When old friends met, they should have a lot to talk about, but Natha was not in the mood to talk. She was only slightly curious about this former pursuer. The Wood Elf village had changed too much in two years. Randolf, who could have hunted for the rest of his life, had now become a proud market manager. This change in fate made Natha sigh.
But after the sigh, she still had things to do. Randolf's EQ was not high. He did not see the coldness behind Natha's back. Instead, he raised the various goods in his hands as if showing off. "Let's go! I'll go call a few people. Let's have a good meal. There's smoked meat unique to Hollier. It tastes much better than the ones we used to make! "
"You don't know, do you? Most of the wooden houses in the village had been renovated, and everyone had been allocated comfortable houses! There's also a fireplace in the winter. This thing is really useful. My fireplace has been specially modified. It's perfect for roasting meat. I'll go call Ohm and the others now. Let's have dinner together! "
Randolf was much more talkative than before. In Natha's memory, Randolf was also a quiet fellow. But time had changed everything. Dealing with peddlers all day made Randolf unavoidably become philistine.
With the outstanding appearance of a Wood Elf, Randolf won the favor of many human women when he occasionally went to Hollier. These women could not resist the handsome appearance of a High Elf. In the end, Randolf could not resist the desire to communicate with other races … When he found that it was so easy to make women give up their bodies, this Wood Elf naturally began to use his advantage to gradually seek excitement. He seduced other people's wives and slept with the mistresses of nobles. In short, in these two years, Randolf's life had undergone earth-shaking changes.
He walked out of Elsa's village and was overwhelmed by the prosperity and desire of the human world. Now that he saw Natha again, the first thing he did not think of was Roddy, who she used to follow. Instead, he habitually pondered about crooked thoughts.
But Natha had been in the intelligence department for a long time and was very familiar with the hidden meaning behind Randolf's words. She frowned slightly, but she quickly suppressed the annoyance in her heart. Roddy had once said that people change. He had changed a lot, and so had Randolf. If you don't like it, then don't force it.
"I still have something to do. Let's meet again later."
Natha waved her hand, but she didn't leave immediately. She knew that her current 'role' was that of an ordinary wood elf returning home, not the leader of the intelligence department. She continued, "Are there a lot of merchant caravans these days?"
"Many? Actually, there were a lot less people than before. I heard that the war had just ended, and many caravans had only started to move around recently. Before that, this place was deserted for more than a month. "
Randolf wholeheartedly wanted to invite Natha to the party, but the latter politely refused. At the same time, her seemingly casual questions had elicited a lot of information from him. Finally, a loud noise interrupted Randolf's entanglement. Natha turned around and saw a new caravan entering the village. Randolf's interest was piqued because it meant that he could receive more bribes.
Therefore, he didn't ask Natha any further. He made an excuse to leave and went straight to her.
Natha sighed and shook her head. She didn't know if this situation was good or bad for her people. But if she thought about it carefully, if it wasn't for the opening of the trade route, the wood elves in the village might have to endure the threat of famine.
Many problems would only appear after they had eaten their fill. But if they didn't have enough to eat, what was the difference between them and beasts?
The area of the village was three times larger than before, but it only took her twenty minutes to reach the end of the journey. After that, she didn't return to her wooden hut. Instead, she put on her hood and slowly walked into the tavern provided for human caravans. She walked up the stairs to a room on the third floor. After opening the door, a voice came from inside the room. "You haven't eaten, right? I asked the front desk to send two servings in advance. "
"Okay, thank you."
Natha casually thanked her. Natha, who was lying on the armchair and holding a copy of 'Cullen's Era', rolled her eyes. "Really, it's just the two of us. Why are you being so polite?"
"I'm used to it."
Natha sat at the small dining table in the suite, took off her warm fur coat, and started eating. This hotel was actually one of the 'CIA's' strongholds. To the outside world, this was just an ordinary suite, but in fact, it was the local intelligence headquarters. Behind the bookshelf on the wall was a secret door, which led to the office where all kinds of documents and intelligence were handled.
Logically speaking, this place should be very busy, but in fact, both of them were quite idle at the moment.
"Speaking of which, does the Prime Minister have anything against you?"
"Hmm?"
Natha looked up. "Why do you say that?"
"From the beginning to the end of this war, so many people have been decorated and have received the credit they deserve. But you threw them to such a remote place from the beginning. Look, even Elson and the other blacksmiths have been awarded. "
Natha waved the newspaper. She had also been awarded two medals. Although it was a deserved reward for participating in the operation, Natha had always felt that Natha was much stronger than her, so she had such doubts in her heart.
"Fighting a war isn't for medals."
Natha's heart didn't waver. She had never thought of doing all these things for rewards — things like medals and such were worthless in Natha's eyes. In fact, if it were anyone else, it would be impolite to bring up this topic, and it might even be provocative. But Natha was simple. Not only did her question not make Natha feel disgusted, it actually made her feel at ease.
"Where's Sodelor?"
"After the last battle, he said that he's going to improve the military system. He's still with the Holy Cathedral. But I heard that there will be holidays around the new year, so he should be returning to Paar Hill then. "
"Then you'll definitely ask for leave to accompany him, right? You can't stop talking about it all day … "
A wood elf and a Teflin, two non-human races, chatted about all kinds of topics in the room. This was a rare scene. But after Natha finished eating, Natha changed the topic to work. "Is there any feedback?"
"After spreading it out for so long, there are some replies, but most of them are just poor mercenary groups."
Teflin was a little confused. "The kingdom is already united. Will the Holy Cathedral still take the risk to come here?"
"After the last loss, they'll definitely be more cautious. So, the only thing we need to do this time is to make everything as realistic as possible."
Natha put away the plates, opened a hidden door behind the bookshelf, and said in a low voice, "This time, we have to take care of those lunatics from the Holy Cathedral."
Natha didn't say anything. She knew that the Holy Cathedral almost made Roddy disappear forever after the incident at Hercino Magic Tower. Natha didn't show it on the surface, but her hatred for those people was probably deeper than anyone else's.
*****
At the same time, in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Karen, Pukali Town.
After the Viper Cross was completely destroyed, Roddy let the Rose Cross take over the parishes in the country. But the Holy Cathedral had just experienced a loss last year, and there weren't enough bishops to take over these parishes. So, some of the border areas were still "ownerless".
Of course, this "ownerless" was in terms of faith. Now, all the territories in the kingdom belonged to Sally the First without exception. And now, there was no longer the concept of other "lords". Some titles gradually became popular. Nowadays, cities and regions were no longer referred to as "XX Territory", but as "XX Province".
Everyone quickly accepted the word "province". At the same time, they also called the chief executive of each province "governor". This was an official position that replaced the lords, and was determined by the decree of the cabinet. Currently, most of the "governors" were the lords of the former territories. They had most of the administrative power in the province, but in terms of real power, it had shrunk a lot. And the cabinet also issued a series of reward and punishment measures to evaluate the achievements of the "governors". At the same time, all the "governors" would not always stay in the same province. They would have to rotate, and there was a limit to their terms.
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