The Knight from the Fairytales-Chapter 25: Staying Overnight

"Elsa, are you not done yet? I'm hungry."
Beihai realized that bringing Elsa along was actually quite nice, as she could handle many tasks for him.
Lying in the snow pile didn't affect him anyway, since he had no particular sensations. How his body was doing, whether it could withstand extreme cold or heat? He knew best himself.
First striking a Ge You lounging pose in the snow pile, then showing a world-weary expression, he completely revealed his true nature.
Little Elsa was quite gullible and easy to fool. Her small figure moved through the snow, picking up fallen branches, mainly those brought by animals like squirrels and sika deer.
Her soft little hands took the branch from a squirrel's mouth, placing it aside to form a small pile of firewood, then her mischievous little hands rubbed the squirrel's head.
"Sir Knight, these little animals are helping us."
Elsa was captivated by the fluffy texture, her face once again showing a happy smile. Since leaving that kingdom and coming outside, Elsa's smiles hadn't stopped.
From a disheveled little girl with few smiles to now, the change couldn't be more dramatic.
"Hmm, of course I know. It's just that these creatures only bring fruits and vegetables, and this squirrel gave me a pinecone. How am I supposed to eat that?"
Beihai boredly took a little squirrel's pinecone in his hand. The squirrel immediately became happy, hopping about on the branch.
Then the next second, Beihai gave the pinecone to another squirrel, successfully making the two squirrels fight.
Seeing the two fluffy balls merge together, Elsa quickly went over and forcibly separated them, holding one squirrel in each small hand.
"This isn't right. Don't fight, you should get along peacefully."
Finally, little Elsa suddenly looked up, grabbed the two squirrels, and quickly came to the fireside.
"The water has boiled."
"If it's boiled, then throw the food in. I was really careless - should have done some shopping before leaving. Now we don't even have proper rice porridge. Elsa, I'm sorry to make you suffer like this."
"Not at all, Sir Knight. I'm already very satisfied. Just being able to fill my stomach is enough."
As she spoke, Elsa released the squirrels and picked up a stick to stir the pot. The pot contained clear, watery broth without any seasonings, so even when boiled, you could still see what was inside.
There were only a few cabbage leaves and some fruits - it looked completely unappetizing, without even any rice. This was the limit of what the animals could provide.
Beihai sat up from the snow pile, walked over to the pot and glanced inside, immediately feeling that his stomach wasn't hungry anymore.
Seeing Beihai approach, Elsa quickly took out a hollowed-out piece of wood. Originally solid wood, it had been gnawed hollow by some animals, making it perfect as a bowl.
She hurriedly served a bowl.
"Slow down, don't burn your little hands. Also, I don't eat this stuff."
"It's okay, Sir Knight, but aren't you going to eat? If you don't eat, you'll get hungry, then you won't have strength for traveling, and you might not even want to talk."
Elsa knew this from personal experience. Back when she was selling matches, why didn't Elsa call out to customers?
Because she simply had no energy left, too hungry to even speak, let alone shout for business.
"You eat it yourself. Your recovery is more important than anything."
Beihai casually dismissed her - he really didn't care for this food.
Elsa had no choice but to take the small, worn bowl and start drinking from it, taking small sips.
But the amount in the pot seemed rather generous. After little Elsa had eaten her fill, she couldn't possibly finish the remainder.
"If you're full, we can't waste the rest. Give it to these little animals - after all, they helped us."
Beihai saw the little girl holding her stomach with a troubled expression and immediately understood her dilemma. For Elsa, wasting food was unacceptable.
So he offered a simple solution. Anyway, these animals were still gathered around, unwilling to leave.
Elsa had thought they would pack the food to eat on the road.
Elsa couldn't help but admire Beihai even more.
This was just like Sir Knight - whether it was being afraid of destroying the kingdom so he dragged the king outside to fight, or now saying he wasn't hungry when he actually cared about her and the animals.
"Thank you, Sir Knight. I thank you on behalf of these little animals. You're such a good person."
Receiving an unexpected "good person card," Beihai wasn't annoyed. She was just a little kid anyway - as long as it wasn't the princess giving him a good person card.
"No need for your thanks. If gratitude is due, these animals will express it themselves."
"Ah, that's right! No matter how many times I see it, Sir Knight, I'm still amazed that you can actually talk with animals."
In this world, even princesses who had animal-summoning constitutions,
who were beloved by all creatures, could at most understand animal body language but couldn't actually hear animals speak.
Like when many animals knew of danger and wanted to warn the princess, but couldn't speak, they could only use body language. But the princess couldn't understand, thinking the little animals were just being affectionate.
After eating and drinking their fill, they set off again. This leg of the journey passed without incident, successfully arriving beside a castle.
This castle was magnificent and resplendent, far superior to other ordinary castles.
To make a comparison, if other castles were concrete walls, this one had walls built directly with diamonds.
This made Beihai marvel at the material abundance of this world - diamonds and gold were truly everywhere, yet their purchasing power hadn't diminished.
Coming before the castle and knocking on the door, the large gate quickly opened to welcome guests.
There were no guards here, nor any surrounding villages. That meant this wasn't a king's castle, but rather a wealthy person's residence, with only one young couple living in this enormous castle.
If Beihai thought these two had no special abilities, he definitely wouldn't believe it.
The young couple in the castle were warm and hospitable, not only urging Beihai to come inside quickly but immediately beginning to prepare a welcoming feast.
When they learned Beihai was here to fulfill a promise, the young couple were moved by the knight who honored his commitments. They not only invited Beihai and Elsa to stay for a few days but also informed Beihai that the Green Chapel was nearby.
However, the castle owners proposed a strange agreement.
"For the next three days, I will go out hunting every day and bring back the prey to share with you in the evening. And you, Sir Knight, must give me everything you obtain in the castle each day."
Beihai naturally agreed happily. Although he could hunt too, he was a knight after all, and animals also had their uses.