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*****
"Stop! Let that man go!"
Just as George was about to make a move and teach these three ruffians a lesson—perhaps leaving them with a minor disability so they would never dare to commit evil again—an angry voice came from behind the three of them.
George tilted his head to look. A beautiful, vibrant, and youthful Nord girl was glaring in this direction with righteous indignation.
"Camilla, this is none of your business. I advise you not to interfere!"
The lead ruffian, upon seeing the girl who had stopped him, narrowed his eyes and stared back, refusing to show weakness:
"Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite to you."
Camilla walked over, drew a magical dagger from her waist, and stood in front of George.
"Riverwood's reputation has been ruined by scum like you. I've been wanting to teach you a lesson for a long time!"
"Hmph! So you've got guts. Just you wait until next time!"
When the lead ruffian saw Camilla draw her dagger, his expression shifted through several changes. In the end, he turned and left with his two underlings.
They weren't afraid of Camilla. Her "three-legged cat" skills, which she practiced by spearing fish by the river, were nothing to be afraid of.
But her brother was a different story. Her brother was the proprietor of the only general goods store in Riverwood, a prominent figure in the town.
Furthermore, Camilla had many suitors. Provoking her would inevitably lead to a lesson from one of them.
That Wood Elf archer named Faendal, in particular, was said to have been a fairly capable adventurer in the past. He could probably take down all three of them with just one hand.
Therefore, offending Camilla for the sake of a stranger, or rather, for a few dozen Septims, was simply not worth it.
"It really isn't the vanilla version."
While Camilla was driving off the three ruffians, George's gaze was locked onto the pair of smooth, straight, long legs on her lower half.
Nords generally had taller builds, and this was true even for the women.
Camilla's height was close to 1.9 meters, making her a full half-head taller than him, a Breton, who were generally shorter.
Therefore, those long legs appeared exceptionally conspicuous.
However, George's focus wasn't on her straight and beautiful long legs, but rather on the clothes on those long legs.
Normally, according to the vanilla version of the game, pretty much every town's common citizens wore clothing that was relatively conservative.
In his memory, Camilla wore a normal, belted tunic, with the skirt hemline extending all the way down to cover her feet. At most, the top revealed a little bit of her collarbone.
And yet, the outfit Camilla was wearing now, while it still had the appearance of a belted tunic, had clearly been specially tailored. It was basically no different from a form-fitting hip-hugger skirt.
Her bright, fair thighs were completely exposed, looking extremely sensual.
This kind of effect was generally only found in mod packs.
Therefore, he could already preliminarily determine that this world was absolutely The Elder Scrolls world after having been modified with MODs.
"Friend, are you alright?"
After chasing away the three ruffians, Camilla turned her head to look at George, feeling slightly proud of herself.
Her dream had always been to become an adventurer, but unfortunately, her brother was stubbornly against it. She had actually been hoping the three ruffians would fight back, so she could have a good fight and prove her strength.
Unfortunately, the three ruffians were all cowards.
"I'm fine. Thank you, Miss Camilla."
George smiled and nodded.
He hadn't needed saving, but the young lady had helped him, so his attitude naturally wouldn't be poor.
"How about I treat you to a drink?"
"No, that's alright. I still have matters to discuss with my brother. My family runs the general goods store. If you need anything, you can come and take a look at our store."
Camilla waved her hand, and after conveniently drumming up some business for her family's store, she turned and left.
George didn't try to detain her further. He simply acknowledged her words and walked toward the Sleeping Giant Inn.
Camilla was the number one beauty in town. If he insisted on detaining her, it would probably make other people think he had some kind of improper intentions.
In any case, he was planning to go to the general goods store tomorrow to accept the Golden Claw quest, which could be considered as repaying the favor.
Pushing open the door, he walked into the Sleeping Giant Inn. The first thing that entered his vision was a young Nord man, playing a lute and singing. Surrounding him were several town residents, all drinking.
The sky hadn't completely darkened yet, so there weren't many people here drinking.
"Sir, are you here to eat or to lodge?"
A middle-aged Breton woman with a sturdy build saw George, a stranger, walk into the inn and skillfully stepped forward to inquire.
George glanced at the woman.
"I need both."
The proprietress of this town inn before him was no ordinary person. She was one of the hidden leaders of the Blades, and her strength was not to be underestimated among humans.
This Sleeping Giant Inn was also just a secret stronghold for the Blades to gather intelligence.
The Blades originated in the Second Era as the Dragonguard. After the Dragonborn Emperor Reman established the Second Empire, they long existed as the bodyguard organization for the Dragonborn Emperors.
At the end of the Third Era, after Martin Septim sacrificed himself during the Oblivion Crisis, the Dragonborn bloodline of the emperors was severed. The Blades ceased to be a bodyguard organization subservient to the Empire and instead began to operate as an underground organization.
And now, because of the White-Gold Concordat, they had become abandoned pawns, cast aside by the Empire, and were no longer officially recognized.
However, this had nothing to do with him. He had no interest in the Blades or in hunting dragons; that was the mission of the Dragonborn.
If he got involved, he would immediately attract the attention of the Dragon God, Akatosh.
"It's ten coins to lodge. As for food, here is the menu."
The proprietress led George to the counter and took out the inn's menu of food and drinks.
George glanced at it and casually ordered some food and wine. He then paid for the food and lodging expenses, a total of fifty Septims.
"The singing isn't half bad."
He found a table and sat down. While waiting for the food he ordered to be served, George ate his meal while enjoying the performance of the young Nord man, the bard, over by the side.
He knew this young man was named Sven. He was known as the absolute worst follower, but his singing was indeed good, and he played the lute very well, too.
That made sense. He was just a bard, after all, so it was perfectly normal for him to be a bad fighter.
As time grew later and later, the number of guests in the inn also grew.
By the end, almost all of the local residents of the town had gathered here.
Without television, without shouji [cell phones], their greatest form of entertainment was to gather here at night to drink, chat, and listen to music.
However, it wasn't all harmonious during this time. For example, the town's hunter, Faendal, nearly beat up the bard, Sven.
The reason was that both men were pursuing Camilla, the sister of the Riverwood Trader's proprietor—the very same Nord beauty who had just "saved" George.
As it approached midnight, everyone dispersed and returned to their own homes. George also went to sleep in the room he had rented.
His body no longer required sleep. So, while he appeared to be sleeping, he was actually shifting his main consciousness to his other "bodies" to research magic.
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast at the inn, George arrived at the entrance of the Riverwood Trader.
(End of this chapter)