Chapter 1323: Cormanthor Investigator, A Personal Visit

Savile Town.

After arriving in town, Xia Duo did not immediately go to see that Cormanthor investigator; he intended to see Mage Warren first to see if he could obtain some new information from him.

The Portal of the Tower of Time was some distance from the Town Hall, and the permanent office of the External Affairs Mage in the Trade District was also some distance from the Town Hall, though slightly further than the Portal.

With Xia Duo deliberately slowing his pace, by the time he arrived at the Town Hall, Mage Warren was already waiting at the entrance, along with Town Mayor Sain and Dailike, the Chief Official of commerce for the Savile Territory.

Xia Duo did not want to make a big scene out of this, especially with Dailike; although he had just used the man in Seventon a few days ago, why was he crowding in now? Was he not afraid of losing his life if a fight broke out later?

"Town Mayor Sain, Dailike, my coming here has nothing to do with you. Go do what you need to do, or leave the Town Hall for now and take refuge in the Temple; there may be danger here in a moment."

Upon hearing this, Sain's expression changed immediately, and he hurriedly asked, "My Lord, should we send someone to notify Keyaan?"

"No need. That Elf investigator is a veteran Mage, equivalent to a human Archmage. Ordinary soldiers would be of almost no use, so do not make any pointless sacrifices."

Xia Duo directly rejected Sain's suggestion. In truth, he did not believe the other party had the audacity to stir up trouble within the borders of Netheril; after all, the Northland Alliance had not yet been formally established, and variables still existed.

Originally, Illefarn and Netheril were already dissatisfied with placing the signing location and the future Alliance Headquarters in Evereska. If Cormanthor were to stir up any trouble at this time, they would definitely suffer in the final negotiations.

And the person stirring up trouble would naturally not fare well either.

Although Xia Duo was almost certain that the Cormanthor investigator must have come with ill intent, it would not yet escalate to an immediate armed conflict; it was likely an attempt to force the Savile Territory to make concessions in some aspect through some righteous-sounding excuse.

After sending Sain and Dailike away, Xia Duo called for Warren to enter the Town Hall, found an office at random to sit down in, and only then began to inquire in detail:

"When exactly did that Cormanthor investigator arrive in the Savile Territory? Did she reveal herself voluntarily? Or did she slip up and get discovered by you?"

"Apologies, My Lord. We have no way of determining exactly when that Elf arrived in the Savile Territory. Even her presence was only known because we received notification from the Silver Leaf Family."

"She? That investigator is female?"

"Yes. Just this noon, I suddenly received notification from the Silver Leaf Family saying that Cormanthor had sent an investigator to look into the truth behind the deaths of the Elf refugees in Savile Town back then, and they hinted that the other party might have an extraordinary background."

"In other words, all the information you know comes from the Silver Leaf Family? And you yourself have never met that Cormanthor investigator?"

"Yes." Warren gave an affirmative answer once again.

Xia Duo continued to inquire and learned that from the moment the Cormanthor investigator appeared until now, she had been staying at Lady Patti's manor in the north of Savile Town, which was now also the temporary residence of the Silver Leaf Family in the Savile Territory.

She had not even taken the initiative to contact the Savile Territory authorities.

If not for the notification from the Silver Leaf Family, everyone, including Xia Duo and Niya, might still be kept in the dark!

"Could it be that she really is here to investigate the situation regarding the deaths of the Elf refugees back then?" Xia Duo could not help but doubt his previous judgment.

If she truly held such a purpose toward the Savile Territory, she should have contacted the Savile Territory side first, rather than staying with the Silver Leaf Family.

But if she were truly here to investigate the deaths of the Elf refugees, she shouldn't be staying with the Silver Leaf Family either. Even if she didn't need human help, she should at least go to the original crime scene to take a look, or even tour the entire Savile Town.

Or, was this just the arrogance of the Elves?

No matter the purpose, it must be you humans who come to pay a visit first, and then I will reluctantly inform you of what needs to be done!

Based on Xia Duo's understanding of Elves, this was something they were truly capable of doing!

Whether they wanted to target you or seek your help, that bunch of long-ears could speak with righteous indignation and take it for granted, as if the mere fact that they opened their mouths was a favor to humans.

This really was a detestable attitude!

Of course, for Elves who do not understand humans, the attitude might not necessarily be that malicious; it is more often out of a general alienation from strange cultures and strange races, which, in the eyes of humans, borders on arrogance.

And for those Elves who do understand humans, the arrogant posture is more often a deliberate suppression strategy.

In fact, some Elves become even more arrogant the more they encounter powerful humans. On one hand, they are confident in the limits of a human powerhouse's dignity; on the other hand, it stems from their identification with the Elf race and the strength of their own nation.

The so-called "weak nations have no diplomacy"—to a certain extent, this is it.

Even Illefarn, currently an ally of Netheril, appears to be very close to humans, but only they themselves know what they are thinking inside.

Xia Duo was temporarily powerless to change this status quo, but he firmly believed that as long as he was given time, the Elves would eventually look at humans squarely, or even look up to humans in the future.

But for now, he could only take the initiative to meet that Cormanthor investigator. Regardless of what purpose she harbored, he would certainly not let her succeed easily.

……

North District of Savile Town.

Xia Duo was no stranger to Lady Patti's manor, but in his Perception, he had not been here for many years, which gave him a somewhat surreal feeling of time and space being out of order.

And the fact that Lady Patti and Patriarch Aoruipusi of the Silver Leaf Family came out to greet him personally somewhat eased the unpleasant feeling in his heart about visiting an outsider on his own turf.

Lady Patti left quickly after meeting him once, but Patriarch Aoruipusi stayed behind to lead the way for Xia Duo personally. Of course, his main purpose in doing so was to introduce that Cormanthor investigator to Xia Duo—

"Lord Xia Duo, that investigator claims to have been entrusted by the Moon Dew Rose Family to come and investigate the truth behind the death of a child of an old friend."

"Is that so?" Xia Duo was noncommittal about this. Regarding that Cormanthor investigator he was about to meet, he already had his own judgment.

To this, Aoruipusi smiled awkwardly, "Of course, that is just the other party's excuse. Before you arrived, Lord Xia Duo, I had already contacted the Moon Dew Rose Family, and they are completely unaware of this commission, however—"

"However what?" Xia Duo immediately pressed.

"However, I saw the unique mark of the Luncita Family—what you humans know as the 【Moon Crown】 Family—on that investigator."