Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 439 Baron Faro
Humans are inherently social animals. In complex social networks, there are unspoken understandings among people to maintain relationships, exchange resources, and achieve goals.

No matter in which country or world, as long as the concept of "society" has not completely disappeared, or has developed to a certain extreme, human relationships and social customs will always exist.

The same applies to the continent of Aifara.

Baron Faro was Hein's sponsor for her work with the Coral Society, and the funds he provided saved her a lot of trouble. Hein's own identity as a professional spellcaster also made the Baron see her potential, and he invested in advance in the hope of getting a return later.

In this back-and-forth exchange, the so-called "human relationships and social customs" were born.

Baron Faro would occasionally spend money to treat Hein's adventurer fleet to drinks at private parties; Hein would also bring Miss Ellie some rare little things she encountered during her adventures as gifts during breaks in her missions.

Based on the exchange of interests and under tacit management, the relationship between the two parties extends outward like a spider web, from Baron Faro and Hein, to the Baron's mansion and the adventure fleet, and even the Coral Society, becoming more solid amidst the complexity.

In this situation, even if she wasn't a regular customer, Grace, as the Baron's old butler, certainly recognized this adventurer lady who often brought gifts for the young lady.

Upon first seeing her on the street, he took the initiative to greet her and welcomed Hein into the Baron's mansion.

Xia Nan, who was following behind Hai Yin, naturally also enjoyed the convenience of her relationship. She followed Hai Yin through the crowd and entered the mansion gate without any hindrance.

Xia Nan wasn't sure if the house in front of him was inherited from the baron's ancestors or if the baron had accumulated wealth through his status as a chartered officer, but there was no doubt that it was a "mansion".

Pushing open the door, you are greeted by a spacious and grand atrium. The spotless marble floor reflects the bright lights from the glass windows on both sides. There is even a miniature indoor stone fountain in the center, and the gurgling water brings a refreshing coolness to the air.
The walls on both sides are adorned with various oil paintings that exude a strong artistic atmosphere. Paired with dark walnut wood paneling and velvet curtains that sway gently by the windowsill, the scene evokes a classic, luxurious, and elegant feel.

As Xia Nan followed the group into the house, his expression remained unchanged, as calm as still water, but his heart couldn't help but stir with emotion.

"How much does this cost...?"

In Baiya District, land is incredibly valuable. Not to mention the interior decorations of the houses, the land price alone is a figure that ordinary people cannot even imagine.

Perhaps it was an obsession left over from his previous life before he transmigrated, but even now, he still harbors a certain obsession with real estate.

If Xia Nan has enough funds, a good location, and a pleasant surrounding environment, she wouldn't mind buying her own little house.

He enjoys the process of designing and decorating his own space, filling a blank room with his own personal touch.

On the other hand, to be honest, he has never had enough money since he entered the industry.

Even with over three thousand gold coins in the account, it's still not enough.

Forging enchanted equipment, repairing pirate ships... The cautious man even had to consider that if he encountered some extremely bad situation and his equipment was destroyed during the mission, he would have to keep some money as start-up capital to start over.

There are so many places where we need to spend money!
Moreover, the world they live in is different now. Xia Nan is no longer the single white-collar worker who only needs to bury himself in his work and doesn't have to worry about anything else. Instead, he has become an adventurer walking on a tightrope, responsible for his life with every move.

Even if he really had a lot of money now, from a rational point of view, he would never use those gold coins to buy real estate. Instead, he would most likely invest them in himself, using them to buy equipment and combat skills to improve himself.

Of course, no one knew what Xia Nan was thinking at that moment. Right now, Hein, who was walking at the front of the group, was talking with the baron's butler, Grace, who was leading the way.

Having worked at the Baron's mansion for many years, he had practically watched Miss Ellie grow up, and their relationship was almost like that of a granddaughter.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, even Grace's normally robust body hunched over slightly, and she was forced to keep working despite her exhaustion.

"My poor little Ellie... she wouldn't even dare kill a fish! Goddess, how could the goddess bear to do that..."

He muttered to himself, not knowing how many times he had repeated it.

"Don't worry, Mr. Grace, Ellie will be back safely," Hein said, stepping back slightly and offering words of comfort with concern.

"I'm sorry, Miss Hein, I shouldn't have said that." The butler shook his head, briefly managing to keep his expression straight.

He reached out and pushed open the door, leading the four people into the reception room next to the hall.

“Please wait a moment, everyone. The Baron hasn’t slept all night. I’ll go wake him.” Grace lowered her head and lowered her voice. “Please… please understand the feelings of a father who has just lost his daughter.”

After saying this, he left the reception room.

Xia Nan sat on the small sofa in the center of the room, looking around at the surroundings.

Equally luxurious and filled with artistic atmosphere, the walls are adorned with silk brocade embroidered with exquisite patterns, the furniture is soft and comfortable, a fireplace stands against the wall, and a harp sits in the corner, along with some decorative items resembling coral and seashells.

However, there was no firewood burning in the fireplace, and the harp stood empty in the corner, unplayed.

Just like the servants we saw on the way here, moving silently between the pillars in twos and threes, the air in the Baron's mansion was filled with a sense of oppression.

Clearly, the baron, whom the butler had mentioned as having not slept all night, was still wide awake.

Xia Nan and the others didn't have to wait long. Just a few minutes later, they heard hurried and somewhat chaotic footsteps coming from outside the door.

"Squeak!"

The door to the reception room was suddenly pushed open.

Baron Faro was standing there.

The dignity one should have as a nobleman and as a chartered magistrate has vanished completely at this moment.

Her usually meticulously combed medium-length blonde curls were now hanging messily over her forehead, her bright blue eyes were bloodshot, revealing a gloomy and anxious look, and even her coat and shirt were wrinkled.

"Hein?" He walked in slowly, his tired gaze falling on the druid in the reception room. "How did the mission go? Don't worry, there's nothing going on at the coral reef. Everything's the same as before."

As he spoke, his gaze swept across the room, pausing slightly when it passed Xia Nan, as if he vaguely recognized her, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

But he didn't think much of it. The burden on his mind caused by his daughter's disappearance left him with no energy to delve into the memories.

“Baron, I’ve heard about Miss Ellie.”

Not wanting to waste any more time, Hein cut straight to the point without much small talk.

Faro knew the purpose of their visit to the Baron's mansion at this particular time.

But when he heard the name "Ellie" from Hein's mouth, his body couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"Just yesterday afternoon."

Having repeated this to countless people, Baron Faro patiently explained the information he knew to the crowd before him, not daring to omit even a single word.

“Every week, Ellie goes to the horse farm on the outskirts of town for riding lessons. She has loved riding horses since she was little, and I even bought her a little pony before…”

Halfway through his sentence, Baron Farrow suddenly noticed the wine stains he had left on the carpet, his brow furrowed sharply, and he called out towards the door, "Grace! Clean this up!"

His voice carried an uncontrollable rage.

But no sooner had he finished speaking than he seemed to realize something and took a deep breath: "Never mind, never mind, let's talk about it later." The footsteps approaching quickly from outside the door immediately stopped.

He threw himself onto the small sofa by the window and waved to the people watching him.

"I'm sorry, I... I'm having a hard time staying rational right now."

"Let's continue."

"The lessons usually end three quarters before sunset, and the manor's coachman will pick him up on time," Baron Faro continued, picking up where he had left off.

"Logically speaking, even if she lingered on the way, watching the street performers for a while, or browsing in the flower shop for a short time... she would definitely be back before it got completely dark."

"That's for sure, she's always been very obedient."

"What's more, the kitchen specially prepared her favorite blueberry jam muffin last night. She asked Grace to instruct the chef to make it before class, saying that..."

Baron Faro suddenly lowered his head, hiding his eyes in the shadows cast by his brow bone, making them difficult for others to see clearly, but his voice trembled slightly as he spoke.

She said, "It's been a long time since I've had dinner with Dad, so I must cook something delicious today."

He shook his head.

"So when she hadn't shown up by dinner time, I knew something was wrong."

"You sent someone to look for it back then, didn't you?" Hein asked.

“Of course!” the baron replied immediately, “although it’s also possible that there’s a minor problem with the carriage, such as a wheel getting stuck.”

"But at that time I immediately sent Grace with a few servants to search along the way on horseback, and also sent people to the horse farm to inquire."

Baron Faroth had barely sat down when he stood up again, his eyes fixed on the window, but his gaze was unfocused.

"Ms. Laville, the riding instructor, confirmed that Ellie left at the normal time. Several other students in the same class, including the Viscount Bertrand's daughter and the tax collector's nephew, also testified that they saw Ellie get into the carriage and wave goodbye to them."

"What about that carriage? Has anyone seen it go anywhere?" Hein then asked.

The baron nodded and took out a piece of parchment with hastily written notes from his pocket.

“I had Grace ask every household along the way, and the baker who lived at the corner of Emerald Road said he saw a carriage with our family crest on it heading straight east.”

East?

Xia Nan recalled the map of Suoyu Bay that he had roughly memorized and compared its location with the surroundings.

“That’s the direction to ‘Rose Park’,” the Baron continued.

"More importantly, Cole, an old sailor who was passing by on his way home from work, said that he saw a tall and strong man drive a carriage into the park. He found it strange because noble carriages usually did not enter the park at this time."

"As for Thomas, our groom, who has been employed for over ten years, is nicknamed 'Shorty' in the manor. His physique is far from 'strong and tall'."

At this point, the Baron closed his eyes, as if he couldn't bear to recall the events.

"Later we found Thomas's body in the car parked in the park. Someone had brutally murdered him and replaced him with his uniform."

"And my Ellie disappeared just like that."

That's how it happened.

Baron Faroth stopped speaking and turned around, silently looking at everyone in the drawing room.

Xia Nan knew that now was the time for them to explain their purpose.

He thought Hein would take the initiative to speak, but when he turned around, he found that the druid was also looking at him, gesturing for him to speak.

It can be considered a kind of goodwill gesture.

After all, Xia Nan discovered the clues on "Bloody Nose Rat" Jerry's side, so Hein has now handed the initiative over to Baron Faro.

Xia Nan nodded slightly, organized his thoughts, and then spoke.

“Sir Baron, we have found some clues that may be useful.”

After all, it was just a guess, and there was a possibility that it would go astray, so he spoke rather vaguely.

Even so, one could still see Baron Faro's tired and anxious eyes narrow suddenly as he spoke.

“Go on.”

"This morning when I visited a friend, I ran into a gang of thugs, led by a guy nicknamed 'Bloody Nose Rat'..."

Xia Nan's answer was concise and to the point, conveying their experience and his own speculations without omitting any key information.

"The Shark Gang!?"

Baron Faro growled as he paced rapidly around the room, his boots slamming onto the carpet.

Have you offended them?

“No, no!” The Baron shook his head violently. “I’ve only ever heard of this small gang in the Saltwater District. We’ve never crossed paths with them, either in our daily lives or at work.”

That would be very strange.

The question once again returns to Xia Nan's initial doubts.

If, as Baron Faro claims, they have no connection with the Horned Shark Gang, then why would such a small gang take such a great risk to kidnap the daughter of a baron and charterer?

For money, there are countless better and less risky options in Suyu Bay, and there are many wealthy businessmen who are not of such high status.

As for fame, Faro was only a baron and not particularly famous in the entire Barn Bay. Moreover, what use was fame to these gang members if they lost their lives?

Regardless, for Baron Faro at this moment, this is already one of the few clues he can obtain that is enough to advance the search.

She suddenly stopped, her bloodshot blue eyes fixed on the people in the conference room.

"Whether it's gold coins or anything else, it's fine!"

"As long as you can help me find my daughter..."

(End of this chapter)