Deep Sea Embers

The crisp bell sounded with the opening of the door, and the afternoon sun shone into the old store that was almost occupied by all kinds of dolls. The elf store manager, who was concentrating on adjusting the skeleton of a set of dolls behind the counter, raised his head when he heard the movement. , and saw a tall, dark-haired man with a cyclops walking into the store.

The elf old lady looked at this "customer" who didn't look like she was going to buy a doll in the store, but after a moment of confusion, she still greeted her with a smile - after all, she didn't recognize the tall one-eyed man in front of her. The man is the child who brought his younger sister to buy things in his store a century ago: "Ah, welcome to the Rose Doll Museum, just take a look."

Then she paused, and said casually, "It's not common to have guests like you."

Tirian's eyes flicked slowly around.

All kinds of dolls, shelves and carved stairs that look quite old, a warm and calm atmosphere, and the smiling old woman.

The yellowed fragments of memory gradually pieced together, turning into a familiar picture, which gradually overlapped with the scene in front of me.

It is indeed here, Lucrezia is pointing the right way.

The elf shopkeeper didn't recognize him, which was normal—compared to a century ago, he had changed too much.

Tirian adjusted his expression a little, trying to make his face look softer—half a century of wandering and plundering on the cold sea had turned him into a hard-faced person, and he knew that there was always something in him. There is a kind of temperament that makes ordinary people uncomfortable, and this temperament has obviously affected the kind old woman who is the shop owner. The other party is smiling and greeting, but there is doubt and a little vigilance in his eyes.

"I want to inquire about one thing." Tirian didn't know whether his expression adjustment was in place. He could hardly recall what kind of expression and tone he should use to speak when he walked into the store like an ordinary person. "Your here is Didn't you sell a doll called 'Nilu'?"

He thought for a while, and added two more sentences: "A three-point doll, about this tall - classical court style, with a very gorgeous skirt."

The owner of the elf shop was stunned for a moment, and said hesitantly: "Indeed... there was such a doll in the shop for many years, and it was bought by someone a while ago, but why did you inquire about it?"

"What kind of person bought it?" Tirian felt his heart beat a little faster. He didn't expect to find the clue so easily. After buying the doll, "About when?"

The old lady owner was obviously taken aback by Tirian's overly excited reaction, but became more vigilant: "Sorry, I can't disclose information about customers, this is our businessman's rule."

Tirian was taken aback for a moment, but he didn't expect such a response from the other party. He thought about it quickly, then hesitated for two or three seconds, as if he had made up his mind: "...Didn't you recognize me?"

"Recognize...?" The old lady of the store frowned, looking up and down at the stranger in front of her suspiciously, "I don't remember receiving customers like you—most of the people who come to my store to buy dolls are women, or Young men who choose gifts for their lovers and fathers who choose gifts for their daughters."

"That's because it's been a long, long time since I last came here," Tirian showed a strange smile, "Do you still remember that a pair of brothers and sisters took away a person named 'Luni' from here a hundred years ago?" Ouch?"

The shopkeeper's old lady was stunned for a moment, then finally slowly opened her eyes wide, and looked at Tirian in disbelief: "Ah, you are..."

"I know you may not believe it, but I have something to prove my identity," Tirian thought quickly, and he took something out of his arms while talking, "An elf like you They are all well-informed, and they should have heard about my affairs...you look at this."

The old elf lady listened suspiciously while taking a piece of paper handed over by the other party. She opened it and saw that a big head portrait was printed on the paper, and below that was the text of the arrest warrant, the bounty, and the official seal of Frost City. ...

"I should still be somewhat famous," Tirian said solemnly. "Strictly speaking, our family is relatively famous...although it may not be a pleasant reputation."

The old lady of the shop owner: "..."

After a long time, the old elf woman controlled her expression, looked up at Tirian, and said in a strange tone: "It's really you."

Tirian seemed to have noticed something wrong with this, and smiled awkwardly: "It's me."

The old lady thought about it again: "I haven't seen you for so many years...there are so many zeros after your name..."

Tirian twitched the corner of his mouth: "The bounty... is indeed a bit much, but it's just a formality. They add a zero at the end every four or five years. No one will accept the reward anyway."

"...It's the first time I've seen someone who wears his arrest warrant as a proof document, and he's a great pirate," the old lady Elf's expression finally became normal, and she folded the arrest warrant and returned it. He muttered, "I heard the news of the Haiwu ship's call at the port, and I was thinking of going to the port to see the excitement when I had time, but I didn't expect you to come here first. Is your sister okay?"

"She...has a smarter life than me," said Tirian, and then he glanced at the old woman opposite with a strange expression, "I thought you would be afraid, most ordinary people will be scared when they see me. This is the reaction afterward—even if it is outside the Cold Sea."

"I've seen a lot of weird things, and you're not the only big pirate, and the city-state has issued a statement explaining that the Sea Mist is a guest invited by Prand, and the affairs in the northern seas have nothing to do with us," the old man said. The wife walked towards the counter while muttering, and then the muttering turned into a nagging, "But I still have to tell you, it's not a serious business to be a pirate all the time, it's not a long-term business, and it's not nice to say it, you see Your sister, at least she can hang a lifelong honorary title in the Explorers Association, of course I also heard that your relationship with the northern city-states seems to be quite complicated..."

Tirian's mind suddenly started to buzz. He felt that he had now seen the calmness of the long-lived race, so he had to quickly interrupt the old lady's chanting: "The Sea Mist Fleet is already undergoing changes, and the revenge on the northern city-state Behavior and looting are a thing of the past, now we mainly rely on protection fees..."

Then, without waiting for the old lady's reaction, he ended the topic neatly and dragged the topic back abruptly: "Can you tell me now, who bought that doll?"

"Oh, it's a middle-aged man who looks similar to you...or maybe a little shorter. He looks thin, as if he is not in good health," the old lady said casually this time Come out, "But I don't think you will be able to find it, there are so many people in Pland. You want to bring back another doll that you couldn't buy back then to your sister? Hey, that's a pity, you I wish I had come earlier... Wait, I just realized, how do you know someone bought 'Nilu'?"

Tirian didn't answer the other party's question, but frowned subconsciously.

A man shorter than himself, with a thin body and poor health... This cannot be the father.

Could it be... is father's subordinate? !

After regaining his humanity and sanity, he has even started looking for subordinates again? What does he want to do? Is it to rebuild the lost fleet? !

Tirian thought about a lot of things for a while, and he didn't wake up until the old elf lady called his name twice, and then he thought of something else, and immediately asked: "Then besides buying dolls, what about that?" What else did the guest say? Did he take anything else?"

"What did you say... I just had a normal chat," the old lady of the store owner recalled, "I feel that he is a customer who likes dolls very much. He is very concerned about the repair and maintenance of dolls and has learned a lot from me. Oh, by the way, he also bought a wig and matching hair accessories, which seemed to be for his doll."

Tirian looked stunned: "...wig? What kind of wig?"

"Long straight golden hair, one-to-one size, I am quite impressed," the old lady owner said, and suddenly remembered something, "By the way, I have a similar one here, you can take a look."

While speaking, she turned around and went to the storage room under the stairs to search for it.

Tirian wanted to say that there was no need to be so troublesome, but he didn't have time, and at this moment, another strange knocking sound suddenly came from not far away, attracting his attention.

It sounded like someone was knocking on a window outside.

Tirian turned his head in surprise and looked in the direction of the voice.

He saw a beautiful lady with blond hair and waist was standing outside the window, tapping on the window.

Tirian didn't react at first, but after seeing the lady's face clearly, he froze in place like a lightning strike.

The lady's appearance...is exactly the same as the Frost Queen Leh Nora half a century ago!