Hello, Arknights

Chapter 422 The Mystery of "El"

Unlike Qicheng Town, this town is much more lively, and the taverns are much larger. Groups of people drinking are scattered throughout the first and second floors, and there are almost no lone drinkers.

They weren't surprised that "El" was spotted in a tavern. The former resident who left a bunch of notes had hinted that the other person also liked alcohol, but since the location was limited to a tavern, this information wasn't as useful.

But Daphne wasn't trying to make things difficult for him. The reason she didn't tell him the real reason must have been due to some strange or even bizarre factors—it certainly wasn't because she misunderstood his lifestyle and was deliberately trying to upset him.

This can also be verified by the expression on the face of the person who just delivered the information to him.

"What do you think?" Ling Dengxian looked at Bai Jin, wanting to see how she would handle the matter from her perspective.

In a sense, she was better at it than he was, so he asked her questions to prevent any logical problems he might have overlooked. Of course, he couldn't bring it up intentionally, as that would be asking for trouble.

However, it's fine to ask this casually. After a moment's thought, Platinum tilted her head and said, "My opinion... combined with the note owner's self-description, it was a crush that was never acted upon and was always kept at a distance. If 'El' is not her real name, then perhaps her real name sounds similar to 'El'."

"The word 'El' is simple to form and is very likely to have elision. To be honest, judging from the name is only a reliable piece of evidence after someone has been chosen, and it is not a reliable screening criterion for the search."

"You have an idea?" She saw that Ling Dengxian's attitude did not seem confused, but to avoid missing anything, she continued, "If we are to start looking, it would be better to start by investigating the identities of the 'messenger' and 'reserve members who participated in temporary transfers' mentioned in the note."

"More or less," Ling nodded, his information gathering skills honed under Lin Yuxia's tutelage at Longmen still sharp. "It's just that I didn't expect Dai Feien to let us find it ourselves. Luckily, I made some preparations."

"I was originally planning to send it casually, but now it's a perfect excuse." Ling Dengxian smiled and took out the envelope from his pocket.

……

Ellison was somewhat troubled. Ever since he was transferred to the relief mission in Little Hills, the messenger mission had been taken over by a messenger transferred from another region. The messenger was very nice and enthusiastic. After he returned, he took the initiative to invite him to take over the work again. But soon, he realized the "threat" the messenger posed.

It's not that the other party had any ill intentions towards him, and their invitation didn't seem fake, but the other party... was just too outstanding.

This is not the core area of ​​Karaton after all. Normally, a messenger of his caliber could slack off a little without causing any delays, and he had never made a mistake. However, the new temporary messenger was a systematically trained person from a big city, and her efficiency and attentiveness were higher than his. As a result, in just over two months, she was remembered by more than 80% of the residents.

Although the authorities did not transfer him away this time, and due to the population movement caused by this disaster, Karaton welcomed many new residents, and the tasks of messengers from all over the country became more arduous, including reporting to local personnel, sending letters home, delivering wills, renewing qualification materials... Messengers should have been very busy.

But now he can drink here.

"Thank you for making this trip, senior. I really can't leave here. Please send these important documents to Karaton. I'll treat you to a big meal when I get back."

Buer, the new messenger, completed one-third of the local backlog of household registration applications during the day while he was on his way to Caraton to deliver a local personnel report. He knew he couldn't have done it on his own, and when she left work today, she said she would finish the job by tomorrow. He didn't even know if she had included his workload in the calculations.

Now he was just waiting for the rising star to finish the final information integration so they could unwind together after a long day. Thinking of the newcomer's proactive attitude, he felt as melancholy as an incompetent husband.

Because he knew that after this busy period was over, he would become even more dispensable. The Earl of White Wolf had reviewed his return to work, but the person in charge wouldn't let him work for free. At that time, he would only have a simple, trivial excuse to get unemployed.

His usual route is no longer passable due to changes in residents, which has significantly disrupted his work rhythm.

"No way, I have to grab some work tomorrow, it would be too pathetic to just give up like this—"

"Excuse me, are you... Mr. Erielson the Messenger?" Just as he made up his mind, a strange young man approached him and struck up a conversation, carrying a bottle of popular liquor that hadn't been opened yet.

"Ah, who are you?" Erielson hesitated. He didn't recognize the person in front of him, but the other person seemed to have a clear goal in mind.

"I apologize for the intrusion. I am a new resident who recently moved into a new house nearby and wanted to send a letter. I found out that you are the most senior messenger here, but I am too late and the messenger post has already closed."

"I was quite frustrated at first, but then I heard from the boss that you happened to be here, so I thought I'd ask you to take on this task in person, so I wouldn't have to make another trip tomorrow..." The other person pushed the wine towards him, and his gentle attitude made him lower his guard a little.

“…I do have some experience, that’s true, but…” Erielson didn’t stand on ceremony. The wine wasn’t cheap, so he just accepted it. “I was called to the battlefield a few months ago, and when I came back, things had changed a bit.”

"I can no longer freely travel the routes I used to take because of the newly arrived viscount. Although it was originally private territory, I used to help that merchant family with urgent messages a few times, which made things easier for me. But now... sigh, I haven't even met that new viscount yet. How am I supposed to know his temperament? It's best for noblemen to stay away from him... The new junior can replace me at any time, so my future is pretty much set in stone..."

After taking a sip of wine, he mistook the visitor's inquiry for concern and couldn't stop talking, pouring out his heart to the other person. In any case, he had already drunk the wine, so even if the other person didn't entrust him with anything, he would still have made a profit.

Two seats away, the white-haired Kuranta sipped her drink. With her hearing, she had clearly heard the conversation between the two. Needless to say, the guy had found the right person. The "El" on the note was this Erielson. But the only problem now was that they didn't know why Daphne had gone around in circles with them.

This person seems pretty normal.

Well, at least we've met the person and can guess most of the story from the conversation, so it's a conclusion. Now we just have to wait for him to arrange the letters properly.

“Is that so… But I still believe you can help me with this trip, sir. A messenger who has been on the battlefield is more reliable.” The young man reassured him, “And, I’m a little sorry, the distance my letter needs to be sent to is… a bit far.”

Ellison's curiosity was piqued: "Where did the letter go?"

"Kasimir".

"..." Erielson choked on his drink and coughed for a while before replying helplessly, "Well, that is indeed... a bit far."

"That's why I wanted to ask you for a favor, Mr. Messenger."

“Sigh… Under normal circumstances, I would help you, but the workload caused by the personnel changes is also large. I can’t just dump all the work on the juniors because of my limited abilities… Besides, I also want to find some important tasks to regain my place in this job. Your letter may have to be put on hold for a while.”

"Actually, there's no rush. It's just that I'm new here and want to get everything sorted out. I'm already satisfied that the messenger is willing to help me with this."

Just as Ellison was about to reply, a clear shout startled him.

"Senior! I'm sorry I'm late. I've been preparing a little longer for tomorrow's work... Are you busy?" The woman, Li Boli, who had rushed over, apologized while observing the atmosphere and tentatively asked.

"Ah... no, it's nothing, it's all settled... Later, uh, next week? When I have less work, I might have to go on a long trip to Kazimierz to deliver a message."

"Huh?" Buell was somewhat taken aback. "Is it that far? Then, senior, you promised me I'd visit your home..."

“…Ahem, let’s get through this busy period.” Erielson said helplessly. Although his work was threatened by this newcomer, he really couldn’t bring himself to be angry with her. The two even had a good personal relationship.

“Then what’s the point of all my hard work these past few days…” Buer lamented.

Ling sensed something was amiss; the situation seemed slightly different from what Ellison had described.

"I was thinking of doing more work and getting to know my seniors better..."

No, no, this... this seems to be...

The white-haired Kuranta suddenly moved closer, but had not yet attracted the attention of the two messengers.

“Well… you’ve done very well without me guiding you, much better than me.” Erielson felt he was basically not qualified to help her get familiar with the work.

“Hmm…” Ling Dengxian felt that he might need to bring up a direct topic to uncover the truth before things got too complicated. He beckoned to Erielson, leaned closer, and whispered, “Mr. Erielson, she… seems to have feelings for you…”

“Impossible,” Ellison shook his head firmly. “No one has ever shown me any affection from childhood to adulthood.”

Of course, his reply was also in a low voice.

"Hey, what about the girl from Violet's family?" Platinum couldn't help but ask, but because of her position, she was behind Ling Dengxian and Erielson didn't see her.

However, he was still astonished and his voice didn't lower any further: "A girl? Didn't the merchant family we stayed with only have one son?"

"Huh?" Ling Dengxian and Bai Jin were both taken aback, which alerted the messengers: "Where...do you live?"

"Uh..." As the commotion grew louder, Ling Dengxian sensed some uneasy gazes and could only point to the envelope he had handed to Erielson, saying:

"I'm sorry, I really don't know much about the situation here before. We only arrived in Violet recently."

Erielson quickly examined the letter closely, and a peculiar surname gave him a slight chill: "...'Ling'?" (Yan Yu)

He remembered that the newly arrived viscount was a stranger... and also surnamed Ling.

"You, you—" The man's lips trembled slightly, and suddenly realizing what he was doing, he slapped his mouth, which wouldn't obey him. "You are..."

"Um... Regarding the matter of passing by that you mentioned earlier, I don't think there's a problem, as long as you don't trample the lavender field."

Ellison's brain went blank.

Ling Dengxian and Bai Jin realized his previous answer and fell silent, understanding why Dai Feien had been beating around the bush.

This result is indeed not suitable to be stated directly...