Fang Hong was somewhat curious about Xiesta's origins; however, Miss Hilveld told him that Xiesta was from the Westwood—Sibika family, and she was the Shadow Guard her mother had given her. Both her abilities and equipment had come from that legendary craftsman family.

But when it came to her own mother, Miss Hilveld was reluctant to say too much; Fang Hong only knew that her passing had been very early. He couldn't help but think back to the Eimeya Sanctuary in Elpaxin; that was where Miss Hilveld's parents had met.

Back then, Miss Ship's Officer had taken him to that place and asked him if he wanted a ship of his own.

All the stories that followed began there—

But Fang Hong imagined and still couldn't picture what a little girl, who always kept a straight face, should look like; instead, it was Miss Hilveld walking beside him, hands clasped behind her back, exuding a relaxed and carefree demeanor.

She walked in front of him, suddenly turned around, and raised her hand, playfully resting it on her silver-tinged hair and swaying it back and forth, "Do I look like that lady?"

Fang Hong was speechless.

From her demeanor, he understood that she was imitating someone. Ever since their encounter, she always liked to tease him on the side, saying he fancied a girl with long ears, similar to some peculiar tastes of the nobles in the Osh Empire.

But Fang Hong thought to himself, Miya's ears were only a bit pointed, and they weren't that long.

Nor would they sway like that.

He really couldn't imagine what a silly Wolf Clan girl might look like.

Miss Hilveld laughed again and asked, "Captain, you promised Miss Atira to take good care of me; so how does the Captain plan to 'take good care' of me—?"

Fang Hong naturally saw the teasing in her light blue eyes. After being taught a lesson more than once, he decided to keep his mouth shut, dryly replying, "All right, Miss Hilveld, let's not attract too much attention."

"What kind of attention is this," Hilveld winked mischievously, "Isn't this just how couples act?"

"Cou... Couples?"

Fang Hong jumped in surprise.

Miss Ship's Officer burst into laughter, "Of course, it's just pretending to be a couple. Or does Lord Captain intend to take the play for real?"

It was then that Fang Hong realized he had been tricked again, but fortunately, this part of the road wasn't too long, and his embarrassment didn't last. They crossed the bustling main street of the port, where they saw a dazzling array of exotic goods—Golande, as the heart of the Kingdom, even surpassed Elpaxin in grandeur.

On the way, they even encountered a merchant group from Istania, a group of exotic beasts jingling with bells, crossing through the busy central market along with foreign merchants draped in long grey robes—Fang Hong stopped to watch these people, reminded again of Mazak.

The Sand People were one of the Kingdom's solid allies, having joined the Colin Ishurian Alliance even earlier than the Lizardmen of Nogness.

Miss Hilveld, meanwhile, had stopped in front of a stall. She took a liking to a strand of Hailan agate bracelet, picked it up to take a look; the vendor was a young Invoker girl, likely a gemstone apprentice, secretly selling her own work.

Although apprentices' finished goods generally belong to the Guild they are affiliated with, such plain jewels would be directly scrapped by the Guild, so such behavior was tacitly allowed with a blind eye turned.

After all, not every apprentice has a huge team behind them, and using their crafts to supplement the household income is perfectly justifiable. The little girl was exceptionally sweet-mouthed:

"Big sister, your skin is so lovely, this bracelet suits you well. Big brother, why don't you buy one for your girlfriend?"

Hilveld looked up at Fang Hong with a bit of amusement.

The latter was speechless, what else could he do but pay? Fortunately, the jewelry was only worth a few Lycel, not enough to bankrupt him. Hilveld then smiled and cherished the bracelet, putting it on her wrist and covering it with her sleeve—

Which made Fang Hong wonder, considering her status, she shouldn't be lacking such things.

However, the little girl did get one thing right, the bracelet really did suit her.

Only then did Hilveld say contentedly, "The Invoker has brought considerable prosperity to the kingdom. Actually, a few decades ago, when the Old King, my father, was alive, the kingdom was still skeptical about cooperating with you all."

Fang Hong nodded; that was indeed true.

He then let Tata reveal herself on his shoulder and, not wanting to be unfair, chose a small gemstone to give to Miss Fairy.

Tata looked serene and, while she didn't understand the significance of the gemstone, since it was a gift from Mr. Knight, she naturally wouldn't refuse. She gently placed the gemstone away and then it disappeared, its whereabouts unknown.

Tata's appearance did attract some curious glances, but it wasn't overly conspicuous. Firstly, other people didn't recognize Fang Hong, and secondly, curious creatures like fairies weren't uncommon in the human world.

People looked their way mostly because Tata was so unusually quiet.

Even the little girl glanced at them, "Wow, your guiding fairy is so cute; I've never seen such a quiet fairy before."

Hilveld also looked at him curiously, "Are you planning to reveal Miss Tata?"

Fang Hong nodded but didn't explain why. However, Miss Ship's Officer misunderstood, thinking that the trust within the group had reached a certain level. She thought about it and didn't argue.

During their conversation, they finally arrived at the Colin Ishurian Artisan Office located in the Port District.

Although the Colin Ishurian Artisan Association was also in this port, Golande was so vast, and this city, home to hundreds of thousands, was close to the modern towns after the industrial revolution on Earth.

Today, with Alchemy so deeply embedded in the life of Eteliria, at least one-sixth of the city's population was engaged in related work. In their daily tasks, it was impractical for them to always go to the main headquarters in the city center for every need.

Thus, offices spread throughout different areas were born, mainly connected to the headquarters by Transmission Crystals, with hardly any difference in functionality. Fang Hong chose this place—firstly because it was closer, secondly because he was currently quite noticeable, and he hadn't forgotten that the Elpaxin Artisan Association was looking for him.

Although he had always longed to visit this legendary headquarters, for the sake of caution, it was better not to tempt fate.

...

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