The sun is high

The dinner was going on in an orderly manner.

Perhaps to facilitate the conversation between the two parties, the waiters did not serve the dishes in a specific order like other aristocratic dinners, but sent almost all the dishes to another long table in one go.

After that, the royal butler who accompanied Sophia took on the responsibility of a waiter. His mage hands floated beside him, constantly delivering new dishes to the table, and refilling glasses for the three people at the dinner. of juice or wine.

It was Wei Lin who drank the juice.

The ones drinking were Shuge and Princess Sophia.

Sophia is indeed a princess with a strong personality. She is different from most of the nobles and royal family members that Shuge and Weilin remember.

When telling jokes, she is cheerful and direct, when commenting on the embarrassments of certain nobles in Bolton, her language is sharp and full of metaphors, and when talking about literary creation and the use of magic, she can always say Come up with some unique insights.

To be fair, it is indeed a very pleasant thing to have dinner and talk with such a princess, and Xiuge must admit that the other party is extremely good at controlling the initiative in the conversation and stirring up the atmosphere. Even Weilin also I can't help but discuss with her how magic can be combined and used in different situations.

Not only that, as a member of the royal family, Princess Sophia does not care to talk openly about Shuge's works, but what she discusses is not the "special attributes" of Shuge's works, but more focused on the "special attributes" of Shuge's works in these novels. The expression of the living environment of the people at the bottom.

"I have actually read several of Mr. Sugar's works, and I really like your description of people's living environment."

At this moment, there was no joke or sarcasm in Princess Sophia's words, but instead was full of sincerity: "Perhaps the vast majority of readers are pursuing the description of love and other... well, other plots in the novel.

"But in my opinion, the reason why these stories are so fascinating is that they are based on real life circumstances. Once this foundation is taken away, everything will become meaningless."

Princess Sophia's attitude towards written works surprised Shuge. He did not expect that as a member of the royal family with a high status, Sophia could find such a special perspective.

As if seeing the confusion in Shuge's heart, Sophia smiled and said: "This is the view of one of my teachers. He believes that all people in power and leaders need to understand why they have their current status. And why can we occupy those precious resources... Oh, let’s not talk about this anymore.”

The princess clapped her hands gently, and the hand of the mage floating in the air immediately sent a cup to Xiuge.

It was a Salem City sour beer.

The ice cubes floated in the golden wine, and the thick syrup slowly swayed between the ice cubes.

For sour beer, add more ice and more sugar.

Different from the past, this cup is very delicate and gorgeous, and even the ice cubes floating in the wine have been molded into various shapes.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Xiuge thanked him, then picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

Too much syrup was added and the drink was too sweet, making the sour beer taste bland on its own.

In short...it's not the same as the sour beer in Shuge's impression.

Wei Lin seemed to notice something strange. She turned her head slightly and glanced at Xiuge. Seeing that his expression didn't seem to have any obvious change, she turned her head again.

At this time, the dinner party has entered the second half.

The dishes on the table were quickly replaced by desserts.

And the theme of this conversation has returned to Salem City.

"Havid's death is a huge blow to Votel and the entire royal family."

When she said these words, Princess Sophia really fell into a sad and dejected mood: "Although the battles within the royal family have always been very fierce, I admire Havid's character and ability very much. …My younger brother has shown extremely outstanding abilities in the fields of domestic affairs and diplomacy. No joke, he alone is enough to support Votel’s diplomatic department.”

Speaking of this, Sophia sighed: "I can accept his failure and his death, but I can't bear that he died in an unknown assassination... Walter's royal family should never become Part of a plan and conspiracy, this is an insult to the dignity of the royal family."

Wei Lin frowned and then asked: "What do you mean, the death of His Highness Havid..."

"You two don't need to be so cautious. I invited you to the Adlon Hotel just to verify more details about Salem City."

Princess Sophia picked up the wine glass and took a sip: "Before that, in order to show my sincerity, I can also reveal some important intelligence and information to you two."

With that said, she turned to Sugar: "Mr. Sugar, you must be wondering why the Ernst family would bring you back to Bolden at this time, right?"

Shuge looked directly at the other party and replied: "From what I know personally... the family seems to be holding some activities related to the heir, but I don't think an illegitimate son like me is qualified to participate in such activities. "

"Accurate judgment."

Sophia said approvingly: "Then I can tell you one thing. The surveillance and investigation of you by the Ernst family began as early as two years ago. In other words, some people in your family, In fact, they could have taken you away before what happened in Salem City, but they didn't do that."

"So what your Highness is saying is that someone wants me to die in Salem City?"

Faced with Shuge's question, Sophia did not answer this time. She shook the wine glass gently, and the plateau wine in it shone magnificently under the light. Then she said: "Don't rush to ask, Mr. Shuge. Now it's your turn to answer my question."

"As someone who has successfully escaped from Salem City, please tell me, is there indeed a monster like dark sludge that can change its shape and devour living things in Salem City?"

After a brief silence, both Xiuge nodded at the same time.

"So you've had encounters with it, right?"

Following Sophia's question, the butler Finn standing aside also stopped his work as a waiter. He took out his magic book and ink pen and began to record the conversation.

Weilin answered Sophia's question: "We met it in the sewers on the edge of Salem City. It was the same as the legend. It was an amorphous black sludge, but it could imitate many different shapes. …It’s like a huge mutated changeling bug.”

"You fought it off?"

Sophia looked over curiously: "Miss Weilin is an outstanding mage among the younger generation of the Legal Committee. I believe that as long as the environment and conditions are suitable, you can completely escape from the monster's attack with your own magic."

"However, those who are traveling with you are not reliable soldiers. Until now, Mr. Shuge is only a new wild mage. His learning in magic knowledge is still limited, while the other two are ordinary civilians."

At this moment, Sophia's tone finally took on the unique aura of someone in a high position, and she asked: "Such a fragile and rudimentary escape team can actually survive the monster's attack... This is simply incredible. Like a miracle."

"It's just a fluke, Your Highness."

Xiuge picked up the topic at the right time: "As you said, my magic power and the magic I master are indeed extremely limited, but fortunately, all the 'means' we could use at the time, including magic and prior preparations, The weapons and equipment carried by him can effectively restrain the monster."

"Tell me more specifically."

"Magic that can create corrosive mist, alchemical potions that can cause explosions, and simple flamethrowers."

Xiuge replied methodically: "According to my inference, the monster we encountered...or that part of the monster should have been injured. At least it is not as ferocious and terrifying as people rumored, and our purpose is equally simple. , in the situation where Miss Wei Lin is about to crack the ritual of Salem City, all we need to do is delay time."

On the side, Wei Lin quickly added: "If Your Highness wants to find a way to deal with this monster, then fire, acid and other powers should be the most effective. The shape and characteristics of the monster are similar to the changeling bug. Although its shape is huge and weird, it has no way to effectively resist the magical power."

“Very helpful advice.”

In this regard, Sophia gave a positive evaluation.

Xiuge was already prepared for the princess to continue to ask about the details, but he did not expect that Sophia suddenly changed the subject. She asked about many situations in Salem City before and after the armistice celebration.

It seemed that Sophia was more concerned about the public's reaction, newspaper publicity, and the response strategies made by the Legal Committee than the rumors about the weird magical creature.

The initiative of the conversation was completely controlled by the other party, so all Xiuge and the two could do was to answer as best they could.

"It's a pity that the two of you were not at the scene when the assassination occurred...but if that were the case, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to meet here."

Sophia sighed softly.

At this point, the conversation finally came to an end.

Weilin, who used to be buried in books and documents all day long, obviously couldn't adapt to this kind of situation. She sat in her position mechanically and slowly drank the juice in the glass. Opposite her, Princess Sophia was elegantly Enjoyed a dessert.

It was at this moment that Xiuge finally got the chance to ask questions.

"Your Highness, you invited me and Miss Wei Lin today not just to talk about these topics, right?"

"certainly."

Sophia nodded and affirmed: "The biggest purpose of asking you two of these questions is to verify the work results of the kingdom's secret agents... As for the details, I cannot disclose them to you two."

She scooped up a small ball of cream with her silver spoon, and then said: "As Mr. Sugar guessed, I do have something more important to do with you."

Upon hearing this, Weilin immediately cast a questioning look at Sophia. According to normal circumstances, "bystanders" like her need to leave the conversation at this time.

"Miss Weilin, please stay together, because this matter requires your participation."

The princess of the kingdom calmly said: "Mr. Sugar, you previously guessed that the Ernst family was conducting activities related to heirs, right?"

Sophia raised her chin slightly: "Then I can give you an accurate answer now. Under the order of Marshal Zeke, the Ernst family is preparing to hold the handover ceremony of the head of the family on the Winter Festival. At the same time, they A suitable successor will also be selected from the younger generation of the family."

"I know Mr. Sugar has little interest in this kind of thing... But no matter what happened in the past, from this moment on, I hope you can pay attention to it."

"what do you mean……"

Sophia sat up straight, and in the light of the restaurant, her domineering momentum came rolling in: "As the princess of Walter and the successor to the authority of the Austin throne, I hereby issue a special 'commission' to Mr. Sugar." .”

"I hope that Mr. Shuge can actively join the competition for the new successor of the Ernst family. In the next month or so, you will be able to get my support, funds, intelligence, and manpower. If Xiuge If Mr. Ge wants to build momentum and expand influence in Bolden, I can do it at any time."

"Miss Weilin, in view of the 'agreement' between you and the Ernst family, I hope that you can become Mr. Shuge Ernst's mage guard and magic consultant in the next period of time. As long as you agree, I will pay you several times or even ten times the salary of the duty itself, and at the same time, the royal library and reference room will also be open to you."

Wei Lin remained silent, while Xiuge felt a faint chill on his back.

He quickly repeated in his mind the requests made by Princess Sophia, or Princess Sophia, and then he asked slowly: "Your Highness, are these words you said an order or an invitation?"

"Of course it's an invitation."

Sophia slowly stood up from her seat. Her figure was tall and well-proportioned, and around her waist hung a new type of crystal blunderbuss and a magic silver dagger. Just as the rumors said, this princess had a close relationship with the army and the army. The relationship between soldiers is extremely close.

"Of course, I don't recommend that you two refuse this invitation... After all, what we need to face is not only the current war, but also the development of the Kingdom of Votel in the next few decades or even nearly a hundred years, and this, This requires full cooperation between the royal family and the nobility.”

"Mr. Sugar, do you understand?"