"The snow melts away like an old man,

Melting away beneath the starry sky.

When the bright skies return,

The cold is replaced by warmth.

The swans in the pond are playing joyfully,

Unaware that the footsteps of spring are drawing closer and closer..."

After hearing the poem from Duke Tuhar, everyone was struggling to hold back their laughter. Erwin had developed a great deal of admiration toward this man, and he was wondering how the duke had managed to keep a straight face while delivering that excuse of a poem. However, upon further thought, he realized that the duke was most likely already accustomed to such ridicule.

Erwin's amusement was exacerbated even further as he saw the concern on the clerk's face as he made his way into the building to deliver the poem.

Such a mediocre poem naturally wasn't going to be approved, and it didn't take long before it was mercilessly thrown out of the establishment.

However, Duke Tuhar wasn't embarrassed in the slightest, and it seemed that the rejection hadn't fazed him at all.

Erwin's admiration toward Duke Tuhar was also shared by Yuho. He had always felt like this was how a poet should've been, someone who followed their heart and didn't care about the opinions of others. Even as everyone else was struggling to hold back their laughter, Yuho was of the opinion that Duke Tuhar had done a great job and almost erupted into applause. If it weren't for the drastic disparity in their status, he would've never approached the duke to befriend him, and he was lamenting the fact that he hadn't met Duke Tuhar sooner. However, after seeing Duke Tuhar's poem being thrown out in such a merciless fashion, his courage to volunteer a poem of his own was greatly dampened.

"Looks like we'll have to count on you if we want to enjoy a meal here," Onean said as she turned to Erwin with a smile.

Theresa was also very eager to witness Erwin's poetry, and she immediately chimed in, encouraging Erwin to give it a try. In contrast, Faya remained silent this entire time, but she was also looking at him with a hopeful expression.

"Indeed, Mr. Erwin. We'll have to starve if you don't show off your skills here," the Farody Brothers jibed.

Erwin had no interest in competing against a bunch of unknown writers and snobbish nobles in a poetry contest, but he was certainly interested in the prospect of being able to show off in front of a group of beautiful women. Hence, encouragement from the trio quickly convinced him to step up to the plate.

"Please excuse me, Duke Tuhar, I would like to deliver a poem as well," Erwin said as he made his way to the front of the crowd with a humble smile.

Duke Tuhar was rather surprised to see such a handsome young man, particularly one that wasn't dressed in attire befitting of a noble, and he unconsciously nodded in response before stepping aside.

All of the other people in the crowd were also intrigued to see what Erwin had to offer.

Erwin cleared his throat, then began his poem:

"Tis' as warm as a spring day by the bridge, but the alleys are filled with wintry cold.

The wealthy and powerful are granted seats at the top, while impoverished poets grovel down below.

The branches are still yet to shed their yellow leaves, but green grass is already beginning to grow.

All of this will come to an end someday, and to the south the golden sparrows of the north will go."

Erwin had incorporated everything that he had just seen in Finklan into his poem, and it was only a short poem, but it seemed to paint a story of 1,000 words. It seemed that he was expressing his sympathy toward the "impoverished poets", but in reality, he was expressing pity for all of the powerless common folk n the world. His distaste stemmed from the fact that the nobility could do whatever they wanted without any qualms. Why did they get to sit at the top of luxurious pavilions, looking out at the city as if they were owners of the land? The derision that Erwin was expressing toward the nobility was not just directed at the ones who had hired poets to get them into the restaurant, he was also insulting all of these people gathered outside the building, unable to go in, but also unwilling to leave. In fact, in his eyes, even the owner of this Dreambind Pavilion was a reprehensible character. If it weren't for this strange rule for entry, perhaps he wouldn't have been struck by this inspiration. Having said that, it was a little unreasonable to be deriding the owner of the restaurant. After all, he had never said that only nobles could enter his restaurant. It was just that the nobles had ruined it for everyone and made this situation completely distasteful.

If one were to say something with sufficient regularity, it was sometimes the case that they truly began to believe what they were saying. Abolishing the rule of the nobles was only an objective that Erwin had made up to placate Lia, but before he knew it, it had already become integral to his fate, and he hadn't even realized this himself at this point.

"Brilliant! That was brilliant!" Duke Tuhar praised loudly after hearing the poem. "That was fantastic! It sounds like you're not a fan of those nobles as well."

Most of the people in the crowd were watching with the intent of seeing Erwin make a fool out of himself, but after hearing Erwin's poem, they couldn't help but be touched by the sympathy that Erwin was expressing toward servants and common folk like them. All of them were regarded as nothing more than objects for their wealthy and powerful noble masters. However, there was nothing that they could do. After all, all humans had to eat to survive, and after having one meal, one would quickly become hungry again and need to have another meal. Just because they were touched by Erwin's poem didn't mean that they were going to suddenly renounce their identity as servants and go off on their own. At the very least, even though they were lowly servants, they were still fed by their masters. To them, the alternative was even worse. However, a certain seed had been planted in their hearts, and when those seeds came to fruition, that was when everything was going to come to an end, and the golden sparrows of the north would have to fly toward the south.

A faint smile appeared on Onean's face after hearing Erwin's poem. It seemed that Erwin had never let her down when it came to poetry. It wasn't how refined and sophisticated the poem was that impressed her. Instead, she gravitated toward it as she resonated with it on an emotional level. Everything that she wanted to say had been encapsulated in this poem by Erwin.

As for Theresa, she was drawn in by the hint of gentleness and sympathy that was displayed through the poem. He always appeared so selfish and heartless, but in reality, there was a sympathetic and benevolent side to his character.

A short while later, the manager of the restaurant emerged along with a group of clerks.

"What did I tell you all? With Mr. Erwin's poetry talents, they have no choice but to treat us to a meal!" John said before bursting into laughter.

"Indeed," Lucidy replied in a half-hearted manner, but his eyes were constantly stealing glances at Onean this entire time.

"May I ask your name, esteemed guest?" the manager asked in a respectful voice.

"My name is Erwin Friar, and I come from the City of Freedom in the west," Erwin replied with a smile.

Barely anyone in the crowd had heard his name before, and not many people knew of the City of Freedom, either, so his self-introduction didn't create much of a stir at all. It was like a small pebble being tossed into the Fulnon River, only creating a series of slight ripples before sinking to the bottom. Theresa had told him that he had to make a statement during this trip, so he was going to mention the City of Freedom as much as possible. However, what he failed to anticipate was that his excellent showing here would result in his name being spread far and wide, to the point that the entirety of Finklan soon knew about this Erwin Friar from the City of Freedom. In addition to that, the poem that he had just delivered was quickly hailed as a masterpiece by all of the impoverished writers and poets in the southern part of the city.

"Mr. Erwin, please allow me to invite you and your friends into our Dreambind Pavilion," the manager said as he made an inviting hand gesture.

"Hold on just a moment," Erwin said with a smile, then made his way directly over to Duke Tuhar before inviting the duke to join his group. He hadn't done this because of Tuhar's status as a duke. Instead, he merely felt like having a meal with such a bold and outspoken person would be a very interesting experience.

Duke Tuhar was rather taken aback by Erwin's invitation, but he gladly accepted the offer upon seeing the earnest smile on Erwin's face. Hence, he and his burly guard strode into the Dreambind Pavilion together with Erwin and his group.

...

As soon as they entered the establishment, they were rooted to the spot by the sight of the unique decor. There was water flowing down from the upper floors, going around the railing along the pure white marble troughs.

There were elegant lamps positioned at regular intervals along the marble structures, and they were giving off a faint, pleasant fragrance, contributing to a unique ambiance. Erwin cast his gaze toward the center of the pavilion, upon which he discovered that there was a massive waterwheel that was six stories tall currently in operation. He then directed his gaze out of the pavilion, and only then did he realize that there was a canal connected to the Dreambind Pavilion from the Fulnon River. At the end of the canal was a filtering net woven from mint and mugwort, and the filtered water that passed through the net was delivered to every level of the building by the giant waterwheel. It was truly an astonishing feat of construction, and this alone was sufficient indication to Erwin that the owner of the Dreambind Pavilion had to be an extremely high-ranking noble. After all, not just any noble could harness the Fulnon River and use it as they pleased.

Given how strict the requirements were for the quality of poetry required to gain access to the restaurant, there were very few customers in the establishment, so it was far from lively and bustling. However, given the lofty status of the restaurant's owner, it was clear that they didn't care whether business in the restaurant was suffering or not, nor were they counting on this establishment as a source of income. Otherwise, they wouldn't have made up this rule to keep out the majority of people wishing to dine at the restaurant.

"Looks like they've renovated this place," Turan said to Erwin in a low voice. "Back when I last came here, this waterwheel didn't exist. The decor inside was still quite luxurious, but the entire place has undergone a complete change."

"It's just a pretentious trick to try and grab attention," Duke Tuhar denounced in a cold voice, then turned to the burly man behind him as he instructed, "Wolf, go up to the trough on the top floor and take a shit in there. I'm sure our guests will enjoy that."

Erwin couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this, and he was feeling very pleased with his decision to bring such an interesting character along with them.

At this moment, the manager of the restaurant was instructing a few servers to hang up the poem that Erwin had just delivered. Only then did Erwin notice that all of the poems that were approved by the restaurant's owner were hung up on the rafters like a series of flags. Thus, he made his way around the building, reading all of the several dozen poems that had been hung up, but none of them were all that interesting in his eyes.

At the same time, his poem was attracting a lot of positive attention, with many of the customers in the restaurant praising its brilliance.

While Erwin was basking in the words of praise around him, he suddenly heard a woman murmuring to herself, "All of this will come to an end someday, and to the south the golden sparrows of the north will go."

Erwin turned to the woman with a smile before asking, "Is there a problem with that line?"

The woman turned to him with a faint smile as she replied, "There's nothing wrong with it, I just think it was exceptionally well-written."

In the instant that the woman turned to face him, Erwin's heart immediately jolted violently.

The woman had a head of soft and glossy black hair that was draped over her shoulders, and her gray eyes were tinged with a hint of tranquil warmth. In terms of physical appearance, this woman was completely capable of holding her own even against the likes of Onean and Lana. In contrast with Onean, she was not as cold and forbidding, and her gentle demeanor made her far more approachable. When compared with Lana, she was not as fierce and wild, like a warm summer's day in contrast with the scorching flame of passion that Lana was. Looking at this woman, it instantly occurred to Erwin that she was the perfect candidate for a kind wife and a loving mother.

An amused smile appeared on the woman's face at the sight of Erwin's dazed expression, and for Erwin, an eternity seemed to have passed by in the instant that he was graced by her warm smile. It seemed that time had stood completely still, and he was enthralled as he looked into her gentle eyes.

Only as she was about to turn and depart did Erwin realize that he hadn't had a chance to ask for her name, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he found himself tripping over his own words. "May I ask..."

The woman's warm smile remained unchanged as she gently said, "I know who you are, and very soon, you will know who I am as well."

Erwin stood on the spot as he mulled over this statement with a perplexed expression, and he felt a little dejected as he watched the woman fade into the distance.