I am the heroine's godfather!

"Yeah... how is it now?"

"It's resolved. The half-dragons have invested their technology in the blacksmith association, so the two sides are now practically family."

"Good."

After they finished their meal, Christine stretched, revealing her beautiful figure, which attracted Estia's silent gaze.

"Alright, you guys go ahead. I'm going back to pack my things and I'm getting ready to leave too."

"OK, bye."

"See you."

--------------

Leaving the Duchy of Land and passing through Isnar, they could reach the border of the Kingdom of Avia in less than half a month by carriage. Although the two of them could reach the Elven Forest in a day if they went all out, based on Loran's understanding of the elves' concept of time, he would have plenty of time even if he strolled over leisurely.

The concept of time held by immortal beings is quite amazing, isn't it?

Stepping into a border city of Avia, one is greeted by a scene drastically different from the border of Isnar. Compared to the solemnity of the Isnar border, the border of the Kingdom of Avia, a nation of commerce, is undeniably prosperous. Merchant guilds of all sizes have their headquarters here, providing rest areas for their merchants, guarding their goods, and, of course, helping to resolve disputes among their guild members.

As one of the most famous merchant guilds on the entire continent, the Antoya Merchant Guild naturally had a presence here, and it was one of the largest. After traveling for half a month, Loran and Estia naturally wanted to rest and take a stroll, so they arrived at their own merchant guild with the token.

When the receptionist at the guild saw Loran, she assumed he was some important person coming to buy something. It wasn't until he took out Serena's keepsake that she realized he was one of her important people and immediately notified the branch president of the guild.

The branch president initially thought it was another person rescued by Loran or Serena, and didn't pay much attention to it—after all, although Loran had done a lot of such things over the years, he hadn't done them many times either; Mr. Peter from that small village last year was one of them.

Most of the people recommended by Loran had a skill, so they weren't exactly freeloaders. Therefore, the Chamber of Commerce didn't have any complaints. Besides, he was the younger brother of the Chamber of Commerce owner. What's wrong with using some connections?

Why does it make Loran seem like a good-for-nothing who lives off his sister?

Of course, it was just a joke. After all, Loran himself also has a title, and the name of the Earl of Isnar can often solve a lot of problems—especially since this earl is the most notorious (not really).

Well, anyway, when the branch president entered the reception room with a relaxed expression, playing with the jade he had just acquired, he was so shocked by the sight of Loran that he almost dropped the treasure he had worked so hard to get.

"Count Momomomo Morganflour!"

The branch president's voice was distorted: "You, what brings you here?"

"Don't be so scared, I'm just passing by."

Loran took a sip of tea, smacked his lips twice, and thought it was pretty good.

"The black tea produced by Xize Tea House, the most famous tea house in Avia, is considered top-tier."

Estia was an expert in tea tasting. She took a sip and said, "But I still prefer the black tea from Tria's place. It has a more lingering flavor."

"I can't taste it."

"You're just like Claire."

Because in front of outsiders, Estia naturally didn't call Christine by her real name: "It's a waste to give you tea... Only 'she' knows anything about tea."

"She" refers to Messiah. Estia did not say her name, but Loran knew it.

Although he had mocked Christine's tea-drinking manner when she visited Enshia on the eve of the Goddess of Light Festival, Loran himself wasn't exactly a man of refined taste. Tea tasting was something Messiah could converse with Estia about.

Although Messiah had taught him about tea tasting before, he hadn't listened at all. What Loran didn't know was that Messiah hadn't been particularly dedicated to teaching him then; she was just looking for an excuse to chat with him.

The girl wasn't actually very good at hiding her feelings, but unfortunately, the boy at that time was really clueless.

"Speaking of which, how's the Chamber of Commerce doing lately?"

"That's good. The Chamber of Commerce's revenue this quarter is slightly lower than in the first quarter, but it's higher than this quarter last year..."

"I'm too lazy to look at these financial reports; Serena handles all these matters."

Loran finished his tea and continued, "What I want to ask is, has the Chamber of Commerce been bullied here?"

After all, Avia is a foreign land, and no matter how prestigious the Earl of Loranna's name is, it can only guarantee sufficient deterrence within Isnar. Of course, if it were another name, it would be a deterrent to the entire continent, but that name is obviously not one that can be used casually.

In a foreign land, the Antoya Chamber of Commerce is ultimately an outsider. If it has a conflict with the locals, it's hard to say who Avia will side with.

Chapter 157 The beginning of a major event usually involves a small person.

At this point, the branch president's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

"To be honest, there have indeed been some frictions."

Sure enough.

Loran's inquiry was not unfounded. The guards standing in front of the merchant guild's residence had serious expressions, clearly showing extraordinary vigilance towards any newcomer.

This is very unusual.

This is, after all, the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce. Even if the guards are on guard, they shouldn't be so obvious about it, unless...

Someone started trouble, and more than once.

"Who is the other party?"

"The White Jasmine Merchant Guild, a business guild under the Fourth Prince of Avia."

The branch president sighed and said, "The Antoya Chamber of Commerce has some business competition with them. They have been trying to take over our market share because they have a prince backing them in Avia."

"The fourth prince of Avia?"

Loran squinted, pondered for a moment, and said, "I seem to have some impression of this person... He's an uneducated, idle fellow."

"Yes."

The branch president continued, "The White Jasmine Chamber of Commerce seems to be the fourth prince's money bag, but because the fourth prince is not very good at business, the White Jasmine Chamber of Commerce has always been lukewarm."

"That's it."

Loran pondered for a moment, then asked, "What did they do?"

"They arranged for people to attack our businessmen and used underhanded tactics to seize market share."

The branch president sighed: "But in Avia, this is just normal business competition."

"Indeed."

Estia also spoke up. After all, the Elf Forest was close to the Kingdom of Avia, so she had some understanding of this: "These merchants in Avia are very unscrupulous in their pursuit of profit. They even used to poach and traffic elves, but they only stopped after my mother killed a group of them."

"These guys are really daring."

Loran was also somewhat surprised. Did he really think Estia's mother was a kind person? How could a great elf who had lived for thousands of years be so soft-hearted?

The Elf Queen has probably killed more people than many people have ever met in their entire lives.

"So, we still have no way to argue with them?"

"Yes."

The branch president shook his head, quite helplessly: "Because the laws of Avia do not interfere with competition between businessmen, it is very difficult to take legal action. Moreover, the other party's backer is the fourth prince of Avia, and our power is still inferior to theirs."

"That's it."

Loran narrowed his eyes. Although he didn't care much about Antoya's business, it was, after all, his sister's business guild. If it was bullied, he had to get revenge.

Hmm, perhaps we should first eliminate their base here.

But just as Loran was about to make his move, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

"Royal carriage, no loitering!"

"The Fourth Prince has arrived!"

Loran opened the window, and a carriage bearing the royal coat of arms sped along the avenue, with guards rudely shooing away pedestrians.

Loran's eyes narrowed.

"what happened?"

Estia knew Loran well enough to know that if he gave her that look, it meant something was about to happen.

"My intuition tells me that something is about to happen."

Loran laughed: "Let's go, Estia, let's go take a look at the White Jasmine Merchant Guild's headquarters."

"What are you going to do now?"

Despite saying that, Estia obediently followed. Although the situation in the Elf Forest had indeed become so urgent that the two of them had to return within a few years, judging from the remaining distance, they would definitely be able to arrive this year, so there was no rush.

Ten minutes later, Loran and Estia were sitting in a coffee shop outside the White Jasmine Merchant Guild when they watched a red-haired girl barge in, be easily subdued, and thrown out.

"Ouch, that hurts so much! Can you be a little gentler?!"

The girl in detective's clothes got up, dusted herself off, and the guards from the White Jasmine Merchant Guild remained silent.

"I'm serious, what's there to hide? I'm a detective officially certified by the Patrol Department! Not some third-rate operative! I'm just asking your chairman a few questions, what's wrong with that?"

The girl stood with her hands on her hips, clearly indignant, but the person opposite her still ignored her.

"Look! The patrol station's seal! Detective Wallace!"

Seemingly due to a misunderstanding, the girl pulled out a small notebook, but the other person still ignored her.

"Damn it...you just wait!"

The girl strode angrily toward the coffee shop, ordered a coffee and a lot of desserts with great gusto, and began to feast.

Estia looked away, took a sip of her coffee, and shook her head: "I really don't know why you guys like to drink this stuff, it tastes so awful."

"Different tastes, coffee lovers would fight you to the death if they heard that."

Loran said this while eating dessert. Estia remained noncommittal and instead looked at the red-haired girl: "Do you think this guy is related to your intuition?"

"Yes."

Loran nodded: "I smell something big is going to happen."

"Her magical energy fluctuations are not even at the first level; Charlotte could take on ten of her."

Estia continued, "How could it be related to any major event?"

"Did you know that many great events often begin with an insignificant little person?"

"Where did you learn such mystical talk?"

"I learned it from a certain silver dragon in the Fate category."

Speaking of which, how is Olivia now? Loran thought for a moment and decided to arrange for the Antoya Merchant Guild of the Duchy of Land to bring Olivia back to Enshia—the reason she didn't go with Charlotte and the others was because she and Lentilan still had some things to discuss about the Silver Dragon.

Although Loran didn't think Olivia knew anything else.

The red-haired girl over there seemed to have finished eating as well, but she sat there motionless for a long time. Only when the waiter came over to collect the bill did she give a slightly embarrassed smile: "Um, that..."

"Hmm? What's wrong, guest?"

"Can I pay off my debt by washing dishes?"

The waiter was silent for two seconds, then shouted, "Someone is trying to dine and dash!"

"Hey, hey, hey! No! It wasn't a dine-and-dash! I can wash dishes to pay off the debt!"

But no one paid attention to her explanation. Several security guards surrounded her, their faces unfriendly. Seeing that the situation was about to escalate, a resolute look appeared in the girl's eyes. She raised her hand, as if to do something, but was interrupted by a sudden voice.

I paid for her bill.

Following the sound, a black-haired man with black eyes, dressed in extraordinary attire, raised his hand and uttered words that sounded like an angel descending. The green-haired woman accompanying him shook her head and said nothing.

Chapter 158 Being a detective is a profession where you can easily get into big trouble—and so are your detective's assistants.

"An angel? Are you an angel?"

The red-haired girl demonstrated an amazing skill of crying within three seconds. Loran remained silent for a while, then quietly took a step back, afraid that the girl would wipe her tears and snot on her clothes.

Although this outfit isn't anything particularly meaningful, Loran quite likes the style.

"Miss, there's no need to be so agitated."

Loran calmed her down: "Why don't you sit down and we can talk slowly?"

"Yes, yes! Please tell me!"

The red-haired girl has absolutely no morals.

"Judging from your attire, are you a detective?"

"Yes Yes."

The redhead introduced herself with considerable pride: "The best detective in Lennoman City is me—Elena Walls! Look! This is my detective's license!"

The redhead, Elena, pulled out a somewhat worn license, looking quite proud of it. Loran clapped along obligingly: "Wow, that's amazing!"

"Hmph! Anyway, if you have any requests, just come to me, Elena!"