Twelve forty a.m.

Snow Castle. Inside Balvo Metz's room.

"My lord, there's a knock on the door. Pushed awake by the guard Elton, Mace opened his eyes in a daze, rubbing his head in annoyance: he was actually asleep.

"Visitors outside the door, please wait a moment! The lord will take a few minutes to adjust his status, and he will notify you later. As if annoyed by the constant knocking on the door, Elton shouted in a thick voice and poured another cup of tea for the lord, "You seem to be overworked, sir. Why don't I refuse to see you and let him come back tomorrow?"

"No, that's a breach of the city's lordship. Shaking his head firmly, Mace picked up his teacup and put down the pen he had been holding in his hand. Glancing at the wall clock, which had been gone for an extra half an hour, the lord sighed deeply: "Elton, why didn't you wake me up after I fell asleep?"

"I'm sorry, sir. But you look too tired, so I didn't wake you up. Taking the lord's dry teacup, Elton picked up the teapot and filled it again: "With all due respect, it should also be the duty of the guards to urge the lord to rest properly. ”

"I don't mean to blame you, but any more of this will wake me up. Feeling his head still a little dizzy, Mace rubbed his eyes and straightened his waist. In order to get rid of the lingering feeling of sleepiness as soon as possible, Mace kept pinching his scalp and poured another cup of black tea.

After being woken up from his slumber, the lord's chest twitched and ached, as if it were a warning that his organs were overworked. Feeling that he had been lacking sleep lately, Mace, with drooping eyelids, twisted his neck and tried to beat his spirit: as a lord, this tired and slackness posture could not be presented to his people.

Seemingly in a hurry, there was another knock on the door a few moments after Elton had asked for a moment's wait. Putting down the teapot, Elton yelled impatiently, "Didn't I tell you that the city lord is inconvenient now?

"Yes, sir. As if frightened by Elton, the people outside the door stopped knocking and fell silent. A moment later, there was a sound of footsteps, farther and farther away—he seemed to have gone to sit on the couch.

"You'd better see him tomorrow, sir. Turning back, Elton said in a thick voice, "I can see that your chest hurts, right?" Dr. Ennis showed my dad about this disease, saying that he had to pay attention to sleep due to myocardial ischemia. ”

Frowning helplessly, Balvo couldn't help but think of his father, Mace, who seemed to have died at a young age. It seems that I do have to pay attention to it - but on the premise that it does not interfere with my work. Since he took office for more than 20 years, he has never refused to meet any of the Ice Sons who he has asked to see. This record can't just be lost tonight.

I'll just have a look at Ennis tomorrow...... Rejecting the rejection of the proposal, Mace yawned and put on the cap of his pen: "Open the door and let him in, Elton." Don't waste time – we've waited long enough. If we continue to put on a show like this, it will affect our family's reputation. ”

As a lord, he just asked him to wait for a few minutes, and it was normal to put it in a place of warm sun. Muttering these words, Elton walked to the door with a puzzled expression.

"But we are here in the land of permafrost, and the aristocratic system of the land of the warm sun will not work here. Speaking calmly, Mace looked at the report sent by Eders in his hand: the four heroes had returned to Snowy Castle in the afternoon, and had no intention of returning to the Bachelor's Tower.

Edus's report is interspersed with his own complaints: since he heard that the visa officer was not found, Celesya began to grind vigorously, annoying Eders. And there was a huge dispute over the reward for this mission - the captain was always dissatisfied with the price he quoted, and insisted on an additional reward. And Eders couldn't get used to him, and didn't want to give it anyway. In the end, the endless quarrel between the two was barely stopped by the others, and the task of deciding on the reward was pushed to Mace.

As soon as he got involved with the mad dog, why couldn't Edes understand something? Reluctantly, he took out his pen and wrote down the task reward without hesitation: accept the asking price of the mad dog, and the reward will be 100 Eurasian gold coins. In fact, as Mace wrote this figure, he suddenly felt a hint of guilt: the price was too cheap for their feat of exposing the outpost's conspiracy. In fact, money alone was not enough to compensate for the risk these four men had taken.

Speaking of which, I owe Sister Aya a promise of reward for rescuing Snowcastle, and even if they forget, I should remember it...... Reminding himself that he had to deliver on his promise before they left, Mace was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps. Raising his head and straightening his waist, he looked at the man in the guard's uniform and motioned for Elton to close the door: "Sorry to keep you waiting, guard." What's the matter with coming to the lord so late, and which barracks are you from?"

"I belong to the Central Barracks. I'm here to deliver the letter, my lord. There are urgent callouts on it. Taking off his helmet and saluting, the guard seemed a little nervous, and he didn't know where to put his hands and feet: "Actually, I came to deliver a letter a few days ago...... That's probably the time. ”

Nowadays, it is fashionable to send letters in the middle of the night...... "Oh, that Odyssey letter was sent by you." Looking closely at the soldier but still not feeling familiar, Mace coughed and pinched his throat: "Remember, soldier." If there's an urgent letter to me, just say it when you knock on the door. Like today, you didn't say anything, you waited for a few more minutes in vain. ”

"Yes, sir. I'll be sure to pay attention in the future. Smiling embarrassedly, he handed the envelope to Mace with both hands: "Since my mission is also complete...... Then retire first. ”

"Stay at Snowcastle like last time, and we'll leave tomorrow. Glancing at the Beihai Wang's emblem on the envelope, Mace, who had already had a premonition of the content of the letter, said: "It's so late, it's really inconvenient to spend half an hour back to the barracks." ”

"Thank you for your kindness, but this will trouble the old butler, so forget it. Politely rejecting the offer, the guard put on his helmet and exited the room.

This soldier is really restrained...... Looking at the crack in the closed door, Mace picked up the envelope and opened it. Since the sender was Odyss, the content of the letter was as simple and violent as ever, with few words. Soon after reading his report on the whole war in the afternoon, Mace's brain roared, and his chest began to ache faintly. Putting down the letter with extremely mixed emotions, he sighed: Snow Raven has really done a great job this time, and it is wise to appoint him as a Freedom Sentinel. Those corrupters actually attacked Beihaiwang, just like their own guess.

Even though the fuel was so expensive, it worked so well that it was worth buying more...... Feeling that he had found an effective plan to deal with the Black Ice Army, Mace stood up excitedly: "Elton, I'm going to find the butler." Follow me. ”