A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 85 Branson Manor (Two in One)

"Hakimi, do you know what is most needed for reform in Eswell?"

The evening breeze was blowing gently. After the afternoon showers, the clouds in Eswell parted and the moon appeared. The bright moonlight shone down from the three crescent moons in the sky. The mirror-like surface of the lake glowed with fluorescence, reflecting two figures, one big and one small, leaning on the railings.

"Wang?"

The ugly pug gave a short bark, and one could actually hear a hint of doubt in its bark.

Elon Branson stood on the balcony with the best view in the city, looking at the vast and empty Mirror Lake reflecting the moon, as if he wanted to find the shadow of the floating castle in it.

"—It's the will of the academy."

There was no emotion in his voice.

"Seats, more seats, parliamentary cooperation, obedient newspapers and media, businesses, citizens, law enforcement, and the military—these are all like illusory things, no matter how beautiful or numerous they are."

An old train passed across the lake, spewing steam and stirring up the waves. The moonlight turned into pieces of broken shadows, rising and falling involuntarily with the waves.

"If Grindelwald and his band of indifferent scholars could just send a train, even with a few people on it, everything would be over."

The dog was even more confused, and this time it barked several times.

"You said I shouldn't contradict Dean He Mo? Haha." Elon lowered his head and smiled: "I didn't contradict him, I was trying to please him."

"The academy's non-interference in political affairs is a rule established by the Hero, and this is also a consideration in separating the academy from the city. Past principals have mostly been pure academics. To maintain the purity of the academy, they adhere to Merlin's rules, so the academy has always played a transparent role in the city's governance."

"The arcane industry has grown rapidly in recent years. The revenue from the academy's various patents has enabled them to break away from their traditional operating model of relying on Vatican funding and alumni donations. A massive business empire, comparable to the Clock Tower Bank, requires someone to manage it. This is what the School Affairs Office has been doing for the past two to three hundred years."

"The outside world has always believed that He Mo is a hard-core reformer of the academy, not like a traditional academic arcanist. But that's not the case."

Elon said admiringly, "If you look closely at the actions of the school administration department, you'll find that no one is more traditional than him. Hemo has always regarded the school administration office as a barrier between the academy and the outside world. No businessman or company can bypass the school administration office to contact teachers and students. While managing the academy's business, he always implements the will of the brave and the principal, preventing money from corrupting the classroom and ensuring that the academy is only about teaching and educating people and studying the arcane."

Hakimi wagged his tail, his dark eyes seeming to be thinking.

It understood Elon's thoughts and started barking, "Woof woof woof."

"Yeah, that's right, smart dog."

Elon looked at the lake which had returned to calm again, and the train carrying the arcane supplies was nowhere to be found.

"He Mo has done a great job. Perfection requires extraordinary abilities and more energy to deal with worldly issues. He Mo is definitely not a pure arcanist. He has seen and done a lot. He has his own attitudes and opinions, but due to the constraints of his position as dean, he doesn't want to and can't express them."

His eyes were as clear as water, as if he was gazing at, searching for, something very, very far away.

"...What is the criterion for judging whether a person is revolutionary? How can we identify him? There is only one criterion: whether he is willing and able to unite with the masses."

The dog shook its head and Hakimi didn't understand.

"The academy never explains anything it does to the hyenas in the parliament. In Hemo's eyes, the council members are the city's termites, the inevitable shadows cast by the academy's massive castle. There's no need for any cooperation. So I'm making my stance clear. I want to tell him that I'm different from the other council members and can do something practical for this city, even if it's just a hypocritical gesture."

Elon raised the corner of his mouth and smiled. "I've waited a long, long time for such an opportunity. Those robbers did a good thing. They let me know Hemo's attitude. He hates the inaction of the parliament and hopes that the city can have a leader that suits his heart."

"If he hadn't agreed to let me participate in the investigation, then I wouldn't have asked the Speaker to bring up the issue of the airborne troops. If the academy acquiesced, it would mean that both the East Country and Bavaria, two fence-sitters, would align with me, and the airborne troops, who had been trained for so long, could be brought to the table. This is just the first step."

"The commissioner who's coming is ostensibly to share investigative information with me, but in reality, he's here to interrogate me. He wants to know what I'm going to do. He wants to determine whether I, the child of a capitalist, deserve the academy's support. So tonight will determine our future."

Elon squatted down and looked at his partner in "our".

"Hakimi, you have to keep a close eye on your father. You can't make any mistakes. You can't let him find any problems."

Hakimi woofed with his eyes shining.

Below the balcony, at the entrance of the vast manor, the gate opens inward.

An ordinary Chocobo, carrying two young men, slowly drove in amid the sound of gunfire from two rows of guards.

Rows of traditional Baroque-style buildings from the southern continent form a luxurious manor on the most expensive cape on the shore of Mirror Lake. Illuminated by the copper streetlights carefully planned by the architect, the eaves of each building sparkle with gold, like the royal palace of a small country.

This is the richest family in Ashville, the Bransons.

The Chocobo was driving through the flower gardens. Clusters of expensive roses and daffodils were blooming on the roadside. The guards were played by servants. They were all white people from the southern continent in height and appearance, and their backs were as straight as if they were made of steel plates.

Two rows of naturally trimmed fir trees blend the building and the garden into one. When the evening breeze blows, the branches and leaves sway gently, revealing a corner of the many buildings in the manor, which is like an oil painting landscape, dazzling Quinn.

"Turtle, this big house is hell to live in."

Tangchen Yipin is still too conservative. The beautiful scenery should be surrounded by a wall, and trees and flowers should be planted there. No one else should be allowed to see it, and it must be enjoyed alone.

"Average." Ankua, who was driving, commented.

"Is this normal?"

As a time traveler, Quinn looked at the guards on both sides and the vast flower garden where not a single weed could be found, and felt that this was too urbanized.

Not to mention the peasants from West Wales who sleep under bridges and lie on the streets, even the wealthy and extravagant people from East Wales probably haven't seen this world.

"Next to this manor is King Luo's estate, now occupied by Amamiya Nene. You can go there and see what true nobility is. The Branson family is just a nouveau riche at best."

Quinn remembered that on the way to the lakeside restaurant that day, Murata Tatsusai introduced him to some knowledge in order to get closer to him.

It is said that in the most expensive lakeside residential area in Ashwell, there are four viewpoints with the most open lake views, and four of the largest manors are located there.

The owners are the Branson family, Headmaster Grindelwald, King Roald, and Emperor Philip.

Among the predictions made by my fellow villager, the strangest sentence is "When you are valuable enough, the Philippine Empire will not mind that you are an undercover agent of the demon clan."

This sentence sounded like asking Quinn to seek refuge in the Northern Continent Empire blocked by the Sea of ​​Mist when he was left with no other options.

An hour ago, the moment Quinn picked up Sister Pepe's suitcase, the system popped up a message: "Short-term future event 'Identity Exposure Crisis' has been averted."

This means that his inference is correct.

The information conveyed by the string of 0s and 1s when digesting the potion is really some kind of hint.

But who gave this reminder?

Quinn first ruled out three systems. The [Future Prompt] function had no response, and the [Divination] function could not be self-contradictory. After Quinn woke up, the system log was clean, as if the prompt had never appeared.

He guessed there were only three possibilities.

This hint may come from the Demon King Ruby, the fourth system that has been silent, or Amamiya Ningning's father.

The most likely possibility is that the fourth system is at work, but it doesn't feel like that. This sentence sounds like someone is "speaking" to him, rather than a rigid system prompt.

No matter who the hint came from, it at least showed one thing - the information in the old man's prophecy about "choosing the thief's potion" was correct.

Quinn made no sound as he took the box away, as natural as breathing.

Pepe, attracted by Ankua, didn't notice the box being taken away at all. It wasn't until the two of them got in the Chocobo and drove away for half an hour that no one chased them.

If it weren't for the thief potion, Quinn wouldn't have been able to do this.

He could feel that when he was stealing the box, his body and the area around the box seemed to be covered with a strange, perception-blocking veil, which was the key factor affecting Pepe's perception.

Yes, this magic potion works!

If it weren't for the prediction from his fellow villager, Quinn would most likely listen to his boss and choose the Warrior Potion, or would have a small chance of choosing the high-risk, high-return Secret Envoy, but he would never choose the Thief.

Now that he thought about it, the divination had accurately predicted this. As long as he didn't choose the thief, the other five fates would likely result in death. Because no matter what he chose, it wouldn't affect the events leading up to the theft of the chest. Even without the prophecy, Quinn would have deduced from the future hints that the chest contained the item, and thus taken the risk. If the theft failed, then death was a high probability.

At least for now, it seems that his fellow villager is indeed a righteous and mysterious person who is friendly to him.

Quinn decided to give the other two prophecies some more thought.

Philippine Empire?
"Aqua, the manor next door belongs to King Ron, what about the two buildings at the end of the road?" Quinn asked casually.

".One is Merlin's former residence."

In front of the car was the gate of the Branson Manor mansion. Ankua said briefly:

"At that time, Ashwell was still in the Northern Continent, and the tallest building wasn't a manor, but the palace of the Imperial Princess a thousand years ago. Legend has it that the princess, attracted by heroes, moved next to the academy. Merlin's love life remains a mystery, though. Unofficial history suggests he moved away from Ashwell to avoid harassment. Later, the princess married, and the mountaintop palace was reclaimed by the Philippians. Merlin's manor has been passed down as the home of each generation of Headmaster Grindelwald to this day."

His tone turned cold. "Here we are. You must keep a close eye on Elon. There must be no mistakes. You must not let him find any problems."

"OK." Quinn gave a thumbs up.

Ankua pulled the reins, and the Chocobo stopped steadily in front of the mansion gate.

Both of them were now dressed in their academy attire, and after glancing at each other, Ankuya got out of the car first.

The person who greeted the two at the door of the mansion was a woman who looked 70% similar to Xia Daier.

She looked extremely young, but she exuded a graceful and elegant aura that not many young girls possessed. Maids and footmen lined up behind her, highlighting the aura of a mistress of a house.

Jenny Hernandez Branson, this woman is the wife of the current head of the Branson family, Reeve Branson. Her middle name, a tongue-twisting surname, comes from a hereditary earl of Ron. Although Jenny has no inheritance rights, she is a genuine aristocrat.

Elon stood half a body length behind his mother. Today he was not wearing his usual serious black suit, but a casual outfit without a tie. His short pink hair was no longer combed back into a neat hairstyle, but was casually let down, which made him look more like a simple young man rather than a scheming politician.

"Dear guest Grindelwald, your presence brings honor to our Branson family."

Jenny folded her hands, which were covered with jeweled diamond rings, on her stomach and bowed to Ankua.

Ankuya just nodded and said indifferently, "You're welcome."

He was not putting on airs. This visit was in the capacity of an academy staff member, and the Branson family could not prepare a higher standard of reception than was appropriate.

Over the past thousand years, the college has rarely had private contact with politicians or businessmen in the city, which has indeed given the Branson family great face.

Elon's greeting was much more relaxed: "Mr. Ankua, nice to see you again. I've been wondering if it's you. It's a blessing for the victim's family to have you in charge of investigating the robbery."

Ankuya smiled slightly.

"Not really, I'm just an assistant."

".assistant?"

Elon was slightly startled, and subconsciously looked towards the half-open door of the Chocobo. Then he heard an abstract song coming from inside.

"The hardworking and brave Blood Wolf Quinn~ He made a huge contribution~ A huge sacrifice~ A huge contribution~ For the key technical power to solve the case~"

Just as Elon was wondering where his contribution was, a man who made his eyes flicker walked down.

Quinn smiled and held out his hand to Elon.

"Hello, Councillor, it's our second meeting."

When Elon saw this person who should never be there, his brain shut down.

His hair had grown longer, and his appearance and temperament had changed drastically from the disheveled guy in his memory, but he still looked the same. He was the suspect that Elon had guessed was the one who hijacked the Branson family's smuggling convoy!

Elon arranged people to investigate Quinn's true identity early on, but it had been less than a month since the Vatican sealed off the city, so naturally no clues could be found.

In less than a month, how did he go from being a suspect to being the superior of an elite specialist in the school affairs office?

Jenny coughed lightly to remind her son not to be in a daze.

Elon then hurriedly shook Quinn's hand, and his prepared remarks were completely disrupted.

"Mr. Quinn, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah, what a coincidence."

Quinn smiled and shook his hand.

Last time, we were at the police station, we were far apart. Now, up close, Elon is truly enormous. Even at Quinn's 183cm height, he has to look up to meet his gaze. This guy must be nearly two meters tall, right?
Jenny, who is not short, looks like a dwarf standing in front of her son.

"Elon, do you know this leader of the school office?" Jenny asked in surprise.

"He" Elon paused and said, "He is the man who saved Dale's life that you always wanted to meet, Mr. Quinn."

"what?!"

Jenny covered her mouth, and the expression on her face was more of shock than surprise.

After all, she was a woman raised in an aristocratic family. She quickly suppressed all her emotions and pretended to be indifferent and laughed dryly:
"I didn't expect it to be you. I don't know how to express my joy. It's windy outside, so I've prepared some simple food. Please come in and have dinner with me, and we can talk while we eat."

"No need."

Ankuya walked inside first, living up to the cold and ruthless impression he had left on Elon last time.

"We try to talk about work."

Quinn followed closely behind, but he looked much more relaxed.

"We ate before coming here, so we're not very hungry." He paused and casually mentioned, "But, are there any special foods? If so, I'd love to try them."

"Specialty food?"

Jenny was slightly taken aback, then smiled and nodded. "Of course, I guarantee that even Grindelwald wouldn't see these fresh ingredients from around the world. We have some ghost-eye salmon from the Northern Continent in our aquaculture pond. They're super rare individuals that luckily followed the ocean currents across the Misty Sea and made it to the Eastern Sea. They're perfect for sashimi."

"No no no."

He shook his head: "I'm not talking about these expensive things, but the unique ones. Do you understand the unique ones? For example..."

Quinn calmly observed Elon's reaction, the thief's sensitive perception given by his extraordinary characteristics all focused on him at this moment -

"For example, the special menu at Grindelwald Academy features delicacies made by Merlin the Brave. Those of you who have lived in Eswell for generations will definitely know what it's like: pizza, hamburgers, and cola."

At this moment, Elon's steps paused slightly.

Just as the servants and waiters looked at each other, at a loss, Elon smiled and said gently:
"Yes, there's a kind of boiled food made of meat stuffed in flour dough. It's probably rare in other places. I really like it. Mr. Quinn, would you like to try it?"

"Oh?"

Quinn's heart moved slightly, and he asked casually: "It sounds interesting, what is it called?"

"JIAOZI."

Quinn, feeling Elon's gaze on him, remained calm and walked forward at a relaxed pace.

Making dumplings, right? Damn, you caught it so quickly?

(End of this chapter)