Earlier, Laine did not attempt to recruit Estelle without reason. The half-elf has always been proud, stating that he insists on a knight's position.
Laine couldn't casually offer a Ranger Knight position. The half-elf's strength wasn't convincing enough, and without significant achievents, promoting him to a knight would easily stir discontent among other knights. Especially since Estelle was a ranged fighter, while Brittania's knights believed devout followers of the Lady should engage in lee, charging with the cavalry lance and slaying enemies with a sharp sword, as the best tribute to the Lady.
Therefore, when negotiations fell through, Laine's effort to recruit Estelle naturally fell apart.
Yet now, Estelle and his half-elf companions proactively sought refuge, which Laine found very interesting.
Why the initial arrogance followed by subsequent humility?
"Can we speak sowhere else, my Baron?" Estelle seed a bit embarrassed, clearly aware of the curiosity and amusent in Laine's eyes.
"Alright, let's go to the reception room on the second floor to talk. Ollica? Prepare so treats, don't let my friends feel slighted." Laine instructed the dark elf maid to prepare so wine and food.
Five minutes later, in the reception room on the second floor, Estelle and Des, the two half-elves, were seated. Ollica poured each of them a glass of grape wine and served white bread and roasted bacon: "Please enjoy."
"Thank you!" Estelle felt good about his relationship with Laine. He used a silver fork to pick up the bacon, ate it with the white bread, and his friend Des followed suit.
Outside the castle, it started raining again. The rain drumd against the wooden windows with a tapping sound, and the cold air seeped into the reception room. The fireplace burned well, and under Laine's dedicated managent, the castle felt like ho. The Baron himself sat at the head, waiting for the half-elves to speak.
"Here's the situation, Laine." After a mont of silence, Estelle finally spoke with a wry smile: "You should know about the war that broke out in the forest last winter between the Shadow Demon Beast Group and the Wood Elves?"
"Yes, I know." Laine indicated understanding by spreading his hands, signaling he completely understood.
"Des and I participated in that war as independent Rangers." Discussing this matter agitated Estelle. He angrily removed the recurve bow from his back and placed it on the ground to show Laine he ant no harm.
Following suit, Des removed the compound bow from his back, imbued with the Power of Starfire. Under magical influence, it could shoot linear arrows or penetrate tree trunks with Starfire Explosion Arrows: "Hello, Lord Laine, I'm Des, forrly a Ranger. I served the Forest Council, aiding the Wood Elf Forest Lords. As you see, Estelle and I grew up together as close friends."
"Yes, I understand. Then what's next? Since you served the Forest Council, why seek refuge in my territory?" Laine gestured with his hand for Estelle and his companion to continue.
"As you know, whether Wood Elves or High Elves, their attitude towards us Half-Elves has never been favorable. They only rember us when they need us, treating us as outsiders when they don't. When we serve the Forest Lords, we're Elves. When we can't offer value, we're human." Estelle sighed deeply: "During this war, Des and I fought desperately, working together to kill a Beastman Screaming Shaman. Originally, as per our agreent with the Forest Council, such a victory should have secured us a position there."
"The Forest Council must have reneged on their promise." Laine understood the mindset of those Wood Elves.
"Exactly." Ranger Des also sighed. With his hood and face scarf concealing his expression, Laine couldn't see it: "Ever since serving the Forest Council, I've always undertaken the hardest and dirtiest tasks. For assassinating a Beastman Leader, I could wait in a tree for three days. I dealt with the tree spirits that the Elves hesitated to hurt. But despite my significant contributions, they didn't even grant the treatnt of a standard Ranger."
"After the Forest Council went back on their word, Des and I had a furious argunt with those Elders." Estelle added: "Although we killed the Beastman Screaming Shaman, the King of the Forest and Her Majesty the Queen didn't punish us, but we couldn't remain in the forest. So, I thought of you."
"Turns out I'm a backup plan." Laine quipped.
"Putting aside other things, I'm an Elite Peak Ranger, and I'm very close to the Legendary level, just a bit away. Des is a Legendary Middle-tier Ranger. His bow has a range of three hundred ters, while mine, though slightly less, can shoot through plate armor at two hundred and forty ters. Just provide us a place to stay and compensation slightly better than that of sergeants, and that would be sufficient." For the first ti, Estelle spoke to Laine with so humility: "We... have nowhere else to go for the ti being."
"Don't you have any savings?" Unexpectedly, Laine didn't just agree. Instead, the Baron continued asking questions.
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