Eshua walked out of the Royal Academy, looked up at the gray sky, and couldn't judge the exact moment. The extreme cold has divided day and night into unbuffered poles, and time is not passing, but leaping in the alternation of white and black. But Esher knew that he desperately needed to rest and eat, and his immediate priority was to find a place in the city where he could live.

Esher stood there for a moment, then suddenly had a blow to his shoulder from behind. "I'm sorry." The other party said perfunctorily, his footsteps did not stop, and he was in a hurry. At a glance, Esher had seen the man's face clearly, and his memory was about to clear again, and it was the object that Brochette had asked him to spy on, the heir of the House of Ivanles, the lonely island that roamed the royal academy, Baron Gelbord. However, he looked preoccupied, so he didn't recognize Esso, and just walked in the direction of the lower city.

Eshua did not hesitate and immediately followed.

As the two of them walked around the lower town, Gelbold didn't seem to have any sense of counter-detection, never realizing that there was a stalker behind him. Eventually, Esher was ushered to a nondescript inn, and Gelbold pushed open the crooked door and walked straight inside.

Estheus did not immediately emerge from the shadows, but looked around, but found no lurking sentinels, and quietly approached the inn, rounding to an inconspicuous corner, through a thin plank that was close to decay, and listened with bated breath to the movement inside. His own name came to his ears first:

"Baranduk has returned to Poimbro and beaten Gastov." It was Gellbold speaking, "He's a strong fighter, if you can win his support—"

"Everyone knows something, why did you make a special trip to report it?" Someone interrupted him impatiently, "We've already discussed it, and Baranduk is not suitable for wooing. He was so highly regarded by Gregory IV that he was invited to lunch with the royal family when he was made a baron, and even escorted Prince Plutor all the way to Poimbru in place of Setanda. Not to mention beating up Gastov, even if he misses and cripples that gentleman, not only Brochette, who recommended him, but also the Raven City side will protect him. What's more, offending Gastov does not mean offending Duke Ryan. You don't even understand that, do you? ”

"Of course I know, but I think otherwise." Gelbold was silent for a moment, then replied, "Before Baranduke was ordained, he was just a mercenary in Silverlake. I have approached him, and loyalty and honour are only units of measurement to the dinar for a man of that origin, and the king can go out of his way to win him over, and so can we. ”

"Heh, I didn't expect you to 'know' him and 'that kind of person' so well. So I'd like to ask, what price does it take to buy a mercenary who can match the fierce dogs? The man sneered, "The royal family is very generous, and they will show their sincerity even if they owe a huge amount of money." If Baranduk is really a mercenary who sees money, once he sits on the ground, it may be a protracted dinar tug-of-war. ”

"I don't know yet." Gelbod's voice turned cold, "But according to the laws of the North, he will continue to study theory in the Royal Academy for a period of time, during which I can get in touch with him and learn about his temperament and hobbies. Whether you want to win over or not, how you plan to win over is your business. I'm just in charge of providing intelligence. ”

"I didn't ask you to spy on Baranduk. How's the movement on the crown prince's side? ”

"He was closely guarded by Brochette, and the crown prince lived a simple life like a scholar. When Gastov arrived in Poynbru, he was offered an invitation to a party, but was politely declined. Other than that, I didn't have the opportunity to make direct contact with him. Gal Bod replied somewhat unnaturally, "Maybe he doesn't even know that I'm at the Royal Academy." ”

"Hmph, the old guy usually doesn't care, but his sense of smell is as good as that of a dog." The voice that had been unapologetic to Gelbold suddenly changed its tone of respect, "So what do you think—"

Eshua was slightly awe-inspiring, and there was a third party who had been silent so far in the conversation, and his identity seemed to be not low. In this secret meeting in a hidden corner of the lower town, Gelbord, who had been enduring cynicism, was undoubtedly at the bottom, and the object of the report was to dictate to Gelbod, and only before had he restrained his arrogance. This man spoke and phrased a marked departure from that of the aristocratic Gelbod, and was supposed to be a secret spy lurking in Boimbrune.

So the object of his respect...... Eshua concentrated, bent down, and carefully pressed half of his cheek against the thin, dry, cold plank. In order to concentrate further, Eshu closed his eyes, and in the sudden darkness of vision, an unfamiliar female voice began to rise and fall in his ears:

"Gelbod, there is no need for you to go out of the city to hand over information to our partners for the time being. Someone in the Black Spear Knights is already starting to be suspicious of you. Although they don't know your exact whereabouts and motives, just to be on the safe side, you will be at the academy these days, waiting for the next step, and don't come to the lower city too often. If someone asks, you have to figure out how to deal with it yourself. ”

“…… Got it. Gellbold replied respectfully, "I have not heard of you coming to Boimbre again, do you need me to prepare a few jars of specialty honey?" ”

"There's no need to offer meaningless hospitality, Gelbord. I am not meeting you as a messenger, but as an envoy to the Duke of Aldemar. His attitude has been ambiguous recently, and he should not have made up his mind yet. ”

Who could it be? Eshu slowly straightened up, his instinct telling him that this secret meeting was nearing its end, and that any further eavesdropping would not yield any more valuable information. There are only a handful of women with prominent status in the North, and the first to pop into Esthe's mind are the famous Baroness Estelle and the Holy Maiden Midia who stationed them in the Holy Land of Lyra. Both men were eligible to meet with the lords of Poinbru. As for the so-called specialty honey...... Or maybe a sweet tooth?

As soon as Eshua wanted to leave quietly, a palpitation suddenly hit him for no reason, instantly seizing control of his body. Eshua stumbled, and subconsciously reached out to support the wooden wall next to him, but his palm accidentally pressed a hole in it. The sound of old wood shattering was earth-shattering. "Who is it?" Someone in the hotel shouted, and at the same time, the wind was rushing!

Shout! A feathered arrow pierced the wall and flew past Estheau's scalp. It was only then that Esher would regain control of his body, and he did not dare to stay for long and fled in the wilderness. The position where he had been eavesdropping had been blasted open with a punch, and Shendefu's holy maiden Midia squinted her eyes and watched Eshu's back disappear around the corner of the intersection, and let out a heavy sigh: "Gelbod, Gelbod, don't you even have a basic sense of vigilance and crisis?" ”

"......" Galbord blushed in fear, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"Ma'am, this is the end of the matter," the innkeeper, the intelligence officer who had been in charge of contact with Gelbod, leaned over to Midia's side and slashed his palm on his neck covertly, "or—"

"It's not necessary yet." Midia shook her head, "You and Gelbold have been good friends for many years, and it doesn't hurt for the two of you to get together in Downtown. Gelbod, you know what to do, right? ”

……

What's going on? What's going on? Eshu ran wildly through the streets, his heart beating faster than ever, blood flowing at high speed between the open veins. A strange impulse that does not belong to him is constantly churning in the deepest depths of consciousness.

Eshua stopped abruptly, turned his head, and his gaze fell down the dark sky to the far east, and the impulse became more and more intense, as if it were a warning, as if it were ...... Summon.