In the south of the Salga Empire, the bustling city of Maple Leaf City, on the outskirts of the city, is a luxurious manor.

In one room of the manor, Rectal Ramiel, the bespectacled president of the current student council of St. Pherland's College, is resting in the garden of the courtyard, where the winter sun makes people lazy.

Winter temperatures are already cold, but the open-air garden of the estate is quite warm, and a man-dug circular river encloses the whole garden, and the crystal clear water is covered with white marble, making the river look like a white ring on the earth. The petals of the flowers falling with the breeze gently fall on the surface of the river, lighting up the layers of scales, turning the sky reflected by the river into an abstract painting.

Of course, this man-made river is not just beautiful on the outside, it is fed by artificially excavated underground hot springs, and the clever design of its construction makes this small courtyard look like spring all year round.

Rektaran Lamir is holding a crystal clear snuffbox (Note 1) to his nose, sniffing the mint-flavored snuff (Note 2).

At this time, there was a sound of footsteps.

"Young Master!"

Rektaran Lamile looked up, he put his snuffbox on the table, looked at the visitor, and said, "Mr. Alpington?" What happened? ”

"Young master, there are two things, one is a big thing that is far away and slow, and a small thing is urgent and close. Which one to talk about first? Alpington said.

Rektaran groaned and said, "Let's talk about the little things first! ”

"The little thing is a high-end restaurant under our industry, a young man dressed as an adventurer entered the hotel in the morning and ordered a lot of wine, and finally got drunk and said that he had no money to pay the bill. He's going to pay the bill with this! And he said that he had more than six hundred gold coins worth of this blood. ”

"Oh?" Rektaran pushed his eyes on the bridge of his nose and frowned.

I saw Pierpinton pull out a dark red solid from his sleeve.

"The blood clot of the flame lizard..... Well, this adventurer is quite shrewd, and he really came prepared! The cats and dogs who usually turn over food in the garbage heap have a more sensitive sense of smell than the condor cranes flying in the sky. ”

Pierpington asked, "Young Master, what do you think?" We take it or not. ”

"Collect, why don't you accept it? If we don't take it, Jeff Carion's Imperial Central Army will take the wounded soldiers from them. Since the adventurer has taken a fancy to the price of the underground market, we will take as much as we want. ”

"In case ......"

Rektaran said, "Mr. Pirpington, don't you understand? The Imperial Central Army was a guest army, and the powerful Grand Prince Freddie Barth in the Southwest Pole was uprooted overnight. Jeff Carian and the central empire still want to control the southwest, and they have to rely on us local rich merchants and nobles. Moreover, these visitors from the north are still people in the military system, and it is impossible for them to find out the underground market in the southwest of the empire for three and five years. And they're getting out of here. ”

"Young master, I'm not worried about this, I'm worried that the master won't agree with you doing this."

"Huh." Rektaran Ramil shook his head in annoyance. "Old man, when people get old, they begin to soften! Just remembering the love of working with old man Jeff before, I forgot all about my own humiliation. Although, he drove away Jeff Carion, who wanted to visit, but defaulted to the fact that his land was used as a hospital for the Central Legion. Now he is silently cleaning up the mess after the war. ”

"If the old man is also ruthless, I can break the backbone of the Imperial Central Army with a soft stick! It's a pity, it's a pity! ”

"Mr. Pirpington. There is nothing to hesitate about, there is this kind of precious medicinal herb for treating injuries circulating in the market, so I will recycle it. Let the Central Army get out of the way with the wounds. ”

Pilpinton nodded, agreeing with Ryktaran's statement.

"The second big thing is that the Irma people are starting to make a move."

"Oh?! How? Ryktaran was immediately interested.

"It's impossible to know specifically, but the territory of the Irma people is still too far away from us, and their ethnic character has always been wary of xenophobia. It's hard for us to have detailed information, but big things can't be hidden, and their merchant fleets are starting to move. ”

"Interesting!" Rektaran smiled. "It seems that the second fire was probably started by the Irma, but it is likely that it was burned outside of the territory of the Elma."

Pierpinton replied calmly, "I think so too. ”

Rektaran was a little thirsty, and took a few sips of tea from the teacup on the table, and when he looked up, he found Pilpinton still standing there, so Rektaran beckoned the burly middle-aged man to sit down and drink tea together.

However, he was keenly aware of a little hesitation on Pilpington's eyebrows, and asked with a smile: "Mr. Pilpington, do you still think it is inappropriate for me to leave His Majesty the Pope's entrustment to give priority to the affairs of the family?" ”

"Yes, young master. If His Majesty the Pope is to blame for this....."

Rektaran personally poured a cup of tea for Pirpington and said, "Don't worry, the Knights of Punishment have already laid down tight defenses in key places, not to mention that it is not yet the time to flop. Until then, I'll get back to College City in time. ”

Pirpington couldn't let go: "Young master, are you really sure that girl will make a choice that will cost her life?" ”

Rektaran replied, "She will." Sharks swimming in the ocean are young, but they learn to devour their loved ones before they are born. ”

While Rektaran and Pirpington were drinking tea and chatting, an attendant rushed over, and the attendant whispered a few words to Rektaran.

Rektaran's face changed, and he said to Pilpington, "I didn't expect the results to come out so quickly. I left first, and then went straight back to the Papal Territory. Mr. Pirpington, take care of the old man for me. ”

"Young Master! I understand!"

The squire brought in a white steed without a trace of stray hair, and Rektaran turned on his horse, and he rode a few steps on the horse, and turned and shouted, "Mr. Pirpington, you have plenty of money to prove whether the adventurer is telling the truth!" Remember to bring a good guard, if the adventurer is lying, or if some bandit group has set a trap. Kill it directly or drag it back to kill the chickens and make an example, sir, you can just grasp it yourself. ”

Pilpinton took off his hat and greeted Rektaran, who nodded back at him, and then galloped away like a whip.

A column of a dozen horsemen on horseback with black armor and white horses gathered behind the Ryktaran horses from all over the manor, numbering about thirty, and a group of riders headed south.

Note 1: Snuff bottles, snuff bottles refer to containers for snuff, which are small enough to hold and easy to carry.

Note 2: Snuff, snuff is a smokeless tobacco product made by fermenting tobacco leaf powder and flavored by nasal smoke. The thickness, moisture, color, irritation and aroma of snuff vary according to the recipe.