Chapter 343 Similar People
The total straight-line distance from Dorn City to Lagos City is 361 kilometers.
For an airship, this is not a long journey.
So soon the airship arrived at its destination and landed smoothly at the airship base in Lagos City.
Compared to Dorne City, the landscape of Lagos City seems to lag far behind.
Leave aside the dilapidated buildings, streets and scenery, the number of airships traveling in the sky is very small, less than one-fifth of the number in Dorne City, and most of them are old-fashioned airships.
Gaode magnanimously carried the luggage in one hand and held Anna in the other as he got off the airship.
There are corresponding inspections for boarding the airship, but there is no such process for getting off the airship.
He followed the passage and left the airship base.
Gaode also wanted to ask about the specific situation of Anna's family, but Anna couldn't tell the details. I don't know whether it was intentional concealment or she really couldn't tell.
He also had the intention to hand Anna over to the airship staff and let them send Anna back.
But every time he thought of this, Anna would look at him pitifully, and her tears would fall down.
Although there is some element of showmanship in it, the emotions of "grievance" and "sadness" do exist.
The point is that there are only these two emotions, and there are no negative emotions such as "complaint" or "anger".
This makes it difficult for Gaode to be ruthless.
"What's your sister's name? What is she good at?" At the entrance of the airship base, Gothe hesitated again and again, and finally asked.
Anna was stunned for a moment, and then she understood the meaning of Gothe's question very smartly. She laughed happily, her big eyes narrowed together like a crescent moon.
"My sister's name is Elsa, she can do everything!" Anna said loudly and proudly.
"You said nothing."
"Anna only knows this."
Gothe is even more helpless, but he has always been a straightforward person. Once he has decided on something, he will not change his mind easily.
Hence, the little girl's full trust did benefit him a lot.
"But I have a task to perform here, so I have to complete the task first before I can help you find your sister. Before that, you have to stay by yourself and don't run around, okay?"
"Of course, brother, you have your own business to worry about. I'm very good." Anna acted very "well-behaved"
If she was really good, she wouldn't sneak out by herself.
Complaints are still complaints, Gaode still put on a gentle smile.
Anna is very talkative, and it seems that because she knows that "acting" is useless here in Gothe, she quickly reveals her "naughty nature".
But to be fair, a child who dares to sneak into an airship alone must have a bit of "bear" in his background, and he is definitely an iron-headed kid.
In Anna's trivial narration, which was chirping like a bird, Gothe gradually learned some information about Anna.
The little girl, like him, is not an aborigine of the Plantagenet dynasty, but comes from other countries.
She must have been born into a wealthy family before. For some reason, her family fell into decline and her parents died. She was taken by her sister to flee to the Plantagenet Dynasty, where she took refuge with a good friend of her father's.
However, because she still owes a large debt, the creditor may come to collect the debt at any time, so after settling down, Anna's sister came to Lagos city to make a living non-stop.
According to Anna, her sister is good at everything, so she can work in any industry in Lagos.
She is only good at drawing and playing with toys.
Yes, the little girl calls drawing runes a painting, and calls an alchemy machine a toy.
However, a family that has access to a large number of alchemy machines may not just be summed up by the word "rich"?
Of course, this is not important. No matter how profound Anna's family was, it has now declined.
Sea Sentinel trainee mage goes out on a mission, and his daily accommodation subsidy is 3 silver dragons. In addition, there is also a meal subsidy of 1 silver dragon and a city transportation subsidy of 1 silver dragon.
If you exceed this standard, you have to pay for it yourself.
Under normal circumstances, this subsidy standard is sufficient.
After all, even in the city of Dorne where the price level is the highest, you can stay in a good hotel with 3 silver dragon coins.
In Lagos, where the economy has been in recession, 3 Silver Dragon coins can even stay in a hotel in the city center for one night.
But it can only be a single room of the lowest grade.
Walking on the streets of Lagos City, there are far fewer pedestrians on the road than in Dorne City, and their clothing is obviously a different level.
The humid sea breeze carries the dirty air and blows into your face, proving that the sanitation of Lagos City is not satisfactory.
The setting sun cuts the clock tower, a landmark building standing in the center of Lagos, diagonally in half, with homeless people huddled between the peeling columns.
Handskinned, barefoot children ran in the street.
Gaode walked along the street towards the Municipal Square. All the hotels he saw along the way had iron signs with "vacant rooms" and "today's special offer" hanging at the door.
The hotels in Lagos City prospered briefly during the Spirit Fever period, but now they have entered a more deserted stage.
Gaode counted all the way until he stopped in front of the eighth hotel with the iron sign of "vacant room".
The faded brass signboard shows the name of the hotel:
The Palm Tree Hotel.
A few clusters of ferns poked out from the gaps between the pillars of the porch. When you walked into the door, the proprietress behind the counter was applying palm oil to her curly hair for maintenance. There was an old hand-written parchment on the table.
The parchment contains some information and simplified portraits of wanted criminals hand-drawn by Lagos City officials.
Although the lines of those portraits are simple, they outline the characteristics of the wanted criminal very clearly, and are also marked with the wanted criminal's name, place of origin, crime and reward amount next to them in detail.
And some important news will be written on the last page of the parchment, such as the dynasty's laws and policies and some major war news.
But the focus is still on the information on wanted criminals, which makes it easier for hotel owners and customers to report suspicious characters in a timely manner.
The price list for hotel rooms is hung high above the counter, written in black ink on a wooden board, so the prices are clear at a glance.
Gaode glanced at it and said, "Please help me rent a single room facing the street for three nights. I need a receipt."
There is no such thing as an "invoice" in the previous life in this world, but most regular hotels will provide handwritten receipts.
The receipt is usually made on a hotel's special letterhead, with the hotel's corresponding mark on it. The date of stay, room number, and fee details are also written on the receipt. Finally, the hotel staff will sign and stamp the receipt.
Hearing Gothe's request, the landlady made an inarticulate grunt like a dove in her throat. However, her purple-red fingertips quickly took out a blank receipt form from the drawer and started writing it down.
Gaode was waiting for the boss lady to write the receipt, and he turned over the hand-written parchment on the table.
"The principality of Ovoga and the principality of Sidian went to war, and the principality of Sidian was destroyed." Finally, his eyes fell on a small briefing on the last page.
The Principality of Voga and the Principality of Sidian have long had grievances over territorial disputes and resource distribution issues. This time the conflict has completely intensified and completely broke out.
The principality of Ervoga assembled its elite troops and used clever tactics to go around to the rear of the Principality of Sidian and raid its supply lines, resulting in a shortage of supplies and morale in the Principality of Sidian's army.
Later, in the crucial decisive battle on the plains, the alchemical weapons of the Principality of Ervoga exerted great power and completely collapsed the defense line of the Principality of Sidian.
In the end, the capital of the Principality of Sidian was captured by the army of the Principality of Ovoga, and was declared destroyed, and the royal family was all beheaded.
Gauthe noticed this briefing because these two principalities, like the Principality of Sien, were located between the Plantagenet Dynasty and the Holy Empire, and stood in the land where there were many principalities.
The Russian Voga Principality even has a small border with the Xien Principality.
But that’s all.
Now, he is an out-and-out Plantagenet dynasty member, with the identity of a Sea Sentinel mage.
"Single room facing the street, hot water supply all day long, free breakfast, 3 silver dragons a night, three days in total, you will be charged 9 silver dragons." The landlady said while writing the receipt.
Gothe put down the parchment, took out a shiny gorse coin and pushed it over.
The landlady skillfully swept the gorse coins into the drawer with her fingertips, and retrieved a silver dragon from Gaode. At the same time, she had already written the receipt and handed it to Gaode.
"Sir, your receipt."
- Except for those official personnel who need reimbursement, generally no one will ask for a receipt.
It's just that she couldn't help but glance at Anna held by Gothe's left hand a few more times, feeling somewhat puzzled in her heart.
The officer in front of me looks too young, and he doesn’t seem to have such a big child. Why did he bring his child with him when he went out on official duties?
It’s really strange.
In the messy shack, dim light squeezed in through the cracks of the old wooden boards, making the shadows of the several men in the house crooked.
They were sitting together, with several glasses of ale placed on the table in front of them. Everyone had a bored look on their face, taking a sip from time to time.
Da da da.
Hurrying footsteps sounded, from far to near.
The men immediately put down the wine glasses in their hands and looked at the door warily.
The door of the shack was pushed open, and a gust of wind with a putrid smell came in.
"There is news from above that the mission to expel water beasts in Lagos City has been issued by the Marine Sentinel. According to the news, the mission was issued yesterday. People should be here in the next two days. Everyone, please stop for a few days." The person who came in said loudly.
"Close the door first." shouted the man in the room who had already covered his nose.
“It’s been so long and you’re still being pretentious.” The man who came in later cursed and quickly closed the door with his hands.
"It's like this again. The higher-ups want to force these untouchables to leave, but they don't dare to be cruel, so they let us do these little tricks all day long, and put some bugs and octopuses in to disgust people." One of the men muttered dissatisfiedly, with a look of boredom on his face.
"How dare the higher-ups be so ruthless? Once there are large-scale casualties, the Sentinel will not send a mage to drive away the water beasts, but will come down to conduct a thorough investigation and harm the people. That is a serious crime!" Another man took over the conversation and waved his hand as he spoke, seeming to emphasize the seriousness of the matter.
“So let us stay in a place like this all day long. Damn it, if we stay any longer, I will be pickled. It stinks so much. How on earth can these untouchables live here?” Another man complained.
"If they had a choice, how could they be willing to stay here."
"Bear it, the reward will not be small if things are done here."
"Well, what can we do even if they don't want to endure it, there are people from the Sea Sentinel. , at least it will give us a few days of rest. "
"Let's rest for a few days, and then we have to come back and continue working. Forget about the smell, if we accidentally get bitten by these bugs, it will be very uncomfortable." One of them said, his eyes unconsciously fell on a huge bucket in the shack.
In the bucket, groups of larvae are swimming freely.
These larvae have a weird shape, with an elongated body, about the thickness of an adult's finger. Their entire body is a disgusting dark green color, with a layer of sticky mucus on the surface that exudes a rancid smell.
Their heads are extremely small, with a pair of almost invisible small black eyes, and their tails are wide and flat. They swing in the water, causing the surrounding sewage to create circles of turbid ripples, and their whole bodies exude a huge odor similar to that of a rotting corpse.
"Put down these larvae tonight, and then we will retreat first."
In the end, it seemed that the leading man in the room made the final decision.
Use the key to open the slightly mottled wooden door, and an old smell hits your face.
Gothe carried Anna into the room, simply put away the luggage, then put the little girl down, and instead held Anna's little hand and left the Palm Tree Hotel.
After driving for a long time, it’s already dinner time.
Not to mention Anna, children are more likely to be hungry.
It’s time to experience the local specialties.
This is not difficult to find, just find a small restaurant.
Anna tore off a piece of fish with her hands, put it into her mouth, chewed hard, and then made a squeaking sound. She was obviously not used to the food in front of her.
Place in front of them was a peculiar grilled fish covered in red spices.
This is a banana leaf grilled giant catfish that is wrapped in a kind of banana leaf that is extremely heat-resistant in Lagos City. It is a local specialty catfish, sprinkled with special dipping sauce and then grilled on the fire.
Beside it were five or six smoked fish connected head to tail, like squid rings.
Gao De looked at the serious expression on Anna's little face and couldn't help but laugh: "If you don't like it, don't force it, just change the dish."
"Sister said, things are different now, and we can no longer be as picky about food as before." Anna shook her head and sighed, like a sad little adult.
Gothe lowered his head and stuffed a mouthful of fish while smiling. The taste was really weird, but he was taught to cherish food, so unless it was really difficult to eat, he would generally not waste food.
Two pieces of smoked fish that look like squid rings are stuffed in. This one tastes much better than grilled catfish.
「以后有机会我带你吃点好的，这里我不熟。」
「谢谢哥哥。」安娜认真地点了点小脑袋，虽然在父亲与母亲还在的时候，她基本什么好吃的都尝过，对食物已经没有什么太大的盼望，但依然对高德随口的承诺感到高兴，觉得对方真是个好人。
After finishing this local delicacy, Gothe took Anna back to the hotel.
It was getting late today, and he was not a model worker. Naturally, he had to have a good night's rest before setting out to perform the mission tomorrow.
But before taking a break, daily practice and rune practice cannot be neglected.
This is the basic skill.
Gothe did not avoid Anna. After giving himself [Divine Guidance +], he took out the lacquered jade paper and rune pen and began to practice with concentration.
And Anna sat obediently on the bed, quietly watching Gothe's every move.
After a long time, Gothe came to his senses from the rune in his hand. When he looked up, he found that Anna was still looking at him seriously as she was at the beginning.
This seems to be an incredible thing for a child.
"Brother, are you okay?"
"Okay." Gothe put down the rune pen in his hand.
"Brother, are you a rune constructor?" Anna asked again.
"So be it, although I haven't made a set of runes yet." Gothe suddenly realized and looked at Anna in surprise: "How do you know?" He scratched his head and said in a childish voice: "I have already mastered everything the teacher can teach me. The remaining things have to wait until I become an official mage to continue teaching, so I can only play with those big toys."
Gothe looked at Anna's big doubtful eyes and was filled with surprise.
He had no idea that a five-year-old girl would know so many things.
It seems that her previous family environment should be much more favorable than she had previously guessed.
(End of this chapter)