The City of Marronligar

The development of the financial industry in Marunliga is inseparable from people's yearning for lasting wealth.The first to establish the prototype of the market was the exiled aristocrats with a lot of wealth, and the professional businessmen who were not born in the family further developed this system to maturity.

Since there is no "sacred blood" recognized by the old empire, the Torresso family is actually between nobles and businessmen, and their investment is therefore not restricted by the inherent concepts of nobles.In addition to the legalized special entertainment venues, the Torresso family did not hesitate to invest considerable manpower and financial resources in the so-called "low-end" restaurants and hotels in the harbor and civilian areas.

——Miscellaneous Notes of Silver Bay Tower Torreso's family business

It has been a week since Beacon departed.At the beginning of winter, although it is not yet the snowing season, Ma Lunliga has gradually changed its appearance.The citizens wore thicker clothes, and the closing time of small vendors moved forward with the setting sun, and the fallen leaves on the side of the road became a new paradise for children.Viewed from the inside of the house, each window is like a picture frame containing different scenery.

Therefore, when Adrian stayed in the study and sorted out the accounts, as long as he looked up, what he saw was the treetops, birds and a clear blue sky framed by the "picture".

Torresso has quite a lot of assets in Marenlica, and the number of accounts accumulated every quarter can be imagined.If he hadn't been used to dealing with ledgers as early as in Heshan Manor, Adrian would probably find this kind of work boring.

The injury on his arm has healed a lot, but Samuel did not urge him to return to Louis and continue the "practice" that is both an apprentice and an assistant. Instead, he asked Adrian to assist Sophia in handling accounts, which is similar to being idle at home .

Samuel made such a decision, in addition to his promise to Louis, on the one hand to "make the best use of everything", and on the other hand, it was also out of trust in Adrian: this young man has no desire to seek personal gain for himself.

Of course, accounting is not an easy job. Evening the books is already a test. With a strong sense of morality, Adrian naturally has no interest in this aspect.

Facing the numbers on the ledger all day long, Adrian almost deluded himself into thinking that he had forgotten the night that disturbed him.

Not so.Adrian and Louis didn't get along for a long time, but those thought-provoking words, thrilling shared experiences, and unexpected actions seemed to transcend the criterion of "time", bringing Adrian an unprecedented experience. subtle emotions.He doesn't know where this emotion is leading him, and he can only try to shelve it, ignore it, forget it, to regain his inner peace - if he can.

But as long as he is idle, those fragmented memories and imaginations seem to be injected into the blood, and may surge to his heart again at any time with the beating of the pulse.

After finally checking the account books at hand, Adrian straightened his waist behind the desk.He looked at the books on the table that belonged to Samuel, a considerable part of which were old local chronicles, as well as the original manuscripts of the history of the Torresso family.Adrian, who is strict with himself, never flipped through them, at most he would make some guesses based on the text on the case.

When Sophia opened the door and came in, Adrian was leaning against the window, bored watching the wild birds resting on the bare tree canopy.

"Ma'am." He turned around and greeted Sophia.

Sophia browsed through the sorted accounts and smiled at him gently: "Thank you, Adrian."

Maybe because she noticed that her nephew was not only in a hurry, but also had some unresolved knots in her heart, she thought of letting Adrian take the opportunity to go out to run errands to relax: "By the way, I would like to trouble you to go to the Silver Bay Tower, Go there and check something for me."

"Silver Bay Tower?"

"Yes. It is not only a library and a research institution for scholars, but also the archives of the Republic of Marenlica." Sophia said. "Huta mentioned to me a winery on the outskirts of the city before he left. Many taverns in the city buy from there, 'Silver Bay Mead'—have you heard of it?"

Adrian nodded, and replied in a low voice: "Actually, I drank."

Although he only drank a little, at least he knew what it tasted like.

Sophia was very surprised: "Could it be Louis who brought you to drink?"

In her eyes, this nephew would not take the initiative to drink no matter what he looked at; and Adrian's expression of being said, naturally confirmed Sophia's casual guess.

She sighed lightly—I don't know what it was for—and continued: "There is a piece of good-quality vineyard near the winery, and I plan to buy it. But before that, we have to confirm the piece property rights of the land.”

This process Adrian is still clear.What made him curious was the Silver Bay Tower: he knew that it was a famous large library, which collected many classics and art treasures handed down from the ancient empire, and was known as the "Pearl of the Peninsula". Scholars are all fascinated; as for its other function of keeping business contracts, legal documents and other archives, Adrian has indeed not heard much about it.

After understanding this point, Adrian couldn't help admiring it even more when he came to the Silver Bay Tower Library.

Holding the letter of introduction written by Sophia himself, he was about to climb the steps in front of the Silver Bay Tower, when he suddenly found a strange guy standing not far away, pacing back and forth while looking up the stone steps, with a nervous expression on his face, It seems that there is something to say, but it just doesn't go inside.

Adrian took a closer look and felt that the man looked familiar.Recalling again, he quickly remembered where he had seen each other.

That was the first commission Louis took him to solve.On the eve of going to the fishing village to investigate, Louis took him to an unnamed tavern in the harbor area and met a friend with intelligence.At that time, Louis seemed to have said that the friend was called Seamus, and he was a writer (although Adrian still didn't feel like it).

Now, Adrian saw the writer again in front of the Silver Bay Tower.He is still plainly dressed, thin and thin, and can be seen from his appearance to be talkative and eloquent. However, because the other party's eyes are clear, his face is normal, and he is not drunk, Adrian did not recognize him immediately.

Seamus quickly found Adrian who was observing him.

As if he had caught some savior, he trotted two steps to Adrian, holding Adrian's hand tightly, and it was rare that his eyes were not brightened by the alcohol: "Ah, I remember you! You It's the student next to Louis!"

Adrian was a little embarrassed: "Uh..." He began to regret that he didn't just walk into the library without distraction.But since Seamus found out and was still being held unilaterally, it would be impolite to shake him off. We can only see what the other party is up to. "Hello. What's the matter?"

Seamus looked around, but couldn't find another bounty hunter, so he asked curiously, "Why aren't you with Louis?"

This is actually Adrian's most distressing question: Seamus is a friend of Louis.Therefore, the moment he saw Seamus, Adrian almost remembered the first night of acting together with Louis.The scent of wine, the sound of waves like a lullaby, the silt beside the road... those pictures seem to be far away, yet seem to be close at hand.

"The reason for this may be a bit complicated." Adrian tried to take his hand out of Seamus's hand as gently as possible, but seeing that Seamus still did not let go, he had no choice but to give up.

"I can't take care of so much. Being able to be a student of Louis means that you must have two brushes. Although I can't see that old man for a while, I can definitely find you." Seamus muttered, holding Adrian's hand Gripped tighter. "I want to ask you one thing. No, I want to ask you one thing for the curator."

Adrian was stunned for a moment: "Curator? Are you talking about the curator of Silver Bay Tower?"

Seamus finally let go.He scratched the back of his head embarrassingly, his eyes dodged, and he said quickly: "You may not believe it, but I used to be a student of the curator. I have stayed in Silver Bay Tower for a long time."

"..."

Seems like he did mention that—Adrian thought to himself.However, it is not easy to connect this desolate middle-aged man in front of him with Silver Bay Tower.

Seamus said again: "In the tavern yesterday evening, I ran into my former colleague by chance. He told me that the teacher's situation is very bad, and he has been worrying about his granddaughter."

Speaking of this, he looked up at the spire of the Silver Bay Tower stretching towards the blue sky.

"The girl suddenly left home after leaving a letter. Of course, the teacher immediately reported to the city guards, but Liz was an adult and disappeared for no reason. The guards were not willing to take care of such matters. It’s just to prevent her from going out of the city. Ma Lunlica is too old, and the child is still avoiding others, so it’s not easy to find her.”

Adrian blinked, weighing the weight of the matter: "You want me to help find someone?"

Seamus nodded vigorously.

"But I don't know how much I can do." There are so many guards, and if they can't even find the curator's granddaughter, Adrian doesn't think he can succeed.

"It's okay, I believe in Louis, and I believe in you too!"

"You don't seem to know my name..."

"You're right, but it doesn't matter." Seamus put his hands on his hips, trying to block Adrian's retreat. "Looking at this appearance, you are from the Torresso family, so there is no problem."

Adrian sighed: "Okay, I'll stop by later to ask the curator about the situation and see if he needs my assistance."

Seeing that Adrian finally agreed, Seamus' expression relaxed a lot: "When you see him, tell me—— Seamus, who introduced you. But if he asks about me, say ' I don't know' that's fine."

Finally able to get away from Seamus, Adrian didn't feel easy.

He took two steps and found that Seamus was still standing where he was, and he didn't seem to intend to enter the Silver Bay Tower together, so he couldn't help asking: "Why don't you go talk to the curator yourself? I, an outsider, suddenly It's not a bounty hunter who has been entrusted to get involved, I'm afraid he will find it awkward."

Seamus lowered his head and laughed dryly: "I'd better not go in... It's not convenient to look like this now. Besides, I'm really sorry for him, and I'm sorry for Silver Bay Tower."

There was obvious shame in his eyes, which made Adrian feel that it would be too inhuman to pursue it any further.

When he walked into the Silver Bay Tower, Adrian suddenly realized what he had missed: Seamus didn't mention the "remuneration" to him at all—although Adrian didn't need money, it always felt like a free job for others. What's wrong.

Sophia's personal letter was very useful, and Adrian quickly consulted the land register kept by the archives, which included the original title deed of the vineyard and records of past transactions.According to Sophia's instructions, he copied down the key information for return.

After finishing the work at hand, he thanked the archivist. Remembering what Seamus asked him to do, he asked again: "Is the director of your library there? I was entrusted by someone and I need to meet him urgently."

The administrator had a good impression of Adrian, and he spoke very politely: "The curator has been in the office all the time, you can see him now. He is old, and his spirit is not very good recently, please pay attention to your words." Said Come on, lead Adrian directly to the door of the office.

The curator of the Silver Bay Tower library is roughly in line with Adrian's imagination of the "old scholar". About 60 years old, with gray hair and beard, wearing a thick dark robe, sitting dejectedly behind a desk full of classics.

It wasn’t until Adrian explained the purpose of his visit and pointed out, “Seamus introduced me,” that the curator slowly raised his head. The dark circles under his eyes caused by mental stress and lack of sleep barely supported his tired eyes.

"Young man from the Torresso family, thank you for your concern... Where is Seamus, why didn't he come to see me?"

Adrian paused for a moment: "He doesn't think it's appropriate. Looking at his expression, it seems that he still feels sorry for you."

The curator shook his head, showing regret.He said to Adrian again: "Anyway, I believe in Seamus' vision. Since he said that you can help, I can naturally ask you with confidence. Liz—my granddaughter—is my only Since her parents died of illness, I have been taking care of her. Liz has always been a sensible and well-behaved child, and we have never had a fight. I can't figure out why she left suddenly..."

Adrian, who lost his parents when he was young, has a different feeling for family affection, and the curator's statement undoubtedly touched his heart.

"I will try my best to help you find Liz." Adrian no longer hesitated. "May I see where she lives? There may be clues there."

The words are divided into two parts.

There's a reason why Seamus hasn't met Louis recently: this lone bounty hunter has just accepted a convoy to help transport a batch of valuable wine from the winery to another nearby city, and the round trip takes only [-] minutes. It took three and a half days.

After returning to Marunliga, Louis walked slowly to the edge of the pier, sat cross-legged behind the stacked empty crates, and smoked silently facing the shadow of sails moving in Silver Cove—this was his favorite place to be alone, It is also the place where I first met Adrian.

pat.

This was the third stone that fell beside him.Louis sighed silently, and reached out to grab the fourth stone thrown at him.

"What can you do with me?" Louis turned his head helplessly.

The stranger who threw the stone was standing not far away, a young girl with short cropped hair, dressed like a tomboy in men's clothing like a dock boy.

The tomboy asked condescendingly: "Are you a bounty hunter? I heard from the people over there that you seem to be very powerful." She pointed in the direction of the tavern.

Louis was always patient with people younger than himself: "That's right."

"As long as I pay enough, you can work for me?"

"As long as it's not an illegal business, it's fine." Louis looked at the girl's strange attire, knowing that there must be something strange in it. "May I have your name?"

The girl made a "cut", and seemed reluctant to answer, but finally opened her mouth.

"Liz."

Author has something to say: BonnieAtMorn - JeffVictor