At the trade fair

"Little Mike, you don't seem to be in a good mood. ”

"Not really!"

Mike stood to the side with his hands puffed out, and everyone knew that the little one was in a bad mood.

Mike: "Fusa, please hurry up and finish your work, I still have to hurry back to the store to work, I really don't understand how your trade fair has so many rules, can the things that the store manager specially sorted out be fake?"

Forsa: "Of course not, of course not, Mr. Merchant's stuff is of the highest quality every time. Little Mike hopes you can be quiet, it will affect everyone. ”

The two were now at a round table in the trade fair hall, and there were many people coming and going, nobles, auctioneers, and trade fair managers. Mike's words just now did not make the management look at this, which will not have any impact on a hairy child, but for Fusa, who will still need to rely on the trade fair in the future, this is a big disrespect to the trade fair, and Fosa does not want to be kicked out because of this.

Mike: "Since you don't know what else to check, just give me the receipt and estimate." ”

Forsa: "Quiet, quiet, Mike." ”

There are not many reasons why a kid who has always longed for Uptown and is in a good mood every time he comes has behaved so abnormally, he must quickly grasp the clues to divert his attention, and Fosa can't let Mike continue to express his desecration of the fair.

Forsa: "Mike, did you come here today to taste the new flavor of the barbecue? It's a new dish, and I'm sure you won't like any other barbecue after you've eaten it once." ”

Mike's eyes lit up at first and then quickly dimmed: "I didn't eat, I didn't eat, I met annoying spirits, and I didn't have time to go shopping." ”

Fussa captures the information he wants, and considering the isolation of the antique shop and the people in Uptown who know Mike other than himself, Fusa quickly learns the true identity of the annoyance.

Fossa lowered his voice: "It seems that the Marquis's butler has made our little Mike bad for the day." ”

syllable

Mike slammed the table: "It's not, it's him every time, I've refused so many times, how can I understand what our store manager means, how can I still move forward so shamelessly!"

Fussa was taken aback by Mike's fierce reaction, and hurriedly asked him to whisper: "Relax, relax, my good Mike, I don't think you want to cause trouble to the others here, right, it's no different from 'annoying spirits'." ”

Mike threw himself on the table, "Okay, you're right, I shouldn't have made such a fuss. ”

Forsa breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay little Mike, tell me what's going on?"

At this time, Mike was in need of a person to talk to, so Mike told Fosa what had happened along the way, of course, ignoring all the details related to the store manager and his preparation for Haikou City, and basically expressed the overtures of the Marquis of Ville and the surveillance of the antique shop.

Forsa: "So, you confiscated the pass with the marquis's coat of arms engraved on it?"

Mike: "You think I should take it?"

Forsa: "Why not? This is a great benefit for you and for Mr. Merchant, you may not know, the Marquis of Ville is not like other nobles, in the entire aristocratic circle of the Orne Empire, the Marquis of Ville is one of the most famous, with his pass to engrave the family crest, you can say that you can travel freely in the empire except for the imperial city, and you can go wherever you want. ”

Mike: "Hmm~ Is it that powerful?"

Michael's unexpected reaction stunned Forsa for a moment, and then realized that the little guy was smarter than he thought.

Mike: "Then if you have this badge, is it that to a certain extent, others will not be able to control you, of course, on the premise that you don't break the law." ”

Well, take back the compliment just now, this little guy is still too tender, since you don't want others to know that you accepted the badge, you shouldn't ask such an easily exposed question.

Fusa smiled secretly in his heart, but he didn't show it: "You can understand it this way, because this badge represents the recognition and guarantee of the Marquis of Veil to a certain extent, so others will take the Marquis of Veil into account when they treat you." ”

Mike: "yes, it's a pity that I didn't take it, mainly because I'm worried that if I take it without permission, it will have a bad impact on the store manager, such as owing favors?"

Mike dodged his eyes, even if he controlled it well, but at a vertical and horizontal trade fair like Fosa, a veteran who emphasized the place of the jungle could see through it at a glance, and Fossa was sure that Mike had accepted the badge, and his previous irritability was partly due to the housekeeper spying on the antique shop, and even more because he didn't know how to explain to the merchant about accepting the badge when he went back.

Forsa: " Little Mike, you must know very well what kind of person your store manager is, first of all, your store manager told you not to contact the Marquis of Ville, so that on the surface Mr. Merchant is not interested in them, and does not care about the question of whether he owes or not, you can trust me, according to my past experience, I can assure you of this; secondly, after so many contacts, it seems to me that Mr. Merchant is not a person who will be bound by a simple favor, although this favor is not simple; finally, you must know that what you are doing is from the perspective of benefiting Mr. Merchant, although it is slightly inappropriate not to tell him in advance, but based on this situation is impossible in advance, then what you need to do is to seek the maximum benefit for your store manager at the minimum cost, the housekeeper didn't show it, this is just a goodwill between 'good friends', then you can thank this 'good friend' for your store manager, good friends, a thank you is enough, where are these vulgar things. ”

Fusa's words stunned Mike, and for the first time he noticed that Fusa's brain seemed to be good, and it was not full of copper as he had imagined.

Mike: "I think what you said makes a lot of sense, it's worth referencing, and this time I have to admit that it's not without reason that the store manager is looking for you." ”

Fosa listened with great satisfaction, even if it was a compliment from a thirteen-year-old.

Forsa: "So little Mike, can I check quietly now?"

Mike: "Of course!"

Feeling back in the mood again, Mike was willing to cooperate with anything, and he planned to go to the rotisserie to try the new flavors that Fosa said when he returned.

......

...

The merchant looked at the badge on the table, his knuckles tapped on the table, Mike stood to the side with his head bowed as if he had done something wrong, and when he took out the badge and finished talking about the affairs of the upper town, the merchant's attitude was not small and the situation that Fosa had said.

Cunning auctioneer, full of nonsense, stupid Mike, how would you believe such a big liar.

Mike vows that he will "thank" Forsa after this difficult time, and now he needs to think seriously about how to make amends.

The merchant paused and looked at Mike, "Take it out." ”

Mike: "...... Sorry manager, I wasn't quite sure what you meant. ”

Merchant: "Haven't you eaten the barbecue?"

Mike wiped his mouth and found that his hands were full of oil: "...... Sorry store manager, I, only bought my own ...... Next time, I'll definitely count the store manager's share!"

Merchant: "Yes, you'd better count it next time." ”

Mike: "Absolutely! I promise, I absolutely promise. ”

Merchant: "Well, you can go home today, there is nothing left for you to do." ”

Mike tentatively said, "This thing ...... Is that all right?

Merchant: "This time, yes, let's leave it at that, next time you decide on your own, it's hard to say." ”

Mike: "Aha, don't worry, manager, there won't be a next time." ”

It seems that Fussa is still somewhat useful. Mike is in a good mood and humming a song as he prepares to go home.

The merchant suddenly said, "There will be a next time." ”

Mike was taken aback

The merchant pretended to be meaningful: "Because you still owe me a barbecue." ”

Mike laughed and said yes, the store manager who can joke, this is a very new thing.

Merchant: "Are you so happy?"

Mike: "What do you mean by the store manager?"

Merchant: "I mean...... My forgiveness and my prescribing ...... Jokes?"

Mike didn't hesitate: "Of course, store manager, this is simply not too happy, haha, goodbye store manager, we'll see you tomorrow." ”

In the quiet antique shop, the merchant leaned back in his chair with his hands crossed and looked idly at the ceiling, thinking that such an attempt might not seem good.

The Ocean No. 1 steamship is a good place for the nobles to entertain, there is everything they need on board, luxury in the eyes of others, nobility in the eyes of others, envy in the eyes of others, untouchable status in the eyes of others, in addition to the satisfaction outside these circles, the ship can also bring satisfaction in the circle, the Ocean No. 1 is still a gambling ship.

The steamship is divided into five floors, the first floor is the lobby, which is also the social place of the nobles, the second floor is entertainment, where you can watch opera performances, the third floor is the housing, rest and sleeping place, the fourth floor is the VIP quarters, the VIP area among the nobles, and the fifth floor is the steamship management room, which is responsible for controlling the route of the whole ship.

The VIP quarters on the fourth floor have their own character, a casino reserved for the nobility of the fourth floor. There was a lot of laughter and laughter, and there was no shortage of whispers, and the stakes at every table were not small, and the multipliers could be adjusted according to the people in the room, so if you were not paying attention or were a little unlucky, you would probably return to the third floor and maybe even work in the lower cabins.

At the main table in the casino, Duke Buck is the protagonist of all eyes, tonight he killed all sides, it should be said that he killed all sides, in addition to him, there are two dukes and six marquises, but these eight people are in the same situation, the chips in front of him are decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye, and on Duke Buck's side, the chips piled up high almost block his fat body.

Duke Buck: "Gentlemen, allow me to add another three hundred gold coins, I can feel Lady Luck sitting next to me tonight, wait!She seemed to whisper something in my ear, oh I heard, sorry guys, I take back what I just said, this one I added six hundred gold coins." ”

There was an uproar around, not counting the chips held by the nine, and the bets placed on the table alone were enough to buy the entire Ocean One. This is a special game proposed by Duke Buck tonight, each winner can decide whether to accept the winning chips, and if they do not accept it, it will be used as the minimum bet for the next hand, and the remaining eight will need to take out equal chips to continue to participate, and the winners will decide to keep the chips as usual.

At that time, when Duke Buck proposed this game, the eight people almost didn't smile crookedly, and the Duke who has been said to be "Fat Buck" behind the back of others, this time it seems that he wants to take out all his family property as charity and distribute it to everyone, but the dramatic thing is that so far the eight gambling games have been won by Buck, and this crazy guy has not accepted the bets except for the opening three, and all of them have been superimposed, which has led to the emergence of "gold mountains" on the gambling table.

The eight people at the table were frowning at their cards, and Duke Buck was calmly waiting for the others to call.

Duke Barker: "Don't be so serious, everyone, this is just a game, we're here to have fun, we just need to let go and enjoy it." Duke Buck tapped his hand on his forehead, "Look at me stupid, I didn't even notice that the chips in Marquis Jean's hand were not enough to call, I'm such a careless fellow, well, why don't I ...... How about reducing your chips to 400 coins?"

Marquis Jean snorted, threw away his cards, tore through the crowd and left. With the first exiter, the others don't have to worry too much about the loss of face, and they make excuses to leave one after another, and Duke Buck will of course express himself as a victor at this time, and watch everyone leave with a smile.

As Duke Buck said, Lady Luck did sit next to him tonight, a beautiful girl no more than twenty years old, with long pale blonde hair glittering like silk in the light, a pair of big eyes that interact with you all the time, a pair of mesmerizing lips under the high bridge of the nose, and of course, the perfectly proportioned body that every man cannot ignore.

Duke Buck was extremely excited: "My baby, Elijah, you are simply my goddess, look, look, look at how much money I won tonight, and the group of guys who have been looking down on me, you see their expressions, damn it, not to mention how exciting!"

Elijah: "I saw my Lord Duke, you are the brightest star in the audience tonight, and everyone has fallen for you." ”

With her fingertips running over her fingers, Elijah pinned her hair behind her ears, tilted her head against her cheeks, and looked straight at Duke Buck, her eyes adoring the stars and yearning for the man in front of her.

The excitement of Duke Buck's victory was replaced, and all his mind was poured into this girl at this time, which was a strong impact that even those mature women could not bring him, a real sense of conquest for men, Ilya was different from those women who only had money and power in their hearts, she was still a bud to be picked.

Duke Buck took Elijah's hand and kissed him lightly: "My goddess, can I have the honor of dancing with you tonight?"

Ilya withdrew her hand, slid her index finger down the opponent's left cheek to his chin, stroked it on Duke Barker's fat chin, and then swam to his forehead with the back of his finger against his right cheek at a different angle.

Elijah: "What do you think?" ”

The sweet breath ignited Duke Buck, he felt that his whole body was hot and hot, he had to take the goblin back to the room immediately, he was afraid that he would lose control in the casino in the next moment.

Duke Buck shook his belly: "Come on Elijah, take my arm, I promise to make your night unforgettable!"

Ilya looked down and smiled, reaching out to the other man's elbow.

On the way back, Duke Buck kept cursing in his heart to the designer of Ocean One, why did he make the ship so spacious, did he want to hinder himself from spending the Spring Festival with the goddess?

Elijah: "Lord Duke, when I was just passing by, I overheard two adults talking about the recent differences in Haikou City, do you know about this matter?"

Duke Buck said impatiently, "Well, Haikou City, why do you have nothing to inquire about these trivial matters?"

Elijah: "No, I'm just curious." ”

Ilya leaned slightly, and his aggrieved little head leaned against Duke Buck, and the twin peaks approached as if they were not there, as if they would touch Duke Buck's arm in the next moment.

Duke Buck's attitude changed and he smiled: "I'm sorry Elijah, I shouldn't have spoken to you in such a tone, I didn't mean to blame you, let me think about it...... Oh yes, I think I've heard of that. ”

Ilya immediately smiled: "Can you tell me what's going on?"

Duke Buck: "Of course, of course my baby, this is a matter that only a few nobles know, and even the Imperial City is very concerned, as if it is said that a holy relic was found in the sea near Haikou City, you may not know what a holy relic is, a holy relic is...... It is...... Well, it means something very precious, that's right. So recently, Haikou City is very strictly controlled, and it is difficult for ordinary people to enter and exit, and I think this is probably what you just heard. ”

Ilya thought thoughtfully: "Oh~ I see. ”

Duke Buck suddenly stopped, opened a door, and invited sideways: "Yes, that's right, it's just a small thing, please come in Elijah, the real show is ready to begin!"

......

...

The moon was shining on the sea, and the night sky in front of the window seemed to be occupied by the moon, and the moonlight shone on the surface of the sea sparkling, and Ilya sat by the window thinking about where to go next.

Only when she broke free from the cage alone did she know how big the outside world was, how many wonderful things there were, the journey was not long, and occasionally under such a quiet starry sky, Ilya was inevitably a little homesick, but it was only for a moment, because she remembered more about the constraints of nowhere to hide.

Ilya said to herself: "According to the course of the steamer...... I can go to Smelting City, I can go to Boulder City, Luxembourg seems to be good, ah yes, Free City is even better, oh my God, there are too many choices!"

Ilya furrowed her small eyebrows, she was distressed by her choice, and she wished that she could be separated and go to different places at the same time.

In the end, Ilya clapped his hands: "Let's go to Haikou City this time, it's really unexpected Ilya, I didn't expect it, I'm going to Haikou City......! A small obstacle can't stop the great magician Elijah!"

Ilya suddenly covered her mouth and looked around, and waited for a while before she was relieved and patted her soft chest, but she couldn't be too arrogant, she finally hid her identity as a magician, if she accidentally exposed her feet now and was discovered by some people in the upper echelons, she didn't know where to escape, surrounded by the sea and no land, she couldn't drill to the bottom of the sea...... Wait, it doesn't seem impossible.

Thinking about the feasibility of this way of escaping, Ilya began to think about the feasibility of this way of escaping, but it didn't take long for him to be vetoed, and Ilya felt that he would definitely not be caught with his superb skills, and he didn't need to think about the means of escape at all.

The matter was settled, and the next goal was set, Ilya crossed his hips and laughed silently, this time the victory once again belonged to the clever little clever Ilya-sama.

As for the last step.

Ilya looked at the fat pig lying naked on the bed, and thought about what to do next to make the pig have a colorful spring dream.

In the midst of endless anticipation, Mike spent three long days.

Time is a special unit of measurement, when you have something to look forward to in the future, it always passes strangely slowly, and when you are about to face a deadline, it is approaching like crazy, and in the three days in Devonburg, Mike knows it very well. In any case, after all the hardships, it was finally time to leave Devonburg and set off for Haikou City.

Today, Mike woke up very early and rechecked the luggage that he had packed three days ago, and said that the luggage was actually a few changes of clothes and a small vault that he had saved up from working in an antique shop for less than a year

Haikou City is one of the most prosperous cities in the entire Orn Empire, and as the only trading city built on the coast, the city has many things that cannot be purchased or seen in the interior. The merchant fleets that were connected to the inland of the empire and the merchant fleets that were connected to the other two empires at sea allowed Haikou City to grow rapidly in just a few years, and has been playing an important role as the trading center of the Orn Empire ever since.

Mike felt that this trip to Haikou City was likely to cost him all his wealth, and he needed to spend this money in a planned way, and he must make the most of it to the fullest...... Perhaps, if necessary, you can ask the store manager to pay the next few months' salary in advance.

A carriage drove out of Devonburg and stopped next to Mike, the familiar black nanmu carriage, the familiar coachman, the only thing that changed was that the horse pulling the carriage this time was replaced by a brown steed.

Mike: "Store manager, aren't you going to take Black Wind out this time?"

Merchant: "Well, it's a bit of a thing. ”

Mike: "Oh, I remember, it was Uncle Hank who borrowed it, the store manager, it's been so long, even Uncle Hank, I think we should charge some rental fee, which is a very reasonable fee between good friends." ”

Merchant: "Yes, I can't agree with you anymore, but there's one thing you need to correct, he's not a good friend of mine." ”

Mike: "Okay, I forgot, sorry store manager. ”

I forgot that you never recognize you as good friends, even though you get along with Uncle Hank so naturally.

The brown steed has a similar physique to Black Wind, but it doesn't have the imposing feel of Black Wind, and it's a mount that Mike can handle, and it's something Mike wants to try.

Mike: "Manager, one more thing, can I drive the carriage? I mean it's hot, why don't the manager stay in the carriage and block the sun and let me be your coachman?"

Merchant: "Of course, but you don't need to stay in the carriage, it's nice to bask in the sun, and I need to show you the way." ”

The unexpected refreshment was something Mike didn't expect, originally he just had the idea of giving it a try to ask, but he didn't expect the store manager to immediately agree, it was great to ask!

The merchant stepped out of the way, and Mike sat in the carriage, the tall car providing him with a different view, which was a fresh experience.

Merchant: "Now, let's go." ”

Mike took the reins and shouted the long-brewing words: "Drive!"