Named Sasha, she had a few small freckles on her face but still looked cute. With a longbow and a quiver of arrows on her back, she appeared to be a lively girl in her early twenties.
However, she was slightly tipsy and dismissively said, “Hmph... What business opportunity? All our goods are to be sold to the Cecilia Merchant Guild, the quotas are already fixed. President, do you still think you can transfer them halfway? The breach of contract penalty will ruin you.”
Despite Sasha’s deliberate provocation, Xavier just smiled silently and didn’t take the wine bottle or engage in the conversation she was pushing.
After waiting for a long time and seeing that Xavier remained motionless, Sasha could only rest her head on the table, rubbing the bottom of her wine cup back and forth on the wooden table, complaining aloud.
“Sigh, how boring! Having a meal with you is really dull. You don’t boast, you don’t drink, are you a businessman or a monk? Could it be that after interacting with the Holy Empire, you secretly converted without telling us?”
Xavier could only smile wryly and reply, “Convert to what... I didn’t ask you to come out with me. We finally arrived in Sacred Star City, my intention was for everyone to settle down and relax for a while, to unwind. But you insisted on following me around, and now you’re complaining...”
“Tsk tsk, I followed you because you’re so skinny and frail, I was worried you’d get bullied if you were alone outside. Really, good intentions go unrewarded.”
“Alright, alright... This Sacred Star City has strict law and order, what danger could there be? I think you’re just...?”
Just as she was halfway through speaking, the president suddenly turned his head in surprise, as if he had seen something unbelievable. His gaze shifted to a few figures who had just sat down at another table in the distance, his eyebrows furrowing.
“Is it... her? But this is the Holy Empire, and why isn’t the other one here...?”
Naturally, Xavier’s small actions did not escape Sasha, who was sitting right in front of him. Although she looked tipsy, the girl almost immediately followed his gaze and locked onto the target the president was observing. She, too, raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“A winged people being? And with white wings? That’s quite rare. Hey, President, are you having some strange thoughts because those girls are cute? Tsk tsk, I never expected the esteemed president of the Xavier Merchant Guild to have such a nature~”
Xavier rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Enough already, what nonsense are you spouting... It’s just that one of the ladies over there looks very much like an old acquaintance of mine, so I was a bit surprised.”
“An old acquaintance? Then why don’t you go and say hello? White-winged people are almost like royalty in the Azure Sky Kingdom. If we establish a good relationship with them, we might even open up a new trade route.”
Although Sasha said this, Xavier, after thinking for a moment, ultimately shook his head.
“Let’s just wait and see. I only had a chance encounter with that lady, she may not even remember someone as insignificant as me. Approaching her rashly might just annoy and trouble her.”
“Hmph, you’re being overly cautious... Do as you like then.”
Although Xavier and Sasha were having an intense conversation, in the bustling restaurant hall filled with travelers, their whispered dialogue and glances didn’t seem to attract the attention of those girls.
In fact, because of their high attractiveness and the presence of the two white-winged people girls Sasha mentioned, other diners were also captivated by the newly arrived group. Though people tried to restrain themselves, the feeling of being watched was unmistakable.
However, the girls seemed used to this and didn’t react. They just called over a waiter, ordered a few dishes, and then chatted quietly while waiting.
While Sasha primarily focused on the two white-winged girls, Xavier’s attention was also drawn to a tall, stunning but extremely aloof blonde girl, as well as someone beside her.
To be honest, Xavier had traveled far and wide in his earlier years and had seen many strange things and people, but the style of clothing worn by this girl was something he had never seen before.
It was a red and white dress, and because the girl was relatively petite and sitting down, Xavier could only see the pure white collar and the unusually wide sleeves from his angle.
Her slender, fair fingers rested on the table, partially hidden by the large sleeves, and the conspicuous red pattern on the dress’s collar seemed to match the red, butterfly-like sash he glimpsed around her waist when they entered the restaurant.
Although he had never seen such an outfit before, it appeared to be special attire used for some kind of ceremony or dance, rather than everyday wear. He wondered why she would be wearing it casually in public. Of course, in a world with diverse races and cultures, what might seem like ceremonial attire to one person could be formal wear to another.
What really led Xavier to his conclusion was the girl’s adorable white fox mask and the two small, furry, triangular fox ears on her head. Without a doubt, she was either a half-beast person with fox lineage or a demon evolved from a fox-like creature. In any case, she was definitely not human.
Although Xavier was born and raised in the Human United Kingdom, he knew that the Holy Empire was different from his homeland.
The Holy Empire adhered to the principle of “Under the Goddess, All Beings Are Equal.” Here, except for those explicitly deemed enemies of the Goddess, such as otherworldly demons and undead creatures, almost any race could freely come and go within the empire.
So in Sacred Star City, whether you see winged beings or fox girls, or even dragons flying in the sky, as long as they don’t show clear intent or actions of destruction, they won’t trigger a response from the Knights Templar.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
The Holy Empire’s strength is partly due to its absolute adherence to such principles. After all, each race has its own strengths, and cooperation leads to mutual benefit.
As for the fox-eared girl wearing a mask, in the Holy Empire, especially in a large, diverse city like Sacred Star City, it’s not a big deal.
The meal passed quickly. Although Xavier wanted to observe them a bit longer, the girls didn’t seem to intend to stay. After finishing their dinner and paying the bill, they promptly got up and left.
From start to finish, the blonde girl with whom Xavier had a fleeting encounter never glanced in his direction, let alone approached him. Reflecting on some of her personality traits from their brief interaction, Xavier felt a pang of regret but couldn’t bring himself to disturb them.
Perhaps the girl named Xiao Guang, clearly of extraordinary background, had long since forgotten someone as insignificant as him. And he didn’t see Miss Violet among them either. Could it be that the two of them had parted ways for some reason? Xavier distinctly remembered their close relationship.
“Truly strange...”