Volume 5: If you are poor, you should be alone Chapter 148 The first meeting of old enemies
Valentine, Adventurer's Association Transportation Department Dock.
On the large ship that had just docked, a long-haired female elf wearing the finest spider silk robe jumped from the side of the ship without waiting for the crew to build the bridge. The cheerful breeze lifted her body and she landed gracefully on the ground. Her light and agile figure was like falling petals.
Members of the Transport Department, dock laborers, and merchants who were waiting to inspect the goods all stared blankly at this beautiful female elf who harmoniously combined heroism and gentleness, with amazement written all over their faces.
The female elf wizard seemed to be accustomed to being stared at by everyone, so she walked away with her head held high and her chest puffed out, as if no one was around.
"Ms. Evelyn, do you mean... you want to find Ayun from the Snow Wolf Clan?"
This time, there were no guests on the fleet that docked who needed to be personally arranged for reception by Margaret, an official from the Ministry of Transport. After seeing this forest elf who seemed to have temporarily jumped the queue and boarded the ship, Margaret looked a little strange.
"Yes, General Kleist told me that Teacher Ayun left with Ms. Margaret, an official from the Ministry of Transportation." Evelyn smiled, but veins were bulging on her forehead. "So Ms. Margaret must know where Teacher Ayun is, right?"
"Ayun...Teacher?" Margaret looked even more strange.
"Does this feel strange to Ms. Margaret? It seems that Teacher Ayun is only willing to mention his eldest disciple Carlisle to the outside world?" Evelyn smiled, and the blue veins on her forehead became more prominent.
"...Please calm down, ma'am." If Margaret couldn't see that the female elf wizard was about to explode with anger, then she would have been wasting her time. She quickly corrected her attitude and said, "Mr. Ayun did come to Valentine with me, but he left with his men twenty days ago and has not returned since then, so I don't know where Mr. Ayun is now."
"I understand." Evelyn bowed slightly, stood up and strode away, walked to the door, and suddenly... took out a tuft of white hair. With her other hand, she made a spell-casting gesture, and the wind gathered in front of her and rolled up the tuft of white hair. "Wind, tell me where the owner of the wolf hair is!"
The wind whirlpool became so slow that it struggled to move, barely blowing the white hair a few meters to the south before it quickly dissipated.
“(〃＞皿＜)Damn it… Even divination is affected by the forbidden magic! Teacher Ayun ahhhhhh!” Evelyn stomped her feet and controlled the wind to fly towards the south.
Gloria walked out of the room, watched the female elf fly away, and wiped the sweat off her forehead silently.
"Ma'am, why don't you tell her where the Snow Wolf Tribe is?" The deputy also came out.
"Ayun of the Snow Wolf Clan is a wise man." Margaret did not feel the slightest bit of shame for lying, and said confidently, "If Ayun was worried that his disciples would come looking for him, he would definitely tell us something. Since he didn't say anything, why should we meddle in his affairs?"
The deputy showed a look of regret and muttered, "Those two travel notes were co-authored by Ayun from the Snow Wolf Clan and Evelyn, the forest elf. The sooner they meet us, the sooner we can read the stories... It's been three months since they were updated."
"What did you say?" Margaret turned back sharply as she walked back into the room.
"Nothing." The deputy quickly straightened his chest.
While Evelyn was laboriously performing divination every few hundred meters, Xiao Yun and his party had just returned from Bolton Territory and were passing through the Valentine City Gate...
After seeing two travel notes with blank pages in the "Travels of the Continent" published this month, the city gate officer Dominic confirmed that "Snow Wolf Clan Ayun" was definitely the real person. When the customers in the bookstore pinched their thighs in anger, he vaguely guessed the inside story... This time Snow Wolf Clan Ayun really didn't lie. He was indeed "out to collect materials". He was running back and forth between Valentine and Bolton. How could he have the time to update...
Seeing this group of werewolves passing through the city gate again, Dominic's eyes widened, his muscles tensed, and his breathing became heavier. He used great willpower to control himself and not chase after the bastard who delayed the submission...
Xiao Yun didn't have the time to notice the dilemma of the city gate officer. After passing the city gate, he hurried to the upper city area.
In order to increase the speed of this trip, there was no carriage in the team. Even the young Laura had to ride a horse. Even her uncle and cousin could not bear the one-day and one-night journey, but Laura never complained.
Sean felt sorry for the girl, but he didn't say a word to persuade her the whole time. He also wanted to see if Laura had the perseverance... Philip had passed away and could not protect the future countess. If Laura could not be strong on her own, then there would be no one in Philip's family to rely on.
They hurried into the upper town and arrived at Philip's mansion. The much older butler saw the young lady and came forward with a look of surprise on his face. His lips moved and he was so excited that he couldn't speak.
“Housekeeper, where’s Dad?” Laura had tears in her eyes, but she held them back.
"Master Marcus has been quite... sad recently, and has been drinking all day to relieve his sorrow. Yesterday, Master Marcus went out to visit a friend... and has not returned yet." The butler said hesitantly, his eyes wandering, not looking directly into Laura's eyes.
Xiao Yun, who was standing behind Laura, twitched his eyelids. This loser Marcus... couldn't even hide it from the housekeeper? !
"I--" Laura almost blurted out that she wanted to go find her father, but she held back before she said anything, took a deep breath and said, "Get ready, butler, I'm going to visit His Excellency the Duke."
Xiao Yun & Sean nodded in appreciation at the same time. Judging from this point alone, Laura was countless times better than Marcus - Marcus' first consideration when dealing with things was to ask others for help, but Laura was not afraid to face challenges on her own.
While waiting for Laura to change her clothes, Xiao Yun and Sean discussed a few words in a low voice, not caring about whether Marcus lived or died... Philip's death had a black spot that Lamia Chamber of Commerce could not get rid of, and they hoped more than anyone else that Marcus would live to take the blame - the crime of assassinating the earl was too big and too serious, and if it was not handled properly, the entire upper-class nobles of the Kingdom of Kronin would lose trust in Lamia Chamber of Commerce.
If Lamia really killed Marcus, Xiao Yun would be happy to see it, and Sean would not feel the slightest bit sorry about it.
In the west part of Upper City, Lamia Chamber of Commerce.
"Sean is back?!" Master Eddie stood up suddenly.
"Yes, sir, we just saw him entering Phillips Mansion with Lola Phillips." Barrett said nervously.
"...His daughter brought Sean back, didn't he know?" Master Eddie was suspicious, "This idiot - wait, no wonder he has been staying here since yesterday, this idiot!!"
Master Eddie's face was a little ferocious. In terms of scheming and tactics, he could beat ten Marcuses, so how could he not see through Marcus's plan? That idiot knew that he couldn't hide it from Sean, and he was sure that he didn't dare to kill him, so he was determined to put the blame on himself!
When Marcus came to assassinate Philip, Master Eddie naturally did not take on the task for the sake of ridiculous "friendship". He had the assassin and the impoverished noble in his hands. With this leverage, Marcus was doomed to be obedient for the rest of his life. But as things have developed to this point, this matter has become Master Eddie's weakness... After all, it was the assassination of an earl, and no matter how clean the cleanup was, there would always be traces left. If the assassination of Philip could be blamed entirely on Marcus, then if he killed Marcus, Lamia would not be able to wash away this mess -
Not only can't he kill this idiot, Master Eddie has to keep him alive! Otherwise, Master Eddie will have to bear the wrath of the legendary magician by himself.
It didn't matter what the truth was. If the death of Philip and his son could be pinned entirely on himself, Master Eddie had no doubt that "The End of Illusion" would go along with it without hesitation. Compared to the scandal of a son killing his father, the Lamia Chamber of Commerce's ambitious murder of the city lord and his son was more in line with the legendary magician's expectations.
This broken-ass jerk actually threatened Master Eddie so much that he gnashed his teeth...
"Master, what should we do?"
"What else can we do? Should we wait for others to throw the blame on us?" Master Eddie gritted his teeth and said, "Go tie up Markas, and then tie up Bradrick's assassin... I will personally send the criminal who murdered the previous city lord to see His Excellency the Duke!"
"This, Master?!" Barritt was shocked. "But, that assassin was hired by our Chamber of Commerce?"
"How could I not know!" Master Eddie scolded, "In the final analysis, we were just used by that bastard Marcus. It was just the knife that Marcus used to stab his own father! Whether it's the Duke or Sean, they don't bother with the person holding the knife, so are they going to hold us responsible for the knife?!"
"Yes, Master." Barrett bowed and replied, secretly wiping his sweat. Fortunately, Master Eddie was angry but did not intend to throw him out as a scapegoat... He was the one who contacted the impoverished nobleman!
Master Eddie looked at Barrett's back as he left, and said nothing. He knew what Barrett was worried about, but he didn't consider letting his subordinate take the blame - not to mention whether Barrett's little head could handle such a big charge, but just because Barrett was not at fault in this matter, Master Eddie couldn't push him out. Otherwise, even if he passed this test, there would be no one he could use in the future.
If it weren't for that old bastard Philip who had staged a drama to resign as the city lord... Master Eddie took a deep breath and suppressed his anger. In the final analysis, he was too impatient in this incident, and rushed to take action without confirming Philip's movements; after Sean, the variable, appeared, in order to avoid the spy buried in the city lord's mansion being exposed, he stopped monitoring the city lord's mansion, and then he was happy that the idiot Marcus handed the handle to him himself, and acted too hastily.
"I'll remember this, Sean...!!"
Master Eddie's eyes were filled with anger and he slammed his fist down on the table.
Marcus, who was hiding in a guest room of Lamia Club, saw several big men in black break in rudely. He smiled bitterly and placed the wine glass steadily on the coffee table.
When his shoulders were tied up behind his back, Marcus said nothing, not even a cry of pain.
The person who would tolerate him infinitely and protect him unconditionally was killed by himself, and he did not successfully take over the position of city lord afterwards. It was only natural for Master Eddie to turn against him...
The Duke of Pope was staying in the villa that the Pope family bought in the upper city of Valentine several years ago, and was receiving Laura Phillips and Sean The End of Illusion who came to visit.
After encouraging the future Countess of the Philip family, the fifty-year-old Duke of Pope, who was still very energetic, said seriously: "The parliament will not allow the criminal who murdered a count to go unpunished. Please rest assured, Miss Laura, this Duke will stay in Valentine to investigate the matter thoroughly and will definitely give an explanation to the Philip family."
"I feel good about you, Duke Pope." Laura quickly got up from the chair, lifted her skirt and bowed gracefully.
After Laura sat back, Sean put his hand on his chest and nodded slightly, saying in a deep voice: "Your Excellency the Duke, in fact, my and Philip's mutual friend, 'God of War' Primo, is also investigating this matter. Before we returned from Bolton Territory, Primo had already found some clues -"
Before Sean could even mention the Lamia Chamber of Commerce, a deacon hurried into the living room and bowed, saying, "Sir, Young Master Eddie Roger Berkeley, the head of the Valentine branch of the Lamia Chamber of Commerce, is here to visit you. He claims to have something extremely urgent to report to you."
"Oh?" Duke Pope glanced at Sean, who looked unhappy, and after hesitating for a moment, he said, "Please invite Master Berkeley in."
The name Eddie and the surname Berkeley were not important enough to disturb His Excellency the Duke from meeting the legendary magician, but the middle name Roger had to be respected... Duke Pope still had to give face to Roger, the first court wizard of Kroning.
Sean exchanged glances with Xiao Yun, who was sitting next to Laura, and both saw the annoyance and regret in each other's eyes.
The person in charge of Lamia...is not stupid!
Xiao Yun felt the most regretful. Such a quick response meant that Lamia must have had spies buried in Philip's mansion. It seemed that he couldn't put all the blame on others this time...
In fact, Xiao Yun had thought of this, but he had no way to deal with it - could he still order Primo to kill Marcus and make the Lamia Chamber of Commerce speechless?
Even if he could do it, Primo might not be willing to do it...
Eddie Roger Berkeley entered the living room of the Duke's Villa, followed by two men who were escorted in. Both were tied up with ropes. One looked tough and unhappy, and the other was in a mess and stumbling. Seeing the latter, Laura was so shocked that she stood up directly.
Xiao Yun reached out and grabbed the corner of Laura's clothes and shook his head at her.
“…” Laura endured it again and again, and sat back with a conflicted look on her face.
"Mr. Sean, Miss Laura Phillips." Master Eddie nodded modestly and signaled his subordinates to leave with his eyes , leaving only the assassin and Marcus. He looked up at Duke Pope and said, "Your Excellency the Duke, I can't wait to be summoned by you and have the audacity to come and disturb you, because I just learned of a serious incident that makes me sad and angry..."
As the person in charge of the Lamia Chamber of Commerce in Valentine, Master Eddie’s eloquence is beyond words. He quickly recounted the process of being deceived by his “friend”, lending his subordinates to help his friend deal with troubles, but was unexpectedly involved in the “misunderstanding” of the father-son tragedy. In his description, he only let his people serve Marcus Philip out of loyalty to his friends, and he never knew that the person Marcus murdered was actually the Lord of Philip. It was not until the day before Sean returned and Marcus hid in his guild hall to avoid trouble that he felt something was wrong and called his subordinates to question him. Only then did he know that an assassin from the Chamber of Commerce who was unfamiliar with the continent of Bradrick was tricked by Marcus to assassinate his father...
Laura couldn't help but interrupt several times, and was barely able to remain calm after Xiao Yun repeatedly comforted her.
Sean had a blank expression on his face, but his grey robe fluttered without any reason. Obviously, he was not as calm as he appeared. If Xiao Yun had not repeatedly reminded him beforehand, the legendary magician would not have been able to sit still like this - Duke Pope personally came to Valentine to preside over the handover of the city lord, which meant that the next city lord must be Duke Pope's man. Otherwise, there was really no need for the Duke to leave the important power center and make this trip in vain.
In other words, the Duke of Pope would certainly be more reluctant than anyone else to have problems during the handover process - if a shocking scandal occurred in Philip's family, there would be people willing to make a big fuss about it, delaying or even disrupting the handover of Lord Valentine!
Duke Pope, who was sitting at the top, had a gloomy look on his face, and his sharp eyes occasionally pierced towards Marcus, who was tied up with his head down; Eddie, who was pretending to be talkative, made the Duke quite dissatisfied, and Marcus, who had the support of a legendary magician like Sean but fell into the hands of others, made the Duke even more annoyed... Evil intentions are not unbearable, stupidity is the biggest fault!
After Master Eddie finished his statement, Duke Pope did not have the patience to ask Marcus if he had any self-defense statement, but instead turned his gaze to Sean: "Mr. Sean, what do you think?"
Sean sneered: "Your Excellency the Duke, I think we should have a consensus... Is Marcus Philip a smart person who can fool Master Eddie?"
Master Eddie looked straight ahead, as if he hadn't heard these words.
Duke Pope was not satisfied with Sean's attitude. He cast his eyes on the trembling Marcus, glared at him and said sternly: "Marcus! What do you have to say!"
"I...I..." Marcus shuddered, raised his head to look at the angry Duke Pope, then looked at the cold-faced Sean, the expressionless Eddie, and finally his sight fell on Laura who looked so sad. He felt a sharp pain in his heart and shouted in a trembling voice, "I, I didn't do that!"
No matter how useless she is, at this point, Marcus finally understood - as a father, he should at least think about Laura!
"I didn't do that, Your Excellency the Duke, please believe me!" Markas cried bitterly, "My father, my father told me before he was killed that our family would move to the Bolton Territory and my daughter would become the only Countess of Kronin. How could I do such a stupid thing as killing my father?"
"Everything Eddie said is slander. The financial power of the Philip family is in the hands of my father. I can't afford the expensive gold coins to hire an assassin from the outer continent. I don't even know this assassin. I know nothing!"
After shouting these words, Marcus was completely exhausted and collapsed to the ground.
Duke Pope, who was sitting at the top, breathed a sigh of relief and cast a stern look at Eddie.
"Your Excellency the Duke, I have said everything I wanted to say." Eddie bowed respectfully.
Duke Pope nodded. He saw from the corner of his eye that Sean seemed to be about to speak, and immediately shouted: "Someone! Drag out the criminal who murdered Earl Philip!"
Marcus almost peed himself on the floor, but the Duke's personal soldiers who rushed into the living room did not touch him, let alone Eddie who was standing. Instead, they dragged away the angry and frustrated assassin...
"Eddie Roger Berkeley, you have failed to discipline Lamia's employees. This Duke hopes that you can assume corresponding responsibilities." Duke Pope spoke in a stern tone, causing Sean, who wanted to speak, to lose the opportunity to speak again.
"I am extremely ashamed, sir. I will compensate the Philip family for all their losses." Master Eddie bowed.
"Mr. Sean, what do you think?" Duke Pope seemed polite, but in fact he was threatening.
Sean's face was long. It was a miracle that he could be satisfied with this result. But Duke Pope didn't give him a chance and dealt with the matter quickly. What else could he say at this moment? Ah Yun did offer to suppress the Lamia Chamber of Commerce by exchanging interests with the new city lord, but the other party reacted too quickly and came at the right time, so he didn't even have time to lay out his chips!
Sean had played the Game of Thrones before, and he knew very well that if he continued to hold on to this matter, he would most likely become the "person who raised the problem" who was solved. Looking at Laura helplessly, Sean shook his head reluctantly, indicating that he had no objection.
Xiao Yun's face was expressionless. The truth of the matter was not important, it only mattered whether the result could satisfy the people who had a say. Although this was a bit cruel, the reality was that no living person would be willing to sacrifice their own interests to accompany the dead Philip.
Laura's face was tense, and her hands were tightly grasping her skirt. Although she was young, she was not ignorant. After watching this "drama", she knew very well that her father was half responsible for her grandfather's death, and Master Eddie of the Lamia Chamber of Commerce was half responsible.
The Duke of Pope does not want any more trouble, so Master Eddie will not be punished; similarly, in order to avoid delays in the handover of Lord Valentine and for the benefit of the Philip family, her father will not be punished.
This made Laura's heart break...it might take her a very long time to figure out the right and wrong in this complicated murder case.
Duke Pope ordered his men to take away the limp Marcus, without even giving this "countess's father" a glance... His muddled handling of the matter did not mean that he could not see the trick. Duke Pope was too lazy to even give a glance to this loser who could be so cruel to his own father.
Master Eddie was treated as a guest and was invited to sit down next to Sean - this was Duke Pope's statement. Although he grudgingly acknowledged that "Marcus was not guilty" in the outcome of the incident, it did not mean that he was willing to "stand up" for anyone, let alone get involved in such nonsense.
It seems fair to give both parties a slap on the wrist, but in fact it is purely a muddle and a mess. The way the so-called superiors deal with it is almost the same in every world.
Xiao Yun glanced obscurely at Eddie who was sitting opposite him. This guy probably expected that Duke Pope had no patience to distinguish right from wrong, so he took the initiative to create an opportunity for Duke Pope to get away with it... Marcus was completely abandoned by the aristocratic circle, and the Lamia Chamber of Commerce paid to avoid disaster. Such a result was not painful at all for the Lamia Chamber of Commerce, and there was no loss at all.
Xiao Yun felt that he would be letting himself down if he didn't take advantage of this shrewd man... He immediately cast a look at Sean.
Sean seemed to still be immersed in his annoyance and did not react for a while.
Xiao Yun had no choice but to do it himself. He walked out of his seat and respectfully saluted Duke Pope, who was sitting at the top of the table. "Your Excellency, as a foreigner, I am very impressed by the prosperity and strength of Valentine City. However, there are also some phenomena in Valentine City that I find very strange. I wonder if I can ask you, who is so wise, for advice?"
"Oh, Ayun from the Snow Wolf Tribe, what's your doubts?" Duke Pope was quite polite to the alien race who could write famous travel notes. Besides, Valentine was not under the supervision of his subordinates before, so he didn't care about anyone finding fault with him.
"Our tribe went to the lower city to recruit workers before, and we found that many adults in the lower city did not work and wandered the streets all day long. I remember that humans are a hardworking and brave race. How come Valentine City allows so many adults to be idle?" Xiao Yun pretended to be innocent.
"…Is there such a thing?" Duke Pope was a little embarrassed, thinking in his heart that the foreigners were indeed ignorant. Which city doesn't have some low-level thugs, beggars and hooligans? How can we take care of them!
"In a big port city like Valentine, the road from the dock to the city is not easy to travel, and there are so many people with nothing to do. When I enter the city, I sometimes think, it would be great if I could get those strong-looking people with nothing to do to build the road." Xiao Yun said simply, "Oh, and we can set up a roadblock so that merchants can choose to take the old road or the new road. If they take the new road, they have to pay a toll, so people in a hurry don't have to waste time on the old road with potholes."
He chuckled again and scratched his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Your Excellency the Duke. I'm just concerned about why so many people are idle and have formed organizations like fraternities to hang around. I don't mean to complain about the difficulty of the road."
Duke Pope laughed, his eyes began to sparkle... The tax rate in Valentine City had become a habit under Philip's management, and it was not easy for his people to increase taxes at will after taking over. Catching those hooligans who had nothing to do all day and forcing them to build roads would not only prevent those guys from causing trouble in the city, but also provide more ways to collect money - this was a very appropriate idea!
It is indeed necessary for his people to quickly achieve some political achievements after taking over Valentine City!
Master Eddie's face changed slightly. In addition to the unions that were spontaneously organized in the lower city, the Thieves Brotherhood and Red Carmen all had many Lamia informants. The Brotherhood was even secretly invested and cultivated by Lamia. If all of them were arrested to build roads, wouldn't Lamia become blind and deaf? !
"Mr. Ayun doesn't know much about human cities. Such forced labor will cause dissatisfaction among citizens and will not be beneficial to the stability of the city..." Master Eddie immediately interrupted with a forced smile.
"Really?" Xiao Yun pretended to be nervous and waved his hands repeatedly. "I am presumptuous, Your Excellency the Duke. I shouldn't speak carelessly. If Your Excellency the Duke is criticized by the citizens, it will be my fault."
Duke Pope glanced at Eddie coldly and said with a smile, "How could that be? Working for the Lord is the duty of the citizens of Kroning. If those guys who roam around all day stop harassing the citizens, how could the citizens blame the Duke for meddling?"
"..." Only then did Master Eddie realize that he had been cheated. He was just the head of the Lamia Chamber of Commerce, but he actually said so much about city management. There was no way Duke Pope would be happy!
Staring at Xiao Yun obscurely, Master Eddie realized that this guy... was deliberately mentioning the Brotherhood! He was afraid that Duke Pope would catch the wrong laborer!
Sean also reacted at this time and joined in with a smile: "That's right. I've also heard that there are some brotherhoods in Valentine and gangs in Red Carmen that are destroying the city's security. Now that Your Excellency the Duke has taken control and arrested those guys who do evil every day to repair the road, I don't know how much trouble it will save for the citizens of Valentine. The citizens of Valentine will definitely be grateful to Your Excellency the Duke. I heard that there are thousands of brotherhood members. After repairing the road, they can also repair the dilapidated docks."
Upon hearing that the gang had so many people, Duke Pope's face suddenly became stern... Valentine wanted his own confidants to take over. It would be unacceptable for such a huge force in the city to be out of control. He immediately slapped his thigh and said, "That's right. These parasites who only know how to exploit and oppress the citizens should do their part for Valentine! This Duke will leave his personal guards in Valentine to take charge of this matter, and will not allow anyone to interfere!"
Master Eddie suddenly felt a lump in his throat - he had put so much effort into building up the Brotherhood to its current size! And yet it was destroyed to such a valueless state!
Xiao Yun looked comfortable... Lamia knew everything about Valentine, and those gangsters took great credit for it. Cut off this hand that spread to every corner of the city, and see if you, Lamia, can still thrive in Valentine as always!
These two old enemies, who will be entangled for a long time in the future, each has one advantage when they meet for the first time.
Marcus committed suicide . He also understood that he had not been forgiven by anyone. Neither Sean nor Duke Pope would allow him to go to Bolton Territory alive with his daughter.
This useless young master who had been in a muddle all his life came to his senses before he died. He knew that he had to deny everything in order to protect his daughter's political reputation. However, it was still unknown whether he could gain Laura's forgiveness... Laura asked the butler to choose a coffin for him and buried him hastily without holding a funeral.
While Xiao Yun was calculating how many days he could stay in Valentine and what follow-up work he needed to deal with...his second disciple Evelyn came all the way to visit him.
“Teacher, you bastard who never knows how to keep a promise—!!” Evelyn rolled up the wind and used her body as a cannonball to slam into Xiao Yun fiercely, “It’s been three months! It’s been three months!! I want to die with you!!”
"puff--!!"
Sean and Laura watched in amazement as Ayun was knocked away by the beautiful female elf, and they were unable to recover for a long time...
