Who made him a paladin?

Chapter 4: Finding Out the Whereabouts of the Materials

Five hours later...

A night breeze blew by, causing the heavy armor hanging on the wall of Karl's equipment shop to clang.

Xia Nan did not leave, but was kept by the enthusiastic dwarf boss, who listened to him tell his story of his knightly dreams.

The reason Xia Nan stayed was partly to find out the materials needed to repair the broken sword, but the main reason was that he was really hungry.

At this moment, Xia Nan was chewing on a fatty roasted lamb leg, then picked up a wooden cup with his right hand and gulped it down. This was Karl's privately collected fruit wine.

Upon tasting, the wine fills the palate with the sweet aroma of apples. The flavor is mild and not overpowering, leaving a subtle fragrance in the throat after swallowing.

Xia Nan smacked his lips.

It's just that pairing it with roasted lamb leg can be a bit too sweet and not refreshing enough.

In his past life, he was a drunkard who even went to fight with the two brothers known as "Brother Ca".

So for him, the fruit wine was good, but he didn't feel anything after drinking two large glasses. Its aftereffects were nothing compared to the effects of the Guangxi briefcase wine.

It's worth mentioning that this craft fruit wine, which sells for 8 silver coins a barrel on the market, is usually shared by dwarves only with their most trusted friends.

Karl's generosity at this moment undoubtedly shows that he regards Xia Nan as a true partner.

Would you consider this the first friend I made in this other world?

As Xia Nan pondered to himself, he looked at the lamb leg in his hand that had been gnawed clean, leaving only the bone.

Then his gaze shifted, past the wooden table, to Bruce, whose eyes were glazed over, as he picked up Carl and swayed him from side to side.

Forget it... I should just be a decent human being.

"Bang!"

Carl broke free from Bruce and jumped onto the oak table with a thud, making the wine glasses rattle.

"Hey, buddy!" Karl hiccuped, his tone a bit harsh. "Do you know why dwarven warriors always wear those bulky horned helmets?"

Xia Nan raised an eyebrow and jokingly followed up on the conversation.

"Is it so that it can pierce the orcs' bellies during a charge?"

"No, no, no!"

Carl shook his head dramatically, his two braided beards swinging back and forth.

"That's because...we're afraid that when we go to a pub, a drunk will mistake us for an empty chair and sit right on our butts!"

puff--

Bruce spat out all the liquor he had just drunk.

Xia Nan almost couldn't hold back either, and finally gave a thumbs up, saying that only dwarves could make such a dark joke.

"Mr. Carl, I think you should publish your joke in the morning paper."

Riding on this wave of enthusiasm, Xia Nan put down the wooden cup and got down to business.

"By the way, Mr. Karl, I'd like to inquire about a few materials." Xia Nan read out the required materials, "refined iron ore, corundum ore, red ore, and repair scrolls. Where can I buy these?"

Without a second thought, Karl replied, "I have the first two ores, plus the repair scroll."

"However, that crimson ore... is a big problem. This rare ore has long been monopolized by the royal family and used to make magical weapons; it's simply not available on the market."

Xia Nan stroked his chin, deep in thought.

It seems that to repair this legendary broken sword, we need to find an opportunity to contact someone from the royal family.

"Could you sell me those two types of ore?" Xia Nan asked again.

"Oh! My dear friend," Karl waved his hands repeatedly, looking troubled, "it's not that Karl is unwilling, you know those things are the store's prized possessions."

"but……"

Karl's small, beady eyes darted around, and he said mysteriously, "If you can help me with some trouble, perhaps I can make an exception for you."

"Explain in detail."

Carl jumped off the table, put his hands behind his back, and walked to the fireplace, as if lost in memories.

"Inside the Deer Forest outside the capital, a group of goblins are entrenched."

"Last month, the ten boxes of high-grade lava rocks I ordered were stolen by these green-skinned bastards as they passed the edge of the forest!"

"It's strange, really," Karl said, rubbing his bulbous nose and lowering his voice. "These greens are cowards. They were already scared off by the nearby villagers poking them with pitchforks. Now, not only are they coming out to hijack the convoy, they even know how to divide the work and ambush them!"

"So neither the Holy See nor the Adventurers' Guild cares?"

"Don't mention those bastards!" Carl stomped his feet in anger and blew on his beard.

"The Vatican used the excuse that the Deer Forest was dangerous and that there was a shortage of paladins to make me wait for a long time."

"The guild's offer is even more ridiculous. I've increased the bounty to 3 gold coins, and still no one is taking it!"

Is the Vatican short-staffed? Are there no orders for the guilds?

Xia Nan keenly noticed the suspicious points.

Three gold coins are a considerable fortune for adventurers at the bottom level.

No one accepted the mission, either because the difficulty far exceeded the bounty, or... because other forces had intervened and didn't want anyone to clear out that nest of goblins.

Suddenly, Xia Nan's gaze unconsciously drifted to the corner.

Bruce, with his back to everyone, crept to a large tree outside the yard, crossed his legs, and tried to mark a spot.

Xia Nan's lips twitched.

This guy... Come to think of it, the Bruce in Xia Nan's memory was a complete tagalong.

The original owner and Bruce grew up in the same village. When the original owner herded sheep, Bruce would follow behind, using his sensitive nose to help find the freshest hay or to help find lost lambs.

According to him, as long as he has drunk alcohol, he can smell in the forest whether a female wolf is in heat.

Besides his nose, his claws were also very useful.

Previously, the village often had to dig traps to keep wild boars away.

Bruce, who seemed to have inherited the skills of a groundhog, could dig faster than three or four strong men with shovels.

Of course, this guy's weaknesses are just as prominent as his strengths.

For example, he always liked to sneak up to the river to watch girls bathe, or he was a meticulous glue-making boy, which showed that he was somewhat sexually repressed.

What Xia Nan found most unbearable was Bruce's foul odor and his habit of catching small insects on his body to eat with his drinks.

Even so, when the original owner decided to venture into the capital, this loyal and righteous dog-headed man followed without hesitation.

Even Xia Nan himself felt that he was more like a burden.

But in a place like the Deer Forest, this kobold might actually come in handy.

"I'll go find the lava for you."

Xia Nan withdrew his gaze, picked up his wine glass, drank the last drop of fruit wine, and said to Karl.

"My friend, you should think this through!" Karl's expression turned serious. "That forest is definitely not a place to play in the mud!"

"With just you, and... and that gentleman marking out the territory, and your broken sword, I can't even imagine what will become of you!"

"So, I need some extra help," Xia Nan interrupted.

……

After the required items were explained, Karl readily agreed, since the magic scrolls that could "store" equipment were not a treasure to him at all.

The matter was settled, and the banquet ended.

Xia Nan got up and walked to the wall, gripping the hilt of the sword [Ktugia Ashes] with one hand.

The heavy weight traveled down his arm; nearly 30 pounds of scrap iron made his wrist muscles ache just from holding it up.

He silently recited the word "laziness" in his mind.

In an instant, the broken sword in his hand seemed to transform into a child's eating spoon, its weight almost negligible.

Xia Nan weighed the broken sword in his hand with satisfaction, then inserted it into the universal sword sheath hanging at his waist, and walked out of the shop without looking back.

The evening breeze carried a slight chill, brushing against the stray hairs on Xia Nan's forehead.

He slowly walked onto the familiar stone path, looked up, and gently exhaled the smell of alcohol.

There were no neon lights.

There were no colorful car lights.

Along the streets, streetlights made of fluorescent stone cast shadows of pedestrians that were sometimes long and sometimes short.

There was no noise of car horns, only the clatter of horse-drawn carriage wheels rolling over stone slabs.

In the distance, the faint strains of a lute playing in the tavern, along with the crude shouts and curses of the patrons, could be heard.

Xia Nan stopped and looked up at the night sky.

Without the light pollution of modern cities, the stars at this moment seem to be densely scattered like broken diamonds across the dark sky, and even the outlines of the vast star trails are clearly visible.

The pure and magnificent galaxy before him was a breathtaking sight that Xia Nan had never seen in his previous life.

Xia Nan slowly closed her eyes.

The nightlife I used to take for granted was brightly lit, exchanging family tree greetings with the haters in the live stream, and going to roadside stalls for skewers after a late-night broadcast with my friends.

But now, all of that is like smoke in the wind.

……

……

Xia Nan's lips curled into a grin, which gradually turned into a grotesque expression.

Isn't this incredibly awesome?

Now we have cheat codes, official positions, and powerful tools.

This is a life I never even dared to dream of!

Previously, I would work long hours in front of the computer in the morning to prepare for daily necessities, which led to cervical spondylosis.

Those damn days, let whoever wants them live them!

Thinking of this, Xia Nan raised his head high, laughed heartily, and walked forward.

Suddenly, a sticky, cold sound, like a venomous snake crawling across my eardrum, rang out in my ears without warning.

"Mr. Xia Nan, you have kept me waiting for a long time. However, I still have to extend my sincerest congratulations on your honorable attainment of the rank of Holy Knight."