A week later, Lorraine Hill bid farewell to the Roentgen Chamber of Commerce and left with the girl rescued from Viscount Moreau, heading to Longhorn Province, which is in the north of the southern border and close to the center of the empire.

"I didn't expect to be separated so soon." Charlene looked at the girl in front of her with emotion. When they first met, she thought she was a young lady who had run away from home, but after getting along with her, she felt more and more

This girl is extraordinary. Not only her strength, but also her knowledge are far beyond ordinary people.

It's all because Mecia was too shy when we first met, which caused me to have these misunderstandings. Miss Charlene found reasons for herself in her heart.

"Is Mesia going to Longhorn Province this time?"

"Yes, I found out that Iena's brother is over there, so I want to send Iena over there." After helping the knights in the north purchase food in the past two days, the girl began to investigate the resistance in the south.

, and Iena’s brother happens to be a good entry point.

"Oh, I originally wanted to keep you in the Dragon Heart Castle for a few more days. This is the capital of the Southern Territory and the most prosperous place." Miss Charlene was quite regretful. The headquarters of their Roentgen Chamber of Commerce is here, and she

He also has his own residence in the city.

"Next time, Sister Charlene." Lorraine Hill still has a lot of things to do.

"Yeah, but you don't have to be restrained when you come in the future. Don't bother me or anything like that. I really want to see what you look like in a few years. Maybe you will become more powerful again, haha." Charlene covered her mouth and smiled.

, and then handed Lorraine Hill a metal nameplate.

"Take this. If you meet people from the Roentgen Chamber of Commerce in the future, you can get some help and save a lot of trouble."

"Thanks."

"That's it, goodbye."

"Goodbye, Sister Charlene." Iena on the side also waved goodbye to this business lady who was kind to her.

Standing under the tall city gate, Charlene watched the two people leave in a carriage, waving her hands. The warm orange sun shone on the cold mountains, and the snow-covered woods were also shrouded in a layer of warm color.

——————

In the Lion Heart Province, the white castle stands on a high cliff. Occasionally, a winged griffon flies by and hovers in the castle. This is a palace of the Salius family.

"Lord Jerran."

On the grass in the spacious courtyard, about twenty maids dressed in black and white stood on both sides, bending to salute the man who stepped off the back of the gryphon.

"Don't be so polite, get up."

Jie Lanen greeted him casually, then asked his followers to lead the gryphon to a nearby lair, while he led a group of knights to a nearby mansion.

"Father, are you already waiting for me here?" This is not the permanent residence of the Salius family, but a mansion used occasionally for vacations.

"Yes, the Duke arrived yesterday and is currently waiting for the young master to come back." The butler on the side walked ahead to guide Jie Lann and talked about the recent situation.

"Now the cold wave in the north is gradually moving down, and some fiefdoms in our territory have also suffered from snow disasters. Many lords have come to the master's house for help."

"Oh, is the situation serious?" Jie Lann asked as he walked, remembering that before returning, he met a group of northern knights on the border. They seemed to have purchased a lot of food at the border market.

"We can still hold on for now. After all, we have a lot of grain reserves in the past, but it will be hard to say if time goes on. Now all parts of the empire have begun to hoard grain, and many nobles have even issued orders strictly prohibiting the movement of grain from their fiefdoms.

"

"Thanks for your hard work."

With that said, the two of them walked into the restaurant on the second floor, opened the door, and saw several familiar people sitting on the long dining table.

"Father, I'm back." Jie Lanen thought of the gray-haired old man in the first seat and bowed to salute, and then looked at the next few people.

One of them is his sister Fantina, her husband and children, and then there are two younger brothers who have just grown up. I heard that they will go to Emenas to go to school next year.

"Sit down." The old Griffin Duke nodded without saying much. He had always been so cold and solemn, making it difficult for people to get close to him.

The meal began, and the two younger brothers looked at their elder brother curiously, then lowered their heads and ate quietly.

After lunch, the maids came over to clear the table.

The old Duke raised his gray eyes and looked at Geran, "We will leave for Titania in three days, you understand."

"Yes, Father." Jie Lanen lowered his head in response, and the expression on his face was not visible.

"Humph." The old Duke stood up and led others away.

After that, Valentina and her husband got up to say goodbye and left quickly. She only attended this time to fulfill her obligations and did not want to be scolded by the old Duke.

In the end, only Jie Lann and his two young brothers were left in the room.

"Brother Jie Lan'en, you're finally back." After seeing the others leaving, the two men couldn't help but be happy. They jumped up and surrounded Jie Lan'en, and then happily inquired about the situation in the south.

"Is it fun there?"

"Did you see a dragon, or did you bring us dragon scales?"

"Are the aristocratic ladies in the south better-looking? I heard from Baba that girls there are popular in wearing black stockings."

"It's delicious. Is there anything new? Didn't the emperor say before that those alchemists came up with many new things?"

The two of them were chattering non-stop, like hungry birds waiting for food, which made Jie Lanen feel dizzy for a moment.

"You guys come one by one. Regarding gifts and the like, I'll let Grace look for them for you. I did bring something back."

"Really, let's take a look..." As they said that, the two of them surrounded the eldest brother and walked to the door of the mansion.

After that, the three of them went to the place where the luggage was stored, and later asked Jie Lann to tell them various things. It was not until a few hours later that the curiosity and enthusiasm of the two gradually subsided.

"I see, it's not as fun as I thought before, hey."

“I’m still looking forward to going to Emenas later.”

"Are there many beautiful girls there? I heard that there are girls from the elven clan." The two brothers are still in their youth, and their interest in the opposite sex is far greater than their extraordinary strength.

"Elf? There is indeed one, but it may belong to a girl the same age as your grandma." Jie Lanen looked at the two boys in front of him with a smile, and then ruffled their hair.

"It would be better to find a human girl who is about the same age as you. After all, we are gryphons in the mountains and cannot marry elves like unicorns." Jie Lann said about the hidden rules among nobles.

It would be a bit arrogant for the king of the West to marry a forest elf. This is usually a royal privilege or the style of the nobles of the East.

"I'm going to test you this time to see how well you practice with your sword." After sitting on the fence next to the corridor for a while, Jie Lanen asked the maid to find three wooden swords and let his two younger brothers be his opponents.

"I definitely can't beat you, but if Brother Jie Lanen lets us come together, maybe we can give you a surprise." The two looked at each other with a sly smile.

"Then let's go together." After saying that, the three of them walked around on the grass, relying purely on sword skills and physical combat without using extraordinary power.

"Haha..." An hour later, the three of them were lying on the grass panting, smiling and looking at the sky.

"Very good, your cooperation just now." Jie Lanen commented.

"Of course, we are super powerful. Just wait, brother, we will surpass you in a few years."

"Then I have to look forward to it, haha."

After saying that, the three of them closed their eyes quietly to relax and feel the gentle breeze blowing on their bodies. Now the winter in the Western Region is coming to an end.

As the sun gradually set and the time reached around four o'clock in the afternoon, Jie Lanen and his two younger brothers took a walk in this ancient courtyard.

"I heard that this was a very early mansion of our family. It was at the beginning of the Third Age, and there wasn't even the Griffin Principality." The two of them talked about the records they had recently read in the study.

"Afterwards, our ancestors became prosperous, but this place became empty. We only come here for vacations and entertainment a small amount of time."

"It's quite mysterious anyway." The two of them walked ahead and looked at the wall on one side of the corridor. It was covered with green vines and covered up the weathered cracks on the wall. It seemed a bit remote and peaceful.

"But that's okay. I don't like how noisy the host's house is. There are many relatives and children, some of whom are very stupid."

"It's more comfortable here, hehe." The two said and started running forward together, seemingly trying to compete with each other and climbing up the mountain wall in front of them first.

"Hey." Putting their feet on the gray rock wall, the two of them jumped up the hill with nimble hands and feet, and then waved to Jie Lann below.

"Come up, brother Jie Lanen."

"These two guys." Jie Lan'en shook his head, and then he took a few steps to run up, and then he heard the two people's gloating laughter.

It turned out that there was a large pit hidden behind the mountain wall, and the two of them just happened to be standing by the pit.

Seeing this, Jie Lan'en moved slightly, then changed his previous relaxed posture, and instead stepped down heavily, stepping on the soil at the bottom of the pit, knocking the two of them down with a scream.

The two of them rolled a few times on the dirt slope and slid to the bottom of the pit before stopping.

"Bah." They spat out the mud in their mouths, with bitter expressions on their faces.

"It hurts." Then one of them squatted down with sweat on his forehead and covered his ankle.

"Don't pull such a prank. I'm lucky. If your sister sees it, she'll probably get beaten up again." Seeing this, Jie Lanen shook his head.

"No, I'm really hurt this time, brother." As he said that, the crouching brother looked up, his eyes a little wet.

"Is it true? Let me take a look. It seems that the foot is indeed twisted and bleeding." Seeing the socks on the ankles gradually turning red, Jie Lanen also realized at this time.

"But this place is full of soil, how could you hit your feet?" As he said this, he looked at the soil slope above with some confusion, and then he discovered a corner of the stone exposed, which looked like it was part of a stone monument.

After simply bandaging the injury on his younger brother's foot, Jie Lann climbed up the hillside again and pushed aside the accumulated soil, only to discover the complete stone tablet inside.

"The handwriting is a little unclear and corroded badly. It looks like it was something from a long time ago." The three of them looked at the stone tablet with curiosity.

"Is there more to come? It feels like there's more to it than just this."

"Indeed." Jie Lanen's eyes narrowed as he spoke, and then he swung his palm down diagonally, bringing up the white air-breaking blade and sinking it into the mountain wall, chipping away a lot of soil.

After repeating this several times, the things behind were gradually revealed. The dark ink color had not decayed even after being buried deep for so many years.

Finally, the three of them dragged the rectangular object out of the soil and looked at it carefully.

It seems to be made of some kind of rare and extraordinary hardwood, with golden veins on the edges. In the middle is the symbol of the Salius family, a gold-plated griffon pattern, and the pattern is surrounded by unknown white flowers. It is very beautiful.

"This is something that belongs to our family, but it looks like a coffin?" A younger brother looked puzzled. He stepped forward and knocked on it, but it felt like a solid rock and there was no response.

"Could it be a treasure buried by our ancestors?" Another person also expressed his thoughts, somewhat eager to try.

"I think it's better to ask my father." Jie Lanen looked at the black hardwood cube in front of him and frowned slightly. Even with his extraordinary strength, he couldn't detect what was hidden in it, which was a bit dangerous.
To be continued...