Chapter 97

When Al and Reginald returned to the Revi Trading Company, they were immediately led to a room in the station where Barbara had been waiting for them. There, the Chairman of the Revi Trading Company was waiting.

"I'm sorry, Al. You saved us."

The Chairman smiled warmly at Al as he returned, stood up, and shook his hand in greeting.

"No, I approached too carelessly with the floating eye and was noticed by the other party. I apologize."

After shaking hands, Al scratched his head. The Chairman shook his head, gestured for the two to sit down, and then sat down himself.

"From what Barbara told me, there were suspicious elements at that point, but no concrete evidence. There was nothing you could do. However, the fact that they disappeared from the inn so quickly suggests they are on high alert. I wonder what kind of people they are... Unfortunately, in this frontier city of Lester, there are many old-established and other trading companies dating back to the founding of the city, and some of them are hostile to us. Some of them do quite nasty things behind the scenes."

Al nodded at the Chairman's words. He could easily imagine that the security in the frontier city of Lester was far from good. Seeing this, the Chairman continued.

"The rest is related to Lord Narish. With the engagement of Lord Narish and Luella almost finalized, various moves have been made against our trading company. Lord Narish is the second son, but his mother, Viscountess Tara, comes from a very high-ranking family. People in various positions seem to have various motives. It's said that the blood-soaked bandit attack and Luella's kidnapping, which you handled before, were orchestrated by people involved with them. The same goes for the story about Lady Patricia's hair ornament. It's unclear who is friend and who is foe."

Just a typical family feud, huh? Lord Narish himself said he wanted to help his brother Sanjay purely...

"Why are you telling me this?"

"You seem to be close to Lord Narish and Luella, and I thought it would be better for you to know in case of an emergency. Also, it would be nice if you could work for us. How about it? Have you changed your mind?"

Al shook his head with a slightly apologetic smile in response to the Chairman's invitation.

"I see, that's a shame. I'll pay you for your help this time. If anything comes up, I'll count on you."

Al took a small leather pouch from Barbara and decided to go home. He had a newly purchased spellbook waiting for him. He needed to stop by the market to replenish the tools he had used, but otherwise, he planned to go home immediately. Barbara handed it over with a slight smile, so it might contain quite a bit. When he checked later, there was one gold coin inside. A gold coin for about 30 minutes of work was quite a high reward. He wondered if he would get a decent salary if he were hired officially.

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"Hey, can't those big birds fly far?"

On their way back, Guri whispered in Al's ear at the market. Looking over, he saw many pink waterfowl, which often gathered on the opposite bank of the Holden River, hanging from the eaves of the stalls as meat. They had a wingspan of about one meter. The question about flying far must have been about the Storm Tower. Since seeing Malachi's golem, she seemed eager to go there and had been asking questions more actively. There were quite a few people around. If he answered, people might suspect he was talking to someone, so he had asked her not to talk to him in such places... Al quickly moved to a more secluded spot.

"Hmm, I can't tell how far they can fly until I transform. But I remember the flying spell lasts for a full two days, and that's at a high altitude, so it might be difficult for a bird..."

Al spoke in a low voice, then realized that even if it was a full two days, it might be possible with breaks along the way.

"Guri? The story was about a two-day flight at a high altitude. Is it land? What direction and how high?"

"Southeast, I think. About 2,000 meters high. I know the distance and height, but I've never been there, so I don't know if it's the sea."

Southeast might be the sea. If it was a waterfowl that lived in the sea, it might be possible... However, the southeast was an undeveloped area with many magical beasts. If the luggage was transported in advance, it might be manageable, but he couldn't use spells while transformed, so he couldn't protect himself. If something came out of the sea and ate him, it would be the end. Besides, 2,000 meters was quite high. So far, he could only transform into sparrows and crows, and they couldn't fly that high. Could any waterfowl reach such heights?

"Hmm, it seems difficult either way. Once I learn a new spell, I could try catching one and testing it..."

"Moo, that's a shame... I thought it was a good idea."

"Let's go home then."

"Wait, that looks delicious. Look, the white, apple-like thing on the right... I've never seen it before. Hey, can we try it?"

As Al was about to step out from the hiding spot, Guri whispered. He had told her not to talk to him... Al couldn't help but sigh.

"Alright..."

Why did it come to this? Is the assistant device not just a magical item? Is Ingrid's soul really in this assistant device?

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