Benjamin walked through the crowd, raised his ears, and listened carefully to what the people around him were talking about.
"The steaks here are pretty good, but I heard that there is an old restaurant in the west of the city. The steaks there are the best and the price is cheaper than here."
"Tell me, why did the Bonnie's Tavern in the outer city close?"
"Beautiful lady, please stay. Excuse me, have we met somewhere?"
“…”
Listening to these complicated conversations, Benjamin felt as if he was taking an English listening test. That's right, Mr. Jack, Ms. Nancy doesn't want to have dinner with you tomorrow afternoon, so choose C for this question.
The more he heard, the more disappointed he became.
They were all sterile conversations, and the lives of these young nobles were simply boring to the point of boredom. He didn't listen at all about the recent developments in the church.
But he wasn't discouraged yet. The reception has just begun, everyone has not had a few sips of wine, and they are still hesitant when talking. Don't rush, just wait until they drink it.
Benjamin also picked up a piece of soft bread from the table and took a few bites. It tasted pretty good.
"Grant, long time no see. I didn't expect you to be here."
Suddenly, an unknown person patted Benjamin on the shoulder from behind and said so.
Benjamin turned around in astonishment and saw a girl with long ginger hair standing behind him, wearing a white dress, looking at him with a smile.
“…”
Benjamin swallowed the bread in his mouth expressionlessly, and then said: "I am not Grant, I am Benjamin."
The girl's smiling face disappeared instantly, and she showed an expression of "I don't want to care about you", almost rolling her eyes.
However, probably out of politeness, after this series of wonderful face changes, she forced a smile, resumed her ladylike posture, and said to Benjamin: "I'm sorry, I'm rude."
Benjamin looked indifferent: "It doesn't matter."
After saying that, he ignored the other party, took the bread in his hand, and started to eat it.
Seriously, being misidentified, especially when being approached by someone else, is not a pleasant experience. Therefore, you can't blame him for being too cold.
However, what surprised him was that the red-haired girl did not turn around and leave.
"Well... how are you... recently... how are you?"
I could only hear her rambling and hemming and hawing, and finally she managed to say this sentence after holding it in for a long time.
Benjamin looked at her in surprise.
"Didn't you recognize the wrong person? Do you still want to talk?"
The red-haired girl curled her lips helplessly and suddenly lowered her voice and said, "What can I do? My two sisters also mistook you. I made a bet with them that I would be able to successfully strike up a conversation with Grant, at least we could have a conversation. Half an hour. Now that the matter is over, just go back like this. They must think that admitting their mistake is an excuse. I would be surprised if they don’t laugh to death!"
“…”
You city folk are really good at playing.
Benjamin felt speechless. He also had business to do here and had no time to play the game of "who is the most charming little princess" with these girls.
He has no interest in this girl either. Everyone is here for Grant, so why should he be so sentimental
"Is it possible that I still have to act with you here for half an hour?" So he said.
"It doesn't take half an hour, fifteen minutes is enough." However, the red-haired girl's tone was extremely firm. "I bet my handbag with them. If it takes more than fifteen minutes, it will be a draw. If it takes more than half an hour, They have to give me their most precious coats and shoes."
After finishing speaking, she paused briefly, then changed her tone and added viciously: "If you want to snatch my limited edition handbag, there is no way!"
“…”
Benjamin didn't want to pay attention to her.
But this girl obviously didn't give up so easily, or in other words, her love for handbags surpassed everything else, enough for her to shamelessly launch an "offensive" against Benjamin.
"Well... Benjamin, I know you. Aren't you Grant's brother? You are famous in the capital. I heard that... I heard that you were kidnapped some time ago, right? It's very interesting. Can you tell me about it? ?”
Benjamin sighed.
This girl's ability to find something to say when she has nothing to say is terrible to a certain extent.
However, the deceiving feeling of being mistaken for Grant gradually subsided, and he suddenly realized that there was no need for him to be so resistant to this girl.
Asking for information from someone is not asking for information. Anyway, this girl wants to use him to keep the handbag. He can also use this girl to understand the trends of the church during this period.
Therefore, before the red-haired girl could ask something like "Is your liver okay?", Benjamin spoke:
"Have you heard that the church has been transferring paladins from all over the kingdom to the royal capital some time ago?"
The girl was stunned for a moment, then showed a relieved expression and said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Benjamin. I also often go to church to worship, but I am not very clear about the transfer of the Paladin."
"That's it. Goodbye then."
"No, no, no! I...I've heard of it, I've heard of it."
Benjamin finally showed a satisfied smile.
He knew that without some pressure, these young masters and ladies would not say anything.
There was an expression of indignation on the girl's face. She glared at Benjamin helplessly and said, "You said you have nothing to talk about. It has to be about the church. If my mother knew that I was casually talking about the church with others outside, what would she do? I’m grounded as a punishment.”
“What’s more important, freedom or a handbag?”
"Of course it's important." The girl said firmly, "You go ahead and talk about whatever you want. Even if you want to talk about my mother and that general, I will talk to you!"
“…”
Sorry, I'm afraid I'll get corns if I know too much about this kind of thing.
Benjamin shook his head and said, "Who wants to talk about that? Let's talk about the church."
Hearing this, the girl frowned and said, "Why do you like to talk about the church so much? I have heard that you have no talent for magic and cannot enter the church."
"Who said I was going to join the church?" After thinking about it, Benjamin made up a reasonable excuse, "The main thing is that I heard something about the church recruiting paladins before, and I was a little worried about whether there was going to be a war. . In this case, we have to prepare early."
Regarding this, he still had to be a little more careful. You can't let people think that he is going around asking for information about the church. It's very suspicious.
After hearing this, the girl sighed, finally willing to speak, and said what Benjamin wanted to hear:
"Okay, actually I heard about it too. The church started taking action on the day of the operation to suppress the mage. I have an uncle who is a paladin. He was having afternoon tea at our house that day and left after receiving the notice. Originally, we thought it would be over after the mage was surrounded and suppressed, but after all this time, I still haven’t seen my uncle, and I don’t know what’s wrong with him now.”
Hearing this, Benjamin nodded thoughtfully.
No wonder.
The reason for Michelle's absence was found. The Church's long-term recruitment of Paladins has not yet ended, so Michelle is still in the Paladin team and can't get away, so there is no news at all.
Fortunately, Benjamin really almost thought that Michelle had died in some gutter.
However, when one problem is solved, another problem arises.
What on earth does the church want to do after it has summoned the paladins for so long
"I heard that a mage organization has appeared in the kingdom, and the church wants to wipe them all out, so it has been recruiting people." Thinking of this, Benjamin said tentatively.
The girl shook her head.
"No, that's not what I know." Her expression suddenly became serious, she lowered her voice and said, "I heard that the reason why the Paladins were gathered together was because other countries sent assassins , almost assassinated His Majesty the Pope!"