The Book of Hibernation

At noon, the sun shines through the purple-gray translucent gauze, which is bright and disturbing.Inside the veil, Aldin grumbled, turned over, and buried his head under the feather pillow.

Sleepiness finally came back, and there was a hasty knock on the door outside.After knocking for a while, but getting no response, the man outside kicked the door again and again with his toes.

Aldin sat up with his eyes closed, scratched his neck-length messy hair, and his face was full of confusion from a hangover.

The thin blanket slid off his chest, revealing the blue-black serpentine tattoo.The snake's head is located at the heart, and the snake's body spreads along the strong and smooth muscle lines, coiling around his chest, abdomen, shoulders, and arms, and finally draws the tip of its tail under the navel.

Aldin staggered to open the door.At the door, a young man in a light-colored robe looked at him with folded arms.

"Good morning, Kanai." Aldin yawned.

Seeing his brother's sluggish appearance, Kanai shook his head, then poked his head into the room behind Aldin.

"What are you looking for?" Aldin put one hand on the door, blocking his view.

Kanai said: "Look for the two people who drank with you yesterday. A poet and a woman from a fur business. Are you gone?"

Aldin put one hand on the door: "They left long ago, they're not here. You yelled so early in the morning, as if I had spent the night with the two of them."

Kanai said, "First, it's noon, not early morning; second, didn't you spend the night with those two scumbags?"

Aldin curled his lips, his eyes flickered: "Drinking wine together, enjoying life... It's not called 'overnight' if you don't get up together."

"And third," Kanai stepped into the door and picked up a wrinkled trousers from the ground, "Can you at least dress decently before opening the door next time?"

"Anyway, it was my own brother who knocked on the door, not someone else." Aldin took the trousers and closed the door.

A few minutes later, Aldin finally packed up, opened the door and walked out.The suede trousers are tucked into the high boots, outlining the plump leg muscles, the waist is wrapped with a combat belt, and the dagger, knuckles and leather whips are hung on it, and the thin linen shirt is casually opened at the neckline, just exposing the chest boa constrictor head.

Now his shoulders are flattened, and his figure is no longer crooked and sloppy.After standing straight with his chest out, he was obviously much taller than the young man next to him.

Aldin patted his brother on the shoulder: "Why do you have to wake me up so early? Is there something urgent?"

"It's not too early now," Kanai sighed. "Oh, who would have thought that one of the managers of the Shifan Street Chamber of Commerce, the famous anaconda Aldin... would actually look like this in private."

"Come on, most people in Harbor City know what I am, and there are only a few people who are serious like you. So, what's the rush?"

Kanai turned around and led him to the promenade: "The people we recruited are here. There are not many people in this group, but they are all quite suitable. I think you should meet them in person."

Hearing this, Aldin was immediately discouraged: "The matter of recruiting temporary guards? You can handle it."

"You'd better go and see them yourself. Not for anything else, but because there are a few of them . . . You might like to see them."

Hearing Kanai speak like this, Aldin immediately noticed something.This also stems from the tacit understanding between the brothers for many years.Kanai knew him well.

"Why, it looks good?" Aldin moved closer to his younger brother.

Kanai nodded: "And more than one."

"Are you suitable for this job?"

"Not necessarily, maybe it's not suitable, but it fits your hobby," Kanai said, "so I recommend you to meet in person."

Aldin nodded knowingly.From the look in his eyes, he was much more awake than before.

The two walked through the vines in the courtyard and walked towards the two-story house outside the mansion.

The sun is a little harsh.Aldin looked sullen, squinting and staring at the ground.

After entering the big house, the stone walls cut off the heat, and the surrounding area became cool again. Aldin couldn't help but yawned again.

Kanai said to him: "There are five applicants. You go to the banquet hall, and I will call them over."

Aldin stretched his waist: "Okay. Tell them to come one by one."

Kanai nodded and turned to the other side.

A few steps forward is the banquet hall.Two maids had just finished clearing the table and hurried past Aldin. Aldin grabbed one of them and asked her to get something to eat from the kitchen.

Knowing his habit of going to bed late and waking up late, the maid quickly brought a cold but hearty lunch with ice ale suitable for summer.

Soon, Kanai came in with the first applicant.Seeing the table of grilled chicken, peppered eggs, cheese potatoes, and buckwheat cakes in syrup... Kanai sighed, and the applicant swallowed.

The applicant was in his 30s, looked very energetic, and was said to be a mercenary.Aldin was also a mercenary before, and they were half of the same team.The mercenary chatted with Aldin for a while, and after learning that the mission would take a long time, he voluntarily gave up the job.

The second applicant was a native of Harbor City, the daughter of a blacksmith.She is good at repairing locks and small organs, and even better at pickpocketing and sneaking in to eavesdrop.Aldin felt that she was not suitable for the job. Although she was flexible, she was not very good at fighting.

The third applicant was strong and tall, with a more aggressive face than Aldin.When the man spoke, he was full of bombast, eloquence, and constantly boasting about his wonderful adventures.Aldin knew a lot of people, and he knew that such people were vicious idiots and should never be hired.

A fourth and a fifth came in together.Aldin clearly said that he wanted them to come one by one, and Kanai must have conveyed his meaning accurately, but these two people insisted on squeezing in through the half-open door one after the other.

Aldin was a little displeased at first, but after seeing the two people clearly, his displeasure was swept away, and he regained his energy in an instant.

The man standing on the left has curly blond hair tied around his neck and hanging down to his chest. Even if viewed from indoors, it is still as brilliant as a stream of gold.With this blond hair are clear light green eyes, a beautifully shaped nose bridge, and softly lined lips.

At first glance, the handsomeness of this face is a little childish, but if you look at this person as a whole, he will give people another impression: he is tall and slender, not thin, and his posture is very regular. With aristocratic elegance, judging from his body lines and walking posture, this person should have received professional combat training.

Kanai flirted with Aldin, and Aldin blinked instead of nodding.

This is because both brothers noticed the man's clothes: he wore simple light armor, that is, only the shoulders, arms, and shins, and a small breastplate with a notched emblem. It is steel silver, and the emblem style is a vertical spear and a horizontal scale, and the sun disc with simple lines is set against the back of the two.This is the holy symbol of the "Day Watcher".

Judging from his attire, this person was probably a trainee Templar knight who had not yet taken the oath.

Arden turned his gaze to the man on the right again.This person is also blond, with slightly longer hair tied sideways, but his hair color is not so dazzling, closer to the color of dry straw.If you only talk about color, it is far worse than the apprentice knights around him.

There was, however, one very striking feature about the man: he had pointed ears.They are rounder and shorter than the slender ears of the elves, and a little longer than the ears of ordinary people.It must be a half-elf.

The outer corners of his eyes are slightly raised, showing a bit of elf features, and the shape of his face is more human.His eyes are also green, but darker. The eyes of the apprentice knight on the left are like green tourmalines in the sun, while the eyes of the half-elf on the right are more like a deep pool between black and green.

From the looks of it, both the half-elf and the trainee knight looked pretty good, neither in their early twenties.Of course, it is estimated that the actual age of the half-elf will be slightly older.

From the perspective of standing and posture, if the apprentice knight is like a sharp sword, the half-elf is like a ball of crumpled paper.His gown and trousers are made of grayish-yellow thin linen, his standing posture is crooked, and his smile is tired. If it is not for his conspicuous blood, he looks no different from the civilians everywhere on the street.

Aldin felt boundless in his heart: Fate tricks people, things really aren't perfect.

This half-elf has a bit of a sloppy temperament... Although Aldin himself is very sloppy, he doesn't like the blond beauty to be too sloppy.Moreover, the half-elf's hair is not strictly "golden", the luster is not good enough, and it doesn't have that sunny smell.

As for the apprentice knight... His temperament and appearance are impeccable. He is such a beautiful person, but he is an apprentice temple knight. What a pity...

Aldin has come into contact with many temple knights, and the habits of knights in each temple are different.The most disgusting ones are the knights of the Temple of the Silent God. How disgusting they are... He doesn’t want to recall them for the time being; the ones with decent personalities but difficult to get along with are the knights of the Temple of the Day Patrollers. These people are like northern sled dogs The southern version of the old man, full of energy, strong instincts, easily agitated by seeing anything, and always adding a sentence "Ladies of the Day" when talking... Aldin has always been curious, I don't know what they say when they sleep with people Don't say that.

Aldin frowned and didn't say a word for a long time. He touched his chin with his fingers and looked at the two people at the door of the banquet hall for a long time.

Kanai sat at the end of the long table, shaking her head slightly and sighing.He fully understood what kind of inner activities his brother was going on.

"Uh, I'm really sorry," the half-elf spoke first at this time, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Kanai said to talk one by one, but I insisted that two people come together. My younger brother is only 19 years old. Years old, I hope you understand more."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and bowed with a smile on his face.

The trainee knight glanced at him, as if a little unhappy.

"Are you brothers?" Aldin asked.

The half-elf said, "You must have noticed that I am half-human. We are half-brothers. By the way, I haven't introduced myself to you yet. My name is Winter Thistle, and this is my brother—"

The trainee knight himself continued: "Lian Messenger. By the grace of the day patroller Ms. Printixona."

"Pastor" is the unified surname of the temple staff, and all clergymen above the level of seminarians use this surname.

Aldin raised his chin to Ryan: "You're only 19?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Have you received the sword from the temple?"

"Madam Baitian is here. Apprentice knights cannot receive standard weapons, and can only use their own personal belongings. My sword is a gift from the teacher in his own name."

Aldin asked again: "Have you participated in actual combat?"

Ryan replied: "I haven't participated in the official mission of the temple yet. As trainee knights, we have to go through a 'period of tour' of varying lengths, and now I am in the 'period of tour'. Before today, My brother Winter Thistle and I have traveled many places and experienced real battles."

Aldin asked a few more questions, such as whether he had seen humanoid creatures such as orcs and goblins, where he had been, and so on.

After talking for a few minutes, he found that the little knight was more experienced than he expected.This pair of half-brothers used to be the bodyguards of the sheriff of a certain place, participated in the escort team, and dealt with bandits who harassed the village... These experiences all included vicious conflicts, and they all participated in and won.

Aldin looked at the half-elf: "I understand Ryan's situation. What about you? Just now you talked about being a bodyguard. Are you a mage?"

Winter Thistle said, "It's only half a mage."

"What's the other half? Warlock?"

"That's not true, I don't have the good luck of having magic in my blood," Winter Thistle said, "I'm good at consumable material refining, and arcane enchantment of objects. Frankly speaking, I'm not good at fighting, and usually I'm in charge of fighting Mages do the logistics."

Winter Thistle's tone was very modest, but Aldin's eyes lit up.

"Are you a refiner?" He left the back of the chair and leaned forward slightly.

Winter Ji said: "Yes, but not an official refiner. I haven't been to the Five Towers Peninsula to participate in the assessment."

Aldin thought to himself, it’s okay not to take the exam.In fact, it is better not to take the test.

As a refiner, if you go to the Five Towers Peninsula and pass the assessment, then you will be recognized by the Arcane Federation.They will give you a certain amount of financial support, but at the same time, you will also be greatly restricted: refining of such items is prohibited, trading of that gem is prohibited, enchantment of certain spells on certain types of weapons is prohibited, and business with certain regions is prohibited. , What materials are prohibited from being purchased, etc...

While being recognized, it will also be restricted.Anyone who is registered must accept the Federation's spell residue detection and inspection regularly, so most people dare not secretly violate the ban.

The Ten Sails Street Chamber of Commerce has always been short of such talents as refiners and enchanters.The business scope of the Chamber of Commerce is very wide, including the mining and trading of spell-casting materials, the production of spell consumables, and so on.As one of the directors of the chamber of commerce, Aldin has some understanding of the work of a refiner.

In his opinion, formal refiners are limited everywhere, but people from Yeluzi are more useful.

Aldin glanced at Kanai, who was also winking at him.Kanai was born as a battle mage, and he also knew the value of a refiner to the chamber of commerce.

While the brothers from the chamber of commerce exchanged glances, the recruiter brothers at the door were also winking at each other.Aldin noticed this.

There was worry in the little knight's eyes, and Winter Thistle made a relaxed expression to comfort him.

Arden has made his decision.He clapped his hands and held them together: "Very good! You are brothers, partners, and experienced adventurers. I think you two are very good and suitable."

Dongji suddenly smiled brighter: "That's great! Thank you so much!"

Aldin said: "But you have to think clearly, this is a long-term cooperation, not a temporary job that can be done in a day or two."

"Of course, we understand."

"You are not locals. You should be living in a tavern or something like that now? Go back and pack up today and move to my place. Someone will take you to the guest room."

"Okay, thank you very much..." Speaking of this, Dong Ji paused, "My lord, I have a small request."

"Let's talk about it." Aldin probably didn't have any complicated requests, just wanted to advance some remuneration or something.

Dong Ji bowed her head repeatedly in thanks: "I'm really sorry... I hope you can lend me an extra room to use as a laboratory."

that's all?I thought it was some kind of request... Aldin held back a smile, wanted to deliberately tease him, and said with a straight face, "No."

Winter Thistle was taken aback.Before he pleaded, Aldin explained: "I have to make it clear that you were not hired by the Chamber of Commerce, but by me in my own name. This place is not the official residence of the Chamber of Commerce, but my private residence. There is no way to create another laboratory for you. However, if you really need it, you can discuss it with my brother Kanai, who is also a spellcaster, and he can find a way for you."

After speaking, he made a "please" gesture to Kanai.Winter Thistle immediately looked at Kanai earnestly.

Kanai silently lamented his brother's bad intentions. He fully understood that Aldin deliberately spoke in such a twists and turns in order to appreciate the change in the half-elf's expression.

Kanai decided to be kind.He said to Winter Thistle: "This matter is easy to handle. I can give you a place in my laboratory."

Winter Thistle showed a surprised expression, and immediately bowed to pay tribute, thanking Kanai and Aldin again and again.

=====================

Things are initially settled.For more specific work, we will discuss in detail after the two applicants move in.

Aldin asked them to clean up first, and they had to come back by sunset at the latest. He would arrange a small dinner, which was a welcome for the two applicants.

Kanai called a servant and escorted the two out of the manor.He stood in the shadow of the main door of the big house and watched the two men cross the courtyard and return to the banquet hall to sit beside Aldin.

"Let me be the first to say, I didn't hire them because they were pretty," Aldean said.

"So what, right?" Kanai smiled, "Aldin, this time we have a windfall."

Aldin took a sip of his wine: "That's right. At first I thought the little knight was not bad, but who knows, there is also a refiner as a gift."

Kanai said: "I will observe in the future, if he is really capable, we have to keep him."

Aldin nodded: "Yes. If it's good, keep him for a long time. In short, observe him more, but don't stare too closely, so as not to make him nervous."

"I see."