In the mayor's study, Rhodes from the Iron Cross Regiment was sitting on a chair, looking at the bookshelf full of tissue paper books, and said with a smile: "Lord Mine, it seems that you have written new books in the past few years at the plantation. "
Several windows on the wall were closed tightly, blocking out the cold wind outside and making the light in the study dim. Several crystal candles were lit on the desk, and the dazzling candlelight became soft and bright through the special crystal lampshades. Mine was leaning over the table, writing with a quill, and complained: "Where are there any new books? They drove me from Luoye City to Braun Town, and they didn't even let me take a book with me. I'm too old. , and my memory is not as good as before. Without books for reference, how can an old guy like me write something new? The cotton paper books on the bookshelf are all memories I have written down casually while killing time in the past few years... Some of them are cotton paper. The paper books have rotted away, and the remaining ones won’t last long.”
He put down the quill, rubbed his sore wrist, and said to Rhodes: "The lamps you gave are good. It would be better if you could give me another box of animal skin paper."
Rhodes' smile remained unchanged and said: "My sage, you can't even bring your own collection of books. How dare I, the leader of a small adventure group, give you a box of animal skin paper? Not to mention a box, just I don’t have the guts to give you even one. With your wisdom, I should be able to think of the ears and eyes placed around you and understand my difficulties."
Myen's eyes turned gloomy, and he sulked for a while, but finally sighed helplessly, "Those people just want to trap me in the border plantation."
"You don't have no chance at all." Rhodes lowered his voice and took the opportunity to say.
The old mayor looked at him sideways, showing a playful and sarcastic smile, and asked: "What? Do you have a way to get me back to Luoye City? Do you know that I committed a crime and was expelled by the council?"
Mine has lost power in the past few years. In the past, slave traders like Rhodes were not even qualified to talk to him. Mine didn't believe that Rhodes knew about him. Even if he heard some half-true rumors, he probably couldn't afford to get involved. If the slave trader can really be involved, no matter what the final result of the operation is, he is not as simple as he usually behaves.
Rhodes didn't seem to notice Sage Myen's contempt for him, and continued: "Of course I am not qualified to know about your affairs. I only heard that your Excellency was suddenly arrested the night before he took over as the governor of the Fallen Leaf City State. Until you After being escorted to Braun Town, the Luoye City Council urgently approved the appointment order for Sage Myen to succeed the mayor of Braun Town."
"You didn't commit anything, you were just demoted."
Mine put away his contemptuous attitude, looked at Rhodes again, nodded indifferently and said, "In other words, I am under house arrest."
"Whether it's demotion or house arrest, you and Mr. Joseph are not guilty." Rhodes said with a reserved smile: "Luoye City's regulations require the Border Guard to change their defenses every two years. In a few months, it will be Braun Town's turn. The guard changed, and you and Captain Joseph have worked in Braun Town for four full years, and have been separated from your relatives and friends for four full years. Don't you want to go back next spring and reunite with your family? "
"Well, keep talking, I'll listen." Mayor Main said calmly.
Rhodes said thoughtfully: "Of course, I'm just a small person and can't help much. However, some of my friends are people who have methods, and together with your old friends in the Luoye City Council, there may be a chance to help. Let you resign as mayor and return to the main city to retire. Luoye City is a city with four states. I am afraid you have no hope of returning to Highland City. However, you can choose any one of the four states under the jurisdiction of Highland City... What I said is amazing. It’s all the truth.”
Mayor Main clasped his hands, looked deeply at the other person, and asked: "What do you want from me?"
Rhodes asked, "Mr. Wiltok was studying writing with the Sage yesterday and suddenly fell asleep. How is he now?"
Myen sneered: "As a slave trader, you are really plotting against that child... Are you planning to sell him to that big shot?"
Rhodes shook his head and said: "Most of the half-elves in the main city think that slave trading is a black-hearted business, but I firmly believe that slave trading is a good deed. Mr. Sage has lived in the border plantation for such a long time, you should understand , without slave traders like me, many barbarians would not be able to survive. I found a way for them to survive, and I just made a little money from it."
"Your so-called 'good deeds' are actually poaching the alliance..."
Mine shook his head, unwilling to have an in-depth conversation with a slave trader on this topic, and instead said: "The child's amnesia is very serious and has damaged his mental state. He will become sleepy or even faint as long as he concentrates. ...How much value does such a half-elf boy have to you? Who are you going to sell him to?"
"Sell? No, no, no, sir, you misunderstood. I only sell barbarian slaves and half-elf slaves. It is not the turn of a little person like me to get involved." Rhodes waved his hand and continued: "As knowledgeable as you are. A sage should not stay in a border town with poor living conditions, and the same goes for Mr. Wiltok. The stable and prosperous main city is where he should go. I am willing to introduce Mr. Wiltok to a wealthy, elegant, and powerful person. A prominent family came to adopt him. Even if I gain some trivial benefits from it, you should believe that this is completely a noble act, just like I would rather offend some big shots to help a sage return to a civilized city-state. It can only be out of Noble purpose.”
Successful businessmen always know how to deal with different people in different ways, and when dealing with a sage, they must reason with him.
Myne had to admit that Rhodes was right. There is no inevitable conflict between interests and noble behavior. Even if Rhodes does noble things for personal gain, he cannot deny nobleness itself. Unless Mine himself is not noble, there is no way to deny Rhodes's rhetoric.
He thought for a moment and then asked: "There are five famous pillar families in Luoye City. Which family are you going to introduce Wiltok to?"
Rhodes shook his head and said with a smile: "I can't say that. I'm just a small character. Don't embarrass me, adults."
Mine nodded and asked again: "So, how can I help you?"
"Your Excellency is wise, and you don't need me to provide a method. But..."
Rhodes showed a wry smile and said: "My business is mainly in Braun Town, Lord Bartome of the Adventurer's Home. I dare not offend Master Bartomeu in any case. Therefore, I hope that Lord Myen will take care of him when he returns to Fallen Leaf City." Take Wiltok with you too. He is free. As long as he is willing to move to the main city with you, Lord Bartom has no right to detain him. I don't have to offend the Adventurer's House."
Mayor Main said with a half-smile: "You are using me as a shield."
Rhodes stood up, caressed his chest and saluted, and said humbly: "For adults, it is just a matter of convenience."
Myen did not comment and just said: "I still want to think about it. Captain Rhodes, please go back first."
As they were talking here, the conversation between Wiltok and John came from downstairs. Rhodes didn't want Boss Bottom's henchmen to see him and Myne, so he hurriedly said goodbye to the mayor and quickly left the study. But one important thing he forgot was that Vertok was particularly good at identifying smells.
Therefore, Wiltok took John and walked straight into the mayor's study. He sniffed it out of habit and immediately said, "Hey, Captain Rhodes was just here."
Main originally wanted to scold Wiltok for not knowing how to knock on the door, but when he heard what he said, his eyes widened in surprise, "Is your nose so good?"
The mayor admitted that Captain Rhodes had just arrived, but did not explain. John was suspicious, but Wiltok did not take this matter to heart and said hurriedly: "I want to continue learning to write."
He recovered his writing memory, but there was still a difference between the cursive characters of the Disa half-elf and the characters he remembered, which required special learning to master. Moreover, when Mine taught writing, he would say some things, which is what Wiltok expected. of.
Mayor Mine said in a funny voice, "What? You haven't slept enough yet, do you want to sleep for another day?" He waved his hand, sighed and said, "My child, your illness is not cured yet, and you need to rest quietly. I don't dare to sleep again. I will teach you how to write so as not to increase your mental burden. After your mental state improves, come to me to learn how to write."
Without saying a word, Wiltok walked to the desk, grabbed Myne's quill pen, and wrote five different cursive characters on the cotton bark paper. He stared at the old man and asked: "These Do you know the word?"
Mayor Main's expression changed drastically. He gently touched the text written by Wiltok with trembling fingers. He couldn't hide his excitement and murmured: "Secret text... No, not entirely. Judging from the deformation style, these two It should be ancient writing... I think I've seen it before, oh, by the way, I remembered it, it's the clay tablet writing in the Tuolin ruins, the oldest cursive writing unearthed so far! It's the alphabet of the half-elf cursive writing !”
He raised his head suddenly, across the table, grabbed Wiltok's wrist, and asked enthusiastically and excitedly: "Child, what are you writing? Why do you use 'cursive letters'? Who are you?" His disciple?"
Wiltok took the opportunity to press the old man's arm randomly. He immediately discovered that there was a faint elasticity in the mayor's seemingly loose arm, which could offset his grasp. This feeling had also occurred on John's arm, but it was more obvious. Holding his arm was like catching a slippery loach.
"Hey, the muscles and bones in your arms are very similar to John's."
Mayor Main said angrily: "Don't interrupt! Tell me quickly, what are you writing? Whose disciple are you?"
Victor shook off Myen's hand, shook his head and said: "These words I wrote are all about 'Who am I?'... I don't remember other things. You must tell me, whose disciple am I?' What's the alphabet?"
Myen puffed his beard and said loudly with eyes wide open: "I know whose disciple you are, do I still need to ask you? The so-called 'alphabet' is the original text of the half-elf civilization. It has been rarely circulated, except for the great sages more than 1,000 years ago. Malfoy, I haven't heard of any sage who has deciphered the 'alphabet'."
John interrupted curiously and asked: "Mayor, is the 'letter' important?"
"Important? More than important?! It's very, very important!" Myne shouted: "The great sage Malv deciphered the 'alphabet' of the ruins, but did not teach the 'alphabet' to anyone. He left behind a private The notes are all written in 'alphabets'. No one can understand them, but everyone wants to understand them... Wiltok, it doesn't matter if you can't remember who taught you. You are writing a few 'alphabets' for me to see. look."
Myne mentioned that Great Sage Marv's notes were written in "alphabetic letters" that no one could understand, so Wiltok decided not to teach this type of writing to anyone.
He is very smart now.
Just as Vertok was about to ask the great sage Malfoy about his private notes, there was a howl of ghosts and wolves outside the house. He curiously walked to the wall, opened the study window, and saw Yog, a barbarian boy with a strange scar on his face, naked, running around obstacles and screaming.
A group of half-elf guards were laughing and watching the excitement, while the barbarian slave leader Ingrid and several strong barbarian female slaves were chasing Yog with sticks and ropes.
They and Yog spoke in barbarian language. Wiltok couldn't understand it, so he asked, "What are they doing?"
Mayor Main came over to take a look and said nonchalantly: "Ingrid wanted to circumcise the barbarian boy, but he didn't want to, so he escaped."
"Circumcision? What does this mean? Can I go and see it?" Wiltok asked enthusiastically.
