The Book of Hibernation

Dolin sighed: "Can you let me go..."

Aldin said: "I mainly want to ask you for help today. Don't be afraid, sit down and eat something. I won't do anything to you."

"I can't help, and I can't help anyone," Dorin said, standing at the door without moving, "I'm leaving Fessisit, tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest. If I don't go to Ryan, I won't If I don't look for Winter Thistle, I don't want to get involved in your affairs."

After finishing speaking, he tried to push the door. It is said that this kind of door can only be locked, but now it cannot be opened. It seems that De Lisi locked it on purpose outside.

Dorin looked back at Aldin.

Aldin said, "I'm not asking you to do anything dangerous. Just listen to me first, will you?"

He gestured to the vacant chair.So Dorin had to sit down.

Aldin said: "Don't blame Delise either. She went to you because it was for her."

"What happened to her?"

"It's like this. You also know that she has the blood of the elves of Yole Island. After this incident, she was hit to a certain extent, so she didn't want to go back to San Dilian, and she didn't want to go back to the Carlos family. She wanted to go to Yole island."

"Hasn't she always lived in your human city? Does she want to become an elf?"

"Yes. As far as I know, Yor Island does not allow outsiders to enter, but it can accept mixed-race people. You will let the mixed-race person live for three years unconditionally, and observe her character within three years. After three years, it will be decided by all the elders Can she stay? If she can stay, she will no longer be a half-blood in name, and her identity will be equal to that of a pure-blooded elf. Kinship; if people don't think she's fit to be an elf, and can't stay, she'll be cast out after the vote. Is that so?"

Dorin said, "That's right. So, you want me to take her back to Yole?"

Aldin nodded: "I also want you to be her temporary guardian."

"Temporary guardian" is a system when the elves of the Isle of Yor accept mixed blood.A half-breed needs an elf to be her guardian during the observation period, and a half-breed without a guardian is not accepted.The guardian can be the biological parents of the mixed-race child, or it can be adopted by an outsider, but he must be an adult and cannot be of mixed race.

If Doris wants to become an elf, Dorin can indeed be her guardian.Three years later, the elves will not only judge her character, but also check whether she is an adult in a biological sense. As long as she is determined to be an adult, she will not only be accepted by the elves, but will also be regarded as an independent individual, no longer need guardian.Dorling would then be able to step down from that role.

Dorin was taken by surprise.It never occurred to him that Aldin was going to tell him this.

Aldin hadn't finished speaking yet.He also told Dorin that the reason why he came to talk about this matter instead of Delise herself was because Delise asked him for help first, hoping that he could send some people to escort her "home".He agreed, so everything about the journey home was his arrangement.

Now Doris is in an embarrassing situation. The Carlos family no longer trusts her, but they don't agree with her leaving the family.She holds a lot of business secrets in the family, and those people will definitely not allow her to leave so easily.

So she didn't dare to leave Fesisit alone.She may be arrested and brought back to the family for house arrest, or even be charged with a bunch of crimes, and she will be imprisoned for other members of the family.

Aldin had a good friendship with De Lisi, and he planned to send a small team from his Peregrine Falcon Mercenary Corps to escort her.Tomorrow morning at the earliest, and afternoon at the slowest, this mercenary team will arrive at Fesisit, and then set off from here with Deliss and Dolin, all the way to Yole Island.

They planned a safer route, bypassing San Dilian and avoiding the sphere of influence of the Carlos family.Yoll Island is not too far away, it is actually a peninsula, just south of where a branch of the Khiva River flows into the sea, it is closer than going to the sea of ​​trees.

Dorin thought for a while, and then asked some details about the arrangement on the road.He would ask these questions, apparently agreeing.

Aldin answered Dorin's questions one by one, and gave him a list of the luggage and supplies prepared for them. The things were in this tavern.

He told Dolin and Deris to rest here today, and when the mercenaries from the chamber of commerce arrived tomorrow, he would personally introduce them to prevent others from posing as mercenaries from the chamber of commerce.

When Aldin said this, Dorin thought deeply, nodding from time to time.After Aldin basically explained everything, Dorin said a bit abruptly: "I seem to understand."

"Understand what?" Arden asked.

Dorin said: "I see. This is not just for Deris... Your main purpose is not to escort her, but to send me away, and to ensure that I have basically no contact with outsiders along the way. You want me to Leave the human kingdom, go back to the Isle of Yoll, and never come out again for at least three years."

This is also related to the customs of Yole Island.Until the half-breed is accepted, its guardians cannot leave the Isle of Yoll.

Even if he voluntarily gave up, saying that I will no longer be the guardian and I will not care about the half-breed, he still cannot leave Yole Island.The guardian cannot voluntarily withdraw halfway, and can only resign naturally after completing the mission.The frontiers of the Isle of Yoll never let guardians go, and not only that, but they don't let underage elves leave the land, nor do elf parents with underage children leave unless they wait until the children come of age.

That is to say, once he returns to the Isle of Yoll, Dorin will definitely not be able to get out within three years.No force in human beings would be able to find him if they wanted to find him.

Even if you know that he is on the island of Yoll, it is not allowed, because the island of Yoll only allows pure-blood and mixed-blood compatriots to enter, and all other humanoid races are prohibited from entering, even those cousins ​​​​of the tree sea elves, and go in the name of the country and tribe. Negotiations are not enough, forcibly breaking in means provoking a war.The Isle of Yoll is the most closed elf country on this land.

Three years later, De Lisi may not be recognized.She grew up among humans, never been to the Isle of Yor, and she can't even speak the elf language properly.Judging by her appearance, she probably cannot adapt to the way of life and ideas of elves.In the end, there is a high probability that she will be rejected and expelled.

This is enough.She definitely didn't really want to be naturalized as an elf, but just wanted to use these three years to take refuge.These three years will also firmly trap Duolin.

Three years is not a long time, but it is enough for Aldin to deal with many things outside.

When thinking of things like elves, half-breeds, and tree sea cousins, a thought popped into Dorin's mind.He intuitively believed that this was Aldin's purpose.

Dorin asked: "You made these arrangements, in fact, for Winter Thistle?"

Aldin hummed softly and smiled: "Do you think so?"

"Isn't it?" said Dorin. "In the Jewel Forest, Winter Thistle is not Winter Thistle, but he calls himself Rosen. Now this Rosen is missing, and everyone says he's missing, and some say he's gone to the North Shore. Some people also said that he drowned when the ice was broken... It's all guesswork, and no one has investigated his identity for the time being. But in case there is any new situation in the future, for example, someone thinks that the refiner has various responsibilities and wants to find out If they find out his true whereabouts, someone will come to me and ask me to be a witness again... But I know Dongji himself, and maybe his identity will be leaked."

Aldin was tearing up the scones on the plate and throwing them into the sauce bit by bit.Dorin waited for him to speak, but he took his time.

It wasn't until he finished eating that Aldin said in a deep voice: "Actually, it's fine for Delise not to go to Yole Island. She has been exposed to necromancy, so she can claim to be physically and mentally injured, and apply to go to White Lake City with an escort to seek purification. And asylum, and then stay there for a few years. In these years, she has to learn to live a little bit hard, but she can guarantee absolute safety. She can completely do without you. Sending you to Yole Island is just another option, it is feasible , but it is troublesome, costing money and manpower.”

He raised his eyelids and glanced at Dorin: "I should kill you directly. This is the most convenient."

A chill ran down Dorin's spine.He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands on his knees: "There are many people who have seen thistle, not only me. What about other workers and soldiers? Where's the priest? Where's Ryan?"

Aldin said: "The workers and soldiers have only seen such a mage, and they don't know who he is, and they have basically never gotten along with him at close range. As for the priest...she knows who she has seen and who she hasn't seen. Who has been. According to her own statement, she has never had any in-depth communication with the refiner, and only remembers that the person has elven blood, and does not remember other characteristics. There is more than one half-elf mage in the world."

Dorin chuckled.This is not difficult to understand. From the standpoint of that priest, if she knew Winter Thistle clearly and then acquiesced to what Winter Thistle did, she would be responsible for the consequences.So of course she didn't know or remember.

Aldin continued: "There is also Ryan. Given his relationship with Winter Thistle, he will of course be very familiar with Winter Thistle, and once he meets him, he will definitely not admit his mistake. During the entire incident, he never questioned the identity of the mage , he remained silent during the hostage exchange, and he didn't say anything after the incident... Then, he completely missed the opportunity to speak. If he came out afterwards and said that Rosen was Winter Thistle, others would question him all the time. Why didn’t you say it at first, because you would suspect that he had conspired with the mage, and even the entire execution squad would be suspected and investigated together. Therefore, he will not identify Winter Thistle.”

"Can't he really?" Dorin asked.

Aldin smiled and said, "No. Ryan... he is sometimes stubborn and thinks differently from me, but he is not stupid."

Dorin opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He was going to say "Lane is not like this"... He subconsciously felt that Ryan was not like this.But on second thought, isn't it true?

When he first met Lane at the docks, Dorin's first impression of the man was simple: just a little knight.

He always thought that all little knights had the same character: brave, upright, enthusiastic, with a sense of honor, and not afraid of suffering... Generally speaking, they were similar to those of the patrolmen on the Isle of Yoll.

Thinking about it now, Dorin suddenly became confused: Did I really see such a little knight, or did I get acquainted with a little knight, and then projected the preset impression and expectation in my heart onto him?

Aldin looked at Dorin: "Why did I look for you specifically, because you are different from them. You are alone, basically have no worries, no restrictions, and a relatively straight mind... Maybe you think I am praising you A person like you seems to be full of weaknesses, but in fact it is the most uncontrollable factor."

For some reason, Dorin gradually became less afraid.

He asked, "Then why don't you kill me?"

Aldin said: "Killing you is the easiest and most efficient, that's true. But I didn't want to kill you."

"why?"

"If you die here, Winter Thistle will definitely guess that it has something to do with me in the future..." Aldin sighed and pushed away the dinner plate, "Oh, when he questioned me, he might even cry, it's very troublesome .”

"So what can Winter Ji know? No matter how upset he is, no matter how much he questions him, he can't actually hurt you. Are you still afraid of this?"

Aldin smiled, but did not answer.

His eyes looked away, looking thoughtful.

Dorling didn't press the point any further.He got up and walked to the door, knocking on it for Deliss to open.

"We're not done talking yet," Aldin said.

Dorin said: "Is there anything else to talk about? I understand everything. In fact, it doesn't need to be so complicated... If you are just afraid that I will talk nonsense and hurt Winter Thistle, you can just tell me."

Aldin asked: "Didn't I already say that?"

Dorin shook his head lightly: "No. What I mean is, you don't need to do this at all. You don't need to involve Doris, and you don't need to think about whether to kill me. Obviously there is the simplest way-directly put the interests Guan Guan told me, told me not to mention Winter Thistle to others, and asked me to help protect him, that’s enough.”

Aldin sneered: "It's easy to say."

"It's that easy, at least for me," Dorling paused, "and maybe for Winter Thistle. But you probably never communicate like that."

Aldin again did not answer.

There was a slight noise outside, and someone moved something against the doorknob.

Dorin pushed gently, the door opened a crack, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

He thought for a while, and added: "I have another suggestion. If Doris really wants to hide from the limelight, it's better to go to the temple instead of Yole Island. After living in Yole Island for three years, the half-breed Once expelled, they will be regarded as pure-blooded human beings from now on, and they will never be able to enter Yole Island again for the rest of their lives. This method of Yole Island should be saved until the future is even more desperate. You only have one chance, so don't abuse it. As for me, I will continue my travels. The next step may be Sago, or I may cross the mountains to explore the west. Even if someone asks me about Winter Thistle in the future, I will only see him in Harbor City, and I haven’t seen him since. See you again."

Aldin thought for a moment and asked, "Why should I trust you? What guarantee do you have?"

Dorin shook his head: "I can't guarantee it. If you don't believe it anyway, you can catch me and kill me now, and I shouldn't be able to beat you."

Finally, Dorin opened the door and went out.

Aldin sat in the room without speaking or obstructing him.

De Lisi was sitting in the corridor, and her chair should be the thing that was pinned to the doorknob just now.Dorin walked past her, and she stood up and followed, holding Dorin's arm as before.

Dorin wondered: "Is it necessary to continue to follow me?"

Delise asked, "Are you out of town?"

"Out of town."

"Then let's go together. My horse is downstairs, and the luggage is ready. If you need anything, I can share it with you."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to chase the White Lake City escort team and go with them to the Great Temple to apply for asylum. They shouldn't have gone far."

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

Aldin stayed in the room, and heard the footsteps of the two people stepping on the wooden stairs, gradually going away.

He poured himself another glass of wine, did not drink it, and just meditated quietly.

The silence didn't last long.After a while, the stairs outside creaked again.

The visitors were two of Aldin's men, the red-haired and the black-haired.The red-haired young man brought a bunch of letters, and the black-haired young man reported them one by one according to the priority.

For Aldin, it is far from time to rest.The matter in the Gem Forest is over, and there are still many affairs waiting for him to take care of in the Ten Sail Street Chamber of Commerce.

He glanced at the letters and documents hastily, and then at the two men.

"Thank you," Aldin said, "it's just not busy now, let's sit down and have something to eat together."

"This, this is not appropriate!" The red-haired young man wiped his hands on the hem of his clothes, and sat down while talking.

The black-haired friend who pulled him did not move.He said: "Lord Aldin, we have already had our dinner."

"Then have a drink with me."

The red-haired young man nodded repeatedly, quickly picked up the wine bottle and filled it up for everyone.

Aldin has never been the kind of serious master, and there were no big rules in his family when he was in Harbor City.Now that I am in a foreign land, it is quite natural for me to sit down and drink some wine with my subordinates.

After nightfall, this small gathering came to an end.They all knew how to control themselves, they didn't drink too much, and they were not very drunk, only slightly drunk.Aldin was going back to Gerola's mansion to deal with matters, and the two soldiers were going back to their respective residences.

On the way back, the red-haired young man asked his companion, "Tell me, why did Lord Ardin suddenly invite us to drink?"

The black-haired young man replied: "Because Lord Kanai is not here, so is the mage."

"What does it have to do with them? Those mages don't usually drink much. Lord Aldin always likes to drink alone."

"Oh, it's fine if you don't understand..."