"Businessman?" Sitting in the hall on the second floor of the newly built Grigori Gap Border Post with an all-wood structure, which has windows at 360 degrees and is sunny and can be used as an arrow tower at critical moments, Henry chose He raised his eyebrows, holding a certificate with the Otolo royal emblem printed on it, and expressed his doubts in two simple words to the businessman in front of him.
The language he uses to communicate with the other party is Lamani. Although the lingua franca of the West Coast has a large number of users, Lamani is probably more popular in international communication in a wider range. As a language with many Lamani The country borders an empire, and it is only natural that the merchants in Otolo know this language.
"Is there any problem, sir?" The businessman leader sitting on the chair opposite has a young face and looks to be around 18-21 years old, but his confident demeanor and keen observation have also proved that he is not just an ignorant person. The young man - our Mr. Sage sitting opposite him is wearing a suit commonly used by adventurers, which proves that he is not a nobleman, and the Otolo people who are from a large country are naturally aloof towards the people of Avenella. a feeling of.
This series of factors together prompted the other party to remain polite, but the words used were only polite words for peers, and did not contain the kind of respect for the upper class. While showing that he was from the Otolo Empire and did not need to be humble to the border inspectors of a small country like Avenella, he also remained polite and did not appear aggressive.
Proud, but unassuming. The young business leader just looked at Henry's clothes and decided on this response plan - he was outstanding. As an educated and worldly person from a large empire, he might be considered one of the best among his peers. But unfortunately, the person sitting opposite him was far more observant than him. With just a few words, this young man had been read completely by the sage from body to heart.
Capable young people are also outstanding among their peers, and they always live in the praise of those around them like stars holding the moon. The common problems of such characters are similar - arrogant and easy to look down on others, overconfident and easy to lose objective and calm judgment of the situation at hand. To deal with them, just make some mistakes deliberately and make them think they are themselves. Taking control of the situation further underestimates you, and then all they have to do is wait for them to make their own mistakes.
"Uh - no problem." When Henry said this long sentence, he imitated the poor Lamani language with Avenela accent perfectly - even the man standing next to him changed his language at the request of the sage. Charles, the Lord of Wavasica who was wearing a guard uniform and a real native of Avenella, could not realize that this was just an act. The middle-aged man with a goatee was slightly surprised, and Henry glanced at it from the corner of his eye. After looking at the expression of the young man opposite and making sure that he had noticed this, he turned his head and pretended to be anxious and said to Charles in Sivalier language.
"Uncle, I don't think I can do this job. I have always been a hunter when I was in Sivalier. I can't understand any of these words. Can I just let them pass like this?" He said this, and at the same time He did not relax his observation of those businessmen. Charles was sweating a little. He knew the identity of the sage, so Henry calling him this made him feel like he was bullying his master and destroying his ancestors. However, he still cooperated with his acting skills for the time being and continued: "It's okay, just let them go like this." Come on, these people are important businessmen who are helping Avenella prosper.”
The two of them sang together like this, and in the eyes of the young business leader opposite, the image of a junior who had no knowledge and skills and just came here to be a border prosecutor was constructed. Henry's guess was right. The Otolo merchant, who was born in a big country, can indeed understand the Sivalier language and knows the relationship between the aristocracy of Avenera and the Sivalier people.
The businessman on the opposite side of their conversation pretended not to understand, but in fact the subtle expression of disdain had revealed his heart, and this was the most important step in the sage's strategy - the young business leader was very shrewd. Overly deliberate acting and self-introduction can easily arouse suspicion in the other party. Therefore, the trick he did was to let the other party "discover it by himself" - the sage knew that the other party had been observing him, and also understood that this kind of young man was very confident or arrogant about his own abilities, so it was up to them to make their own judgments. What comes out will feel like it’s the truth.
The game he set is aimed at such smart but immature young people. If the other party is more stupid or does not understand Siwaliya, then let it go. If the other party is too mature, he will not proceed. Such a temptation. Charles, who had been dealing with various things in the city lord's palace all year round and therefore was not recognized by his subordinates and the Otolo people, accompanied the sage for a whole day of border investigation today, and Henry's observations and judgments over this period of time It has also benefited Your 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 out some vocabulary common to Siwaliya and Lamani at a very fluent speed, and The rest showed a lame and stiff Avenella accent, which made people feel very sure that the person who taught him Lamani was a native of Avenella, and this is also consistent with what was revealed earlier. The information that Yavenella came from Sivalier and obtained this position through connections is very consistent.
"Thank you." The young business leader still maintained that calm and confident feeling. He shook hands with Henry, and the sage spoke for the last time in broken Lamani: "No, thank you, you helped this Countries, lots of them.”
"Hahaha, you're welcome, you're welcome." The business leader turned back with a typical smile, and his companion did the same. It wasn't until they both turned around that they continued to maintain the smile and said in Otolo: "These idiots I don’t know yet that my death is imminent.” He said this. Henry’s deliberate show of weakness to make the other party think he had control of the situation and despise him had obviously completely worked at this moment. The young business leader thought he had judged the two people opposite him. He was very safe and therefore completely relaxed his vigilance. He and his companions laughed, and Henry asked again pretending not to understand.
"Uh - Excuse me, what do you say?" At this moment, his image of being "perceived" and "observed" in the eyes of the young Otolo business leader has been fixed, so the sage's words are not at all contrary to the rules. Neither feeling nor feeling immediately aroused the polite reply from the business leader: "Oh, it's nothing, we are talking about this really beautiful country."
"Oh, really, so that's why you plan to invade in large numbers, disguised as merchants? Don't you think the number of Otolo caravans passing through Grigori's Gap recently is a bit too much-" In an instant, his expression changed from confusion to Henry, who had returned to his usual calm expression, said this in fluent Otolo. His words caught the confident business leader off guard, and Charles behind him finally reached out in time: "Guards!"
Several elite guards hiding in the surroundings quickly rushed out and captured the two Otolo businessmen.
"Damn it, what are you doing! We are businessmen with Otolo royal certificates. Only Otolo's army can arrest us!" The sudden change caught the business leader off guard. He struggled hard and shouted loudly. The guards wanted to He stopped resisting and pushed him to the ground, while the sage squatted down, looked down at the young man whose face was pressed against the wooden floor, and said in a calm tone:
"Because you just said that your death is imminent, we suspect that you are a spy deliberately sabotaging the alliance with Padrosi. Of course, we will inform the Otolo Empire, but you also know that because Otolo has recently There are too many people in Luo's caravan, and there is a traffic jam at Grigori Gap, so it may take at least two months for this news to reach the empire——"
"You - bastard!" The young business leader shouted loudly and was escorted off. Henry turned around, and Charles wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and sighed.
"I didn't expect that even our allies would come to share the pie... What should I do, sir, are we going to block the border?" The Lord of the City picked up the pottery cup next to him and drank a large gulp of Liang Baikai to relieve his body and mind that was heated due to nervousness. For a moment, Henry shook his head and denied his statement: "Have you ever heard of black operations?" the sage asked, and Charles was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "The unrecognized army, right. "
"Yes." Henry turned his head and looked through the window at the still busy Grigory Gate below: "Avenella and Otolo still maintain an alliance. The reason why the empire engages in such thieves Sent an entire army tactfully rather than openly in order not to damage this alliance. If the relationship is broken and the news of the breakdown of the alliance spreads, Padrosi will definitely take the opportunity to attack."
"And this is what Otolo is trying to avoid, so even if these people are exposed, they will not be recognized by the empire. This is a delicate balance line. To maintain this state, both sides pretend not to know what happened. Nothing will destroy this apparent friendship." Henry walked to the window and looked at the young Ottolo businessman leader who was still shouting and cursing all the way to the dungeon in public, and then said: "Otolo The Luo people's spies are everywhere, and the news that we have arrested this person will be spread back soon. His Majesty the Emperor is a smart man, and he will receive our message and be more restrained."
"Blocking the border is an absolute must. Once the relationship breaks out, Padrossi will officially intervene. In the south, there is the church state that Thoradin is unifying, and in the north, there is civil strife in Sivalier. In addition, the two empires are in Asia. War breaks out in Venela’s land.”
"This country will die without a burial place." Henry turned around and said to Charles word by word.
"...Sigh." The goat-bearded city lord sighed: "Then now we can only count on whether our prince can convince the king."
"It would be great if we could do it..."
“It would be great if we could do that.”
He sighed like this, and at the same time, with everyone's hopes placed on him, Edward went to the court under tremendous pressure, sorted out his words, and put forward his idea to his father Ashbern II.
The sun shines through the colored mosaic glass, forming light spots on the stone slabs. After Edward sorted it out, he explained what Henry had said about the threat from the south and the bribery of Roan by acknowledging the correctness of the Roan royal family in Avenella. After the fact that people's hearts made them also fight for Avenella was reported to the king, the entire court fell into silence for a long time.
"Really...those cunning Padrosi people are making small moves in the south." Ashburn II said after a period of silence: "But, Edward, my son, this news of yours is... Where did you hear about it?" As he said this, Edward straightened up and was about to explain, but Ashbern II interrupted him and continued: "Even I have never heard of anything from the empire. No one at the top has noticed, but who could you get this information from—"
"Father, this is because this matter is still going on -" "Shut up!" "Pa -" Ashberon II forcefully patted his throne, and Richard was still standing next to him. The joyful expression on Prince De's face was clearly visible when he saw this, and he laughed secretly, while Ashbern II glanced at him and frowned, and then spoke to Edward again.
"Is it still going on? In other words, there is no real threat yet, and who told you about this? Are you sure this is not an excuse used by the Luoan bandits to try to deceive you?" Ahiburn The second said this, and Edward tried to explain again, but was scolded by the king before he could speak: "Edward! You have become weak!"
"One mountain cannot tolerate two tigers, so how can the throne of the king of a country be tolerated by others?"
"Recognize the royal family of Luoan? This is the land of my Avenela, my kingdom of Shulfaga. Those bandits want to gain dignity as human beings. Well, I will give them peace with the iron cavalry of Avenela. ! The lowly Luoan people can only gain recognition from this king by dying - as for those threats, everything will not be a problem with the support of the Otolo Empire!"
"That's it, Edward! This king will not allow you to return to the north again. Your own fiefdom is in Chester. Set off to return to your territory now!"
"..."
"As you command, father." Edward lowered his head. The expression hidden under his blond hair was not revealed to anyone. He just turned around and walked outside. In an instant, Ashbourne II felt that he It's like losing something.
The court fell into silence again, and it wasn't until Edward's figure disappeared into the sunlight outside that a harsh voice, unable to read the atmosphere, sounded out at an inappropriate time: "Haha, brother, he has really become extremely weak, father. , I’m just saying, if you win a game, you will think you are really good - but father, since Edward has been transferred from the north, can you bring Acasta - "
"Shut up." Ashborn II turned his head and glared at Richard coldly.
"Uh-Father, I just feel that there is no Sulfaga family member in Ecasta-"
"Shut up."
The king clutched the handle of his throne with bulging veins, while a look of hatred flashed across Prince Richard's face, and then he retreated 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 walked out of the palace, walked all the way towards his own territory of Chester near the royal capital, but after saying a few words to his followers on the way, he turned back and headed north.
In the midst of the storm, the spring of the year 193 of the Avenela calendar and the year 1331 of the divine calendar has arrived.
Along with the pouring rain. (To be continued.)
