Choice

Standing in Heroes Square, I watched a horse-drawn carriage carrying two iron cages creak and groan as it drove away into the distance...

Thinking of the Black Pearl on the beach, I finally felt free of all my worries.

Roy felt a wave of relief wash over him.

Instructor Nora wanted to have a simple lunch with her friends before going to the pub.

Captain Simpson, on the other hand, was preparing to return to the Seventh Knights Order.

Roy needed to get back to the temple; he planned to invite Abbott and Jasper to the ship that evening to celebrate.

Roy originally intended to ask Captain Relf about the Treasure Map at the courthouse, but then decided against it.

What truth could he expect from a prisoner about to be locked up on an island prison? Abbott was obsessed with the treasure hidden by the Gray Dwarf Relf and wanted Roy to help persuade Jasper to hand over the other half of the Treasure Map, but Jasper insisted on his own ideas and didn't want Abbott to go out on an adventure too soon.

Roy also felt that Abbott had acted too hastily, and that the matter could have been put on hold for a while.

Relf the Gray Dwarf will be sent to the Parrham Island Prison...

In the coming period, the pirate forces belonging to Relf will become very chaotic. Either a new pirate leader will emerge from within, or another pirate force will swallow up all the forces at Relf's seas.

Regardless of the outcome... the pirate crew of the Gray Dwarf Relf needs a complete overhaul.

The Gray Dwarf have an exceptionally high reproductive rate. If you were to say that the Gray Dwarf Relf doesn't have many offspring, Roy would be the first to disbelieve it...

The people who know the secret of this treasure are definitely not just Roy, Jasper, and Abbott.

In fact, according to Jasper and Roy's ideas, the Black Pearl was the greatest treasure.

"Roy, are you going back to the temple this afternoon?"

Instructor Nora stood in front of a carriage and asked Roy, who was about to wait for the Long Carriage.

Roy straightened up and respectfully said "Yes" to Instructor Nora.

"Please be careful on your journey."

Instructor Nora gave Roy a few words of advice, then turned and boarded the carriage.

The carriage was small, with only two rows of two seats facing each other. Three instructors and the magician Scarlett were already seated inside. Instructor Nora squeezed in to sit next to Scarlett; there wasn't much space left in the carriage...

Instructor Nora closed the carriage door from the inside, and the coachman cracked his whip, merging the carriage into the flow of traffic.

Perhaps because the trial had just ended, many carriages were leaving from under the Tree of Life, making the streets appear chaotic.

The sun was shining brightly overhead, and Roy walked forward along the shade of the trees.

The carriage carrying Instructor Nora and her entourage could only move slowly on the street.

Although Roy was walking, he was actually not far behind.

The voice of Scarlett the Wizard could be heard from inside the carriage:

"Nora, why didn't you invite Roy to have a drink with us? He'll be a member of our Adventure Group soon, it's a rare opportunity for us all to get together and get to know each other!"

The Silver Moon Elf mage's voice had a hint of gentleness.

"He's my student, he can't just sit in a tavern with us and get drunk. Besides, Elinore, Gelu, and Virgil might become his teachers in the future, so we have to maintain some of our instructor's image!"

"Have you noticed that he's actually quite handsome? He has a human face, but with sharp, defined features..."

"Please, keep your voice down! He's not even far away, Scarlett. As a Silver Moon Elf mage, where's your dignity?!"

"What did you say... I can't hear anything! Haha..."

A series of silvery laughs then came from inside the car window.

The young instructors always seem to have endless topics to discuss when they get together.

Finally, a Long Carriage arrived.

Roy stepped into the carriage and found it almost full of elves.

After paying the fare for the Kole taxi at the front, I walked a bit further back along the aisle.

The carriage was stuffy and hot; you felt like you'd break out in a sweat if you moved even slightly. Only when the carriage started moving forward along the street did a cool breeze blow in through the windows.

Not long after, the Long Carriage stopped at the entrance of the Adventure Guild, and several elves stepped off the carriage from the back door.

Before stepping down from the carriage, an elf dressed in a long, flowing robe turned and glanced at Roy.

Roy didn't realize there was anything wrong at first.

As the Long Carriage continued to move forward, Roy saw his back through the glass window. He felt that the way he walked looked somewhat familiar, but his profile was completely unfamiliar.

Roy Roy n't slap his forehead until the Adventure Guild sign had completely disappeared from his sight.

Finally, it dawned on me that the man's silhouette was almost identical to that of the Benjamin the Mage, and he was also holding a spellbook. Although their faces were different, their eyes...

Thinking back to that elf, it's very likely that the Benjamin the Mage was in disguise.

Roy felt an urge to chase after them.

Unfortunately, the Long Carriage has already gone too far, and even if we rush back now, we probably won't be able to catch up.

Finally, they arrived at the Cross Street Intersection of Brown Street, and Roy stepped down from the carriage.

Stopping at the temple entrance, we saw Jasper sitting in the gatehouse, his hands clasped together, silently reciting Holy Prayer.

Roy walked over and stood in the doorway.

The scorching sun overhead baked the gatehouse like a steamer, and Roy saw a large cup of holy water exuding a sacred aura on the gatehouse table.

After the Wisdom Holy Grail was recovered, the greatest convenience for the Priest in the Goddess of Freedom Temple was that they could use the holy water at will.

The holy water contains a trace of Holy Light Power; drinking it regularly will increase the Priest ' holy light recovery speed.

Jasper opened his eyes and saw Roy standing at the door of the gatehouse.

He then whispered to Roy, "Roy, I really think... the High Priest should hire a doorman."

Roy tossed him a pear, Jasper caught steadily. He then took out a handkerchief, carefully wiped his pear, and took a big bite.

The weather was hot, and his forehead was covered in sweat, and his cheeks were a little red.

"Or we could just not assign a doorman, since there's nothing valuable inside anyway..."

At this point... Jasper quickly stopped again.

He can never control his mouth.

Sometimes I'll suddenly remember something and immediately stop the conversation.

Jasper then asked, "Roy, how's the trial going?"

"Fortunately, everything went smoothly," Roy said. "I also heard that Captain Relf raided Castleton Port forty years ago, capturing many elves and killing quite a few. Before leaving, he even set fire to the harbor docks."

"So that's how it happened! I hadn't even come to Castleton City back then."

Jasper counted them on his fingers.

Roy whispered to Jasper, "Jasper, how about we get together tonight? The three of us... you, me, Abbott!"

Jasper swallowed the pear in a few bites, wiped his hands with a handkerchief, and said, "If you can get Abbott over, I'll have no objection, but don't expect me to get him to speak on my own initiative."

"I'll go talk to him!"

Roy agreed.

Abbott sat at the round table, engrossed in writing, with a thick stack of nautical charts piled up in front of him.

Roy knew that Abbott had been getting a lot of nautical charts from the Castleton Library lately, but he was still taken aback when he saw Abbott practically buried in them.

His eyes were bloodshot, and the round table was in a mess.

He recently had another argument with Jasper, but still couldn't get the other half of the Treasure Map from Jasper.

Aside from mandatory gatherings and shifts, Roy rarely saw Abbott in the temple.

It's rare to see him in the Study Room...

Roy calmly selected a book on divine arts from the bookshelf; recently, Roy had begun to study more complex divine runes.

He sat opposite Abbott and said to Abbott:

"Abbott, Captain Relf, the former owner of the Black Pearl, was just sentenced today. We don't need to worry about him suddenly showing up to cause trouble anymore. Let's go tonight..."

Roy was interrupted by Abbott before he could finish speaking.

"... Roy!"

His expression was rather unpleasant.

"What's wrong?"

Roy was slightly taken aback.

Abbott looked up at Roy intently and asked, "How's it going with the thing I asked you to do to persuade Jasper?"

Roy hesitated for a moment, then said, "Jasper and I both think this matter should be put on hold..."

Abbott's eyes widened, and he jumped up from his chair, shouting:

"Even you don't support me?"

"Abbott ..."

Roy was about to explain when he saw Abbott pick up a thick stack of nautical charts from the table, slam the door shut in anger, and leave.

No matter how much Roy called after him, he couldn't make him turn around.

Roy stood somewhat dejectedly at the door of the Study Room, watching Abbott quickly leave the backyard, and could only silently return to the Study Room.

In the evening, the party on the Black Pearl consisted of only Roy and Jasper.

Roy personally cooked a grilled fish in the Ship Building's kitchen.

Jasper bought mead and orange juice, and the two sat at the bow of the boat, quietly watching the sea and the sunset.

"Jasper, why don't you just give him that half of the nautical chart?"

This is the second time Roy has brought this up.

Jasper held up his wooden mug, took a big gulp of ale, and said to Roy, "... wait a few more days, I just want him to calm down."

As he spoke, he suddenly stood up from the bow of the ship, placed his feet on the bronze figure on the bow with its arms outstretched and bowing forward, and waved his hand sharply towards the distant sea.

He shouted loudly, "Hey, tell me, was my decision right or wrong...?"

Just then, the tide was coming in, and wave after wave crashed against the shore, making a 'whoosh... whoosh... whoosh' sound.

Roy silently ate the last bite of grilled fish. He hadn't expected that Abbott and Jasper, the two elves, would be so stubborn, neither of them willing to give in.

This made him feel very uncomfortable being caught between the two of them.

According to Roy's thinking, even if Abbott found the location of the treasure, he wouldn't have the strength to go to sea, so he would still have to wait for the right opportunity...