readx;?“ Sitting in the hall on the second floor of the newly built Grigley Rift Border Outpost, which was built entirely of wood, the hall with windows at 360 degrees and could be used as an arrow tower at a critical moment when the sun was shining, Henry raised his eyebrows, held a certificate with the royal coat of arms of Ottolo, and expressed his doubts in two simple words to the merchant in front of him. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

He used to communicate with the Lamanite language, and although the lingua franca of the West Coast was also quite numerous, it was probably Lamanite that was more prevalent in international communication on a wider scale, and as an empire bordering many Lamanite countries, it was only natural that the merchants of Ottolo would know the language.

"Is there any problem, sir. The merchant leader sitting opposite him looked to be around 18-21 years old, but his confident demeanor and keen observation had proved that he was not just an ignorant young man - our Sage sitting across from him in the usual attire of an adventurer proved that he was not an aristocrat, and the Ottolo people from great powers had an innate sense of superiority towards the people of Avenella.

Together, this combination of factors has led to the politeness of the other party, but the wording used is only polite to peers, and does not contain the kind of respect for those in the upper echelons. While showing that he is from the Ottolo Empire and does not need to be quiet to the border inspectors of a small country like Avenella, he still remains polite and does not appear aggressive.

Proud, but unassuming. The young merchant leader had only looked at Henry's costume to decide on such a course of action—he was brilliant, and as an educated and well-educated class from the Great Empire, he might be one of the best among his peers. But it was a pity that the person sitting opposite him was far more observant than him, and in just a few words, the young man had already been read through by the sage from body to heart.

A capable young man is also a leader among his peers, and has always lived in the praise of those around him like the stars holding the moon. The common problems of such characters are similar - arrogant and easy to look down on others, overconfident and prone to losing objective and calm judgment of the situation in front of them, dealing with them by deliberately making some mistakes that make them think they are in control of the situation and underestimate you further, and then just wait for them to make mistakes.

"Uh-yes, no. "The broken Lamanite accent of Avenella, which Henry imitated as he uttered this long sentence, was simply vivid— Even Charles, the lord of Vavasika, who had changed into a guard costume at the request of the sage, and the real native of Avenella, was not able to notice that this was just acting, and the middle-aged man with the goatee was slightly surprised, and Heng glanced at the expression of the young man opposite from the corner of his eye, and after being sure that he also noticed this, he turned his head and pretended to be a little anxious and said in Sivalier's language.

"Uncle, I don't think I can do this job, I was just a hunter when I was in Sivalier. I can't read any of these words, so is it okay to let them go like that?" he said, not letting up his observations of the merchants. Charles broke out in a cold sweat, he knew the identity of the sage, so Henry called him like this to make him feel like he was cheating his ancestors, but no matter how temporarily, he continued with the other party's acting skills: "It's okay, let them go like this, these people are important businessmen who are helping Avenella prosper." ”

The two of them sang and harmonized like this, and in the eyes of the young merchant leader opposite, the image of a junior who did not learn anything but climbed relatives and came here to mingle with the border prosecutor was constructed - Henry's speculation was correct, as an Otolo merchant from a large country, the other party could indeed understand the West Valier language and knew the relationship between the aristocratic class of Avenella and the West Valijes.

The merchant on the other side of the conversation between them pretended not to understand it, but in fact, the subtle expression of disdain had revealed his heart, and this was the most important step in the sage's plan - the young businessman leader was very shrewd, and his overly deliberate acting skills and self-introduction could easily arouse the suspicion of the other party. Thus he is tricky and allows the other to "discover for himself" - the sage knows that the other person is always observing him, and he understands that such young people are very confident or arrogant in their own abilities, so that whatever they judge for themselves will feel that it is true.

He set up a game against such a clever but not sophisticated young man, and if the other party was more stupid or did not understand the Sivalier language, then he would not have tried to do so, and if the other party was too mature, he would not have tried to do so. Charles, who has been dealing with various things in the city lord's mansion all the year round, so he is not recognized by his subordinates and these Ottolo people, has accompanied the sage for a whole day of border investigation, and Henry's observation and judgment over the past period of time have also benefited His Excellency the city lord a lot.

"Okay, yes, there's no problem, you can leave. Henry's acting skills continued until this moment, and he read some of the words that were common to Sivalier and Lamani at a very fluent speed, while the rest showed a lame and stiff Avenella accent, which made people feel very sure that it was a native of Avenella who taught him Lamani, and this is also very consistent with the information revealed earlier that he came to Avenella from Sivalier to seek this position by connection.

"Thank you. The young merchant leader, still maintaining that sense of calm and confidence, shook Henry's hand, and the sage spoke one last time in a broken Lamanite language, "No, thank you, you have helped the country, a lot. ”

"Hahaha, you're welcome. The merchant leader looked back with a patterned smile, as did his companion, and it was not until the two of them turned together that he continued to smile in Ottolo's language, "These fools don't know they're dying." As he said this, Henry deliberately showed weakness to make the other party think that he was in control of the situation, and his behavior was obviously completely effective at this moment, and the young merchant leader thought that he had judged the level of the two people on the other side, and he was very safe, so he completely relaxed his vigilance, he and his companion laughed, and Henry asked again pretending not to understand.

"Uh-please, what are you talking about?" At this moment, his image of "perceived" and "observed" in the eyes of the young Ottolo merchant leader was fixed, so the sage's words did not have any sense of disobedience and immediately caused the merchant leader to reply politely: "Oh, it's nothing, we are talking about what a beautiful country." ”

"Oh, yes, so that's why you're planning to invade in a big way, disguised as merchants? Don't you think it's a bit too much for the Ottolo caravan to pass through Grigory's rift lately—" Heng, who instantly changed from his ignorant expression to his usual calm expression, said in fluent Otolo, his words caught the confident merchant leader off guard, and Charles behind him finally stretched out his hand in time: "Guard!"

Several elite guards hidden around quickly rushed out and captured the two Otolo merchants.

"Damn, what are you doing! We are merchants with Otoro's royal credentials, and only Ottolo's army can arrest us!" The merchant leader was caught off guard by the sudden change, and he struggled and shouted loudly, the guards crushed him to the ground to stop his resistance, and the sage crouched down, looked down at the young man with his face against the wooden floor, and said in a calm tone:

"Because you just said that death is imminent, we suspect that you are a spy for the Padrossi who deliberately sabotaged the alliance, of course, we will inform the Ottolo Empire, but you also know, because there are too many caravans in Ottolo recently, and the Grigory rift is a bit congested, so it may take at least two months or so for this news to reach the Empire side-"

"You-bastard!" the young merchant leader shouted loudly and was escorted down, and Henry turned around, and Charles wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and sighed.

"I didn't expect even allies to come and get a piece of the pie...... What should I do, sir, are you going to block the border gates?" The Lord of the City picked up the clay cup next to him and drank it in a big gulp to relieve his body and mind from being nervous, and Henry shook his head and denied his claim: "Have you heard of Black Ops?" asked the sage, and Charles was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "The unrecognized army, right?" ”

"Yes. Henry turned his head to look out the window at Grigley's rift, who was still busy below: "Avenella and Ottolo are still allies, and the reason why the Empire is engaged in such petty theft instead of sending an entire army is to avoid destroying this alliance. If the news of the breakdown of the alliance spreads, Padrossi will inevitably take the opportunity to attack. ”

And that's exactly what Ottolo is trying to avoid, so even if these people are exposed, they won't be recognized by the Empire. It's a delicate balancing act, and if you maintain this state of affairs now, you won't spoil the friendship on the surface if both sides pretend not to know what's going on. Henry walked to the window, looked at the young Ottolo merchant leader who was still yelling and scolding as he was escorted to the dungeon in public, and continued: "The eyes of the Ottolo people are everywhere, the news of our arrest of this person will soon come back, that His Majesty the Emperor is a smart man, he will receive our message to be more restrained." ”

"The blockade of the border is an act that must not be allowed, and once the skin is torn apart and Padrosi officially intervenes, there is the church state of Soladin in the south, and the Sivalier of civil strife in the north, plus the two empires are at war on the territory of Avenella. ”

"This country will die without a place to bury. Henry turned his head and said word by word to Charles.

“...... Alas. His Excellency the Lord of the Goatee sighed, "Then we can only hope that our Royal Highness the Prince will be able to convince the king." ”

"If only I could do it......"

"It would be nice to be able to do it. ”

He sighed, and at the same time, with everyone's hopes pinned, Edward went to the court under great pressure, and after sorting out the words, he presented his ideas to his father, Ashbourne II.

Sunlight poured through the stained mosaic glass, creating pale spots on the stone slabs, and there was a long silence in the court after Edward reported to the king what Henry had told the king about the threat to the south and the fact that he had bought the hearts and minds of the Loannes to fight for Avenella by acknowledging the correctness of the Loan royal family in Avenella.

"Really...... Those cunning Padrosis are making small moves in the South. After a moment of silence he said, "But, Edward, my son, where did you hear this news?" and Edward straightened up to explain, but Ashbourne II interrupted him and continued: "Not even the king has heard of anything, and no one in the upper echelons of the empire has noticed, from whom did you get this news?"

"Father, this is because this is still going on-" "Shut up!" "Smack-" Ahibourne II slapped his throne hard, and Prince Richard, who was still standing next to him, had a happy expression on his face when he saw this, and he secretly laughed, and Ahibourne II glanced at it and frowned, and then spoke again to Edward.

"It's still going on? That means there's no real threat yet, and who's going to tell you about it? Are you sure this isn't an excuse for the Rogue to try to trick you? Ashbourne II said this, and Edward tried to explain again, but before he could speak, the king scolded him back: "Edward, you have become weak!"

"There is no room for two tigers in one mountain, how can the throne of the king of one country be coveted by others!"

"Recognize the royal family of Loan, this is the land of Avenella, my kingdom of Shulfaga, those rogues want to gain dignity as human beings, then well, I will give them sleep with the iron horse of Avenella!

"That's the end of it, Edward, this king will not allow you to return to the north again, your own fiefdom lies in Chester, and now set out to return to your domain!"

“......”

"Yes, Father. Edward lowered his head, the expression hidden under his blonde hair not revealed to anyone, but the step of turning and walking out made Ashibourne II feel like he had lost something for a moment.

The hall fell silent again, and it wasn't until Edward's figure disappeared into the sunlight outside that a shrill voice sounded out of place: "Hehe, brother, he's really become weak, father, I'll just say, if you win a game, you think you're really good - but father, since Edward has been transferred out of the north, can you take Ekastro-"

"Shut up. Ashburn II turned his head and glared coldly at Richard.

"Uh-Father, I just don't think there's a Shulfaga family in Acasta-"

"Shut up. ”

The king gripped the handle of his throne with a fierce twist, and Prince Richard's look of disgust flashed before retreating into the shadows.

"Even my only decent son ......"

"......" His Majesty the King, who was in his fifties, rubbed his hair and remained silent.

Edward, who had left the palace, walked all the way to Chester, his own territory near the royal capital, but after following his follower halfway and explaining a few words, he turned around and headed north.

In the year 193 of the Avenella calendar, the spring of 1331 in the Divine calendar has arrived.

Accompanied by a downpour of rain. (To be continued.) )