At night, Erwin covered himself with a thin coat and lay on his desk, meticulously listing names.

"Alva... He enlisted in the army, and he's serving in Camilla's forces, stationed on the Ailuo Peninsula. Finding him might not be easy."

"Sammy went to Salted Fish Port. But now the captain's wife is no longer there, and I heard it has become completely deserted. Will he still be there?"

"Char... Char passed away a year ago, and I attended his funeral."

"Vernon went to Giant Snake City, recommended by Miss Yilin to enroll in the Giant Snake City Magic Academy."

"Barry, he's turned into a sailor."

There were still several whose whereabouts were unknown,

Cadina silently sat aside, listening as Erwin counted one by one.

By the end, Erwin's spirit was somewhat dampened, filled with disappointment.

"What's the matter?" Cadina quietly asked.

"In White City, there are only these few left." Erwin circled the names in his notebook and said, with a heavy expression, "Bar, he's a mason, living not too far from me."

"Thales... He has become a fisherman. He borrowed money from me recently; it's apparent he's struggling financially."

"Matthew. He seems to have turned into a rogue. Years ago, everyone stopped associating with him."

"And then?" Cadina asked.

Erwin sighed in helplessness and continued noting, "Tomorrow, I'll first look for Bar. Then Thales, to see if he's back from the port. When he sails out, he's away for several days, sometimes even half a month. And then..."

Erwin's gaze fell on the name "Matthew."

"Matthew shall be last."

"Shall I come along?" Cadina asked.

"Well... alright." Erwin glanced at Cadina from the side, "But you must tidy up first; I don't want people thinking we're a pauper knightly order, even though we are. You wouldn't mind me saying that, would you?"

"No, I think you're right." Cadina answered with a smile.

Outside the window, Simon used a rope to hang down his skull, glancing at them.

...

The sky was dimly dawning, and the chickens on the farm stretched their necks to crow.

A flock of sparrows flew over the roof of Elvin's house, with a few even landing on the balcony.

...

"Father, I'm starting off."

"Oh."

"Can you spare me some money?" Erwin poked his head through the kitchen door.

Bart squinted his eyes at his son, "How much?"

"Ideally, a gold coin."

"That's impossible."

"Five silver coins would do." Erwin extended his hand.

Taking out his deep green money pouch, Bart rummaged through it and took out five silver coins, "Use it sparingly."

"Sure, Father!"

"If there's nothing urgent, come back early."

"I understand, Father!"

Erwin left with the money he had just requested from his father.

Cadina was outside, holding the horse, waiting for him.

Erwin said to Cadina, "First, we'll go get you some clothing, tidy up properly."

"Alright!" Cadina nodded excitedly.

She couldn't remember the last time she had bought new clothes.

Perhaps she had never bought any at all. The one she wore was actually once worn by her mother.

Mounted on the horse, Erwin reached out and pulled Cadina up as well, and then they set off.

...

The first stop was the clothing store.

"I want this one, this one, and this one! Please wrap them up for me!"

"Thank you for your business, that'll be twelve silver coins in total."

An exuberant Erwin hesitated for a moment, then cautiously glanced at Cadina beside him and whispered to the shop assistant, "I only have eight silver coins."

"Then you can buy two pieces, just right." The shop assistant quietly took back one of the dresses.

...

The two dresses quickly spent all eight of Erwin's silver coins, of which five were just requested from his father.

Sitting behind him on the horse, wearing her new dress, Cadina quietly said, "Maybe we shouldn't have gone to such an expensive store, perhaps find a cheaper one."

"No, that was already a very affordable store." Erwin retorted defiantly, "It was the cheapest clothing store I could think of; all my clothes except training attire were bought there. But I've never paid myself."

"Never paid yourself?"

"My father always did." Erwin casually replied, "Anyway, at least we've got the clothes. We've completed today's first objective."

"But that's the least important objective."

"No, it's very important. You're a member of our fifth squad; how could your attire not be important?"

"Thank you."

With a sweet smile, Cadina beamed, but Erwin subtly sighed to himself.

Perhaps this is what they mean by "you don't know the price of firewood and rice until you manage a household."

Who could have thought?

The first step of the grand knightly order would be thwarted by money.

Erwin even realized he seemed to be stuck in a strange cycle; whatever he did, he couldn't ignore the issue of money.

Inviting his father to join was a money issue; pulling Cadina in was a money issue; Gorden's eyes were solely focused on money.

Though throughout his childhood until now it hadn't been a major issue for him, now it seemed to have suddenly erupted.

...

The second stop, visiting Bar at the worksite.

Bar was tall, a full head taller than Erwin. His brawny arms seemed especially robust, clad in a vest covered in mud stains, his face unshaven, with a head of messy black curls, looking quite unlike someone just in their early twenties.

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