"You know each other?"

"I used to work under Captain Chrissy for a while. Ashrufat replied as lightly as possible. But this pretended calm of his is hard to escape from a pair of really keen eyes.

"Oh, let's talk about the old things later. My dear, there was an emergency, and our musician passed out without knowing what was going on with him. He kept saying he had a stomachache and I wanted him to hold it up, but now it's over. Chrissy couldn't care less about Ashrufat, and said eagerly to Cosbody.

"Musician...... Isn't there a back-up musician in the troupe?"

"I resigned two days ago, and I already told you!"

"That'...... So what to do......"

"We can't stop the show, or we'll be smashing our sign. I remember that Fei Runan had a personal musician and was a very good performer. We still had time to ...... at halftime."

"We can't guarantee that person is home. And he didn't have a close relationship with me that much...... And the time is ...... We don't have much time to delay!"

"But you can't fail this performance, otherwise your plan will be in vain, and we may even be reduced to a joke and never turn over, right?"

"Wait a minute, Captain Chrissy, I can play. Ashruphat suddenly interjected.

"Ashrufat?" the husband and wife looked at Ashrufat together, their eyes full of confusion.

"I've spent a lot of time learning how to play. If I'm playing the lyre, I'm a little bit confident. Ashrufat smiled. After all, he ate someone else's meal (although it didn't mean much to him) and watched a play for free. Especially after Carrie's special training during this time, he felt that he should be able to play the same level of music as the one he had just heard.

A few minutes later, Ashruphat was backstage on the stage. This time the background change has been delayed by a few minutes compared to normal, but it is still within the audience's tolerance. Looking down from the corner of the stage, you can see that the audience is basically seated after a short break, discussing and waiting for the final play to begin. It's still too late.

"These are the repertoire......" Chrissy handed a sheet of music to Ashrufat. "Just play it like this. "She doesn't expect too much anymore, as long as she can succeed in this performance. Most of the audience didn't really notice the slightest mistake in the performance. It must be said that at this time, the team of the head of Chrissy was no longer what it used to be, and there was a whole band around Ashrufat, with a dozen players holding various instruments. "Everything else is fine, but there's a solo here. As long as we can finish this section, we can count it as a success. ”

The audience's wait didn't last long, and soon, the last scene began. After a group performance, the actor who plays the hypocrite stands in the center of the stage and begins a dance that expresses his inner monologue, and the rest of the music stops, accompanied only by the sound of the piano. The contrast between the hypocrite's dance is joyful, triumphant and triumphant, and the solos in the background are sad and melancholy, creating a very unique effect. It is used to express the special sense of incongruity in the triumph of evil over good.

Chrissy stood in a corner of the theater, her heart rising and falling with the sound of the piano. Things were better than expected, and Ashrufat played quite well—no, it should be said to be extremely good. It's also played according to the score, but it's easy for someone like Chrissy to judge the level of performance.

To be honest, she didn't seem to remember that Ashrufat was good at this.

The ensuing performance proved her judgment even more. In each subsequent group performance, the sound of the piano was not suppressed by other instruments. In fact, as far as Chrissy feels, the sound of the harp seems to have unconsciously become a kind of dominance, the actual control of many different instruments, the music of other instruments in the same way that a king controls his courtiers. There are skills that only a true master can master.

The show is finally over. With the audience's long-lasting applause, all the actors and musicians came out for a curtain call. The generous aristocratic ladies kept throwing flowers and other small gifts on the stage to show their appreciation for the performance.

As Ashrufat walked backstage, he saw Kosbodi waiting for him at the exit. Seeing Ashrufat come out, Kosbodi's first reaction was to give him another hug.

"Thank you, friend, for doing me another great favor. "Cosbody's expression was genuine.

"Cosbodi, it looks ...... Your situation is not as good as you say. Ashrufat asked. "What the hell is going on?" he reckoned, and there was no doubt that Cosbodi had made a fortune, but it seemed ...... He's in trouble.

"It's not convenient here, let's go back and say. Cosbody whispered, grabbing his arm. "You haven't found a place to stay yet, have you? Why don't you stay overnight in a humble house?"

Cosbodi's family lives in a wealthy area of the city. It is no exaggeration to say that it is also a very imposing house in the rich area, which can be called a miniature palace. The house is surrounded by valuable ornamental plants, and the luxury of the interior gives a sense of returning to the basics. Each thing may seem unremarkable, but a closer look reveals its own mysteries. For example, the chair on which Ashrufar sits is simple in appearance, but it is actually made of fragrant wood, which naturally exudes a light fragrance. The cups and porcelain on the table are not outstanding in appearance, but in fact they are expensive items from foreign countries.

Kosbodi and Eshuruphat sat at the table, while Chrissy stood beside her husband. Now only Kosbodi and his wife were left in the room, and Ashrufat. It was already completely dark, so the candlestick in the middle of the table had been lit. The host and guest have already had dinner together before. According to human habits, if there is no prom, card game and other communication, you should be able to go to bed at this time.

At this time, it is not out of the ordinary for a person to have a secret conversation with a distant friend in the living room of his own home. So the servants such as the male and female maids all left with interest. In fact, if one of them was particularly curious or had an ulterior motive to try to eavesdrop, he wouldn't hear anything special. Because the topic of discussion between the two sides is exactly how Cosbody met Chrissy and how to marry her back home. These are all topics that old friends must talk about when they meet, and for the people they talk to, they are naturally hot topics, but for the observers, they are naturally boring trivial matters that have nothing to do with them.

"So...... That's how we got together. Cosbodi ended the conversation with these words.

There was a brief silence in the air. This is because the old topic is over, and the new one has not yet been picked up.

"May I ask, what's going on with this afternoon's performance?" Ashrufat entered the arena and noticed that the audience had not bought tickets. He initially thought it was because of Cosbodi's generosity in inviting guests for free, but what happened later showed that things were not so simple. "Cosbodi, is there some danger hidden on the surface of your scenery?"

"Ashrufat, things ...... Actually, it's like this. Cosbody glanced back at Chrissy, and his voice grew a little heavy. "I do face a crisis. He paused, as if he had made up his mind. "Not as you guessed, though...... Not on the monetary side, but on the other side. ”

"On the other hand?"

"Someone covets my property. Cosbody sighed. "Oh, I know that kind of thing. In fact, this happened when the two of us were in Mill City...... But I really didn't expect to be an honest and legitimate businessman to have such problems. It seems that the whole world can't escape this kind of trouble. He made an exaggerated gesture.

"Ashrufat, it looks like I'm too rich. Now people outside estimate that I have an income of 100,000 gold coins a year, and they are jealous of all this and want to use some kind of ...... Beyond the means of commercial competition to deal with me. ”

"Who is trying to deal with you?

"I don't know who Lu Dao is. In fact, there is no evidence that anyone is plotting against me. But you know I'm a gambler, and I have a keen sense of danger. It's actually the same as at the table, as long as the other person has a smile, a blink, and a casual little gesture, I can guess the quality of the other person's hand. It is this intuition that speaks to me of the danger now. You see, so I've been spending a lot of money lately...... On the one hand, I helped the poor, and on the other hand, I tried to win over the superior people in the city, trying to improve my evaluation in the eyes of others, and accumulating some capital for myself to fight the turmoil. A gentleman with a good reputation and a nouveau riche are two different concepts, and if someone tries to do it, then the former will at least make people feel some scruples...... Today's free performances are key. But...... I'm not 100% sure. ”

"So Ashrufat, if you have your help, it will be very helpful to me. With your bravery combined with my money and wisdom, we can, at least I believe can, solve a lot of trouble. How about staying and partnering with me one more time?"

His expression was incomparably earnest, and it was incomparably sincere. That's the kind of look on the face of a real friend.

"Cosbodi, dear friend. Ashrufat whispered. "Honestly, I'd be happy to help you out. But...... Actually, you may not believe what I say, so you might as well take a look at this. ”

He pulled his hair back, revealing his ears.

"Ashrufat, you ......" Kosbodi's expression was taken aback. "You're an elf?! No, you can't be an elf...... I see, you accepted someone's commission to go on a mission to the realm of the elves, so you got a magician to cast an illusion on your ears?"

Ashrufat didn't answer, just left the other party to guess. There was indeed an illusion on his ears, but it was a disguise of the elf's long ears as human ones—the exact opposite of what Cosbodi had guessed. It was provided to him by Carrie so that he wouldn't cause any trouble along the way.

"Hey...... I get it. I'm not going to make it hard for you, Ishrufat. I know that the mercenary profession also has its own moral standards. You're ready for such a difficult task, and you're ready for it......" Cosbody puffed out a hard puff of his cigarette (he'd been biting his pipe).

"It's a shame. Ashrufat replied.

"No, my friend, it's me who is asking for too much. Kosbodi was disappointed, but immediately picked himself up. "Ashrufat, I have a piece of advice for you. You may have used some magic to change your ears, but that doesn't mean you can disguise yourself as an elf. There have been many people who have naïve thoughts like yours before, but no one has ever managed to sneak into the elven realm. Because the difference between the size of humans and elves is quite obvious. ”

"Difference in size?"

"Your skeleton isn't particularly large among humans, but it's conspicuous among elves. There are almost no elves who look like this. Their size should be ...... Much more slender, both men and women. Cosbody said.