Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?-Chapter 307 - 105 Tavern Tales

"Although entering the Quarantine Zone isn’t off-limits, it’s not as simple as just walking in. The security for distinguishing between Quarantine and non-Quarantine areas within the city is over a hundred times stricter than the security for entering the city itself.

The next morning, after a rushed breakfast in the basement, some returned to Fire Island while others planned to go out and gather information. With Nora and Peggy around, one able to detect and control pathogens and the other manipulating and strengthening immune cells, it was almost impossible for the group to catch the disease.

Aske, Peggy, Thira, and Nora left the inn, each wearing a mask—although unnecessary, to avoid drawing strange looks, they still had to conform to local customs and disguise themselves as normal people.

Compared to inns, taverns were a much better place to pick up rumors. They found a sunken underground tavern, and as they were about to enter, several men stopped them at the door.

"Pull down your masks, let’s have a look," said the obviously doorkeeping fellows. "Infected individuals are not allowed inside."

Are your standards for identifying the infected just seeing if someone is gaunt and yellow-faced? Aske was speechless, but he pulled down his mask.

He was one thing, but when the three girls behind him pulled down their masks, they instantly attracted the doorkeepers’ admiring glances. Still, knowing that just a healthy complexion couldn’t 100% identify an infected person during an epidemic, they didn’t entertain any improper thoughts, but greedily stared at their faces for a long while before stepping aside:

"Go in. If we find out you’re infected, you know what will happen."

The four made their way downstairs to the main hall of the tavern, found an empty table in the center, ordered some drinks (but didn’t drink), and quietly listened to the conversations around them.

"Taverns reflect the life force of the city’s underbelly," Thira remarked softly. "If a city’s taverns are devoid of patrons, that city’s lifespan must be nearing its end."

"At least there are still people coming here to drink," Nora sighed in relief. The sight of the bodies displayed upon entering the city had genuinely startled her.

The group fixated on the drinks before them, then overheard the whispers from the next table, mostly sighs and complaints:

"Neighbor Joffrey’s whole family is gone, the floor is all mice, almost completely eaten by the time they were found..."

"I was just at the hospital for a check-up yesterday; I have to take Anna there again tomorrow..."

"Or leave the city..."

"There’s nowhere to live outside, rents for houses are sky-high; we certainly can’t sleep out in the wilds, to be snatched away by wolves..."

"Mainly it’s the Recruitment Officers, they wouldn’t dare come into the city, but they are unscrupulous with conscription on the outside..."

"The Great Nobles really have some nerve. Join the military? Who would join the military during an epidemic? Men are off fighting, while women and children at home either die sick or maybe even get eaten by rats without anyone knowing; who would feel secure going off to war?"

"Enough, let’s just drink..."

Carefully listening, the group gradually gained an understanding of the tragic lives of the city’s lower-class citizens.

On one hand, the Plague was rampant, constantly claiming lives within the city, leaving the survivors anxious and in fear.

On the other hand, the Earl was actively sending Recruitment Officers to conscript soldiers aggressively. Those with families were reluctant to go to war, fearing no one would care for their sick relatives at home. The Recruitment Officers had to resort to forceful measures. Consequently, resentment brewed among the conscripted, and one could easily imagine the morale of soldiers on the battlefield.

If it were a battle with the wind at their backs, it might still be bearable, but in the face of even a minor defeat, it wouldn’t be surprising if they deserted in the night, no wonder the Earl was looking to mercenaries for reinforcements."

"It’s really troublesome," Thira unconsciously took the perspective of the ruling class and frowned, "Now is not the time for warfare, yet internal strife and external threats come together. In such a situation, shouldn’t the border provinces be seeking aid from the central government immediately?"

At this point, she laughed at herself in self-deprecation.

Divine Luo was a loosely federal feudal state, certainly not like Eastern Luo with its bureaucratic centralized government. To put it bluntly, the problem of Innsbruck was your own, Lord; you should take care of your own territory, even if all your subjects died, it had nothing to do with the Weisbach family.

If the invaders hadn’t been the Wolf Family, who had declared war and targeted all of Bavaria from the very beginning, the Weisbachs, by common practice, wouldn’t have even sent support.

However, for everyone involved, the current predicament was somewhat awkward. The mission was to support Innsbruck, but to what extent should the support go?

You can still carry out missions now, but when the Wolf Family’s massive army is at the gates and Innsbruck is completely overwhelmed, The Azure Longsword will have to face a careful decision: do they help defend the city to the death, or strategically retreat to the Ahnaus Mountain Area? frёeweɓηovel_coɱ

Missions are one thing, but at a life-or-death moment, preserving life is obviously of utmost importance; further assessment would definitely be needed.

A few more people came down the stairs of the tavern’s entrance, including Alfred, who had just returned from the battlefield, his cloak still stained with blood, drawing the gaze and suspicion of those around.

A man trying to keep watch attempted to stop them, but one of Alfred’s men pinned him against the wall with a slap, rendering him unable to struggle. So the tavern’s patrons turned their heads back as if nothing had happened. These men were formidable and murderous, looking in bad moods with faces not to be trifled with.

"Killed until our hands were sore, then came back to find our year-end bonus gone," the men sat down at a table not far from Aske, their faces gloomy, "Damn bad luck, shitty mercenaries."

"Don’t go picking fights with those people," Alfred warned, "They’re not to be messed with. That blonde-haired female knight, know her? She’s high-born, the Young Miss of the Weisbach family! Think about it, a Mercenary Group that can take in the children of Great Nobles—consider for yourselves how strong their backing must be. I fought with them in the past, believe it or not, but I’m convinced through and through."

"Scared by them, aren’t you, Alfred?" someone sneered, "If you had realized who they were sooner, we wouldn’t have lost so much money."

"Bullshit," Alfred retorted, "Don’t forget that redhead, the Mind Sequece, they are all sly old foxes. Even if I had told you, would you have believed me? You all would still be eager to win those 1000 marks!"

"Stop talking about it," another said, "It hurts just to think about losing money. Rich people have all fled outside the city, and we Transcendents still have to rent houses in the city, never knowing when we might catch the disease."

"Hey, we’re Transcendents after all, why don’t we go out and make some money?" someone suggested ominously.

"How do you plan to make money?" Alfred scoffed, "Open a little food stall and sell bread in the morning?"

"It doesn’t necessarily have to be a food stall," the man waved his hand, "I mean, how about we take on some mercenary work?"

"That could work," Alfred stroked his chin, "But if we’re pursuing a side hustle, we can’t let the Earl find out."

"Of course, we’ll keep things tightly sealed," the others assured with pats to their chests.

"Speaking of side jobs, smuggling medicine into the Quarantine Zone to sell must be the most profitable!" someone suddenly chimed in, "Bringing outside medicine in, the price markup is said to be at least tenfold."

"Do you have a way in?" Alfred asked.

"Heh, you’re asking the right person," the man said with a secretive smile, immediately lowering his voice.

Beside them, Nora silently initiated Mind Reading.

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