Morpheus was clearly taken aback when he heard the word "letter."
His gaze instinctively shifted toward the counter nearby.
Only then did he suddenly remember.
That was right—this person had opened a post office and indeed accepted several letters from the residents.
Morpheus had sent people to carefully vet every one of those letters.
He knew about it, but at the time, his only concern was whether the content would leak the existence of Avalon.
Modern Avalon was no longer like it was in the beginning, when it relied on Hannah traveling outside to promote the city and attract new residents.
The city's population was already nearing the limit of what this small basin could support.
He did not wish for any more outsiders to flock in.
Therefore, the focus of the vetting was entirely on "secrecy."
However, he had overlooked a fact that had been nearly forgotten by him and the rest of the management:
This was now the City-State Era.
Demons ravaged the wilds, transportation was cut off, and communication was a distant luxury.
In these dark and isolated times, "transport" and "communication" themselves were priceless treasures.
And the little mage before him...
He was actually delivering letters for people at prices that were practically giveaways?
Morpheus felt a wave of absurdity wash over him in hindsight.
Life in Avalon was too peaceful, causing them all to forget the cruelty and isolation of the outside world.
Thinking about it now, he realized with a start that this behavior itself was abnormal—it was incredible.
He looked at Lin Gui, his gaze complex.
"You... do you truly intend to help Kyle deliver that letter to Flowerwood City?"
"Do you know how far that is from Avalon? How many hazardous lands you must pass through? How many Forbidden Zones you must cross?"
Lin Gui nodded, his tone calm.
"Of course I know."
"After all, I found my way here along that very road."
Morpheus's brow furrowed as he detected a contradiction.
"But you said... you came from the Carter Royal Capital, following the clues left by your uncle, Roger..."
Lin Gui froze slightly.
Only then did he remember the "family relationship" he had casually fabricated to reduce hostility when he first arrived.
He fell silent for a moment.
Then, he let out a soft breath and looked up at Morpheus.
"My apologies."
"I am... indeed not Mr. Roger's nephew."
He chose to tell the truth.
"But I do know his actual nephew, whose name is Fal."
"He is very brave. For the girl he loves, he dared to abandon a life of noble luxury and even drew his blade against his own father."
This confession made Morpheus's eyelid twitch slightly.
He had previously almost entirely believed Lin Gui's story; those details were too specific and personal.
Lin Gui smiled, looking somewhat helpless.
"I am sorry for lying to you all."
"But if I hadn't said that, I'm afraid I wouldn't have just been under 'house arrest'; I would have been thrown directly into the dungeon, right?"
Morpheus remained silent for a while before finally twitching the corner of his mouth.
"True."
If it weren't for the identity of being "Roger's nephew."
Given the anomaly of the three of them crossing the Wailing Corridor.
Morpheus would have absolutely employed much harsher measures of control.
The Wailing Corridor was the cage that imprisoned Avalon, but it was also a natural barrier that protected the city from intrusion.
He re-evaluated the young man before him.
He was clearly just a High Rank mage.
In Morpheus's initial judgment, he was just an ordinary human who had struck it lucky and found a divine artifact.
But now...
Morpheus looked at Lin Gui properly and seriously for the first time.
"Then, who exactly are you?"
Lin Gui met his gaze and slowly stood up straight.
The sunlight spilling in through the window fell upon his faded gray robes.
"Just a insignificant wandering mage."
His voice was steady and clear.
"A... Messenger who conveys thoughts."
"If Lord Morpheus has letters he wishes to send as well."
"I would be happy to help deliver them."
"As for what Lord Morpheus just requested of me, I will help."
"I only hope that after I leave Avalon, you can take better care of Theia for me."
"She... has suffered far too much grievance in the past."
Finally, Lin Gui told Morpheus that he would handle all miscellaneous matters before dark and then leave Avalon with the person they designated.
Although Morpheus was anxious, the initiative was not in his hands, so he could only nod in agreement.
Lin Gui said no more.
He picked up his worn, dark gray mage robes, shook off the non-existent dust, and draped them over himself neatly.
He pulled down the wide hood, obscuring most of his face and revealing only his clean-lined jaw.
He gripped his oak staff and gave Morpheus a slight nod.
Then he turned and pushed the door open to leave.
His silhouette quickly vanished around the corner of the morning streets of Avalon.
Morpheus's business was urgent, so he didn't have much time.
Fortunately, with Storage, he didn't really need to organize his luggage or belongings.
The only thing he had to do now was find those two girls who had sneaked away out of embarrassment after "committing the crime" the night before.
In fact, Lin Gui could roughly guess where they had gone.
He sat sideways on his staff and silently activated Levitation.
His body rose several feet off the ground, gliding steadily and swiftly over the quiet streets of Avalon like a gray feather lifted by the wind.
The low houses, the lush vegetable patches, and the leisurely early-rising residents all receded slowly beneath him.
The morning light stretched his shadow thin, sliding silently over the flagstone path.
Soon, he arrived at a small grove near the edge of the city walls.
A treehouse stood within the grove, its design exquisite and seemingly co-existing with the trees in the elven style.
That was Winnie's home.
Winnie's Treehouse
Lin Gui lowered his height, letting his staff hover before the small flower stand.
On the stand, the green-haired half-demon Forest Elf, Winnie, had her sleeves rolled up and was carefully watering several pots of small, pale purple flowers.
She was deeply focused, her movements gentle.
Lin Gui's appearance was noiseless.
It wasn't until his voice rang out:
"Winnie."
"Have you seen Theia?"
"Ah—!"
Winnie was so startled that her entire body jerked, and the watering can nearly slipped from her hand.
She turned around in panic, and only when she saw it was Lin Gui did her tense shoulders relax slightly.
However, those dark red-tinted eyes immediately began to shift uncontrollably from side to side.
"Th-Theia..."
She unconsciously toyed with the hem of her clothes, her voice weak.
"She, she... I, I saw her go that way!"
She raised her hand and pointed randomly in one direction.
Lin Gui suspended in mid-air, and the corners of his mouth beneath the hood seemed to curl.
"Is that so?"
"But I just... came from that direction."
"Uh!" Winnie's face instantly flushed red.
"S-Sorry! I, I might have remembered wrong..."
She hurriedly pointed in a completely different direction.
"I-It's that way! She went that way!"
Her clumsy acting and the words "I'm lying" written practically across her face caused a muffled thud to come from somewhere in the treehouse, despite someone's best efforts to suppress it.
It sounded like someone had accidentally bumped their head and then quickly covered their mouth.
Winnie's body became even stiffer.
Before Lin Gui could speak, an old wooden barrel lid that had been placed upside down on the side of the treehouse to collect rainwater was suddenly popped open from the inside with a loud bang.
Theia's silver-white head poked out, her face filled with helplessness.
And not far from her, Eve emerged somewhat awkwardly from behind a dense thicket of lilies-of-the-valley, her expression full of embarrassment.
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