The Elven King was silent for too long, making Ed even more uneasy.

“...... I'm just wondering, will this have anything to do with Novi. He whispered, "I want to know if there's anything that can help us get back to Norvi." Other than that......"

In addition, those dusty pasts, those secrets that belong to elves, he actually doesn't want to know at all.

"But," he paused, "about your father...... And your brother, there are a few things you should know about Ankland, Pananthus. Orin told me......"

But Orin died...... Parnasas also died.

Not far away, the white leopard was slowly circling in circles, roaring one after another. In the forest illuminated by the morning light, the leopard's responses came and went, and the long tail note carried a strange tremble, as if bidding farewell to the traveler who was about to travel away.

Ed's heart sank like a cold stone, and he couldn't speak any more.

“...... It was my father who let Ankelan go, and my brother covered it up for him for more than two hundred years...... Until he died unexpectedly. Payne's voice was as fleeting and weak as the morning mist, "If that's what you're talking about...... I already know. ”

For a moment they were relatively silent, and they seemed to be able to clearly see the heavy burden on each other's shoulders, the thorns under their feet, and the endless fog ahead...... But they could only look at each other and smile bitterly.

"There's something I should tell you. Payne took a deep breath, "It's just...... Need to give me a little more time. ”

Ed nodded without hesitation.

As long as he is willing to speak, he is willing to believe.

.

Back at Stonebuch, Ed's pace unconsciously slowed down. Standing in front of the half-open door, he even had the urge to turn around and run away.

He didn't know what to tell Naria.

He didn't move, and Fenway stood quietly in the shadows, except for Xiaobai who slipped through the crack in the door.

Ed shook his head and smiled self-deprecatingly. He knew that once he saw the exhaustion and frustration on his face, Naria would never blame him...... But it is too shameless to make a mistake, but still waiting for the comfort and forgiveness of others.

When they stepped into the house, Naria had just baked a piece of bread. She looked at the pale and silent young man in front of her, unconsciously avoiding her gaze, and at the shadow-like elf behind him, and pressed them to the chair next to the table without asking anything.

Where Naria Kavo is there, there is an iron rule that everyone must abide by - big things must be said until they have eaten enough.

"I got word early in the morning that Isis had been seen flying south. ”

The girl stared at them after eating breakfast before she said, "What's wrong?...... I thought you went to Neo with Is. ”

“...... Neo?" Ed repeated dumbfoundedly, with a sense of foreboding.

“...... So, you don't know yet. Naria sighed. She didn't want to hit Ed any more, but she couldn't ...... You can't hide it any longer: "Your father...... Missing. ”

Ed opened his mouth blankly, but he couldn't make a sound, his mind went blank, and he was cold and aching from his heart to his fingertips.

"You were already in Balach when I got the news. Naria bit her lip, "I won't say anything when you get back...... But I didn't want to hide it from you, I just wanted to find out what happened...... I think it might be a false alarm......

Ed cracked his mouth and laughed like crying, "It's a pity, isn't it?"

Naria frowned, stretched out her hands and gently pulled the corners of his mouth down: "Don't laugh when you don't want to...... Ed, I don't feel good looking at this. ”

Ed lowered his eyes. Of course he didn't want to laugh...... He just didn't know what kind of expression he could make.

Nalya got up and brought a letter, the seal of which had been peeled off.

"Dorian sent it to you last night. She handed the letter to Ed, "Iss took it and opened it." ”

He dismantled it so quickly that she didn't have time to stop it—and she didn't really want to stop it.

The letter was short, too short for Ed to read at a glance, but he read it several times to understand, and the corners of his mouth still involuntarily wanted to turn upward—it was so ridiculous, so ridiculous that it seemed like a joke to him:

"He was ...... Kidnapped?"

.

"As far as I know, no one would dare to joke about Black Sails. Wrigley stretched out his long, thin, withered fingers and tapped the thin letter paper, "No one." ”

The letter was not written by River himself, but it was stamped with his seal—a hand full of rings and clenched into a fist. A small pattern was drawn next to the seal, a small boat with black sails, and a skeleton on board happily waving its oars, its mouth cracked as if laughing maniacally.

"Black Sails...... Pirates?" Ed still found incredulous, "My father hasn't gone to sea yet! When did the pirate forces enter Neo City?!"

He knew River was building ships. He thought that he might never come back from this trip, and he thought that he would at least see him again—but it was still months before the ship was built!

And, after a period of decadence, a reinvigorated River is not unaware of what trouble his son has gotten into. He couldn't help much, and he didn't want to get involved, but at least he knew that he couldn't let himself be his son's weakness. Protected by the Archmage Tower, Neo City is one of the safest cities on the continent in every sense of the word, not to mention that he has also paid a bunch of excellent warriors and even mages to protect himself. Trying to kidnap him...... Maybe it's even harder than kidnapping Ed.

"Ever since Nine-Toed Walker became the leader of the Black Sails, the pirates have gotten more and more amazing. A sneer spread across Wrigley's long face, "On the surface, they are still afraid of Neo, but I heard that they have hooked up with a certain tower master in the archmage tower. As long as they didn't rush into the harbor of Neo City with black sails...... As long as they don't make any big trouble, the soft bones in the city who only look at the mages' faces will not really hang any pirate who dares to enter Neo City to dry fish, as they themselves say. ”

"Isn't kidnapping a businessman like my father a 'big mess'?" Ed's tone cooled in anger, "It's not magic that keeps Neo City on its feet!"

Once a barren beach, Neo relied on the wealth and foresight of the maritime merchants who had returned from a difficult voyage to become a free city-state separated from Lutger. The founders of Neo City were also merchants, and they had already used their wisdom and diligence to prop up this prosperous city nearly a hundred years before the Archmage Tower was erected...... To this day, have its successors forgotten whose name is engraved on the cornerstone under their feet?

.