William observed the atmosphere and he realized that he might have jumped to conclusions earlier.

    He nonchalantly nodded and just decided to go with the flow since it was already too late to turn back.

    "You have good taste, Sir Roland. The scented soap here is a unique product. As you can see, the noble ladies love it." William had a wealth of experience so he managed to come up with a good topic.

    Roland laughed awkwardly. "Uh, yes. You''re right, Sir William."

    At this moment, the young female worker whom they had spoken with earlier came back with a basket full of scented soap boxes.

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    She politely greeted William before she showed the products to Roland. "Sir, these are our products. This one is the..."

    She introduced the different kinds of scented soap one by one.

    With her arrival, William immediately took the chance to leave after waving at Roland and Fredrinn, but he didn''t step out of the store. He headed straight to the production room where the children at the orphanage were working.

    Meanwhile, Roland was relieved now that the old man was gone. The pressure emitted by the old man was so intense that he thought that he was being targeted.

    "Please don''t mind him." Fredrinn''s voice drifted into his ears.

    Roland stared at the Elite Knight as he continued.

    "Sir William is overprotective of the children of the orphanage since he treats them like his own grandchildren."

    Roland smiled wryly while nodding his head. "I understand."

    A moment later, Vince came out of his office and handed the recommendation letter to Roland.

    "Thank you for waiting, Sir Roland. If there''s nothing else, I suggest that you leave while it''s still early. The weather might not be too favorable this evening." Vince beamed as he offered him his suggestion.

    "Is that so? Then I''ll take your advice. Thank you for your help, Sir Vince." Roland cupped his fists.

    "No problem! You can come and visit me any time. I can offer you a discount if you buy our products." Vince chuckled.

    He then sent Fredrinn a knowing look.

    Seeing his signal, Fredrinn cleared his throat and made a ''this way'' gesture as he spoke to Roland. "Let''s head this way, sir. I will prepare my men to escort you guys to North Pine Town."

    "Alright." Roland nodded and followed him out of the store.

    ***

    Meanwhile, at the training ground of House Silversword''s estate.

    "My lord, I have already practiced stabbing thousands of times by now. Can you teach me a different move?" Aliya stared at Alaric with a pleading look.@@@@

    Alaric taught her the fundamental techniques of swordsmanship, but he had mostly taught her techniques related to stabbing.

    He told her that it was necessary to build a solid foundation before learning other sword techniques.

    She followed his teaching methods and despite her frustrations for only learning stabbing techniques, she didn''t complain. However, after the recent mission in the Evergreen Forest, she realized that she still had a lot of room for improvement.

    Alaric stared at the stubborn young lady.

    Her skin had already become tanned after being constantly exposed to the sun and her body had also transformed from that of a skinny young woman to an athletic warrioress.

    "That''s enough." Alaric calmly uttered as he motioned for her to stop.

    Looking at Alaric''s indifferent face, Aliya didn''t know if she had performed below his standards.

    "Don''t focus on imitating me. My sword is different than yours and our physical characteristics aren''t the same. You must integrate what you have..." Alaric explained the principles of the movements to her in a way that made it easier for her to understand.

    Aliya listened with great attention. Soon, she revealed a look of realization as if something clicked in her mind.

    "I see. So that''s why it felt so weird when I tried to imitate it..." She mumbled something under her breath before she eagerly tried for the second time.

    Alaric didn''t disturb her and just quietly watched her performance.

    Whoosh!

    Whoosh!

    Hmm... The strength behind each slash is stronger now, but it still needs some work. She already has the basic principles so she just needs to incorporate everything she learned until it is deeply engraved in her mind.

    While she was absorbed in her training, Alaric sensed someone approaching from the distance.

    He turned his head and frowned when he noticed a few unfamiliar figures riding on horses together with Fredrinn''s team.

    With just a glance, he could already feel the aura emitted by the man who seemed to be the leader of the group.

    A peak Elite Knight.

    It was a level that was comparable to Fredrinn and Warrick, but still a bit weaker than Galanar.

    "Hold on... That person..." Alaric''s eyes trembled when got a clearer look at the man.

    It was a familiar face. One who had been with him for the longest time on the battlefield.

    It''s been a while, Sir Roland.

    This man was one of the battalion commanders who led the crown prince''s army in his past life. He was a powerful warrior who would soon have his name etched in the Astanian Dragon Leaderboard!

    Clip-clop. Clip-clop.

    The clip-clop sounds of the horses made Aliya stop her training. She was a bit annoyed after having been disturbed, but when she saw the intimidating group coming towards them, her annoyance turned into alarm.

    A few moments later, the group stopped in front of them and climbed down their horses.

    Fredrinn and his subordinates walked towards Alaric and bowed to him. "Greetings, my lord."

    Roland''s group seemed to have realized Alaric''s identity when they saw this.

    "Can you tell me what''s going on here?" Alaric calmly asked.

    Although he already knew the other party''s identity, he had to pretend like he didn''t know.

    "My lord, this man is Sir Roland, an Elite Knight under..." Fredrinn quickly made the introductions.

    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Alaric. I have been eager to see you in person after I heard tales about your amazing talent." Roland stepped forward and gave him a standard salute.

    He''s just as I remember him. Scary on the outside, but a kind man deep down.

    Alaric''s lips curved upwards as he stared at his friend.