nownovels Chapter 8 Analysis
Chapter 8 Analysis
After Gerns finished tidying up, Sylphy came out carrying two plates of food that had been baked into a black paste.
She first placed the food on a table, then went back to the bar to get a candle that had burned down to the size of a thumb. After lighting it, the tavern became a little brighter.
When Sylphy noticed that the tavern had been cleaned again and the wooden floor gleamed with a light that hadn't been seen in a long time, she instantly understood what was going on, and a hint of emotion appeared in her eyes.
"My lord, please have some," Sylphy beckoned to Gerns. "This is all we have left in the shop, so please make do with what we have."
"Is this all you usually eat?"
Gerns looked at the two lumps of black paste on the table, pointed at them with slight surprise, and then looked up at Sylphy.
Gerns recognized the two dark lumps as mashed potatoes.
In Gerns' memory, this was something that only appeared on the dinner table when the harvest was bad or when the family was in trouble.
"This...this is all the food I have left." Sylphy said in a low voice, her face flushed, and she looked like she was about to cry, perhaps thinking of something.
"Fine, potatoes it is. They're pretty good."
Seeing that Sylphy was about to cry, Gerns quickly changed his tune.
To be honest, Gerns, who wasn't exactly a pure carnivore, was used to eating fatty meat every day in the military camp. Occasionally eating something a little bland to change things up was quite nice.
He was rather curious about what this woman was going through. After all, this tiny candle, about the length of a thumb, on the table could be exchanged for a sumptuous meat feast if Gerns took it back to the military camp.
Candles are high-end items in this world, mostly used by nobles. Their complex craftsmanship makes them very expensive, and few people in the common folk use them. Even if they do, it's usually only wealthy farmers and people with some assets who use them.
Even those of Uncle Reger's rank in the military camp only used oil lamps, while squad leaders like Gerns himself could only rely on torches for light.
"I'm just curious, how come the owner of such a big tavern eats this every meal?"
After making a sarcastic remark about Sylphy, before she could say anything more, Gerns picked up the plate full of mashed potatoes and began to wolf them down.
At this moment, Gerns was really hungry. He had drunk so much alcohol in the afternoon and hadn't eaten anything. In addition, after that battle, his stomach was now growling with hunger.
Sylphy listened to Gerns's words and wanted to say something, but seeing Gerns's rough eating style, she swallowed her words.
Unlike Gerns, Sylphy ate with a spoon, scooping up food little by little, as if she were enjoying something delicious.
Despite being twice the size of his opponent, Gerns quickly finished the fight and seemed to be enjoying himself even more.
"You eat so fast..." Sylphy stared blankly at the clean plate in front of Gerns for a moment, then pushed her plate, which still had half a plate of food left, in front of Gerns. "Here, I can't finish this either, so please eat some more for me."
Gerns was indeed not full at this point, and when he saw Sylphy push her own portion in front of him, he didn't stand on ceremony and picked up the plate to continue eating.
Before long, the remaining food on the plate was completely devoured by Gerns.
Seeing the man in front of her finish both plates of food, Sylphy was somewhat surprised, but she didn't show it on her face.
After finishing two more plates of food, Gerns felt he had eaten most of it and looked at Sylphy with a barely perceptible smile in his eyes.
Sylphy felt uncomfortable under that gaze and quickly gathered up their plates, heading towards the kitchen.
When Sylphy returned, the two sat quietly on either side of the table, with only the short candle in the center of the table still flickering.
"Um... thank you so much for today. If it weren't for you guys, I probably would have either died here or been taken away by those goblins."
Sylphy thanked Gerns somewhat haltingly, her voice gradually softening as she lowered her head.
"You're welcome, just a few goblins."
Gerns gave a slight smile.
"Then I really need to thank you, after all, you saved my life." Sylphy quickly looked up. "If there's anything you really need help with, I'll be happy to help. Of course, if you'd like, just ask, and I can also..."
Sylphie stopped mid-sentence. Gerns looked at Sylphie by the dim candlelight and saw that she was looking down, her cheeks appearing extremely rosy, perhaps because of the candlelight.
Gerns immediately understood what Sylphy was thinking. However, Uncle Reins' words from that afternoon kept echoing in his mind, and he had no interest in anything else right now. He quickly replied, "I do have something bothering me right now, but it's not this."
When Sylphy realized she had guessed wrong and that her thoughts had been seen through, her cheeks flushed even more: "Well...you can tell me what you think, maybe I can help."
Seeing that Sylphie was so determined to help him, Gerns didn't hide anything and told Sylphie about the election of the company commander in the past two days, and even about the preparations to break camp and attack Nefran.
After hearing everything, Sylphy began to question Gerns carefully about the structure of their military's high command and his own network of connections. Gerns answered all her questions and told Sylphy everything he knew.
After all, what he knew wasn't exactly a secret; anyone with a bit of interest could find out with a little effort. Gerns wasn't worried about being overheard or having it leaked.
After understanding the general situation, Hilfi pointed out incisively that Gerns should seize the opportunity to get close to young master Holmes.
"Your battalion is strong enough to be a company, and its highest-ranking officer is Baron Holmes. Even the company commander is one of his knights. So if you want to climb the ranks, you have to get close to the baron. As for military merits, isn't it all just a matter of the baron's word?"
"So you mean I need to cultivate a good relationship with Young Master Holmes? He's the eldest son, the future heir to the Baronship. If I align myself with the young master now, whose power is still relatively weak, I might very well gain his appreciation and be cultivated by him."
Gerns reacted quickly, immediately realizing that Sylphy was suggesting he side with Master Holmes.
"Indeed, from your introduction, the most powerful person in your battalion right now is the Baron, followed by the captains and young Master Holmes. Since the Baron and the captains are not participating in the election, then you should cling even tighter to young Master Holmes. Moreover, I believe that this election of company commanders is the Baron giving young Master Holmes an opportunity to build his own faction."
Sylphy, having grown up in the streets and alleys, has a very accurate grasp of worldly affairs and human relationships.
Gerns had heard from other people in the camp that a company was to be reorganized, and he had initially taken it as a joke, but now that Sylphy had said it, it seemed like it might actually be true.
If a new squadron is established, who will be the squadron leader and deputy squadron leader? Wouldn't a team without a leadership framework be perfect for young master Holmes to train and build his own team?