The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

Winterhold.

At the highest point of the castle's main tower, in Duke Caspar's study.

The fireplace was burning brightly, its warm light illuminating most of the room, its glow mirroring the oil lamp on the heavy desk.

Behind the desk, a large solid wood bookshelf stretches from floor to ceiling, with each shelf crammed with scrolls or leather-bound books.

Oswald Kasper had just sealed the last reply with wax, the edge of the eagle emblem imprinted on it was neat and there was not a trace of overflow.

He gently placed the letter on top of the stack of sealed letters on the corner of the table, brushed away non-existent dust from his cuffs, then stood up, walked to the windowsill, and opened the window.

A cold wind rushed into the room, making Oswald's short, golden hair sway slightly. He squinted, feeling his head, which had been feeling heavy from staying up all night, clear up a bit.

"Staying up late is bad for you, old man."

A mocking voice suddenly rang out from the study.

Oswald didn't even bother to turn his head. Of all the people he knew, only one could appear in his study without a word.

"You didn't knock."

A casual chuckle came from behind.

"I knocked a long time ago, you just didn't hear it."

Oswald stared intently at the distant mountains for a while before slowly turning around.

A drow elf leaned lazily against the door frame, holding a dark green wine bottle in his hand, the wine inside already mostly gone.

He wore a well-tailored dark gray long coat over a black, tight-fitting leather suit, and a slender, jewel-encrusted short sword hung at his waist.

Oswald looked helplessly at the bottle in Xavier's hand and said, "Xavier, you stole my wine again!"

The drow elf Xavier's lips curled slightly as he took a large gulp from the bottle, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shook the bottle at him.

"The batch of Eagle Blood from 1986-1987 that you've always been reluctant to drink."

"...That was in 1986."

"Oh." Xavier took another swig. "That's even better."

He carried the wine bottle into the study, his boots making no sound on the carpet. Then, as if no one else was there, he sat down in the high-backed chair covered with a bearskin, one leg resting on the armrest and the other casually stretched out.

Oswald looked at him, not mentioning the wine again—it was pointless anyway—and instead asked:

"Why are you back so soon? Have Anya and the others arrived?"

Xavier placed the bottle on the armrest of the chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and looked up at the ceiling.

"We've arrived at Shallow Beach Town. We've dealt with that rock-dwelling salamander." He smiled. "But there was an unexpected incident; there was a small one left. The little girl from the Scarlett family almost died there."

"Are there any casualties?" Oswald asked, frowning.

"Your precious daughter is unharmed, but that kid Renn broke his arm. However, with Anya there, it's nothing serious."

"Where's Eileen?"

"Hehe, nothing happened."

Oswald rubbed his temples and said, "You made a move?"

"No, they found two little ones before they set off, one of whom was a sorcerer who saved the little girl."

Xavier picked up the bottle again and took a sip.

"There are warlocks in Frost Valley? What's their background?"

"His name is Lorraine. He lives in the slums of Frostvale. About half a year ago, he was a porter. Later, he took a job escorting a caravan and inexplicably became a sorcerer."

Xavier, clutching the bottle, reminisced.

"He probably got lucky and awakened some strange bloodline, but he actually tried to use Shadow Step to step on me, hehehe...how interesting."

He suddenly remembered something fun, and his smile became even more blatant.

"Oh! His companion is one too, a berserk halfling! Brolen! A berserk halfling!"

He waved the bottle exaggeratedly, nearly spilling the wine onto the carpet.

"It's good that nothing bad happened."

Oswald breathed a sigh of relief.

Xavier chuckled lightly, then said:

"Your precious daughter thanked that kid who wasn't even a proper professional and gave him a personal keepsake."

Oswald's expression finally became interesting; he asked in surprise, "A personal keepsake?"

"The top features the sun wheel pattern of the Lord of Dawn."

Seeing that he had taken the bait, Xavier's lips curled up even higher.

"you..."

Oswald pointed at him, then sighed and said, "That's to be expected."

Xavier stood up from his chair, picked up the bottle, walked over to him, and leaned against the edge of another window.

"You're actually willing to let your precious daughter go out like this? Didn't that guy Goldfinch say there was something wrong with Frost Valley?" he asked.

"Anya is a descendant of the Casper family. After obtaining her rank, patrolling the border is her duty. The family rules will not change just because she is my daughter."

Besides, what's the problem with refusing to attend the banquet? That good-for-nothing Golden Flower only knows how to drink and have fun; no wonder people don't want to talk to him.

Oswald looked at him quietly, uttering the words "drinking and having fun" very slowly, then changed the subject, saying, "Besides, doesn't she still have you as her uncle?"

"I don't have time to watch over your precious daughter every minute, you old fool! You promised to take me to live a life of luxury, and now you've given me all this work to do!"

Xavier angrily smashed the bottle on the windowsill.

Oswald chuckled, pointed to the bottle of wine in his hand, and said, "This bottle of wine is enough to buy an estate in the countryside."

He didn't provoke his old friend any further, and changed the subject, saying, "Just send her to Frost Valley. She'll be safe once she gets to the church. They care about her much more than you do."

"A twenty-year-old dawn messenger, almost a sure-fire candidate for divine revelation, the church naturally took him seriously."

Xavier said lazily.

"Oh, by the way, Anya hired those two to go to Frostvale City together."

"Yes, it's time for her to recruit subordinates. My daughter, Oswald, is not the kind of noble lady who only knows etiquette."

After saying that, he closed the window, turned to Xavier, and asked, "How's the investigation into the capital going?"

Hearing this, even Xavier became serious. He hesitated for two seconds before replying:

"We only found out that he was looking for something, which was supposedly stolen by a man named Soren, which is why he was frantically searching for him all over the city."

"Something? What could possibly make a 'supernatural' mage so anxious? Did that person steal his staff? Or did they dig up his mage tower?"

Oswald was puzzled.

"I don't know. The men he sent out were all suicide squads. They committed suicide immediately after being caught by my men. I feel that things are not that simple."

"Continue the investigation."

"it is good."

Xavier vanished silently from his spot, and Oswald ignored him, turning his gaze toward the capital.

"Lorraine..."