Fang Yu thought for a moment and analyzed the pros and cons of this issue for the team - the benefits were obvious - whether it was the shipbuilding site provided by Her Royal Highness the Princess or the various conveniences provided for this.
The disadvantage is that you may be involved in the center of the whirlpool of events and face unpredictable risks. Although everyone has long been accustomed to it, as the saying goes, 'If you often walk by the river, your shoes will not get wet.' Of course, risks also mean opportunities, but overall it is better to develop stably.
But the question is, can they give up this series of benefits? The answer is very difficult - because it means that the original plan has to change again, the preliminary preparations have to be scrapped, workers and craftsmen need to be recruited again to go south, and the purchase of magic oak that has been negotiated with the business must also be overturned. Even whether the other party is willing to talk to them is still a question.
Of course, these problems can be overcome, but the key question is at what cost? This is not the first time that Fang Plover has weighed the pros and cons, but he still came to the unanimous conclusion: staying in Tansnier is the best choice. But this does not mean that they have to passively accept each other's arrangements.
The key to the problem is to understand what you really need and what aspects can the other party give in to?
If they can't choose a task, then at least they need to know more about it, so information is key.
After so many adventures, Fang Yu has long realized that fundamental differences cannot be eliminated, but they can be used as bargaining chips - in fact, this is exactly what he is doing. After so many days of hiding without revealing anything, he and the big cat man To suddenly raise this point at this moment is obviously to stand on a favorable position from the beginning.
He asked two questions:
"Mr. Abed, we can understand Her Royal Highness the Princess's considerations, but at this point, since Her Royal Highness the Princess's real purpose is to find the real murderer, the nature of my work should also undergo some changes. Since we are entirely likely to be affected by Some unexpected threats - I can let go of the past, but at least from now on, I hope to enjoy the basic right to know, which is also the most basic basis for cooperation."
"So far, I have two questions - the first question is why the wandering alchemist attacked the princess more than ten years ago. I believe that even the most insane people have reasons for their actions, either based on personal preference or She is just unconscious, but at least there is a reason, rather than attacking an unrelated person for no reason, let alone the wife of Babartan, the King of Sand."
"Secondly, as the daughter of Barbartan, the King of Sand, and one of the highest holders of power in this land, why can Princess Rupert only trust outsiders? In such a huge palace, whether it is her father, brother, or Among the confidants, there is no one whom Her Royal Highness can trust? I don’t believe that my team is more trustworthy for Her Royal Highness than the above-mentioned people."
After hearing these two questions, Abed couldn't help but frown. As a close confidant of the princess, he was naturally not a fool - he was even smart and capable, so it was easy to hear the implication of Fang Plover's words and realize that the other party was not unprepared.
This made him happy and sad.
Fortunately, the more capable the person entrusted by Her Royal Highness the Princess, the better. This goes without saying. But the worrying aspect is that the other party does not seem to be as 'naive and simple' as 'Achilles' said. As for the second point, he can't make up his mind for a while whether it is good or bad.
Fang Yu looked at his expression and asked further: "If this is related to a private matter of the royal family, Mr. Abed can ask Her Royal Highness the Princess for instructions before making a decision."
But Abed shook his head and raised his head as if to look at them again: "No need, I can make a decision on this matter."
He asked again: "So, Mr. Ed, do you want to hear the first question or the second question first?"
Fang Yu did not answer immediately, but turned around.
After the previous battle, Parker and Box, who had hurriedly entered the cellar to explore, reappeared at the secret door. The box between the two of them was okay, but the Papalar man held a fat short hand on the wall, rolled his eyes, and said to everyone out of breath:
"...There's nothing down there...but, ugh...you'd better go down and take a look..."
Fang Yu then turned around and said to Abed: "We want to go down and have a look. If Mr. Abed doesn't mind, we can talk while walking."
Since this was a task entrusted by Her Highness the Princess, seeing the other party's caring and pragmatic attitude made the slightest grudge that Abed had had disappear without a trace. But on the surface, he remained silent as usual and just nodded, then took steps to follow.
Although they have to enter the cellar, not everyone in the Seven Seas Brigade has to enter. Not to mention leaving someone to take care of them outside, and with the size of the big cat man, it is difficult to enter such a narrow place - even if they enter, You can't use it even if you encounter any trouble.
So the latter simply volunteered to 'show off' outside.
In addition, Luo Yu, who had already visited the box once, and Luo Yu, who had no interest in it. As for Tianlan, she was very interested, and even dragged along the reluctant Jita. Tang Xin was not interested in this either, but couldn't help but Ai Xiaoxiao kept urging her, and she couldn't trust her cousin anymore.
——The main reason is that I don’t worry about Xia Plover and Sylvester being together.
Before entering, the big cat man patted Fang Plover on the shoulder and winked at him: "Not bad."
Fang Yu nodded, roughly understanding what the other party meant.
When he was negotiating with the Oak Knights in Grande, he was tricked by the other party, but people can grow after all, and he gradually learned to consider problems from more perspectives.
However, where Fang Yu didn't see it, Etila and the big cat man looked at each other. Red's eyes were somewhat questioning - while Miss Elf sighed softly and shook her head.
After everyone entered the secret door, there was a staircase spiraling downward, extending step by step into the darkness.
Alyssa, who was walking in front, held a rosin torch in her hand, lighting up the darkness, but the flickering light of the fire could only illuminate a short distance - the firelight reflected the earthy gray wall, which was stained with blood, and the dried blood had already penetrated it. into the wall.
There is also a river of blood, as if it were brushed on the stairs, going down step by step, like a flowing dark red carpet.
The atmosphere was a bit depressing. Abed glanced around in silence before slowly answering the previous question:
"As for the matter of Her Royal Highness the Princess' biological mother, it is not spread among the people because it is related to the reputation of the royal family. Most people only know that the princess suffered a sudden illness and died unfortunately, because the number of stars in the royal family is a secret. , so although people have some discussions in private, there are not many doubts..."
"...However, within the royal family and among the nobility, what happened back then caused quite a stir - His Majesty Babartan had just taken over the throne from the previous generation of Sand King, and his position was not stable at that time. There are many people at home and abroad who covet the throne and hate the Penelope family."
Abed's voice is unhurried, slow and steady, a little hoarse, and has a strong local pronunciation in his intonation.
But his articulation is by no means confusing, and his narration method is quite unique among the narrators Fang Lu has heard, with a strong personal style that is almost unforgettable.
"The attack at that time was actually included in a series of conspiracies against the royal family at that time, so it was later characterized as - it was the nobles in Istania who had a grudge against the Penelope royal family. Revenge between contemporary and ancient sand kings, such things were not uncommon at that time——"
"Is this true?" Fang Plover asked, his brown eyes reflecting the light of the torch, shining with a faint luster.
Abed slowly shook his head:
“Her Royal Highness’s grandfather, the previous King of Sand, was a very charismatic, right-handed man with a tough personality. On the grounds of prohibiting the slave trade, he suppressed a group of opponents with iron blood. During his tenure, Thanks to Cowling-Ithurian's support, few dared to raise a voice in opposition."
"But since the death of the late king, His Majesty Babartan has not yet shown any extraordinary abilities. In addition, the old king of Kaolin-Ithurion is in poor health day by day. The people of Kaolin seem to have a sudden interest in Isthurian. Tania didn't care as much as she originally did, so some people felt there was an opportunity to take advantage of her."
"But it turned out that these people had made the wrong idea. They failed one after another. His Majesty Babartan uncovered most of the nobles and princes who had participated in the conspiracy one by one. The nobles called 'El' Tanner's River of Blood' refers to what happened in that era. But it is just a contemptuous name for those who are afraid and have no choice."
"In this process, most of the conspiracies were finally revealed, and His Majesty Babartan also established his prestige and won the support of most people. But except for one thing, the truth was not revealed from beginning to end. Pei As a result, the Nelop royal family covered up the truth, arrested a group of nobles and beheaded them in this name, and declared the case closed——"
"Although those people deserve their punishment, in fact they have little to do with the attack on the princess. Only a few people who know the inside story know this, and Her Royal Highness is one of them."
When Abed said this, he raised his head and looked at Fang Plover.
"In fact, even Her Royal Highness the Princess does not know about this matter, and not everyone in the Penelope royal family knows about it. If you were not the Holy Chosen One, and Her Royal Highness the Princess personally entrusted it, I would never do it. This is my opening. But I hope you can keep it secret and abide by the provisions of the Stargate Declaration."
Fang Yu nodded, even if the other party didn't say it, he would do it.
As for the other people in the team, they are actually not that gossipy. Miss Alyssa, the only one who is keen on this, will only spread some bad rumors about the captain within the team.
As for 'Big Mouth' Parker, he had already placed him at the end of the team.
Fang Yu asked: "So in the end, the identity of the attacker is still a mystery?"
"Not entirely," Abed replied: "There was indeed a group of nobles involved at that time. They were secretly imprisoned and not known to the outside world. In the past ten years, most of these people have died long ago, either due to illness or because of Unable to withstand the harsh interrogation, these poor people provided some information about the time, but not much-"
"What is known so far is that these people had contact with the wandering alchemists, but they did not know their identities from the beginning to the end. Some of them even thought that these wandering alchemists were just a group of 'hyenas' who only had money in their eyes. The 'bounty hunter' is just a 'knife' they use to buy and kill people."
The stairs were very deep, and the darkness ahead seemed endless.
Fang Yu turned around and asked again: "What is the truth?"
"The truth is not that simple. On the contrary, it was not that they used those wandering alchemists, but that the other party used them. After the 'attack', those wandering alchemists all mysteriously disappeared in a short period of time, as if They have never existed the same."
"No matter how we investigated afterwards, we couldn't find any clues about the other party. The only thing we knew was the slight connection between them and this evil sect."
"And since the sect of 'Blind Followers' has been circulating privately among slave traders, His Majesty Babartan further intensified his crackdown on the slave trade after that, in order to search for clues. At the same time, we also I searched for the whereabouts and related clues of the wandering alchemist in various places, but unfortunately, after ten years, I didn't get much."
When Abed said this, he paused and said in a different tone: "This is why, after the attack on the 'Sand Journey House', Her Royal Highness the Princess wanted to see you."
Fang Yu knew clearly that this was not too different from what he expected.
He looked at Sylvester behind him.
The ship officer lady had been listening quietly. When she saw his eyes falling on her, she understood that the other party meant to question him. She thought for a while, combined with the information she had received before, and analyzed: "I don't know much about Istania, but there were some rumors ten years ago..."
"But regarding this matter, Captain, you might as well change your mind."
"Change your thinking?"
Sylvide glanced at Abed who was standing aside, smiled and replied: "Investigating the nobles found nothing, and trying to understand the wandering alchemist has no way to start. However, there is actually a third party in this incident - that is, the person who was The attacker herself, the biological mother of Rupert and Princess Afifah, and Her Royal Highness the Princess of Babartan, King of the Sands.”
"ah?"
When Tian Lan heard this, she couldn't help but blurt out.
Fang Yu didn't even turn around for a moment. Wasn't the princess herself killed in that attack? Was it due to the use of necromancy? But he shook his head. More than ten years had passed since the attack, and no necromancy spell could do this.
Among all the people, only Jita reacted and said: "Sister Sylvide's method is good."
Behind her, Luo Hao didn't respond, and just asked: "I haven't figured out what the connection is. Jita, can you tell me?"
"The truth is actually very simple," Jita's voice was thin and very quiet: "Brother Ed has actually mentioned before that attackers will not act without purpose. Most of the princes and nobles planned this attack out of revenge. Purpose, but what is the purpose of the Wandering Alchemist?”
"Yes," Tianlan asked, "But doesn't it mean that we can't find those wandering alchemists?"
"I understand," Luo Hao shook his head: "The purpose of a person's actions can be divided into several types, but it is nothing more than long-term interests or to achieve short-term goals. For nobles, creating panic and creating The unfavorable atmosphere for King Babaltan's succession to the throne is obviously driven by long-term interests. The short-term goals are simple revenge or demonstrations."
Hearing this, Fang Plover also understood.
For those wandering alchemists, the opponent disappeared without a trace after the attack, and even indirectly betrayed the collaborators of the princes and nobles in this plan. Obviously, these people have no long-term interests in Istania.
If there is no long-term benefit, it must be done for short-term purposes.
So what is the short-term purpose?
It's certainly not for revenge or demonstration.
Because the wandering alchemist and the Penelope royal family had no interaction before, and there was no grudge - or was it fighting back for the suppressed slave trade? But this possibility is not high. According to Ms. Amaya's oracle, the doctrine of 'blind followers' has only gradually emerged in the past ten years.
Before that, there was not much overlap between the two.
Then the reason is not these two points, and there are not many possibilities left.
Perhaps the Sand King Babartan himself had something to do with the wandering alchemist, which was why the other party targeted the princess. But if this is the case, there is no need for the Sand King Babartan to pretend to be confused and spend ten years investigating in vain, but without any results.
Of course, it is not ruled out that there may be deeper reasons for this.
However, in this kind of inference, we still have to follow the principle of Om's razor. If it is not necessary, do not establish an entity.
So after ruling out this point, the most likely reason left is that the princess herself has something to do with the wandering alchemist. Therefore, the other party did not hesitate to risk angering the royal family of Istania and implemented a plan to kill the princess.
Of course, this statement may be somewhat disadvantageous to the princess herself, so Fang Yu thought of this and couldn't help but glance at Abed. Her Highness the Princess commissioned them to find the real murderer. If they involved Her Highness the Princess' biological mother, what would the other party think?
But the other party seemed to understand their considerations. Abed was silent for a moment before replying:
"As long as the investigation is conducted privately, Her Royal Highness the Princess needs the truth."
When Fang Yu heard this answer, he roughly understood what the other party meant.
On the one hand, the princess has been dead for many years, so it is certainly impossible to find clues from her. But as the wife of Barbartan, the King of Sand, she would not be a commoner girl who came from a lonely background. She must also come from a noble family in Istania and have a prominent background.
The other party is no longer alive, but only ten years have passed since the attack. There should still be many relatives, friends and family members in front of her who are still alive. There should still be many ways to learn about the details of this princess’s life before she entered the royal family. If a person has a secret——
It is very likely that there will be clues left behind in details in daily life.
Thinking of this, Fang Plover couldn't help but glance at Sylvester.
Although he has long understood the unique vision of his ship officer, he still feels lucky at this time - having such a lady by his side sometimes saves him too much trouble.
Abed answered the first question, and the answer to the second question is actually self-evident. It is a secret related to the royal family, and even within the Penelope royal family, not many people know this. Coupled with the need for confidentiality, Her Royal Highness, the princess, naturally has someone she can rely on in this matter. not much.
As the only people related to the wandering alchemist, they were the chosen ones, and it was the first time they arrived in Istania. They were outsiders who had nothing to do with the local aristocratic system, so they naturally came into the opponent's sight easily.
Fang Yu also thought of another possibility, that is, Her Royal Highness the Princess should have learned about their fight with the Dragon Worshipers from her sister. They were also facing cultists, so the other party naturally believed that they still had such abilities.
With this consideration in mind, the team finally reached the bottom of the cellar.
…
