The Book of Hibernation

Regarding the election of the chief, Aldin and Maida have roughly met their intentions.The original plan was this:

Maida might recommend an old man who is over seventy years old. This person was once the right-hand man of Old Bellos, and he can be regarded as an important figure in the chamber of commerce.

And Aldin will recommend Maida.The head of Will, who usually has a very low sense of presence, also has the intention of recommending Maida.The new in charge, Glora, has been promoted by Maida. She is very familiar with Maida. She must have communicated with Maida in private. She probably will recommend Maida as well.

More uncertain, there is only one Yuli in charge.She and Maida don't get along very well.Judging from her past performances, she is likely to recommend Aldin.But it doesn't matter, being elected by only one person can't be elected.

If it goes well, Mai Da will directly get three nominations and be directly recognized as acting chief.If Will makes a mistake in judgment, it doesn’t matter if the old man is elected. In a two-on-two situation, Yuli must choose between the old man and Maida. She would choose that old man. Although she didn't like Mai Da, at least she recognized his ability.

In fact, Aldin thought that if Mai Da was interested, he could ask to be acting chief.According to the usual system of the Chamber of Commerce, as long as the other leaders unanimously approve him.The current five in charge are relatively united. If it is only the chief of the first generation, even You Li will not make trouble for him.

However, Mai Da is a special person, he is very twisted in things, wants to get involved in everything, and is on guard against everyone.Aldin thought, maybe he has some special considerations.

One afternoon after another three days, a long table was set up in the hall of the manor, and the five chief executives and many senior members of the chamber of commerce gathered together, and the official meeting to select the chief executive began.

The first person to speak was You Li in charge.In her speech, she mentioned the incident of the fake chief in Harbor City, and expressed her concern and distress over the various loopholes in the chamber of commerce.In the end, as she had guessed before, she believed that Aldin was more suitable as the current acting chief.

Then Will was in charge.He told a bunch of good news about spices and salt, said nothing bad anyway, and thought about the future.Then, as expected, he recommended Maida.

The next one was Aldin. Aldin's speech was quite brief, and finally he recommended Maida.

I thought that the election process would go on as expected, but when Maida spoke, things changed.

At the end of the speech, Maida suggested that Aldin was a very suitable candidate.

Aldin was surprised.He thought that he had hinted clearly enough that Maida was the final candidate.But Mai Da personally recommended him?

The last to speak was Glora.In short, she did agree with Maida—she also recommended Aldin.

In this way, Aldin won the support of the majority, and there was no need for another round of elections.

Aldin looked at Maida.Mai Da said before him: "Aldin, I know you didn't have this intention. But so far, you are indeed a better candidate."

"I think you are more suitable," Aldin said. "Now we need more experienced people, and I am still inexperienced. Ladies and gentlemen, the chamber of commerce has just experienced a risk, and it is obvious to all of you. The source of this risk is that we Accepted a young and unreliable chief. If you elect someone who is not seasoned as chief now, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince the public."

Mai Da said: "No, on the contrary. You have handled the matter of Harbor City very well. You have taken responsibility and courage. Instead of using the resources of the chamber of commerce to protect yourself, you have used your own personal power to maximize the interests of the chamber of commerce. .You are not like Bellows, the real one or the fake one. We would love to trust you."

Yuli also said: "Aldin, you used to be a mercenary, and you became the leader of your mercenary regiment. Ah, don't rush to refute me, being in charge and chief is of course different from being a mercenary, but considering The situation has changed, and what everyone needs now is someone like you who understands business and tactics."

Aldin is conflicted.He was not without ambition, but felt that now was really not the time.

Yuli mentioned his mercenary days, which just reminded him of a very similar experience.

At that time, the mercenary group received a commission from a certain city-state in the west, from the cabinet guard of the city-state council.The mercenaries have to assist the cabinet guards to fight against the local city defense forces.

This kind of entrustment is very dangerous. If you lose, you may be arrested and beheaded. If you win, you will not have a good reputation.But the entrusting party is really rich. Not only did the asking price be very high, but he also directly paid [-]% in advance. If he wins, he will quadruple the amount of the final payment. People are dead, of course, it's another matter.

Mercenaries generally don't work hard, and they will retreat if the momentum is not good.Even if you can only get [-]% of everything, it is not a small fortune.

The head of the mercenary regiment at that time was very optimistic about Aldin and gave him a lot of command power.Aldin was not yet 20 years old at the time, and he was very flustered. He wanted such a command countless times, and the commander could get a greater share of the wealth, but he was not ready yet and had no such combat experience.

He declined a few words, but he really couldn't refuse, and in the end he could only accept the order.

At the end of that mission, they only got part of the final payment, not as much as quadrupling, and they didn't even get all the last [-]%, only less than half of what they expected.

Because they didn't win or lose.Halfway through the fight, the cabinet guards and the city defense army signed a consensus document, shook hands and made peace, and then they unanimously decided not to give so much money to the mercenary group.

Aldin thought about it later.In that operation, the mercenary group could only be considered to have made no mistakes, but it could not be considered to have done a good job.

The real "good job" should be to directly help the cabinet guards gain an absolute advantage, then there will be no subsequent peace talks, and the final payment will not be missed.

From the standpoint of that city-state, the result was neither winning nor losing; from the perspective of the actual interests of the mercenary group, they actually lost.

He did not tell the commander-in-chief or his comrades in arms about this idea.Others may not think so, and may not like to hear such words.

Now Aldin still remembers all the subtle emotions at that time.

He was suddenly elected as the chief, and he had a very similar feeling to that time.

Will, Glora, and a few acquaintances in the Chamber of Commerce also persuaded him a few words, in short, they hoped that he would accept everyone's recommendation.

So Aldin stood up and walked to the end of the long table.

Aldin said: "Just as you know me, I also know you very well. After all, our interests are tied together, it can be said that it is like a big family with a loose structure. In fact, you also know that I am indeed not the best person to become the chief. Good candidate..."

He stopped, looked at the other four in charge, sighed and said: "Oh, no, I don't want to speak so politely...you just need to understand what I mean. You don't recommend me because I'm the best, It's because everyone is very busy and can't find a real perfect candidate for a while, so let's find someone who is okay."

Grolla was amused and laughed out loud.Mai Da also smiled and said, "Look, the more transparent you are, the more it means that I have read the right person."

Aldin bowed to him: "You trust me, then I will accept this trust. However, this meeting is not formal enough. Although all five managers have come, most of the people from all walks of life in the chamber of commerce are absent. Wait until one After the end of the transition period of [-], we need to reconvene the election meeting to agree on a formal chief candidate."

He looked at Mai Da, then at You Li: "When the time comes, I hope you don't refuse."

Mai Da got up with a smile, and went to the side hall to fetch a jug of wine.Aldin poured wine for the four stewards, and then passed the bottle towards the end of the long table.

Everyone here raised their glasses together: "To Aldin in charge."

Although Aldin became acting chief, he is still only called "in charge".His official status is to be in charge, and the chief position is only an agent for a period of one year.A year later, if he can really become the official chief, then another person in charge will have to be elected.

Aldin also raised his glass: "To Ten Sail Street."

Everyone responded together and blessed the Shifan Street Chamber of Commerce in unison.

"Shifan Street Chamber of Commerce" has a history of nearly a hundred years, and its name comes from a place name.There used to be a small coastal town in Sandonia, not far from the current Harbor City, where there was Ten Sails Street, where the Chamber of Commerce was born.

Later, the small town was abandoned due to the tsunami disaster, and people did not go back to rebuild after fleeing.The name of the street survived only on the chamber of commerce.

Aldin swallowed the spirits and let out a long sigh of relief.

He knows that this is not the end of the troubles, but another beginning.

After the dinner, Aldin and Maida returned to the station.

As soon as the carriage stopped, the owner of the inn rushed out of the door and ran to the carriage a few steps, looking as if he wished to drag the two of them down with his own hands.

"What's the panic?" Maida asked.

The owner of the post station took out two small metal thin tubes, which were covered with leather the size of a fingernail. Simple characters were engraved on the leather to indicate the identity of the recipient.

One thin tube is still sealed, the other has been opened.

The owner of the inn said: "We have received two letters from Xinying. One is for Aldin in charge. It should be the reply letter you sent out Xinying last time. The other one does not have the recipient's logo, so I opened it directly. Yes, I am very sorry... Judging from the content, it should also be handed over to Aldin. I am really sorry."

Aldin took both thin tubes.Judging from the logo, the letter was from Requelia, and it was indeed the reply letter from last time.

According to the owner of the inn, it was not the original bird that came back, but the little dragon goose that had also been trained to deliver letters.Small dragon geese are small in number and difficult to raise, but they are more humane, stronger in body, and can receive a certain degree of arcane enhancement. Some places in the southwestern countries use it to deliver letters. Its flying speed is faster than pigeons and letter eagles. Both are much faster and physically strong enough not to be afraid of other raptors.

It was a long journey, with Xinying on the way out and Xiaolongyan on the way back, which showed that Reklia attached great importance to this letter and tried to deliver it quickly.

Another letter came from Harbor City.Now that it had been unsealed, Aldin opened it first.

The content is very simple, it is to urge Aldin to return to Harbor City as soon as possible.The letter also said that there is nothing unusual in the city, but there are other important matters that need to be discussed.This kind of wording is too hateful. If you don't say something directly, it makes people feel uneasy.

Then, Aldin opened the letter from Requelia.

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After the busy work a while ago, Winter Thistle was a little at a loss for a while.

In the first few days, he tried his best to calm down, prepared the parchment notebook, and began to copy spell notes.

This is what he said to Aldin himself. He wants to keep the relevant skills in his notes and leave it to the Chamber of Commerce, so that the Chamber of Commerce will not need him.

It's no fun to do, and Winter Thistle gets a bit grounded very quickly.

Later, he began to try to contact Kanai with a spell. At first, he succeeded once. He used the way of burning a small wax ball to pass a note, but he did not get a response from Kanai.

The characteristic of this spell is that if the other party cannot receive it, the message cannot be transmitted at all.Now that it has been sent, it means that Kanai received it, but he just didn't reply.

Winter Thistle thought about it. Although this spell has a long effective distance, it requires a lot of materials, and it is too troublesome to cast.It may be because Kanai's materials are insufficient, so he can only receive but cannot reply.

After a few more days, he cast the message again, but this time, the spell failed.

It should be that the escort team has gone too far, beyond the distance that the spell can succeed.

In fact, Winter Thistle can leave the mansion now.He had already gone out several times, but the guards did not stop him.

But Winter Thistle didn't leave for the time being.He is still waiting for news.

On this day, he went to the poorhouse market in the evening.The coachman was not in the mansion, it seemed that he had gone home for vacation, Dongji couldn't use the carriage, so he had to leave early and walked by himself.

In Harbor City, Winter Ji's favorite place to go is the Almshouse Market. Even if he doesn't need to trade anything, he still likes to walk around here. Occasionally, he can observe the process of other mages casting spells, which is quite inspiring.

This evening, he met an elemental mage, one of the people he had worked with before.The man greeted him, and suddenly asked him without beginning or end: "By the way, do you know?"

"Know what?" Winter Thistle asked.

"The matter over the White Lake City Temple."

"Escorting the monsters?" Dong Ji's heart twitched instantly, "Is there any news from the escort team? How's it going?"

Seeing his reaction, the elemental mage was a little surprised: "Why, you don't know yet? They have already arrived at White Lake City, and a message has been sent from White Lake City. If you count the time for the message to transit through several cities on the way, they It should have arrived a few days ago."

Dong Ji hurriedly asked: "How is the situation of the escort team, are there any casualties?"

The elemental mage said: "Then I don't know very well. We all heard about it in bits and pieces. The people in the temple must know the details. But what is certain is that the escort team should not have failed and did not let the dark clouds escape. .”

Winter Thistle nodded, feeling a little relieved, but still not at ease. There are also many possibilities for "success". It may be that the journey went smoothly and no danger was encountered; it may also be that it was attacked but won in the end.

"Victory" may mean that all the staff are safe, or there may be a small number of wounded, or there may be casualties, and the more serious is that someone died...

Dongji immediately bid farewell to her acquaintances and left the poorhouse in a hurry.

He originally wanted to go to the temple to inquire about the situation, but the almshouse and the temple are located at the two ends of the Harbor City, so far away that a diagonal line can be drawn. It is getting late now. If he walks like this, he may not arrive until early in the morning. At that time, no one in the temple would receive him.

So he still decided to go back tonight and go to the temple tomorrow morning.

It took too much time to walk back, and Winter Ji didn't walk fast, and it was nearly midnight when we got back to the city.

Although very tired, Dongji suddenly wanted to go to Gaotai to take a look.That's where you can see the pier.

He walked through the narrow residential alleys, climbed up a series of steps, and successfully found the small, unremarkable platform.

The night wind at high places is very cold.Winter Thistle put on the hood again and again, and was blown away again and again by the wind. Finally, he simply ignored it, letting the cold wind blow through his hair, slightly numb the tips of his ears.

He stood for a moment in front of the crenellation, looking into the distance.The last time I saw it, the lights in the low places of the streets and the pier were like warm starlight, which made people feel like a dream. However, there are not many lights on the pier today, and it is not as beautiful as before, and the dark sea looks a little scary.Probably because of the change of seasons, people's lives and the appearance of the sea will also change accordingly.

The wind made him colder and colder, so he planned to go back first.Turning around, he saw a black shadow blocking behind him, scaring him back a step.

It's Arden.Aldin stood behind him without making a sound, and he didn't know how long he stood there.

Aldin smiled and walked towards Winter Thistle.Winter Thistle thought he would ask "Why did you run out by yourself", but he didn't ask.

"I have good news for you," said Aldin.

His voice was soft, but there was no joy in his tone.

Winter Thistle didn't say anything, just listened quietly.

Aldin said: "Not long ago, the escort team arrived in White Lake City, and the matter finally came to an end. The road was not smooth, and the necromancers really went to rescue their companions. The escort team had some casualties, but the necromancers failed. , Not only that, there are two necromancers who did not run away and were caught, in short, these matters are handed over to the temple to deal with."

It's too dark tonight, so we can only rely on a little light in the distance for lighting.When Aldin spoke, Winter Thistle kept looking at him, but it was difficult to see his eyes clearly.

Aldin went on to say: "After returning to Harbor City, I went to the temple and the city hall first, and learned some details from it. I heard that there will be a ceremony in the Great Temple of White Lake City. I want to formally thank Harbor City and the Chamber of Commerce. Thank you The workshop of the chamber of commerce, thank you, and also Kanai."

As he spoke, Aldin took out something from his pocket, and made a gesture to hand it to Winter Thistle.

Winter Thistle saw what he meant, and refused to reach out to take it, so Aldin grabbed his wrist and forced the thing into his palm.

Winter Thistle's arms trembled, and she almost dropped the thing on the ground.Even if he didn't look carefully, he could feel that they were two extremely small flat bottles, one made of metal and the other made of translucent colored glass.Judging by the weight, both flat bottles were empty.

Dong Ji lowered her head, staring at her hands, but didn't dare to open them, not wanting to look directly at the two flat bottles.