He made up his mind that in the future, he must be careful around the lady companions of these wealthy nobles.
Thinking back to the serene manner of the lady in the green dress who came to toast in the banquet hall, he couldn’t help but shiver.
A young man out in the world must protect himself.
After the interlude, the banquet continued.
Though it gained more topics of conversation.
Many ladies were still searching throughout the hall for the vanished Gauss.
However, how could these ordinary people find Gauss when he was deliberately avoiding them?
It was not until the banquet was about to end that Gauss leisurely appeared in the hall, exchanged a few words with the mayor, the local president, and a few other dignitaries, and then quickly left Blue Lake Hall.
Others were just chasing after him, wanting to invite him to ride in their family carriages.
But in a matter of moments, by the time they left the hall and walked into the courtyard, there was no sign of Gauss in the empty courtyard.
The dark night, cool breeze blowing.
Gauss and his teammates floated a short distance before landing on the ground.
Occasional casting in the town is not penalized as long as you’re not caught.
"No more, I’ll definitely not attend such occasions in the future," Gauss shook his head.
Though they call it a celebration banquet, it’s essentially a large-scale social matchmaking event.
He became the highlight of the banquet, everyone wanted a piece of him.
Yet, he didn’t think any lady there was suitable as a good wife.
...
The next day.
Entertainment matches that professionals could register for were gradually being held on Blue Lake.
However, Gauss had no interest in participating.
These entertainment matches were indeed for leisure, with lackluster rewards.
The accolade of the most important hunting competition had already been claimed by him, and that was enough.
There was no need to stand out too much.
Having learned the lesson from last night’s banquet, Gauss was not prepared to linger in Lakeside Town any longer.
He was already preparing to leave.
Just before the banquet ended yesterday, he discussed the matter of collecting his rewards with the mayor and the local president.
He needed to head to Yuge Town.
As the largest and most economically prosperous town among the five towns, the bulk of the festive rewards are sponsored by Yuge Town.
Moreover, the location of the annual Lake God’s Blessing is at the confluence of the upper Tarna River and Blue Lake.
Under the watchful eyes of many, Gauss and his party briskly traversed Lakeside Town and entered the countryside.
Breathing in the fresh air again, a relaxed smile appeared on Gauss’s face.
Indeed, more than any banquet with raised glasses, the wild wind and the earth underfoot made him feel at ease.
He realized this more profoundly.
Yuge Town and Lakeside Town are almost north and south, located at opposite ends of Blue Lake, and the distance between them is the farthest among the five towns.
Reaching Yuge Town was not something that could be accomplished in a day.
Even though Gauss had a dragon, Hephaestus’s physical strength for now was insufficient to carry five people over such a great distance in one go.
They could only fly and stop along the way, occasionally eliminating some monsters they encountered.
"Take off!"
As the Red Dragon Beast spread its wings, the wilderness below gradually shrank.
It flapped its wings powerfully, flying toward Yuge Town.
...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Gauss and the others jumped off the dragon’s back.
In the distance, they could vaguely see the outline of a port town.
That was the destination of Gauss’s journey, Yuge Town.
In fact, if they had hurried, it wouldn’t have taken three days, but Gauss would occasionally use "Eagle Eye" from above to observe the environment below. Upon discovering reasonably large monster settlements, he would go down to clear them out and then rest afterward, causing some delay.
But even with this delay, it was still faster than taking a horse along the land route.
This is the undeniable advantage of having a flying mount.
Incidentally, during these three days, Gauss took some time out from his busy schedule to teach Hephaestus the pronunciation of a few basic elemental syllables.
These were electricity, wind, and water.
Except for the last one, water, which Hephaestus hadn’t mastered smoothly, it had already learned the other two.
Gauss felt that the day it would begin learning simple tricks was drawing closer and closer.
He was preparing to teach it some additional basic syllables to expand its knowledge base before starting with the trick Flaming Arrow.
Since it had Red Dragon’s Blood flowing through its veins, its talent in controlling flames was gradually becoming evident.
Remarkably, even though it had just learned to summon natural fire using Dragon Language, its flame intensity had already surpassed Gauss’s.
Clearly, its bloodline gave it a significant boost with fire elements.
Now, even without opening its mouth to unleash fiery breath, using Dragon Language to summon natural flame was enough for most low-level monsters to handle.
He stored the weary Hephaestus back in its bio-pouch to let it have a good sleep.
Gauss and the others mounted their rides and headed along a gentle slope towards the bustling town nestled at the confluence of the Tarna River and Blue Lake.
Unlike the serene and beautiful environment of Lakeside Town, Yuge Town’s first impression was one of busyness and congestion.
The massive wooden and stone pier extended from the shore into the wide waters.
The pier’s masts stood like a forest, with various sizes of boats moored.
The buildings within the town were taller, many constructed with sturdy stone and dark wood to withstand the moisture and waves from the shore.
The streets were bustling with people and all sorts of pack beasts laden with goods.
"No wonder... Mayor Ansel said that most of the hunting competition champions in previous years have come from Yuge Town."
In fact, had it not been for his unexpected presence, this year’s hunting championship would likely have been Yuge Town’s prize too.