Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong first pondered for a moment, analyzing the pros and cons of this issue for the team—the benefits are obvious—whether it be the shipbuilding site provided by the Princess, or various conveniences afforded by it.

The downside, however, is the potential involvement at the center of this whirlwind event, facing unpredictable risks. Although everyone has long been accustomed to it, as the saying goes, ’if you walk by the river often, you can’t avoid wetting your shoes’. Risk certainly also means opportunity, but overall, a stable development is better.

But the question is, can they give up this series of benefits? The answer is, it’s difficult—because this means the original plan has to change once more, the preliminary preparations would be nullified, they’d need to recruit workers and craftsmen to move south, the procurement of Magic Oak agreed upon with the merchant guild would also have to be renegotiated, and it’s uncertain whether the other party would still be willing to talk to them.

Of course, these issues are surmountable, but the key is, at what cost? This isn’t the first time Fang Hong has weighed the pros and cons, but he still reached the same conclusion: staying in Tansnier is the best choice. But this doesn’t mean they need to passively accept the other party’s arrangements without change.

The crux of the matter is understanding what you truly need, and in what areas the other party can make concessions?

If they cannot choose a task, at the very least, they must understand it more thoroughly and comprehensively; thus, information is key.

After so many adventures, Fang Hong has long realized that fundamental divergences cannot be reconciled, but they can be used as leverage—in fact, this is exactly what he is doing. After so many days of lying low, bringing this up now with the Big Catfolk places him in an advantageous position from the start.

He posed two questions:

”Mr. Abed, we can understand the Princess’s considerations, but now that it’s come to this point, since the Princess’s true purpose is to find the real culprit, the nature of my work should also change. Considering that we are entirely likely to face unforeseen threats—while I could overlook the past, at least from now on, I hope to have basic rights to information, which is the fundamental basis of cooperation.”

”So far, I have two questions—the first question is, why did the Wandering Alchemist attack the Queen over ten years ago? I believe even the most insane individuals have reasons for their actions, whether out of personal preference or sheer madness, but there is at least one reason, not attacking someone they have nothing to do with for no reason, especially when that person is the wife of the King of Sand, Barbaltan.”

”Secondly, as the daughter of the King of Sand, Barbaltan, one of the highest authority figures on this land, why can Princess Rupert only trust outsiders? In the vast Royal Palace, whether it be her father, brothers, loyal subordinates, is there truly no one the Princess can trust deeply? I find it hard to believe that compared to those people, my team is more trustworthy to the Princess.”

Hearing these two questions, Abed couldn’t help but furrow his brows. As one of the Princess’s trusted people, he certainly isn’t a fool—in fact, one could say he is astute and efficient, so he easily discerned the hidden meaning in Fang Hong’s words, realizing that the other party clearly didn’t come unprepared.

This made him both happy and worried.

He was happy that the person commissioned by the Princess was, naturally, more capable as that goes without saying. But on the worrying side: it seems the other party isn’t as ’naive and innocent’ as ’Achilles’ had described, and as for the second point, he couldn’t quite decide if it was good or bad for the moment.

Seeing his expression, Fang Hong pressed further: ”If this pertains to the Private matters of the Royal Household, Mr. Abed can consult with the Princess before making a decision.”

But Abed shook his head and looked up, as if reassessing them: ”No need, I can decide on this matter.”

He then asked: ”So would Mr. Ade prefer to hear about the first question or the second question?”

Fang Hong didn’t immediately answer, but instead turned back.

After the previous combat ended, Parker and Xiangzi, who had hurried into the cellar to investigate, reappeared at the hidden door’s edge. Between the two, Xiangzi seemed fine, but the Papalarians was leaning a chubby short arm against the wall, rolling his eyes back, and, panting heavily said to everyone:

”...There’s nothing down there... but, ugh... you’d better go down and see...”

Fang Hong then turned back to Abed and said: ”We will go down to take a look, and if Mr. Abed doesn’t mind, we can discuss it on the way.”

Since this was a task commissioned by the Princess, seeing the other party’s earnest and pragmatic attitude, any previous friction Abed had felt vanished instantly. Nevertheless, he remained outwardly silent, merely nodding and stepping forward to join them.

Although they needed to enter the cellar, not everyone in the Seven Seas Travel Group needed to go in, not to mention someone had to stay outside to watch over things, and given the size of the Big Cat People, such a narrow space would be difficult to enter—let alone, if there were trouble, their abilities would be restricted.

So the latter volunteered to ’stand guard’ outside.

Added to that were Xiangzi, who had been down once before, and Luo Yu, who showed no interest in it. As for Tianlan, she was all excited and even dragged along a reluctant Gita. Tang Xin had no interest either but couldn’t withstand Ai Xiaoxiao’s insistence, not to mention she was worried about her cousin.