A crude but sturdy wooden raft, shaped like a slender shuttle, served as their transport.
It carried the neatly stacked wooden crates while leaving a bit of space for the three of them.
Closing the post office door, Lin Gui hung a wooden plaque that read: “Long-distance delivery; return expected in half a year.”
He sat at the very front of the raft and lightly tapped his staff.
The faint light of 【Levitation】 flickered, and the massive raft gave a slight shudder.
Immediately after, it hovered steadily half a foot off the ground, as if supported by an invisible stream of water.
It slowly drifted toward the city gates.
On top of the wooden crates in the middle of the raft, Theia was leisurely swinging her fair legs, humming an ancient elven song in high spirits, her silver hair fluttering gently in the breeze.
At the end of the raft, Elvia watched Lin Gui’s back with a complex expression.
【Levitation】.
This was a Novice Magic that stumped countless mages and was extremely difficult to master to such a refined level.
Yet, this mage at the rank of Low-tier High Rank had mastered it to this extent?
She hadn’t even heard a complete incantation being chanted.
The massive object had simply floated into the air with grace.
This was no longer a matter of proficiency; it was a near-instinctive level of control.
She was becoming increasingly curious about what kind of person Lin Gui truly was.
As soon as the strange floating raft appeared, it immediately caught the attention of Caran City’s residents.
The main street was soon crowded with onlookers.
They recognized the “Calamity” half-demon with silver hair and red eyes sitting atop the crates.
They recognized the “good man” mage, Lin Gui, who had selflessly delivered their letters, sitting at the front.
And they recognized Elvia even more.
The “merciful” former City Lord who had secured so many benefits for the lower classes.
“Look! It’s the mage and the Princess!”
“Have a safe journey!”
“Thank you! Princess! Thank you for the new policies!”
“Mage, sir! You must deliver those letters!”
“May the Light protect you!”
The tide of cheers and praise surged toward them, with most of the gratitude directed at Elvia.
Elvia instantly switched to an impeccable, radiant smile.
She waved elegantly to the crowds on both sides.
Above her, Theia leaned down and spoke to her with a grin.
“How does it feel, Princess? Not bad to be adored by the commoners, right?”
Elvia faced the people, her smile still perfect.
However, her voice was so low that only the nearby Theia and Lin Gui could hear her.
“Sacrificing interests just to win the support of this rabble is the height of stupidity.”
“They have no strength, they are uneducated, and few of them are even literate.”
“Compared to nobles, wealthy merchants, those in power, and High Rank professionals, they are worthless.”
“Relying on them to seize power? That is a colossal joke.”
She had said these words intentionally for Lin Gui at the front to hear.
Lin Gui didn't turn his head, merely offering a faint reply in a similarly hushed tone.
“So, if all the nobles, royalty, and unscrupulous merchants were fed to demons, the world would be a much cleaner place, wouldn’t it?”
Elvia’s mouth twitched violently, and she decided to shut up.
The residents escorted the floating raft all the way to the Adventurer's Guild.
The adventurers at the guild curiously eyed this peculiar mode of transport.
Meanwhile, several individuals dressed as mages looked on with shock, their eyes fixed on the steadily maintaining 【Levitation】 spell.
Their faces were filled with disbelief and naked jealousy.
The warrior who had delivered the message earlier stepped forward quickly.
He handed Lin Gui a letter stamped with the guild’s sealing wax and a heavy coin purse.
“Mage, sir, here are ten thousand gold coins. It was... scraped together by the guild. Please, you must complete the mission!”
Lin Gui took the letter and the purse, weighed it in his hand, and casually tossed the purse upward.
Theia caught it easily, opened it, and beamed with joy.
“Lin Gui, I’ve noticed that even though you always lose money on letters, you always seem to pick up high-priced commissions from the Adventurer's Guild that aren't seen once in years!”
“First there was the escort of the young lady from New Covenant City, and now the Guild is bleeding money!”
Speaking of that young lady.
The marriage alliance team sent by her father had discovered that the intended groom in Caran had already packed his bags and fled long ago.
Left with no choice, the leader had decided to return to New Covenant before their funds ran out.
They had approached Lin Gui, offering a high price to request an escort.
But Lin Gui had refused.
On the way here, he had taken advantage of the forest being empty after the demon siege.
Now that High Rank demons were returning to the wilderness.
He wasn't confident in his ability to lead a team of dead weight back safely.
Hearing Theia’s words, Lin Gui couldn't help but retort.
“What does this bounty count for compared to the pioneering missions responsible for crossing the wilderness and mapping out Golden Routes?”
Unlike border cities like New Covenant and Caran that lacked local specialties.
Within the City-State Alliance, there was a massive demand for logistics between various city-states with different resource outputs.
For transport teams that crossed the wilderness multiple times to deliver city-state goods.
A single trip could yield rewards in the tens of millions.
Of course, their strength was also terrifying; a Transcendent Ranger like Theia would probably be nothing more than an assistant in such a transport team.
Theia smiled, naturally understanding that logic.
Hearing their conversation, Elvia couldn't help but interject.
“Um... Regarding this trip to the Royal Capital, I’m the primary one for identifying the route.”
“I remember the Golden Route blazed by Holy Knight John very clearly.”
“Is there really not a share of that gold for me?”
When she had come to Caran, she had harbored the intention of returning to the Royal Capital and had put great effort into memorizing the route.
Her initial move against Lin Gui had also included the intention of blackmailing Theia, a Transcendent Ranger, into assisting her return to the Royal Capital.
The result...
She had indeed gotten her wish, but her life was now firmly held in someone else’s hand. It was truly ironic.
As for the gold coins, she was only being polite and didn't expect Lin Gui to actually give her any.
To her surprise, Lin Gui glanced at her and said indifferently.
“As the former City Lord of Caran, you seized so many assets; didn't you ‘skim a little off the top’ for yourself?”
As he spoke, he actually grabbed a handful of gold from the purse—estimated to be nearly two thousand coins—stuffed them into a bag, and tossed it to Elvia.
Elvia caught it in stunned silence before instinctively saying.
“...You didn't take a single coin from that money either. I was truly afraid that if I embezzled any, I would be fed to the demons by you.”
“Heh.”
Amidst their banter, the raft drifted to the city gates.
To the sincere blessings of the commoners.
This strange trio rode the floating raft, slowly sailing out of the massive gates.
They vanished into the vast and dangerous wilderness beyond the city.
...
Long after Lin Gui’s party had departed, a figure cloaked in a black mantle, looking travel-worn, arrived beneath the walls of Caran City.
Looking at the prosperous scene within the city, the vibrant smiles on the commoners' faces.
And the incredibly familiar policy clauses posted on the announcement boards.
The corners of the mouth beneath the cloak curled up slightly.
She extended a slender finger, carefully tearing off a corner of the announcement, and examined it closely.
The idle chatter of passing commoners regarding the “Messenger Mage” and the “merciful Princess” drifted into her ears.
She laughed—a smile as warm and dazzling as the sun breaking through dark clouds.
She walked through the newly cleaned streets of Caran.
Following the people’s guidance, she found that legendary post office.
She gazed at the border map at the entrance that connected many city-states.
Looking at the wooden sign that read: “Long-distance delivery; return expected in half a year.”
The young girl couldn't restrain a series of clear, girlish giggles.
“Half a year... Little Gui Comrade, that’s far too long~”
“However...”
She lowered her voice, as if speaking a secret known only to herself.
Her eyes sparkled with the light of expectation and of a reunion after a long separation.
“I’ve waited through twenty years; I can afford to wait a little longer.”
“I look forward to the day you return.”
Rate on N.U.
