——The beginning of every plot is always the most difficult to write. This chapter took me more than four hours to write. The update at 2850 in the evening may be late, and the subsequent updates will probably have to be made up tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, but it will definitely be done.
There will be no more updates.
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Alto, in a room on the lowest floor of the monastery.
It was dark here, and there was no movement except for the sound it made.
Natasha, who was sitting in the room, seemed to have adapted to this place, and the bulging hot blood on her hands and face had faded a lot.
With dark vision, she looked at the thick stack of letters in her hand and hummed a melody silently from time to time, appearing lively and lively even if there was no sound.
Seeing the last page of the envelope, Natasha suddenly laughed and clapped her hands: "Huh, blessings in advance? Lucien, you must be following my example. I'm waiting for the Music Review on July 30th."
"It feels good to have a friend, otherwise I would go crazy with boredom."
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The slightly fishy cool breeze on the sea blows away the sultry heat of October, and the waves hit the long embankment from time to time, splashing countless snow-white foam. In the distance, the sea and sky are vast, and birds are lingering. Nearby, pointed boats are passing through, and there are many arch bridges.
The "Pearl of the Sea" Sturke is partly similar to the Venice Lucien saw in a movie in his previous life. It was built on the basis of more than a hundred small islands gathered in the sea. Countless canals are as dense as a spider web, with only one long
A seawall connects it to the mainland.
Sitting on Sturk's unique pointed boat, Lucien watched the various buildings on both sides of the canal slowly move back. It felt like he was shopping.
"Haha, dear guest. In fact, every canal in Sturke is equivalent to the streets of other cities." Seeing Lucien constantly looking around, the experienced boatman rowing a pointed boat understood that he was new to Sturke.
Travelers from Turk, therefore enthusiastically introduced: "There is the Church of St. Mayo, there is the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Stürk, there is the Bell Tower of Truth, there is the prayer minaret..."
Lucien was enjoying the sea breeze leisurely and was very satisfied with the boatman's introduction: "This should be Stork's temple area?"
Although there is a church in every city, every town, regardless of size, there is always an area where church buildings are concentrated, such as the area near the Golden Cathedral to the east of the Aalto Noble District.
"Yes, so it's not crowded here. When you enter the business district, you will see countless boats and businessmen and travelers from different countries." The boatman replied with a smile as he drove the boat through a building.
Magnificent stone arch bridge.
Suddenly, the surrounding environment became noisy and noisy, and boats docked next to a certain building, or sailed directly into the ground floor of a large building with a waterway entrance.
Common lingua franca with different accents echoed in the air, "copper fer", "silver nar", "kintal", "bank", "loan", "ten grams", "sturgeon", "sea carp"
, "orange fish", "steel", "timber", "slave", "delivery" and other words came to Lucien's ears from time to time, and scenes of bargaining transactions came into view, Bialto's market area
Many times more lively.
The whole city is beating with vigorous vitality, and it seems that even the sea breeze blows with the smell of money.
"Sturk is more prosperous and has a more commercial atmosphere than I imagined." Lucien sincerely admired. Coming from a modern city on Earth, he seemed to prefer such lively scenes, and seemed to enjoy the quietness amidst the hustle and bustle.
.
The boatman said with strong pride: "Our city of Sturk is on the edge of the Storm Strait, connecting north, south, east and west, 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. Moreover,
We Stork people are born with business acumen, and the first goldsmiths' association, the first bank, and the first certificate transaction were all born here."
"Communicating things?" Lucien heard something wrong in the boatman's introduction. When Sturke mentioned the East, he obviously meant Holm and other countries across the Storm Strait. How can we 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 of the Holm Kingdom, unique jewelry, and the 'gold' of the Camelot Kingdom.
Porcelain, various spices from the Principality of Calais, and the top tobacco bar from the Kingdom of Buriana?”
"Of course, they are things that only true nobles can enjoy." Lucien echoed the boatman's statement. Although the information he heard from people of his profession was not even half true, it was better than nothing.
The boatman received a response from Lucien, and the nature of the discussion became more intense: "These four countries are just across the strait, but because these goods are very profitable, they are monopolized by the church. Only the nine noble merchants authorized by the church can organize
The fleet is going. Tsk, so the wealth of the nine of them can be bought together to buy Stork."
"Uh, which nine families are there?" Lucien asked curiously. Could it be that Graneuf would be one of these nine families, and could use trade as an excuse to send magicians to the other side of the Storm Strait openly?
"Viscount Wright, Baron Cape, Baron Monkage..." The boatman counted them one by one, but unfortunately there was no Graneuve's name.
Lucien's interest gradually disappeared and he smiled and said, "Why don't you continue to introduce the buildings on both sides to me?"
"Okay, that's Wright Bank, that's Monkage-Hawthorne Bank." The boatman pointed to the splendid buildings on the left, "That's the 'Epic Gallery', that's the 'Mitchell Sculpture Gallery', that's
It's Canjin Bank..."
Lucien kept looking in the direction the boatman pointed, and successfully saw the three-story building, which looked like it was inlaid with gold foil. Many pointed boats were coming and going at its door.
So close to the bank in Granuf, Lucien didn't ask a word, quietly looking at the crowds and buildings near it, letting the three words "Chenjin Bank" hang on the boat he was riding on.
Driving past the building with the sign.
Lucien is being cautious. Since he already knows the identity of the liaison in Sturk City, there is no need to rush and take risks. It is best to observe Granuv and his bank first to see if other magicians come to the door.
Situation. To prevent him from being discovered by the church and catching people through fishing through him.
Moreover, during these three months of travel, through the meditation method of a formal magician, my soul and mental power have become significantly stronger, and I have successively constructed the "Terror Technique", "Silent Phantom", and "Burning Hands" in my soul.
", "Mage Armor", "Steel Heart", "Endure Elemental Damage", "Runaway Circle" seven magics, we are preparing to build the escape magic of "Oil the soles of the feet", so there is no need to worry.
But Lucien discovered that even with the formal meditation method, with his mental talent, it would probably take a year to advance to the second level. Even if he could analyze the second level magic long ago, if he wanted to become an intermediate level, he would at least have to
Ten years! This made Lucien yearn for the Magic Council even more, especially those efficient meditation methods Felipe mentioned.
Amidst the chatter of the boatman, the boat sailed away from the commercial area.
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More than half a month later, in a famous seafood restaurant "Shark" in Stork.
Lucien was led by the waiter to sit down at a table covered with a white tablecloth. While ordering, he watched the fat man with thin brown hair and a thick black cigarette in his mouth, under the personal protection of several guards, and in the restaurant.
After being personally greeted by the manager, I slowly walked up the stairs to the VIP restaurant on the second floor.
He is Lucien's target Granneuf.
After a long period of secret observation, Lucien basically confirmed that he was not exposed. The only problem now is how to contact him.
Graneuve is always accompanied by guards, and there may even be a Dark Knight, and he seems to be very strong. And a person like him will definitely be on guard against the church's night watchman pretending to be a magician to test him, like Lucien.
The guy who is full of secrets really has a headache how to win his trust. It is impossible to use his identity as a professor anymore!
So when he accidentally heard that Granneuve was going to entertain guests on the second floor of the "Shark" restaurant tonight, Lucien was moved and came over in advance to wait to see if he could find an opportunity. Because rich people like Granneuve and underground
As a giant, the best and most convenient way to entertain guests is always in the lobby of his villa. Even if the guests like seafood, they can invite the chef of the "Shark" restaurant back. There is no need to come here directly. This made Lucien smell it
A little weird flavor.
Listening to the creaking sound of the stairs under Graneuve's heavy body, Lucien saw the waiter in the restaurant coming over with a stack of newspapers: "Dear guest, this is today's "Sturk"
Daily News 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. Lucien Evans. I wish you a good start with dinner
Now, you can have wonderful enjoyment.”
Lucien smiled and nodded. It is indeed one of the top restaurants in Stork. The atmosphere and service are very good. These newspapers are not something you can buy casually. After he did not use the identity of a musician,
, even if you have money, you can’t buy it in countries that are getting farther and farther away from Aalto.
The familiar soothing and beautiful melody sounded as the pianist played, making the whole restaurant become elegant and peaceful.
Lucien opened the newspaper and first read the "Music Review" and other articles. From the above articles, he learned that Victor was touring the Holy Hertz Empire, and Phyllis finally wrote a barely good piano piece.
However, since Natasha commented on the second part of "Moonlight" in early August, she has not made any comments, which makes Lucien a little worried: "Her blood-burning syndrome should have ended. Are there other problems? Wait until now.
Arlinge sent a letter back through the secret channel agreed upon to ask."
After reading several newspapers that were valuable to him, Lucien saw that the dinner had not been served yet, and the guests invited by Graneuve had not yet arrived, so he opened the "Sturk Daily" at will and read the contents.
Kill time:
"A batch of timber from the Principality of Djibouti is in urgent need of processing. If you are interested, please contact..." Except for some anecdotes, this newspaper is full of similar news.
While watching, Lucien suddenly saw a report: "Ms. Grace, a student of the famous musician Lucien Evans, will hold a concert with her friends at the Sturk Crystal Concert Hall."
"My students?" Lucien read on inexplicably. The general content was that these "musicians" met themselves at the Aalto Music Festival, received their guidance, and then created many fantasies.
works, and one of them, Grace, also got her own private piano professor and became her student.
With such a reputation, they quickly became popular musicians sought after by nobles and businessmen after returning to Stürk.
Lucien, who has a very good memory, thought about it for a while and found that these names corresponded to specific characters. He was a little funny for a moment: "I did communicate with them about the creation of Fantasia, but they are too good at taking advantage of others?!"
It was funny, and Lucien didn't think of revealing 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 had good looks and a touch of maturity.
"Grace... what a coincidence." Lucien held up the newspaper to cover his face, and then saw Grace walking to the VIP restaurant on the second floor, "What a coincidence... she was invited by Granneuve