a remote wilderness; on the contrary, it was gradually starting to produce some essential products self-sufficiently.