A crisp bell rang as the door opened, and the afternoon sunshine poured into the old store, which was almost occupied by all kinds of dolls. The elf store manager who was concentrating on adjusting a set of doll skeletons behind the counter heard the movement and raised his head. , and saw a tall, dark-haired man wearing a one-eyed patch walking into the store.
The old elf woman looked at this "guest" with some confusion, who did not look like he was coming to the store to buy a doll, but after a moment of confusion, she still smiled and said hello - after all, she did not recognize the tall one-eyed man in front of her. The man was the child who took his sister to buy things in his store a century ago: "Ah, welcome to the Rose Doll House, take a look around."
Then she paused and said casually: "Guests like you are not common."
Tirian's eyes slowly scanned the surroundings.
There are various dolls, shelves and carved stairs that look quite dated, a warm and calm atmosphere, and the smiling old woman.
The yellowed fragments in the memory gradually came together and turned into familiar pictures, which gradually overlapped with the scene in front of me.
It is indeed here, Lucretia pointed the right way.
The elf shopkeeper didn't recognize himself, which was normal - he had changed a lot compared to a century ago.
Tirian adjusted his expression slightly, trying to make his face look softer - half a century of wandering and plundering on the cold sea had turned him into a cold-faced person, and he knew that he always had There is a temperament that makes ordinary people uncomfortable, and this temperament has obviously affected the kind old lady who owns the shop. She is smiling and saying hello, but there is doubt and a little vigilance in her eyes.
"I want to ask something," Tirian didn't know if his expression was adjusted properly. He could no longer recall the look and tone he should use to speak when he walks into a store like an ordinary person. "You are here. Didn’t you sell a doll called ‘Nelu’?”
He thought for a while and added a few words: "A three-pointed doll, about this tall - classical palace style, with a very gorgeous skirt."
The elf shop owner was startled for a moment and then spoke hesitantly: "Indeed... there was a doll like this that had been in the store for many years and was bought by someone a while ago. But why do you ask about this?"
"What kind of person bought it?" Tirian felt his heart beat a little faster. He didn't expect to find clues so easily. His father actually bought it from the store openly. I bought the doll, "About when?"
The old lady who owned the shop was obviously taken aback by Ti Ruian's overly excited reaction, but she became more vigilant: "Sorry, I can't disclose information about customers. This is the rule of our businessmen."
Tirian was stunned for a moment, but he did not expect such a response from the other party. He thought quickly and hesitated for two or three seconds, as if he had made some decision: "...Don't you recognize me?"
"Recognize...?" The old lady who owned the shop frowned and looked doubtfully at the strange human being in front of her. "I don't remember receiving customers like you - most of the people who come to my store to buy dolls are women, or For young men choosing gifts for their lovers and for fathers choosing gifts for their daughters.”
"That's because it was a long, long time ago since I last came here," Tirian showed a weird smile, "Do you remember that a hundred years ago, a brother and sister took away a person named 'Luni' from here? Really?"
The old lady who owned the shop was startled for a moment, and then she slowly opened her eyes and looked at Tirian in disbelief: "Ah, you are..."
"I know you may not believe it, but I have something that can prove my identity." Tirian's thoughts were running very fast. As he spoke, he took out something from his arms, "An elf like you They are all well-informed and should have heard about me... Take a look at this."
The old elf lady listened and took the piece of paper handed over by the other party with doubts. When she opened it, she saw a big portrait printed on the paper. Below it was the text of the wanted order, the bounty, and the official seal of Frost City State. …
"I should still be somewhat famous," Tirian said seriously. "Strictly speaking, our family is relatively famous... although it may not be a pleasant fame."
The old lady of the shopkeeper: "..."
After a long time, the old elf woman controlled her expression, looked up at Tirian, and said in a strange tone: "It's really you."
Tirian seemed to have noticed something was wrong with this, and smiled awkwardly: "It's me."
The old lady thought again: "I haven't seen you for so many years...there are already so many zeros after your name..."
Tirian twitched his lips: "The bounty... is indeed a bit high, but it's just a formality. They add a zero at the end every four or five years, and no one will accept the reward anyway."
"...This is the first time I've seen someone who would carry his wanted notice on his body as a proof of identification, and he was also a big pirate." The expression of the old elf lady finally became a little normal, and she folded the wanted notice and returned it. He muttered, "I heard the news that the Sea Mist was docking at the port. I thought I would go to the port to see the excitement when I had time, but I didn't expect you to run over first. Is your sister okay?"
"She... lives a more handsome life than me," Tirian said, and then glanced at the old woman opposite with a strange expression, "I thought you would be scared, most ordinary people will see me This is the reaction after that—even outside the cold sea.”
"I have seen a lot of strange and weird things. You are not the only big pirate. Moreover, the city-state has issued a document explaining that the Sea Fog is a guest invited by Plande. Things in the northern seas have nothing to do with us," the old man The wife muttered as she walked towards the counter, and then the mumble turned into nagging, "But I still have to tell you, being a pirate is not a serious thing. It's not a long-term business, and it won't sound good if you say it. You see Your sister, after all, she can still have a lifelong honorary title in the Explorers Association. Of course, I have also heard that your relationship with the city-states in the north seems to be quite complicated..."
Tirian's mind suddenly began to buzz. He felt that he had now seen the calmness of the long-lived race, so he had to interrupt the old lady's words quickly: "The Sea Mist Fleet is already making changes to take revenge on the northern city-state. Acts and looting are a thing of the past, now we mainly rely on protection fees..."
Then, without waiting for the old lady to react, he simply ended the topic and brought it back abruptly: "Can you tell me now, who bought that doll?"
"Oh, he's a middle-aged man who looks about the same as you...maybe a little shorter. He looks quite thin, as if he's not in good health." The old lady didn't hesitate this time and said casually. Come out, "But I think it's impossible for you to find it. There are so many people in Plande. Do you want to take the other doll that you failed to buy back to your sister? Hey, that's a pity, you It would be better if I came earlier... Wait, I just realized it, how did you know that someone bought 'Nelu'?"
Tirian did not answer the other party's question, but frowned subconsciously.
A man shorter than himself, thin and in poor health... this could not be his father.
Could it be... that he is his father's subordinate? !
After regaining his humanity and sanity, he has even begun to look for subordinates again? What does he want to do? Is it to rebuild the lost fleet? !
Tirian thought about a lot of things for a while, and he didn't wake up until the old elf lady called his name twice. Then he thought of something again, and immediately asked: "In addition to buying dolls, what else can I do?" What else did the guest say? Did he take anything else away? "
"What did I say... we just had a normal chat," the old lady of the shop owner recalled. "I felt that he was a customer who liked dolls very much. He was very concerned about the restoration and maintenance of dolls, and he learned a lot from me. , Oh, by the way, he also bought a wig and matching hair accessories, which seemed to be for his own doll."
Tirian's expression was stunned: "...a wig? What kind of wig?"
"Long straight blonde hair, one to one size, I'm quite impressed," the old lady of the shop owner said, and suddenly remembered something, "By the way, I have a similar one here, you can take a look."
As she spoke, she turned away and went to the storage room under the stairs to rummage.
Tirian wanted to say that there was no need to go to such trouble, but he didn't have time. At this moment, another strange knocking sound suddenly came from not far away, attracting his attention.
It sounded like someone tapping on the window outside.
Tirian turned his head in surprise and looked in the direction from which the sound came.
He saw a beautiful lady with waist-length blond hair standing outside the window, tapping on the window.
Tirian didn't react at first, but after seeing the lady's face clearly, he froze in place like a lightning strike.
That lady's appearance...is exactly the same as that of the Frost Queen Leigh Nora half a century ago!
(End of chapter)
