It was Lin Gui's fifth day in Caran City.
At the post office counter, a rare moment of peace had finally arrived.
The surging crowds had dispersed, leaving behind only a few scattered customers.
He handed over the daily registration and sorting work to a few literate clerks he had temporarily hired.
Taking advantage of the break, he walked into the back room.
In the corner, Elvia sat with a gloomy aura so heavy it was almost palpable.
Lin Gui looked at her and spoke.
“I say, as the new City Lord, shouldn't you be managing Caran City?”
“You've been absent lately, and there are signs of chaos in the city.”
“Wealthy merchants are taking advantage of the situation to seize land, and thefts have been occurring frequently.”
He had heard all of this from the customers who came to send letters.
Elvia looked up and let out a dry laugh, her smile filled with sarcasm and self-abandonment.
“My own life is in your hands, and you expect me to care about commoners?”
Lin Gui's tone was flat, but carried an unquestionable authority.
“What if this is my command?”
He tossed an old book into Elvia's lap.
“If you still want to live, use this book to reform all of Caran City.”
“In about six days, I will set off for the Royal Capital.”
“Before that, at least restore basic order to Caran City and keep its essential operations running.”
He paused, then added:
“After that, you're coming with me to the Royal Capital.”
Before leaving, Lin Gui turned back to look at Elvia, whose expression was constantly shifting, and left her with a final word:
“Your time is running out.”
Back behind the counter, Lin Gui pondered silently.
If possible, he did not want Elvia to become completely despondent.
He urgently needed Elvia in many aspects.
She was of noble birth, possessed decent strength, and had come to Caran City from the Royal Capital.
He began to chant a spell in a low voice.
The faint light of 【Levitation】 flickered.
Beneath the counter, envelopes began to float up one by one.
As if guided by an invisible hand, they landed precisely into different sorting boxes.
As his proficiency in 【Levitation】 increased,
his control over levitating various objects had improved by more than just a single grade.
Back in New Covenant City, he could barely manage to levitate multiple items at the same time.
But now, he could finely control their flight paths and landing spots.
The number of letters collected in Caran City far exceeded those in New Covenant City, long surpassing what a single large package could hold.
The increase in his proficiency with 【Levitation】 solved this problem easily.
However, this also meant that the mana consumption he had to bear increased accordingly.
The safety risk was also higher.
Theia could mitigate this risk, but Lin Gui did not want to rely on her excessively all the time.
After all, at the end of this long journey, she would eventually leave.
Therefore, Elvia's inclusion became necessary.
With the existence of the “Demon's Poisonous Kiss,” he felt secure enough to reveal some of his trump cards to her.
Theia walked in from outside the post office.
These past few days, she had been busy preparing the supplies needed for the long journey.
In this regard, she was far better than Lin Gui.
Lin Gui's trip to the Magic City had relied on the stealth and speed of the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】.
But for Theia to have survived being exiled all the way from the distant Elven Forest to this place,
she had relied on truly rich wilderness survival experience.
She dropped the large, heavy travel pack onto the floor and asked,
“Are you okay on your own?”
Lin Gui sighed and focused his mind.
The buckles of the travel pack popped open automatically, revealing the items inside.
There was dried meat, water skins, ropes, spare arrows, a simple tent, a medical kit, and other supplies.
They floated out and sorted themselves into several reinforced wooden crates.
He controlled the wooden crates to float up once more.
Several crates containing supplies and thousands of letters stacked themselves steadily on top of each other.
Theia let out a whistle and praised him.
“Lin Gui, you're getting more and more skilled with 【Levitation】.”
“I remember when we escaped the Black Demon Forest riot, you almost flew us straight into a demon nest.”
Her tone carried a hint of subtle envy.
If they could, who wouldn't want to fly?
“My apologies for that,”
Lin Gui replied nonchalantly.
As the number of levitated items increased, the mana consumption of 【Levitation】 grew exponentially.
Fortunately, it hadn't reached the terrifying levels required to maintain the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】.
Running at full capacity, he could probably maintain it for about four hours.
He put away his staff and looked at Theia.
“On the road from Caran City to the Royal Capital, I'll have to rely heavily on you for our safety.”
Theia smiled and patted the longbow on her back.
“Leave it to me.”
While the two were chatting, the inner door was suddenly pushed open with a bang.
With a dark expression, Elvia tightly clutched the book Lin Gui had given her and strode up to him.
Under the threat of death, her royal disguise had long since lost its meaning.
She grit her teeth, growling at Lin Gui word by word.
“Just how far do I have to go for you to let me go? Five years of loyalty? Ten years?”
Faced with Elvia's furious interrogation, Lin Gui merely smiled faintly:
“Even if I gave you a promise right now, would you believe it?”
Elvia's face was dark, her eyes filled with undisguised murderous intent, and she fell silent.
She whipped around to leave, leaving behind only a cold remark:
“I will do as you say. But remember, I will exhaust every means to cure this damned poison.”
“And then, I will kill you.”
The door slammed shut heavily.
“Isn't that a bit too much?” Theia looked at Lin Gui.
Lin Gui rolled his eyes at her.
“Who was the one who told me 'good people don't live long' and advised me not to deliver letters to these commoners for free?”
Theia shrugged and smiled.
“Aren't you afraid she'll actually drag you down with her?”
“Don't worry,” Lin Gui said with absolute certainty.
“Her Highness Elvia is extremely afraid of death.”
“To survive, she would throw away her dignity and beg for mercy from non-existent assassins.”
“To stay alive, she won't do anything rash. In fact...”
The corner of his mouth curved into a sarcastic arc.
“She probably wishes she could protect me as a personal bodyguard right now. Because if anything happens to me, she won't survive long either.”
Suddenly, a cautious knock sounded from outside the post office.
Lin Gui and Theia exchanged glances, thinking Elvia had returned.
Instead, it was the temporary clerk from outside who entered.
Behind him followed a burly warrior clad in leather armor.
The clerk spoke somewhat nervously:
“Master Mage, this adventurer says he has something he wishes to discuss with you.”
Expressionless, Lin Gui let his staff silently float into his hand.
Theia also cooperatively notched an arrow to her bowstring, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly.
Seeing this defensive posture, sweat broke out on the warrior's forehead instantly, and he waved his hands in a panic.
“W-Wait! Don't misunderstand! I'm not here to cause trouble!”
To deliver that suicide note, Lin Gui had faced plenty of difficulties from the adventurers of Caran City.
Although it was to complete a mission, being backstabbed for a good deed ultimately left him very displeased.
Gulp.
The warrior swallowed hard, cold sweat pouring down even faster.
Lin Gui was one thing; the deterrence of a Low-tier High Rank mage wasn't that overwhelming.
But Theia was a different story.
He had no doubt that even as a High Rank shield warrior skilled in defense, he absolutely wouldn't survive a few arrows from her.
“Cough! Calm down, Red-Eye... Cough cough! No, Lady Windrunner!” He hurriedly corrected himself.
“I'm here to deliver a letter!”
“Deliver a letter?” Lin Gui frowned.
“Can't you just drop it off outside?”
“Uh...” The warrior rubbed his hands together.
“Because the destination of this letter isn't among the city-states marked on your map.”
“Then I'm sorry,” Lin Gui refused flatly.
“I don't accept letter commissions outside of my route.”
“B-But!” the warrior said hastily.
“The place I want to send... or rather, the place the Guild wants it delivered, is right on your path! It's a location you will definitely pass by!”
“Where?”
“The scout outpost at the entrance of the Withered Rift!”
Seeing that Lin Gui didn't immediately refuse, the warrior quickly continued.
“As you know, that operation in the Black Demon Forest cost the Guild dearly... Even the Transcendent Rank scout stationed there died in the subsequent campaign.”
“Now, the Adventurer's Guild doesn't have a single Transcendent Rank powerhouse left to oversee things.”
“Except for the Gold Rank adventure group, the Loom Party, which left three months ago to complete a mapping commission.”
“Their leader is Rona, a Transcendent Assassin.”
“To pioneer a golden route from Caran City to the Royal Capital, she led her members out of Caran City three months ago.”
“The Guild is now in urgent need of recalling her to stabilize the situation!”
Just as the warrior finished speaking,
a crisp system notification suddenly rang in Lin Gui's mind.
【Ding! Special commission triggered!】
【Content: Deliver the urgent recall order from the Caran Adventurer's Guild to the scout outpost at the entrance of the Withered Rift, and hand it to Rona, the leader of the Gold Rank adventure group ‘Dreamweaver’.】
【Reward: 500 Magic Points.】
【Risk Warning: The energy field in the Withered Rift is unstable, with demon activity exceeding 90%.】
【Furthermore, the assassin Rona may not necessarily be at the scout outpost. You must hand the letter directly to her to complete the commission.】
Lin Gui raised an eyebrow. 500 Magic Points, that much?
It was enough for him to advance from Low-tier to Mid-tier.
And enough... to increase his magic proficiency by a whole tier, including... the Level 9 Shroud of the Gloomy Night.
Without showing any joy, Lin Gui held out his hand and quoted a price.
“Ten thousand gold coins.”
“What?” The warrior didn't react for a moment.
“I said, give me ten thousand gold coins, and I will deliver this letter for you.”
“But doesn't the sign outside say it's only seven copper coins per letter?”
“Your destination isn't among the city-states on the map.”
“This is an unplanned delivery.”
Lin Gui held out his hand and said flatly,
“So, ten thousand gold coins, or you can deliver it yourselves.”
The warrior was speechless. If they could deliver it themselves, why would they have come to Lin Gui?
With the Gold Rank adventure groups wiped out, the only one who could traverse such a vast wilderness was a half-demon like Theia.
The warrior left, saying he had to discuss it with the rest of the Guild.
Lin Gui was in no hurry, because he knew very well that they had no other choice.
Rate on N.U.
