Based on the information inferred from these silver coins, he was very curious about how these three young people managed to cross the Ice Rock Mountains and the Misty Forest, traveling from the Republic of Portland to the Empire of Sland.

Of course, as an innkeeper accustomed to dealing with traveling merchants, he was professional enough to keep these thoughts to himself.

"I understand. First, have the hot water sent to the rooms. I’ll step out for a bit and order food when I return. Oh, and set aside at least twenty servings of wheat bread and wild beef for me, and just keep some green fruit juice for drinks."

Mark Benson received the keys to two premium guest rooms from the innkeeper and tossed one to the Twin Star elder sister, Emily Thompson.

This inn in Cedar Town, which looked rather old from the outside, was actually quite clean and tidy inside.

"Yes, Sir Knight!"

The innkeeper hurriedly agreed.

Over twenty servings of food—this meant the guest was undoubtedly a combat professional, and a very powerful one at that.

As a member of the lowly merchant class, the innkeeper naturally had to be even more careful in his service.

"You all go rest first. My room is right next door. Hot water will be brought over soon. I’ll go get you some clothes—camouflage gear stands out too much in town."

Mark Benson gave a few instructions to the sisters Emily Thompson and Grace Thompson, then left the inn to find the town’s tailor shop, planning to get the sisters some ordinary girls’ clothes to replace their digital camouflage tactical uniforms. As for the sisters’ measurements, the "Dragon General" reconnaissance system had already scanned and stored them.

The "Dragon General" armor, which was similar in style to heavy knight armor, actually didn’t attract much suspicion. Coupled with Mark Benson’s identity as a dragon knight, most people would assume it was a special Xuansteel secret armor for dragon knights.

No one could have guessed that this armor, with defense on par with Xuansteel secret armor, was actually astonishingly light.

Mark Benson was in luck—the tailor shop in Cedar Town happened to have two sets of women’s warrior outfits suitable for the Twin Star sisters, which the owner had originally bought from a big city as templates for making clothes.

He bought the two outfits without much haggling and also picked up some other clothes, including some for himself.

Even if he played the knight all day, there was no need to wear tactical armor as everyday clothing.

Carrying a burlap sack full of clothes, he had just returned to the inn when he saw a carriage bearing a noble crest blocking the entrance. Mark Benson recognized it as the emblem of the Bart family, the lords of Cedar Town.

Since they were only entry-level nobles of the baron rank, the crest on the carriage was extremely simple, but also very easy to identify.

Could someone from the Bart family be here looking for someone? This thought flashed through Mark Benson’s mind and was quickly dismissed. At the same time, he saw Three-Eyed Charlie approaching from a distance.

The other man had already changed out of his tattered soldier’s leather armor and was now wearing a set of equally worn but relatively clean coarse clothes.

"Hey! Charlie! Off duty already?"

Mark Benson waved at Charlie. The sky was gradually darkening, and it was nearly dinnertime.

"Hey, Maureen, yes! The next shift, Rock, came a bit early!"

Seeing Mark Benson, Charlie beamed and quickened his pace.

In fact, he had bribed the next shift with a drink to get off early.

"Welcome to Cedar Town, honored Sir Knight."

A well-dressed middle-aged man suddenly appeared by the carriage, blocking Mark Benson’s path.

Chapter 0013: The Local Lord

Charlie was startled by the sudden obstruction. When he saw the man’s attire, his expression changed at once and he stopped in his tracks.

He even quietly took two steps back, watching the middle-aged man and Mark Benson from a distance, not daring to come closer.

"And you are?"

Mark Benson frowned. This uninvited guest was blocking his childhood friend’s way, and judging by the wariness on Charlie’s face, it was easy to tell the man was a big shot in town—at the very least, a high-ranking attendant.

"I am the steward of Lord Bart. I would like to invite you to the manor for dinner, to fulfill our duty as hosts."

The middle-aged man bowed to Mark Benson in greeting.

Of course! Due to language differences, this world’s civilization didn’t have idioms or flowery expressions, but the words and grammar used by this meticulously dressed middle-aged man were quite similar.

Nobles, after all, were quite adept at fussing over the tiniest details to set themselves apart.

"Hello, I am Dragon Knight Maureen."

Though he was a low-born orphan from the bottom of society, that didn’t mean Mark Benson hadn’t received noble cultural and etiquette training. He returned a noble’s salute.

As a high-level strategic force of the Empire, the Sland Imperial family certainly didn’t want all their dragon knights to be a bunch of crude, uncivilized brutes.

The Bart family’s steward’s eyes lit up, and he recognized the other’s noble status.

The etiquette was impeccable—he was actually a martial noble!

Etiquette was also a way to distinguish between noble ranks.