Pillar of Yita

Leaving the Artisan’s Office, Fang Hong and Miss Hilveld opted to finish their lunch at a quaint restaurant named ’Seawind Pavilion.’ It was a very small eatery, but situated beside the Cloud Sea with beautiful views, its owner was skillful and crafty and had arranged the compact space like a cozy home, with rows of elf-style columns and guests seated beneath a vine-covered corridor.

As Miss Hilveld had mentioned, the Invoker had ushered in a new era of commercial prosperity for the Kingdom. Thirty to forty years ago, in Golande, you couldn’t see such a variety of inns, bars, and restaurants, let alone the closely packed small shops on Sheful Street and the omnipresent stores selling magic-guided and alchemy supplies.

Fang Hong finally sampled Tarun’s Silver Trout, an item pricey in Osh but just a regular ingredient in Colin Ishurian. The restaurant owner’s cooking was quite good; the golden-brown fish was grilled just right, but he felt it was still slightly inferior to Miss Atira’s culinary skills.

Miss Hilveld was as elegant as ever during the meal. After finishing, she neatly arranged her cutlery, wiped her hands with a napkin, and then watched as Fang Hong made a mess of his side of the table, which amused yet intrigued her.

She watched as Fang Hong cut a small piece of the golden-brown fish, forked it, and placed it on a silver dish in front of Miss Fairy, who was kneeling on the tablecloth—Tata had a special set of miniature silver tableware, including a plate, a pair of cutlery, a tray, and a small tea cup for drinking.

Fang Hong had made these in his spare time especially for her.

However, he lacked knowledge in crafting fine art, so these items were merely functional in appearance and hardly aesthetic.

Miss Hilveld knew that Tata didn’t really understand these items, but she seemed to enjoy this tableware set very much, and would take them wherever she went, sharing meals in such a fashion with her servant.

”Does Miss Tata like them?”

Tata looked up; the two of them were already familiar, so she nodded at Miss Hilveld.

The overseas breeze sifted through the gray-white columns, playing with the hair of both women. Miss Hilveld smiled gently, pushed a crystal grape towards Tata, and the soft light flickered in her pale blue eyes. Fang Hong watched the scene unfold before him with Miss Ship’s Officer smiling placidly, suddenly feeling a peculiar sensation.

The warm sunlight of the overseas harbor’s afternoon, penetrating the green shade of the vines, a quiet and deserted little restaurant with a white dining table and two chairs, the distant hustle seeming worlds away—right now, it was just him, Miss Hilveld, and Tata, as if it were truly a date with the Miss Ship’s Officer.

Thinking about it, this was his first time inviting a lady out for a meal alone, and such a remarkable woman at that, both intelligent and gentle—

”What are you looking at?” noticing his gaze, Miss Hilveld asked.

”The Rat People from Andrett underground, they are friends of Miss Hilveld, aren’t they?” Fang Hong put down his silver fork and asked a question that had long been on his mind.

Miss Hilveld grew quiet, nodding slightly, ”They are actually friends of Princess Briana. I asked them to help me map the underground. They are brave little creatures, very loyal to friends, but I didn’t expect Toragotos to target them.”

When Fang Hong saw the old Rat Person’s emblem in hand, he had this suspicion, as others might think it was just a small emblem, but he was very aware of Miss Ship’s Officer’s meticulous nature; she wouldn’t fail to notice if something proving her identity was missing.

The clues at the scene that were disadvantageous for Miss Hilveld were actually a point of suspicion, but at the time she hadn’t told him; however, from the slates in her and Alice’s hands, he could deduce some clues.

Listening to his judgement, Miss Hilveld asked with a hint of amusement, ”Is this the Captain’s unique way of trusting me?”

Fang Hong nodded.

”Then may I invite the Captain for a drink?”

She said with a smile, gently lifting a stemmed glass and swirling the transparent Moonlight Wine within, delicately lifting her veil to take a small sip. Her bright eyes, through the black veil, never left the young man before her, seemingly filled with a different kind of affection.

Fang Hong watched this scene somewhat bewilderingly, feeling his heart skip a beat for the first time.

Leaving Seawind Pavilion, Miss Hilveld suggested a shop named ’Purple Vines and Silver Leaves’ for magic-guided and alchemical supplies. It was a historical shop, existing in the Royal City for over a hundred years, frequented by Sir Mawei in the past, and she had also visited a few times in her childhood, although her memories were vague.

Fortunately, Miss Ship’s Officer still remembered the way; the last ten years had seen little change in Golande, and she led the way through the alleys, occasionally discussing the history of the alchemy shop with Fang Hong.

The location of the magic-guided and alchemy shop was not remote but couldn’t be called very bustling either—it was merely at the intersection of two streets.

The store owner was not as eccentric as the long-eared Miss Elpaxin, but was a rather cold person. Fang Hong heard others call him Mr. Karlanster and only remembered him wearing a dusty apron, glasses perched on his nose, standing in the shadows of the shelves, tinkering with a delicate small-scale construct.