Training was going great.
Half a month later.
In a quiet corner on the left side of the Iron Axe Tavern.
[Name: Don Quixote]
[Identity: Knight]
[Spirit: 1.90]
[Vitality: 1.89]
After eating and drinking his fill, Don Quixote slumped in his seat to rest, as usual.
His luck over the past half-month had been mediocre.
He only received a Blood Apple once as a random quest reward.
The rest were varying amounts of silver stags.
Even so, his strength hadn't slowed in its growth; in fact, it was increasing faster.
It just goes to show that, barring special circumstances, passive improvement can't compare to active training.
Practicing the Knight's Basic Breathing Technique for half a month had significantly boosted Don Quixote's strength.
"I'll develop for a while longer, then I can consider looking for a new quest."
Don Quixote pondered.
Rewards were linked to the difficulty of the quest.
Although the long-term quest of maintaining order at the Iron Axe Tavern was stable, the rewards were mostly basic.
"I need to find a long-term quest that doesn't require me to run around wasting training time, but still has enough difficulty to yield higher-quality System rewards..."
As Don Quixote was thinking, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the tavern entrance.
Lady Wylla was slowly walking into the tavern.
And close beside her followed a young woman with a healthy, fit figure and high cheekbones.
...Lady Wylla hadn't been to the tavern in five days.
Don Quixote gathered his wandering thoughts and stood up to welcome them.
---
Lady Wylla pointed to the young woman beside her, who wore a plain thick wool dress cinched at the waist with a thin leather cord, and smiled:
"Little Don Quixote, this is my daughter, Elise Sutton."
"Miss Elise, a pleasure."
Don Quixote bowed slightly, his gaze sweeping over the young woman's eyes beneath her high brow.
Her grey-blue pupils were exceptionally clear and bright.
His gaze lowered.
Besides the leather cord at her waist, she also wore a short dagger.
The wooden handle of the dagger was worn smooth.
Lady Wylla turned her head to look at Elise with a smile and introduced him in turn:
"Elise, this is Don Quixote, a trustworthy freelance knight."
Neither a lord's sworn sword nor a titled knight, such men were generally called freelance knights.
Those with a title but no land were hedge knights.
Above them were sworn swords pledged to specific lords, and landed knights who owned land and castles, roughly equivalent to quasi-nobles.
These were the four main types of knights in Westeros.
Elise nodded slightly, her grey-blue eyes looking at Don Quixote with curiosity:
"Knight Don Quixote, hello. I've heard much about you from my mother."
Elise's voice was clear and cool, like a stream after snowmelt. She looked Don Quixote straight in the eye when she spoke, without a hint of coyness.
...A typical Northern girl.
The thought flashed through Don Quixote's mind, and he spoke frankly with a smile:
"I, Don Quixote, am an upright knight who faithfully believes in the Old Gods!
"Miss Elise, if you need anything in the future, just give me the word."
The three exchanged a few simple pleasantries before walking together to a quiet corner.
Before long.
Cole brought a pot of hot Northern sparkling wine, poured for the three of them, and quickly left.
Lady Wylla felt the warmth of the clay cup against her fingertips and spoke slowly:
"Little Don Quixote, I have a favor to ask of you today."
Don Quixote glanced at the quiet Elise beside her and guessed:
"Please speak, My Lady!"
Lady Wylla quickly said:
"Elise plans to take over the Iron Axe Tavern, so I'll need to ask you to look after her from now on.
"Elise grew up roughing it in the North; she's not delicate.
"But Castle Cerwyn is right next to the Kingsroad. With so many travelers and caravans passing through, I still worry about outsiders getting drunk and acting out."
As for the locals nearby, they would likely give the Sutton family some face.
Don Quixote smiled knowingly:
"Rest assured, My Lady! I will help Miss Elise keep those unruly customers in line!"
Hearing this, Lady Wylla nodded and said:
"Little Don Quixote, thank you for your trouble."
The three chatted and laughed for a while, though it was mainly Lady Wylla and Don Quixote talking.
Elise listened quietly from the side.
---
Early the next morning.
Shortly after Don Quixote finished his feast.
Elise arrived at the Iron Axe Tavern alone.
She first walked to the bar and chatted briefly with Ronan, then took a cup of hot ale and sat down at Don Quixote's table:
"Good morning, Knight Don Quixote."
Don Quixote straightened his posture slightly and smiled:
"Good morning, Miss Elise."
After a brief exchange with Don Quixote, Elise suddenly asked:
"Knight Don Quixote, why do you stay in this small tavern?
"Don't you want to go to a tourney to show off your prowess?
"Or pledge loyalty to a liege lord for a greater future?"
...Because of the System quest, obviously.
Don Quixote said seriously:
"The knightly code I believe in is to keep my vows and protect the innocent.
"Your mother, Lady Wylla, helped me.
"I promised her I would watch over the Iron Axe Tavern for a while and help you, Miss Elise, keep those unruly fellows in line."
"My mother just worries about me too much, so she wants you to look after me," Elise frowned.
"But don't underestimate me! I've been riding and hunting since I was little; I'm no fragile woman!"
"I believe that, naturally," Don Quixote nodded.
"But Miss Elise, you may not have dealt with those drunk bastards before. Their next scumbag move... hehe, is impossible to predict.
"Besides, dangerous characters sometimes appear in taverns. We need to be extra cautious."
Pausing for a moment, Don Quixote concluded:
"Miss Elise, you need some time to adapt to tavern life. Once you're settled, I might consider leaving."
"No, no, no, Knight Don Quixote, you misunderstood me," Elise said hurriedly upon hearing this.
"I didn't mean to drive you away. I was just purely curious why you stay in this small tavern."
...But I do plan to leave eventually.
Don Quixote smiled and suddenly asked:
"What about you, Miss Elise? Why do you want to take over this tavern?
"For a young lady like you, there must be a sufficient reason to choose to run a place like this."
Elise was silent for a long time before saying:
"My dream was actually to become a knight, but that's impossible, right?"
Westeros had a tradition that women could not become knights.
Don Quixote said slowly:
"Why is it impossible! You've denied this path before you even tried it.
"Why?
"Because of the eyes of the world? The pressure of tradition?
"Or is it because you also know that it is incredibly difficult for a woman to become a knight, so you chose to give up?"
...