Chapter 165: Keeping in Line

Hmm?

After Jianaer left, Xia Duo felt uneasy, not knowing what Niya actually wanted. It shouldn't be official business, otherwise she would have just said so, but if it were a private matter, Xia Duo didn't have much interaction with her.

"Mentor Niya, you were looking for me—"

Niya did not answer immediately, but instead looked at Xia Duo with a very strange expression, "Did you accept a private task at the Task Management Office earlier?"

"Yes!"

"The publisher of that private task, Lady Patti, wants to see you."

"Lady Patti?! See me?!" Xia Duo did not quite understand, "Isn't that task already finished?"

He had already received the Gold Coins; could it be that the other party wanted to go back on her word, or perhaps she wanted him to continue the investigation? Instinctively, Xia Duo did not want to continue dealing with her.

But Niya said, "The task is indeed finished, but now there is an additional task."

"Mentor Niya, do you want me to go?" Xia Duo asked tentatively; if Niya truly requested this, it meant Lady Patti might actually know the Lord.

But what was the point of finding him? It would be much better to go directly to the Lord!

"Yes, I want you to go see her."

Before she could finish, Niya was made somewhat shy and annoyed by Xia Duo's strange gaze, and she said crossly, "The truth behind the death of Feierbosi is not simple; it is not something an ordinary person like her can investigate. Go and persuade her."

"Why me?"

"Naturally, because your status is similar to hers, and you have gained her trust. Are you going or not?" Niya's tone was somewhat stiff; she seemed very unskilled at this kind of persuasion.

Xia Duo was also considering that since Niya was the Lord's student, her asking him to persuade Lady Patti to give up the investigation clearly meant the Lord was exerting influence behind the scenes.

It was evident that the relationship between the Lord and Lady Patti, or rather with Feierbosi himself, or even with the death of Feierbosi, was somewhat strange.

Lady Patti was able to hire people to investigate, and while the Lord did not openly oppose it, he was privately sending people to persuade Lady Patti.

Xia Duo did not care what these people were thinking; he was only worried about whether getting involved in this matter would cause trouble.

"Hey!" Niya's voice interrupted Xia Duo's thoughts, "Speak!"

This voice lacked the pretentious, serious demeanor from before; instead, it revealed a playfulness and cuteness that immediately captured Xia Duo's attention.

He looked at Niya, knowing he actually had no other choice. If a 7th-level Mage specifically sought him out, she certainly didn't want him to refuse; otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to such trouble.

Xia Duo could only agree, but he still wanted the benefits he was owed. However, before he could speak, Niya said with some hesitation, "If you really don't want to go, you can also refuse."

"Eh—"

What was this situation? Xia Duo felt he was being bewildered by his confused mentor; one moment she wanted him to go, the next she said he didn't have to.

Are you, a 7th-level Mage, really that idle?

Xia Duo neither agreed nor refused, but instead looked at Niya, hoping to get further explanation from her.

Niya sighed, her emotions showing once again. After all, she was still young; Niya felt quite sympathetic toward Lady Patti's plight and did not understand her father's decision.

Furthermore, besides Lady Patti, everything on the Territory regarding Feierbosi and the wood carvings had been sealed off; in truth, Niya also hoped to obtain more explanations.

Looking at Xia Duo's inquisitive gaze, Niya felt inexplicably irritable, "There is a task at the Task Management Office, and Lady Patti is in Research Room 34. Whether you go or not is up to you."

After saying this, Niya disappeared from the room. A few seconds later, a bewildered Xia Duo was subjected to Banishment to the corridor outside the Niya Research Room.

"What is all this!"

Even so, since Xia Duo already knew, he could not ignore it.

Regardless of whether it was a hint or a direct instruction, Niya's initial intent was perhaps what the Mage Tower wanted him to do, or rather, what the Lord wanted him to do; Xia Duo could not refuse.

It was just that Niya's actions were somewhat strange, so Xia Duo decided to proceed according to his own understanding.

After lunch, Xia Duo first went to the Task Management Office to confirm that Lady Patti had indeed posted another task. The task information showed that Lady Patti's task this time was almost aimed directly at him.

Phrases like "needs proficiency in search techniques," "high reputation," and "previous cooperation" almost explicitly pointed to Xia Duo.

Xia Duo didn't even know he had such a high reputation in Lady Patti's eyes; during that meeting, he had almost made it clear that he was only interested in Gold Coins.

Sigh! Can't figure it out!

The reward for this task started at 500, but he couldn't accept it this time. He was there to persuade someone to give up an investigation—to be precise, to persuade someone to give up investigating the murderer of her husband, or even to give up on revenge.

It was truly too difficult; Xia Duo himself didn't know how to bring it up.

For such a great grievance, no matter how an outsider tries to persuade, it feels like they have no standing. But at this moment, he had been forcibly assigned a stance by the Mage Tower. Perhaps not going was the correct choice?

But Xia Duo quickly dismissed this thought. Since he had already decided, he had to execute it firmly. Now, what he should be doing more is thinking about how to persuade her.

With his mind full of thoughts, Xia Duo returned to the sixth floor of the Mage Tower. Lady Patti was currently arranged to be in Research Room 34, which was actually not far from his residence.

Even until he reached the door, Xia Duo hadn't thought of any way to persuade her. To convince others, one must first convince oneself.

The rhetoric he came up with couldn't even convince himself, so how could it possibly convince the party involved who was bent on revenge!

But regardless, Xia Duo still decided to try. At the very least, having tried, he would have shown his attitude to the Mage Tower. Keeping in line with the Mage Tower in all aspects was not just a slogan.

He was already putting it into practice.

"Hum—"

Xia Duo triggered the Magic Alarm at the door. Soon, the door opened, and Lady Patti came out wearing a plain noblewoman's robe, her eyes showing joy, "Master Xia Duo!"

"Lady Patti, no need for formalities, just call me Xia Duo." Having learned that Lady Patti had extraordinary connections, Xia Duo no longer accepted the honorific with peace of mind.

"It was indeed somewhat presumptuous to come find you this time, my Lady."

Just as Xia Duo was preparing to get straight to the point, Lady Patti asked, "Master Xia Duo, have you accepted the task at the Task Management Office?"

When she said this, Lady Patti stared intently at Xia Duo, making him feel somewhat uncomfortable, but he still answered truthfully, "No."

Somehow, Xia Duo actually felt as if Lady Patti had let out a sigh of relief, but he still followed the rhetoric he had planned on the way over: "Lady Patti, I came to persuade you to temporarily give up searching for the mastermind behind the death of Feierbosi."

It was "temporarily," not "permanently"—this was the best method Xia Duo could think of. "There is clearly a Spellcaster involved behind this matter. If you are determined to investigate deeply, my Lady, you will very likely encounter misfortune. You might not care about your own life, but this is not what Feierbosi would have wanted."

Xia Duo felt that these words were very pale even as he said them, but unexpectedly, Lady Patti actually nodded.