Aalto, in a room on the bottom floor of the monastery.
It was dark here, and there was no movement other than the sound made by itself.
Natasha, who was sitting upright in the room, seemed to have gotten used to it, and the bulging blood on her hands and face had faded a lot.
With dark vision, she looked at the thick stack of letters in her hand, humming the melody silently from time to time, even if there was no sound, she seemed lively and lively.
Seeing the last page of the envelope, Natasha suddenly laughed and tapped the time with her right hand: "Hmph, blessings in advance? Lucien, you must be learning from me. I'm waiting for the "Music Review" on July 30."
"It's nice to have a friend, or else I'd be bored like crazy."
※※※
The cool breeze on the sea blows away the sweltering heat of October. The waves hit the long embankment from time to time, splashing countless snow-white foams.
Part of the "Pearl of the Sea" Sturk is similar to the Venice that Lucien had seen in movies in his previous life. It was built on the basis of more than a hundred small islands gathered in the sea. Countless canals are densely covered like spider webs, and there is only one long one. The seawall is connected to the mainland.
Sitting on Sturk's unique pointed boat, Lucien watched the various buildings on both sides of the canal slowly move back, feeling like he was shopping.
"Hehe, respected guest, in fact, every canal in Sturk is equivalent to the streets of other cities." The semi-senior boatman rowing a sharp boat saw Lucien kept looking around, and understood that he was new to Sturk. Tourists from Turk therefore enthusiastically introduced: "There is the Church of St. Maio, there is the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Sturk, there is the Bell Tower of Truth, and there is the prayer spire..."
Lucien was blowing the sea breeze leisurely, and was very satisfied with the boatman's introduction: "This should be Sturk's temple area?"
Although in every urban area, every town, no matter how big or small the church is, there is a church. But there will always be an area where church buildings are concentrated, such as the area near the golden cathedral on the east side of the Aalto Noble District.
"Yes, so it's not crowded here. When you enter the business district, you will see countless sharp boats, businessmen and travelers from different countries." The boatman replied with a smile, while driving the sharp boat through a The magnificent stone arch bridge.
Suddenly, the surrounding environment became noisy and noisy, and sharp boats either docked next to a certain building, or directly drove into the ground floor of a large building with a waterway entrance.
The lingua franca of different accents echoed in the air, "copperfair", "silvernar", "gentaler", "bank", "loan", "tengram", "sturgeon", "sea carp" Words such as "orange fish", "steel", "timber", "slave", and "delivery" came to Lucien's ears from time to time, and scenes of bargaining transactions came into view. Lively many times.
The whole city is beating with vigorous vitality, and it seems that even the sea breeze blowing by has the smell of money.
"Sturk is more prosperous than I imagined, and has a more commercial atmosphere." Lucien admired sincerely. Coming from a modern city on the earth, he seems to prefer such a lively scene, and seems to enjoy the quietness against the hustle and bustle .
The boatman said with strong pride: "Our city of Sturk is located on the edge of the Storm Strait, connecting north and south, and has a natural deep-water port. Therefore, it is the best transit place for countless goods, and it is the most ideal free city. We Sturks are born with business minds, and the first goldsmiths' guild, the first bank, and the first certificate transaction were all born here."
"Communication stuff?" Lucien heard something wrong with the boatman's introduction. When Sturk mentioned the east, it obviously refers to Holm and other countries across the Storm Strait. Can you communicate directly
The boatman who often dealt with travelers and businessmen was surprised by Lucien's doubts, and talked eloquently: "Guest, you should have heard of the 'Nightingale' yarn material and unique jewelry from the Kingdom of Holm, and the 'Gold' from the Kingdom of Camelot. Porcelain, various spices from the Duchy of Calais, top tobacco from the Kingdom of Briana, right?"
"Of course, they are things that only real nobles can enjoy." Lucien echoed the boatman's statement, although the information he got from people of his profession was not even half true and half false, but it was better than nothing.
The boatman got a response from Lucien, and the nature of the discussion became more intense: "These four countries are just across the strait, but because these commodities are very profitable, they are monopolized by the church, and only the nine noble merchants authorized by the church can organize The fleet is going. Tsk, so the combined wealth of the nine of them can buy Sturk."
"Uh, which nine are there?" Lucien asked curiously. Could it be that Graneuf would be one of the nine, and he could use trade as an excuse to send magicians to the opposite side of the Strait of Storms.
"Viscount Wright's family, Baron Cape, Baron Moncach..." The boatman counted them one by one, but unfortunately there was no Granuf's name.
Lucien's interest gradually disappeared, and he smiled and said, "Why don't you continue to introduce me to the buildings on both sides?"
"Okay, that's Wright Bank, that's Moncage-Hawthorne Bank." The boatman pointed to the magnificent buildings on the left, "That's the 'Epic Gallery', that's the 'Mitchell Sculpture Gallery', that's It's 'Chan Kim' Bank... ”
Lucien kept looking at the direction the boatman was pointing at, and successfully saw the three-story building that shone as if inlaid with gold leaf. Many sharp boats come and go at its gate.
Being so close to the bank of Graneuve, Lucien didn't ask a word, just quietly looked at the crowds and buildings nearby, letting the three words "Brilliant Gold Bank" hang on the sharp boat. Drive past the building with the signboard.
Lucien is being cautious. Since he already knows the identity of the contact person in Sturk City, there is no need to take risks in a hurry. It is best to observe Granuf and his bank first, and see if other magicians come to the door. situation, to prevent the possibility that he has been seen through by the church and caught people through fishing.
And during these three months of travel, through the meditation method of an official magician, the soul and spiritual power have become significantly stronger, and the "frightening technique", "silent phantom", and "burning hand" have been successively constructed in the soul. ", "Mage Armor", "Steel Heart", "Enduring Elemental Damage", and "Circle of Out of Control" seven magics are preparing to construct the escape magic of "oiling the soles of the feet", so don't worry.
But Lucien found that even if he had the idea of formal meditation, with his spiritual talent, it would probably take a year to advance to the second ring. ten years! This made Lucien even more yearning for the Magic Council, especially the efficient meditation methods mentioned by Felipe.
Amidst the boatman's chatter, the boat sailed away from the business district.
※※※
More than half a month later, in a famous seafood restaurant "Shark" in Sturk.
Under the guidance of the waiter, Lucien sat at a table covered with a clean white tablecloth. While ordering food, he watched the fat man with thin brown hair and a thick black cigarette in his mouth surrounded by several guards and the dining room. Greeted by the manager in person, he slowly walked up the stairs to the VIP restaurant on the second floor.
He was Lucien's target Graniuff.
After a long period of secret observation, Lucien was basically sure that he was not exposed, and the only problem now was how to contact him.
Graneuve is always accompanied by guards, and there may even be a dark knight. His own strength seems to be very strong, and he will definitely guard against the night watchman of the church pretending to be a magician to test himself, like Lucien. The guy full of secrets really has a headache how to win his trust, it is impossible to use the identity of a professor anymore!
So when he accidentally found out that Graneuve was going to have a banquet on the second floor of the "Shark" restaurant tonight, Lucien's heart moved and he came to wait in advance to see if he could find an opportunity. Because the rich and underground tycoons like Graneuve, the best and most convenient way to entertain guests is always in the hall of his villa. Even if the guests like seafood, they can invite the chef of the "Shark" restaurant back. Need to come here directly. This made Lucien smell a little weird.
Hearing the creaking sound of the stairs under Graneuve's heavy body, Lucien saw the restaurant waiter walking over with a stack of newspapers: "Dear guests, this is today's "Sturk "Daily" and the past few issues of "Music Review" and other famous newspapers. Next, our pianist will play the "Moonlight Sonata" and "Canon in D Major" by the famous musician Mr. Lucian Evans. I wish you a good dinner Before, you can have a wonderful enjoyment."
Lucien nodded with a smile. As expected, it is one of the top restaurants in Sturk. The atmosphere and service are very good. These newspapers cannot be bought casually. After I didn't use my status as a musician, I couldn't buy it with money in countries that were getting farther and farther away from Alto.
The familiar soothing and beautiful melody was played by the pianist, and the whole restaurant became elegant and peaceful.
Lucien opened the newspaper and read the "Music Review" first. From the above articles, he learned that Victor was touring the Holy Hiertz Empire, and Phyllis finally wrote a barely good piano piece.
However, since Natasha commented on the latter part of "Moonlight" in early August, she has not made any further comments, which made Lucien a little worried: "Her blood burning syndrome should have ended, is there any other problem? Wait until now." Allinge sent a letter back through the agreed secret channel to ask."
After reading a few newspapers that were valuable to him, Lucien saw that the dinner hadn't come yet, and the guests invited by Graneuve hadn't arrived yet, so he casually opened the "Stuerk Daily" and read the content on it To pass the time: "A batch of timber from the Principality of Djibouti needs to be processed urgently. If you are interested, please contact..." This newspaper is full of similar news except for some anecdotes.
Looking at it, Lucien suddenly saw a report: "Ms. Grace, a student of the famous musician Lucien Evans, will hold a concert with her friends in the Sturk Crystal Concert Hall."
"My students?" Lucien looked on inexplicably. The general content is that these "musicians" met themselves at the Alto Music Festival, and got their own guidance, and then created many fantasies. works, and among them, Grace also got her own private piano professor and became her own student.
With such fame, they quickly became musicians sought after by nobles and businessmen after returning to Stuerk, and became very popular.
Lucien, who has a good memory, thought about these names for a while and they corresponded to specific characters. It was a little funny for a while: "I did communicate with them about the creation of Fantasia, but they are too good at taking advantage of it?!"
Funny enough, Lucien never thought of exposing his identity to expose them. But at this time, the waiter at the door introduced a plump and beautiful girl in a black evening dress. She has a good appearance and a touch of maturity.
"Grace... What a coincidence." Lucien covered his face with the newspaper upright, and then saw Grace walking towards the small dining room for guests on the second floor, "It really is a coincidence...she is the guest invited by Granuf? "