Chapter 17: Vichy Seaport

The group changed carriages several times and, after half a month, finally arrived at Vishi Seaport, the northernmost tip of the Golden Sparrow Empire.

Traveling from the Old Continent to the Prosperous Continent was actually no easy feat. Every year, only at the beginning of the year would a single merchant vessel from the Prosperous Continent arrive at Vishi Seaport. This ship would stay for only two days before departing, so to avoid missing it, the group arrived at the port before the Month of Revival had even begun.

"There are eight days left until the Month of Revival, and the arrival time of the merchant vessels from the Prosperous Continent is inconsistent—anywhere from eight to thirty-eight days at most. Therefore, we will stay in Sea Moon City until it is time to depart."

After speaking, Moro led the group to the Bounty Guild, which was located in the center of the city.

—The Bounty Guild is a functional association shared by all knights who adhere to the Kingdom's codes. The state issues missions, and knights can accept these tasks at the guild to receive corresponding rewards.

Moro had brought them to the Bounty Guild not to accept missions, but because the guild housed the most luxurious lodgings in all of Sea Moon City. As long as one had money, the services and accommodations provided by the Bounty Guild far exceeded any other inn in the city. It had to be said, this was a guild where money reigned supreme.

As an elder of the Monen family, Moro naturally carried a significant amount of gold. He did not place much importance on such currency; upon arriving at the Bounty Guild, he paid for everything, including all of Angell's expenses, in one go.

"You are free to move about for the next few days, but it is best to stay within the guild to ensure you can be found when the ship arrives," Moro instructed before returning to his own room to make the most of his time for meditation.

Upon hearing they were free to roam, Allen and Eileen exchanged glances, and then both erupted with immense joy. The two children were like prisoners being granted a reprieve, eager to immediately embrace the air called "freedom." Allen's small eyes shone with excitement, and Eileen could not contain her exuberance, though her focus remained largely on Angell, who stood to the side.

"Brother Pat, let's go out exploring together! I heard from others that Sea Moon City is the largest trading port in the country, gathering specialty goods from all nations; there is even a street dedicated to foreign goods where many people have found treasures!" Eileen said coquettishly to Angell, nearly grabbing his arm to shake it.

Angell looked at Eileen with a slight headache. During their nearly month-long journey, everyone had become much closer, and Eileen had grown much bolder. The shyness of their first meeting had vanished; while she still restrained herself from physical contact, she employed every manner of acting cute and spoiled.

By now, even someone as dull as Angell could see through Eileen's intentions. He was also perplexed; they had only spent a few days together, yet she had already developed feelings of affection. Truly, a young girl's heart was difficult to fathom.

However, he was still young, and with the "Five-Year Promise" hanging over him like a sword, he truly could not afford to let his mind wander elsewhere. Thus, regarding Eileen's affection, he could only do his best to maintain a distance from her. This was not only a responsibility to himself but also a sign of respect for Eileen.

"No, I promised my mentor that I would perform mental exercises daily. I'll head back to my room first; let's go next time," Angell declined gently and returned to his room.

Eileen pouted unhappily, finally stomping her foot before leaving the guild with a bewildered Allen.

After entering his room, Angell did not immediately take out the training exercises assigned by his mentor. Instead, he took a moment to observe the room.

His room was located on the seaside and featured a very wide terrace. Looking out from the terrace, one could see the bustling Vishi Seaport in the distance and the ocean shimmering with fragmented light.

Looking down from a height at the masses of people scurrying through Vishi Seaport like ants, Angell felt both a sense of awe at the prosperity of Sea Moon City and a sudden, unfamiliar sense of loneliness.

Looking toward the south, through the sprawling grasslands that stretched for hundreds of miles, Angell felt as if he could see the mountains behind the plains, and the peaceful small towns hidden within them—the place where he had lived for his first fourteen years, the place called "home."

"Brother... Mentor..." Angell whispered softly, his voice carrying an irrepressible, deep melancholy.

In the blink of an eye, another ten or so days passed.

With the arrival of the Month of Revival, temperatures began to rise noticeably. The waters that served as essential routes for many shipping lines had begun to thaw, and large batches of ocean-going vessels began to appear in Vishi Seaport.

Moro had hired a squad of knights at the Bounty Guild to watch the harbor daily for the merchant vessels arriving from the Prosperous Continent. The Allen siblings, meanwhile, had been playing themselves to exhaustion, buying a mountain of useless trinkets and heading out early and returning late every day, undeterred even by the cold weather.

Angell, however, had not stepped out of his room for several days. He spent his time in the inn organizing his recent findings, specifically studying the puzzles left to him by Jon.

These puzzles required massive amounts of calculation and the integration of multiple disciplines. If a scholar from Earth were to see them, they would marvel at the breadth of subjects involved and the sheer difficulty of the problems. Even if one did not need to be an expert in every single field, it would be nearly impossible to make a breakthrough without a broad and far-reaching knowledge base.

The fact that Jon could set such problems for Angell was a testament to his confidence in and regard for the boy.

Angell had begun calculating from the moment he left Pat Manor. Now, more than a month had passed, and he had barely solved a quarter of the puzzles, which left him feeling quite frustrated.

Yet, no matter how frustrated he felt, he had to solve them. These puzzles were tied to something his mentor had left for him. Only by solving every single problem and obtaining the final answer could he discover what his mentor had left behind.

On the second weekend of the Month of Revival, the weather was uncharacterly clear. As if celebrating the thawing ice, the harbor was even more lively than in previous days. Angell thought that since he had been cooped up for so long, it wouldn't hurt to go out for a stroll.

Thus, after so many days, Angell finally changed into casual clothes, tidied his appearance, donned his trademark gentle smile, and stepped out of his room.

The Bounty Guild hall was as busy as ever; the moment he stepped inside, he was met with waves of thick, sweaty odors. Most of those frequenting this place were knights who lived day-to-day by the edge of a blade. Even if there were spirited female knights, most only cleaned the parts of their faces that were visible; as for their body odor... they simply couldn't be bothered.

Angell instinctively frowned, but he quickly reminded himself that this was no longer Gru Town. Without his brother's protection, he was nothing more than a member of a noble family abroad, not a noble himself. With that thought, his brow relaxed, and he continued to wear his harmless smile.

Ordering a glass of peppermint rum and some roasted meat at a small tavern on one side of the hall, Angell only took small sips. It wasn't as good as the milk wine from the manor; it had only a pungent, fermented taste.

As Angell ate his meat, his ears were pricked, listening to the loud discussions of the adventurers around him.

—In a tavern filled with all sorts of people, it was easiest to overhear unique news. This was an experience Angell had summarized from the wuxia novels Jon used to tell him about Earth.

He had very little experience traveling abroad, so he wasn't sure if the lessons he had gathered from books were actually correct. However, this didn't stop him from enjoying eavesdropping on the adventurers' conversations; even when many were clearly just bragging, he found it quite entertaining.

"Hehe, have you guys heard? Something big happened in the Hailan Kingdom, which is currently at war with the Empire! Many Archdukes have died mysteriously, and their deaths were so gruesome that the knights on guard are terrified in the middle of the night..."

"The Bounty Guild's premier mercenary group—the Radiant Golden Sparrow Knights—hasn't shown their faces for several months. Tell me, do you think the Hailan tragedy was their doing?" A group of adventurers at a table next to Angell began gossiping about the frontline battles thousands of miles away. "Do you remember, half a year ago, the Lord of the Imperial Capital personally came to the Bounty Guild to issue a mission to assassinate the Commander of Hailan? I bet there's a connection between these two things!"

The adventurers' voices were loud, and some even intentionally raised their volume to showcase their own perceived importance. Consequently, almost everyone in the tavern heard this man's words.

Everyone chimed in with agreement; one side was an enemy nation, and the other was their own guild's mercenary group. Their bias was undoubtedly one-sided.

Amidst the heated discussion, a voice as cold as ice cut in: "The Radiant Golden Sparrow Knights? Hmph, your knowledge is far too shallow. I'm telling you, the Hailan tragedy definitely wasn't the work of the Radiant Golden Sparrow. Their power isn't that great yet!"

The speaker was dressed in long, water-blue robes embroidered with silver patterns, looking quite expensive at a glance.

"How dare you speak like that!"

"Who are you? To dare speak of the Radiant Golden Sparrow in such a way—do you know what the consequences will be!"

The crowd turned to look at the speaker, their eyes filled with hostility.

"Eh? You again! Don't think that just because you hold a permit from the Hailan Chamber of Commerce, you can truly run rampant in the Golden Sparrow Empire! You're a Hailan person; if you come to our country to do business, you should keep your head down. To dare interrupt like this... it seems you have a death wish!" A burly man stood up at the sound!

The Hailan merchant merely cast a cold glance, and immediately, more than ten fully armed knights surrounded him for protection.

A single burly man naturally could not match more than ten knight guards, but this was the territory of the Golden Sparrow Empire. Seeing the situation, many knights immediately stood by the burly man's side. No matter how reckless the man was, he was a citizen of the Golden Sparrow Empire, and it was not the place of a Hailan person to lecture him!

With both sides consisting of about a dozen hot-blooded, armored men facing off against each other, the atmosphere in the tavern seemed to freeze instantly.