Before dawn came, everything that happened under the three-storied pagoda had reached the ears of some people at an unbelievable speed.

After the messenger had disappeared into the darkness, Aaron Mancini hastily put on his coat and plunged headlong into his mysterious collection with a rare panic on his face.

At the end of the collection room are two wooden wine barrels, the last memento of the cellar that was converted into his use, and no one knows that there is another entrance under the barrels, leading to a small secret room.

For Mansini, this small room deep underground was perhaps the most important part of his entire splendid mansion, and even a seemingly ordinary tapestry hanging on the wall was worth far more than all his strange collections.

He expertly lit the charcoal in the brazier, shelfed a copper plate carved with runes, and carefully sprinkled the scorching copper plate with a powder made of an extremely precious gem, passing on the news he had just received to His Holiness who was far away.

This method is not suitable for delivering overly complex messages, and it is really expensive. The necromancer's method is much simpler, but it will desecrate the Venerable...... Beads of sweat quickly formed on Mansini's forehead, and he had to wipe it frequently—only then would he regret that he had not learned spells in his youth.

The shimmering powder quickly vanished, as if it had been melted, and as if it had been absorbed by the flying runes on the copper plate. The speed with which His Holiness replied was always unpredictable, sometimes even days, but he had no intention of returning to his bedroom to continue his disturbed sleep, instead staring at the copper plate. Anxiously waiting.

Things were out of his control - if he had known that Rosa Latus and the Sword Dancer were going to find the missing D'Amo, he would have taken them to the Triple Tower and even rescued Borena...... He would probably choose to let D'Amo die in whatever corner he wanted.

At this moment, his heart was full of uneasiness. If this accident, which he had unintentionally caused, disrupted His Holiness's plans...... All the hard work he had put in before. Everything you do is completely meaningless.

He will be abandoned...... Or worse.

He didn't wait long, when the sparks in the brazier suddenly burst out, and the little sparks slowly spelled out the burning handwriting on the copper plate, and he threw himself over, as eager as a hungry homeless man seeing a roast turkey that had just been baked.

The reply was just a simple line and a calm tone. There was no anger to be seen, and it soon dimmed, leaving only black traces. But it made Mancini ponder for a long time.

-- Maybe there's room for redemption.

Tonbuch was a beautiful city, and Fort Locke was far more magnificent than Criss, or even the Black Castle of Anketan, but in less than two hundred years under the Bofford dynasty. However, several kings have planned to change cities to make their capitals. Or make a palace in another place, but it has never been possible for various reasons.

After staring at the three-storied tower for a long time, Ed suddenly understood the displeasure of the kings - anyone who entered Lockburg would be immediately attracted by the three-storied tower on the west side of the castle, not the magnificent main castle. The power of kingship lost to magic...... For most kings, this was probably an unpleasant but helpless thing. But unless they are willing to move the throne to the three-storied tower, this situation is difficult to change.

Once again, Ed reminded himself to show enough respect to King Ante - in fact, if not for the seemingly careless Filly. He had probably happily returned to the Collins Temple with his friends instead of appearing at Rockburg. But as a sage. Whatever the reason, it was obviously inappropriate to travel all the way to the south to visit the Elven King, but to run away without showing up at Stonbuch, across the river, to say hello to His Majesty the King of Rutgar.

He really still has so much to "learn".

For example, Ed Singal knew exactly how to deal with a king -- but how did the Sage deal with Ante Bofford?

His Majesty seemed kind, but he could not make Ed want to be deeply acquainted. Among the kings he knew, Kogan Bronze Flame was irascible and impulsive, Chief Dutton was calm and wise, Payne Silverleaf was noble and elegant, and Borena was easy-going, and even though they had their own secrets and problems, Ed could sense the sincerity they showed in different ways, and Ante ...... But it makes people feel that they are just trying too hard to play a gentle king, a considerate husband, and a devout believer.

The real "Ante Bofford" ...... Always blurred.

But then again, he didn't want to be friends with Ante, so why bothered so much? Maybe His Majesty was slandering him, a naïve and ignorant sage who only opened his eyes and giggled widely.

...... There is no comfort in this thought.

As Ante walked into the room, Ed was trying to turn the corners of his mouth upwards - a "sad face" was not another impression he wanted to leave on the king of Rutgar.

"You look so refreshed. Ante smiled and bowed to him.

Ed replied with some stiffness, and noticed that the king's face was obviously not very good, especially the puffy bags under his eyes, which seemed to have been disguised with powder, but were still somewhat obvious—but he could not ask, "Are you unwell?" ”......

"Hope I didn't disturb your rest. ”

That's all he could say in the end. After a two-day delay because of some trivial matters, and in a hurry to return to Collins, he came almost at dawn...... His Majesty probably hasn't gotten up at this time?

"Of course not. Ante graciously invited him to sit down, and apologized to him with all sincerity: "I didn't know that you had returned to Stunbuch—I should have gone to the temple to seek guidance from you, rather than bothering you...... Is there anything I need to do?"

This excessive enthusiasm and humility made Ed's scalp tingle and embarrassed. He would rather face Filly's disdainful and suspicious look that unabashedly says, "Are you really a saint?......

"No, not really. "I'm just here to apologize for the accident at Mayday - and thank you for all you have done for the temple." ”

Upon his return to Ston Butch, Ante quickly donated a large amount of money to the Temple of Water. Before Ed came, he looked at the mountains of things in the huge storage room of the Temple of God, and was faintly uneasy - is it really okay for a temple to be rich like this?

"I'm just worried that I'm not good enough. Ante smiled and asked with concern, "Any clues about those necromancers?"

"There are some. Ed could only vaguely reply, "Don't worry, if there's any definite news, I'll be sure to let you know." The necromancer's threat may be unprecedented, but it's not invincible......"

He hesitated to tell Ante that the real enemy might not be the necromancer at all, and after a moment's thought, he gave up—after all, it was something that even Alan couldn't be sure of.

"Of course. Ante nodded in agreement, "I have seen the strength, loyalty, and bravery of the knights of the water god more than ten years ago...... Especially Master Sean Fletcher - please greet him on my behalf if you may. It's a shame I didn't get to see him at Mayday. ”

Ed's heart skipped a beat, and he wanted to look away, but he could only stubbornly continue to smile more and more stiffly, looking directly into Ante's brown eyes: "I think he must have some regrets as well." When he returns to the Collins Temple, I will be sure to convey your greetings to him. ”

He knew very well that the king's gaze had not taken a moment off his face, and that it was probably not just polite.

"And your uncle, Scott Christus...... I know your mother still misses him, and so do I. Antt sighed, his expression darkened.

For a moment, Ed felt like he saw something real in that slightly square face...... But the topic also made him feel weak.

He didn't know when he had so many secrets that he couldn't tell, every word, every action, every look, he had to be careful, lest he leak something......

Suddenly, Payne's voice echoed in his ears once more - "Day after day, you will find more and more things that you can't share with your friends, and the weight you can only carry alone will change your ...... Whether you want to or not. ”

And the only thing he can comfort himself with now is probably this: at least, he can still share everything with his friends......

-- Maybe not everything.

The mood suddenly became agitated. Ed just wanted to end the visit as soon as possible, which he had no interest in, but had to make. It feels like I was dragged to one of those boring banquets by my mother more than ten years ago......

Probably sensing his absent-mindedness, Ante quickly smiled and got up, indicating that he didn't dare to take any more of the Sage's precious time. Ed said goodbye to him with a sigh of relief, and as he walked out of the heavy gates of the main castle, he felt like he had gone through another test in the Otherworldly Ring, exhausted, groggy, and without the sense of accomplishment he had once again passed the test.

His carriage was parked in the courtyard, and the paladin Rowell, who had come with him, followed him in silence - so silent that Ed had almost forgotten his presence, and only now took a few steps forward and thoughtfully opened the door of the carriage for him.

Ed was tempted to breathe, even if it was just a casual walk around the city that was starting to get noisy, the Temple of Water wasn't far from Lockburg...... But it's obviously not a good idea to walk through the market with the Staff of Eternity.

He didn't have much energy to get into the carriage, and just as the carriage began to turn around, a small ball of paper fell through the half-open window.

Ed stared at the ball of paper suspiciously for a few moments before he bent down to pick it up and unfolded it carefully, his gaze sweeping over the lines of hastily written small words, and his face became gloomy.

This will probably also be one of the secrets he can't share with anyone...... But he had no choice.

(To be continued......)