The little girl poked her head out of the door and looked at the three carriages with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity. The large carriages with noble emblems seemed out of place in this neighborhood, but they were much better than the ones parked in Sturgeon Street. Some people living in Cross Street were attracted by the carriages and looked at them from afar, but no one dared to get too close. Mighty soldiers in black steel armor and dark blue robes stood beside the carriages. The black steel longswords with strange triggers and runes on their waists were intimidating. For the residents of Cross Street, such soldiers were not to be trifled with.
The mother's voice came from the house, "Pep! Don't leave the door open! Come back! "
The little girl reluctantly looked at the soldier standing near the door. The soldier noticed the little girl's gaze and nodded to her with a kind smile.
The little girl exclaimed in a low voice and quickly ran back home.
"The duke ordered me to go back to the Captical to recruit a group of sorcerers." In the living room, Santis explained to his parents why he suddenly returned home. "I'm not staying at home. I'm going to the duke's mansion on Crown Street."
The middle-aged couple had already figured out what had happened and calmed down, but they still looked at Santis in disbelief. It was as if they couldn't believe that this high-spirited young man was their son who had gone to the Dark Mountain Range and was supposed to be suffering outside. They couldn't help but look at the people around Santis. The mother said, "They are …"
"Hello, madam. I'm Gypsy, an apprentice of sorcerer loyal to the Cecil family. I'm Mr. Santis' assistant under the duke's order."
"I'm Pierce, a guard."
The two graduates of the Military Security Intelligence Agency introduced themselves according to their identities and personalities, but Santis, who was sandwiched in the middle, was obviously not used to such an atmosphere. The young arcanist hurriedly broke the awkward atmosphere. "Where's Miles?"
Miles was his younger brother and the second child of the family.
"Miles went to the cobbler's," said the father. "There's not much work to do in winter, so he found a job tanning leather for a noble."
Santis nodded. Although it was almost impossible for civilians to find a job in winter outside Cecil's territory, this was the Captical after all. The nobles would more or less need some servants to work for them in winter. These scattered jobs were great rewards for the civilians who struggled to survive. Therefore, even though the pay for these jobs was very low, everyone was eager to do them.
However, as he glanced around the living room, the young arcanist slightly frowned.
"Didn't I send money home three times?" He frowned and said, "Even if it's not enough to move to Filton Street where the environment is better, you should at least fix the doors and windows and enlarge the stove … Why is it still like this?"
Santis' father was a cook in a noble family, and his mother was a herbalist. This family was already a wealthy one among the civilians. Many years ago, his family had the opportunity to move to a better neighborhood, but in order to send Santis to the Association of Sorcerers, the family spent all their savings and lost the opportunity to move and "promote". This was also why Santis felt that he owed his family the most after he failed to become a level-three sorcerer. Therefore, the first thing he did after settling down in Cecil's territory and getting a stable income was to save money and send it home. According to his estimation, with Duke Gwen's generosity, it would only take him two or three years to save enough money for his family to move to Filton Street where the conditions were better. However, when he returned home, he found that his home was still shabby. His parents were still wearing patched clothes at home, and the only good clothes his father had was probably still the "chef's suit" that he wore when he worked in a noble's house.
What about the money he sent home?
Hearing their son's question, the middle-aged couple looked at each other with gloomy faces. After two or three seconds of awkward silence, the father said, "The conditions at home were originally going to be better … But before winter, your brother fell ill."
The mother continued, "Herbs could not cure him, so we took him to the Church of Holy Light. The pastor of the church said that he was cursed by the heretics because his faith in the Lord was not firm enough, so he could not resist those evil forces …
"The pastor performed an exorcism ritual on him and sprinkled him with holy water. Finally, Miles was cured, but because your father believed in the God of Commerce, the pastor of the Church of Holy Light said that it was a sin for someone in the family to be cursed by the heretics for believing in a heretic god, so they had to pay 'ransom' to get your brother back.
The father shook his head, as if he was full of guilt for implicating his family because of his "wrong faith". "The ransom would have required one-third to half of the family's property, and without mortgaging the house, almost all of the family's belongings would have been taken away. But fortunately, Count Todd, who I work for, came forward and put in a few good words for you, and you have a name in the Association of Mages, so the church reduced part of the ransom … But the money that was originally set aside to repair the house before winter was gone."
Santis' face gradually darkened.
He clenched his fists. He, who never knew how to be angry, felt anger for the first time.
Pierce and Gypsy, who were standing behind him, exchanged glances without batting an eyelid.
The two officers silently memorized everything they saw and heard in their hearts. Then Gypsy stepped forward and whispered in Santis' ear, "Don't forget why we're here, Mr. Santis. The duke will remember everything that happened here for you."
Santis took a deep breath and looked at his parents firmly. "I'm here to take you to Cecil Hill."
"To the Gloom Mountains?" His mother was shocked.
"It's the Cecil Hill," Santis corrected seriously. "The Gloom Mountains are just a place. The Cecil Hill is a paradise there. Father, Mother, don't believe those superstitious rumors about the Gloom Mountain Range. That place was originally desolate, but Duke Cecil has already built it into a safe, fertile, and stable home. The houses there are sturdier and warmer than the King's City, and every inch of land there is irrigated with Druid potion. It is as fertile as the best land in the Holy Spirit Plains, and Cecil's powerful army has made the entire territory incomparably safe. You will definitely have a better life there than in the King's City. "
"We've read the description in your letter. Is it all true?" His mother looked at Santis' eyes in disbelief and then said, "But the Captical …"
"This city is not worth staying in. It has never treated its people as its people." Santis suddenly felt that he could use his tongue. "We don't have land here. Even if we have a house, the church can find a reason to take it away at any time. It's better for the whole family to come with me to Cecil. Mother, after you go there, you can go to the alchemy factory. They need herbalists who can identify all kinds of herbs. Father, you can go to the lord's mansion, where they need a chef. Pep can go to school in the academy, and so can Miles. We can also go to the machine factory and learn how to make machines from a wise craftsman. Our whole family can live a very decent life there. "
The couple looked at each other. It was obvious that it was a very difficult decision for them to make to leave the place they had lived in for half their lives, but Santis' words still moved them. Seeing this, Santis immediately said, "I came back this time to recruit a group of scholars on the orders of the lord to build the territory. I also want to take the families of the craftsmen who went to Cecil with me. Those craftsmen have long made up their minds to take their families, so I'm not the only one who has made this decision."
"… I'm going to say goodbye to Count Todd first," Santis' father finally said, nodding. "I can't just leave like this."
Santis' mother looked at her husband, a little surprised. "Jon?"
"My son is right. We should try life elsewhere," Santis' father said, gritting his teeth. "Last week … the McIntosh family's fields and barn outside the city were confiscated because they believed in the Goddess of the Night and did not want to change their faith. Honey, I have a bad feeling that the atmosphere in the city is changing. We'd better take this opportunity to leave here. "
Santis' mother, who was used to following her husband's orders all her life, lowered her head. "… Okay, I'll listen to you."
An hour later, after waiting for his brother to come home and inform them of the arrangements, Santis returned to the carriage with the Cecil family emblem. The three carriages drove through the crossroads, which had a history of more than two hundred years. They turned a corner in the square and drove to Crown Street, which was located in the central area of the Captical.
"Where should we start?" Gypsy, who had never been to the Captical before, humbly asked for Santis' opinion. Although she had a glib tongue and was trained by the CIA, in this unfamiliar environment, she decided to listen to the experience of the local tyrant first.
"I'll write to the friends I know who are more qualified. The Handyman Association can hire messengers who can deliver letters to any place in San Sunil within a day. Also, send a messenger to the Association of Mages later with the Duke's emblem as proof to announce the recruitment of mages. Miss Gypsy, I'll also have to trouble you to take the Duke's proof document to the Scholar's Hall next to the Silver Castle. That's the organization of the Captical scholars. You can announce the recruitment of scholars there. Maybe they'll be interested in the Gondor relics and the rare flora and fauna in the Gloom Mountain Range that were unearthed in Cecil … "
Santis assigned the tasks one by one. In the end, he paused and turned to 'Quick-Legged' Pierce. "Mr. Pierce, please go to the Association of Craftsmen. There's no need for proof documents. You can spend one Ansu silver shield coin to announce the recruitment of craftsmen, mainly rune craftsmen and skilled mechanic engineers. Just announce the news according to the salary of the Magicite Technician in the territory. Also, the recruited craftsmen will receive training in Cecil, but even during the apprenticeship period, they can still get two-thirds of the salary. I believe the salary of the Magicite Technician in Cecil is enough to tempt many people. "
Gypsy looked seriously at Santis, who was calm and well-organized, and suddenly could not help but laugh. "Mr. Santis, you seem to have changed."
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