Chapter 96 (2/2)

Not only was this expensive, but the production and transportation were also subject to strict controls. Ray remembered when he was a prince, he had only seen a few crossbows inside the strictly-guarded arsenal. Later, one of them left a life-lasting impression on him.

“Your Majesty, Knight Parne’s death may really be a problem,” Ray quietly reported his findings to Sui Xiong through the soul contact.

Sui thought for a moment and said, “No matter what the problem is, we have to meet his family face to face. We have come here, so let’s talk about other things after we speak with his family in detail.”

Ray nodded, took Steele to the door, and knocked. The door opened after only one knock.

“Why are you here making trouble again? The agreed repayment time has not arrived yet!” A red-haired girl holding a sword emerged, accompanied by an angry roar. Clearly she was well prepared to fight an enemy, but it was not her enemy that came.

“Um…I’m sorry, I made a mistake.” When she saw two totally unknown visitors, the girl suddenly realized her mistake, hurriedly returned the sword to the scabbard, and blushed.

Ray slightly smiled and greeted her in an aristocratic way with impeccable elegance. “Please pay no mind, as no knight would be angry with such a beautiful lady.”

The girl’s face suddenly turned redder.

“I’m Ray. This is my friend, Steele. We were commissioned by mage Satan to invite Knight Parne to be an administrative official in the Explored Territory.” Ray smiled, and asked—although he knew what she would answer—”Is this Knight Parne’s house?”

The girl was stunned, and she stared blankly at the smiling Ray and Steele, confirming their identities from their aristocratic etiquette, which could only be possessed by special training. However, tears shone in her eyes.

“My father is dead now.” She strove to make herself look strong, to keep her voice from trembling. She worked hard to hold back tears and keep them from falling. “You are so kind, but I am very sorry!”

Ray pretended he just got the news, gasped lightly, and asked, “Knight Parne passed away? But Mr. Satan said he was an outstanding knight. He said that although he usually made a living by copying and teaching, his martial arts were not inferior to mine; forgive me, I could hardly imagine a knight like me would die in his forties… May I take the liberty of asking what led to his death? Disease or injury?”

The girl kept silent for a long time. She lowered her head and whispered, “It had nothing to do with you. In short, my father died, and it is impossible for him to go to your territory as an administrative official. Please go back.”

Ray quietly tipped Steele off with a wink. Steele immediately said, “Then there is one more thing we have to do. Mr. Satan owes Knight Parne a big favor, and he is doing very well now, but he is busy with his work and cannot come here. Knowing that we were going to visit Knight Parne, he especially prepared a gift and asked us to bring it to you on the way.”

Her words successfully attracted the attention of the girl, who waved her hands. “Gifts? That’s so kind of you, but there’s no need. My father never expected anything in return for helping others!”

“Please—this way we feel embarrassed.” Steele smiled gently, and behaved elegantly as a spring breeze. The girl couldn’t help but come away with a good impression of her. “Mr. Satan has a high status in the territory, and he usually takes care of us as well. We need to help him with whatever he commissions us to do, for reasons of either emotion or justice. It is just a gift, so please do not decline goodwill coming from thousands of miles away, okay?”

Although it was in the form of a request, Steele’s gentle temperament made it difficult for people to refuse her pleas. Men and women alike, as long as they were not hardhearted veterans, couldn’t refuse Steele’s kind face. Of course, the girl could not, either. She hesitated for a moment then invited Ray and Steele in. Then she hurriedly closed the door and dropped the latch.

“What? Are the law and order in this city poor? Why do you also have to lock the door in the daytime?” Ray said, showing an appropriate amount of surprise.

The girl gave an awkward smile but did not answer. Obviously she did not want to mention some issues.

The two followed the girl in through the door, but before they could sit down, they heard a sharp voice from upstairs. “Sister, have those horrible people left?”

The girl laughed, even more embarrassed, and hurriedly apologized to Ray and Steele.

Of course, they did not mind such a thing, brushing off the embarrassment with a laugh.

Then, they saw two people from upstairs: Mrs. Teague, Knight Parne’s wife, and his second daughter, Nice.

As for Knight Parne’s eldest daughter, Liv, she must have been that somewhat rash girl.

Mrs. Teague had a distinctly elven character. Presumably, she was a person of mixed race between an elf and a human; the so-called half-elf. The eldest daughter, Liv, was obviously predominantly human. No elven features could be seen on her. The second daughter, Nice, was more similar to her mother. She had slightly longer, pointy ears, and silver hair that seemed to glitter. It was evident that their bloodline was the relatively rare elf of moon.

After they greeted everyone, Ray took out the space bag and took “Mr. Satan’s gift” out. It was a set of beautiful dazzling porcelain, as well as a bag of valuable gems.