47: Lingyuan Flower

Outside the castle gate.

As his vision grew clearer, Lister, on horseback, saw many figures standing and waiting.

Thomas and Daisna stood at the very front, while the maids, led by Flora, attended on both sides.

The most eye-catching among them was Daisna, who was wearing a long dress.

At this moment, she had shed the girlish demeanor she usually displayed when alone with Lister, appearing instead dignified, elegant, and full of nobility.

Her slightly plain attire became extraordinary under her dazzlingly beautiful countenance, as if anything she wore would be indistinguishable from true aristocratic clothing.

Noticing a hint of worry within Daisna's calm expression, Lister was somewhat moved, and he even had the feeling that she was the mistress of the castle.

Once this thought appeared, he was immediately startled by himself: "Why am I feeling all romantic in the dead of winter?"

Although he immediately suppressed it, the thought remained imprinted in the deepest part of his heart.

While his mind wandered, they had already arrived before the crowd. Thomas spoke in a respectful tone, filled with immense excitement: "Congratulations on your triumphant return, Lord Lister. Thomas offers his most sincere praise to you, the great one!"

"Praise to the great Lord!" Flora and the other maids echoed in unison, their expressions filled with genuine admiration and adoration.

"Lister, congratulations on your triumphant return." Daisna smiled to congratulate him, then asked with a worried look: "You aren't hurt, are you?"

Lister smiled calmly: "Rest assured, we won a complete victory this time; there are no major issues."

After signaling to Daisna that she could rest easy, he looked at the crowd and said loudly: "Alright, it's too cold, don't stand outside anymore. Let's go in."

Afterward, he gave a few instructions to Red before turning and entering the castle with Daisna and the others.

...

Since it was late and cold, Lister, who had originally intended to hold a victory banquet, gave up on the idea.

In the castle's first-floor hall, as plates of tempting delicacies were served, Baize in Daisna's arms was already drooling.

Tonight's dinner was exceptionally sumptuous; the main course was a massive, sizzling, aromatic whole roasted cow.

Of course, it was just an ordinary cow, not a savage bull.

However, this satisfied the long-expectant Baize, who could no longer hold back and began to gnaw on it directly, its mouth dripping with grease, as if it wished it could dive headfirst into the cow's belly.

"Thomas, cut a portion for each of the maids." Lister naturally had not forgotten Flora and the other maids who had worked so long to prepare this dish.

Looking at the heavy plate of beef in their hands, Flora and the other maids expressed their gratitude, offered sincere praise, and then began to taste it in small bites.

Seeing this, Lister smiled with satisfaction. After having Thomas cut him a portion as well, he joined Daisna in enjoying the tempting dinner.

The entire castle was filled with laughter and joy, and Daisna reverted to her girlish demeanor, incessantly asking Lister about the battle with the orcs.

Although he didn't understand why Daisna was so curious, given that the exploits of her father, the "Dawns Sword," were far more exciting than his, he still patiently recounted the events for her.

Meanwhile, this celebratory scene of the whole roasted cow feast was also playing out in the camp tents outside the castle and within Ironthorn Town.

Lister had always been very reassured by Thomas's thoughtful arrangements.

...

The victory banquet lasted until very late. After escorting Daisna back to her room, Lister also returned to his room on the third floor to prepare for rest.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw sacks of various sizes neatly stacked in the corner.

These were the goods that Locke had bought in the afternoon; before entering the castle, he had asked Red to arrange for people to bring them up.

Arriving in front of the goods, he quickly began to search, and soon, among some flowers, he found the Spirit Essence Flower he wanted.

The flower was sea-blue overall and would emit a faint blue phosphorescence at night, very similar to the common blue-light flower found in this world.

If it didn't emit a faint, delicate fragrance, it would truly be difficult to distinguish.

Of course, Lister was able to know so much because his predecessor enjoyed reading strange books, and having inherited his predecessor's memories, he naturally knew about it.

However, this wasn't important; what surprised him was that there wasn't just one Spirit Essence Flower, but three in total.

Yesterday's divination information hadn't specified this; such discrepancies had occurred in previous divinations as well.

"It seems my thought was correct; the divination information does indeed have some issues." Lister held a Spirit Essence Flower and muttered to himself.

He didn't know if this situation was good or bad. In the previous few times, there hadn't been any negative effects; on the contrary, it had allowed him to gain more.

But what if this wasn't a characteristic of the divination?

If it was simply that his luck had been a bit good previously, then his luck might be bad later; after all, everything has two sides.

Therefore, regarding information obtained from future divinations, he felt he needed to be more careful and cautious; being a bit more vigilant was never a bad thing.

The white book in his mind was too mysterious, and the divination ability it brought was not something Lister had learned himself.

If he blindly indulged in relying on the power of external objects while ignoring his own self-improvement, that would be putting the cart before the horse.

Of course, currently, no accidents had occurred with the divination, so he wouldn't worry excessively.

In any case, his positioning of divination had always been very clear: to treat it as a tool for enhancing his own strength and developing his territory.

Without further thought, after putting away the Spirit Essence Flower, he went to bed to rest.

As for today's divination, he had already used it during his afternoon training; it was all about matters concerning the surrounding territory, with no important information.

...

The next morning, before the dazzling sunlight could 'invade' the room, Lister woke up first.

However, many people had risen earlier than him. As soon as he went downstairs, he saw Thomas, who was already busy.

Because he had given instructions beforehand, Flora and the other maids would only wake up to work a little later.

Although Thomas had also been instructed, he was meticulous by nature and insisted on continuing.

He felt that if he couldn't be there to serve Lister the moment he woke up, it would be a dereliction of his duty.

He absolutely would not allow such a situation to exist, so Lister, feeling helpless, had no choice but to let him be.

Seeing Lister wake up so early, Thomas asked with concern: "Young Master Lister, you were so tired yesterday; don't you need to sleep a little longer?"

"Heh, no need, Thomas." Lister waved his hand and chuckled: "Since becoming a Full Knight, I feel like I have plenty of energy and don't need to be as sleepy as before."

"Please prepare a cup of hot milk for me; after I finish it, I'm going to the training ground for morning exercises."

"Very well, Young Master Lister." Thomas respectfully agreed.

While waiting in the main seat, Lister moved his mind, and the ancient white book slowly appeared before his eyes.

Since it was rare to be up this early, he wanted to see if he could divine any useful information.