I Have a Task Log

Colin was slightly taken aback when he heard the name Heatherway.

It took him a moment to remember that Tiberium Heatherway was the name of the current City Lord.

The traditional nobleman hadn’t accomplished much during his tenure, nor had he made any major mistakes. He’d had a stable, unremarkable reign for several decades.

As a result, he had little presence in the eyes of the average citizen. Some Wandering Poets even gave him the nickname "White Bread."

"Did something happen?" Colin asked. "Also, I thought there was supposed to be a period of mourning in the city for the next couple of days. But the Gate of the Undercity tavern still seemed pretty lively."

"It’s nothing serious. Mr. Heatherway was over eighty," Edwin said. "He had a heart of gold. As for the mourning, this is normal too. ’I’d rather my death not prevent the people of the city from having a drink’—those were his exact words."

"Alright. We might go see the funeral then," Colin nodded.

’Speaking of which, I wonder who the next public City Lord will be.’

’In the current situation, choosing an honest man as City Lord might not be a good thing... Of course, matters like this have nothing to do with an ordinary citizen like me.’

Amid Morel’s complaints, the rubbing work was nearly finished.

Edwin picked up the parchment and suddenly spoke again. "Oh, right. Didn’t you find a secret letter from a Demon at the White Dove Monastery?"

"Is there news on that? Do you need me for anything?" Colin asked.

Edwin smiled. "Not exactly. The translation is still in progress. I’m just mentioning it so you don’t get anxious."

’I’m not actually anxious at all. In fact, I’d be fine if no one ever brought this up again for the rest of my life,’ Colin grumbled internally.

"Colin."

Kase’s voice came from behind. Colin turned to see him wiggling his eyebrows at him.

"Oh, right. We sold some gear to the Drow underground. About the money..." Colin said, handing Edwin the bandages.

"I was just about to ask you about that." Edwin took the bandages, glanced at them, then walked back behind his desk. He bent down and slowly pulled out several gold bars from the bottom drawer, one by one.

The group’s eyes followed the heavy Gold, watching as each bar was placed on the desk.

A stack of eight gold bars on the desk was quite a spectacular sight.

Colin marveled silently, then tilted his head to look at Dorn, the team’s newest member.

The guy was also staring intently at the gold bars, completely entranced.

It was said that one of the reasons for the poor relationship between Dwarves and Giant Dragons was that both were greedy for wealth. Dwarves loved to raid Giant Dragon lairs, and Giant Dragons loved to raid Dwarven fortresses. As a result, most of the Dragon-Hunting Crossbows in the world were of Dwarven make.

’A real-life case study,’ Colin mused.

Afterward, Edwin took out a scale and a pair of shears, dividing the Gold equally among them.

With that, their business was concluded.

The group decided to leave Edwin’s office and head home.

Back out on the street, Colin glanced around. The atmosphere felt no different from usual; it certainly didn’t feel like the City Lord had just passed away.

"Why was the City Lord only in his eighties, Colin?"

Ale asked as she walked beside Colin. "I remember a lot of my parents’ human friends can live to be several hundred years old."

Colin said, "Actually, the public City Lord of Thousand Masts City isn’t held by the most powerful person in the city. The position is tied to too many interests, and most truly powerful individuals, or others of that sort, are reluctant to take the job.

"Besides, the City Lord of Thousand Masts City serves for life. If a particularly long-lived City Lord were to take office, it would actually cause a lot of unnecessary trouble. For instance, some of the shorter-lived races who dislike his policies might resort to extreme measures.

"So, rather than taking the position themselves, the big shots prefer things like the Masked Lords, who can hide their identities from the public. Because of this, most public City Lords are actually more stable, less ambitious nobles. This is also beneficial for the city’s internal affairs."

’It’s actually similar to some immigrant countries.’

’The real conglomerates that control the land and the means of making money don’t take center stage. They have their own set of rules.’

Colin secretly glanced at the little girl beside him, who was muttering to herself while scribbling in her notebook.

’Then again, just how high is this girl’s status in the Silver Star Court? If the humans her parents associate with are all Old Guys who are hundreds of years old, that’s pretty terrifying...’

Everyone was exhausted from the Drow ambush.

After walking a bit further, the group chatted briefly and unanimously agreed to go home and rest first.

They didn’t even have a victory celebration this time. After setting a time to meet next, the party disbanded.

Colin went back and took a short nap.

After waking up, he had a hasty dinner, enjoyed a nice hot bath in the evening, and then slept soundly until the next morning.

Thanks to Dorn’s strict management, Colin’s sleep schedule was still normal.

Since he wanted to see the City Lord’s funeral procession today, he felt it would be strange to wear Armor and carry weapons. So, Colin didn’t put on his usual gear, simply dressing in a relatively new shirt and trousers before heading out.

When he reached Ale’s door, the Half-Elf, as usual, was just opening it. Standing behind her was Orelia, who was still staying there temporarily.

"Good morning, Mr. Colin," the Tiefling said, her eyes narrowed sleepily.

The little girl looked like she wasn’t fully awake. Her small hands were still wrapped in bandages, making her look rather pitiful.

"Let’s go. Want to get some wraps?"

"Ah... are we eating wraps again today?" Orelia complained. "It’s not like we’re in a hurry today."

Colin shrugged. "I remember there being food at the promotion ceremony."

"That does seem to be the case." Hearing this, Orelia smiled and patted her stomach. "Then I’ll eat a little less now and wait for the banquet to eat more."

The group chatted as they walked, eventually reaching the main road.

After a while, Kase appeared from around a street corner and strode over.

Because Colin had specifically instructed him yesterday, the Half-Orc was obediently dressed in simple linen clothes.

However, since the temperature in Thousand Masts City wasn’t very high at the moment, his attire drew a bit of attention.

Kase walked over and said, "Dorn said not to wait for him. After he left with us yesterday, he said he doesn’t want to see the funeral after all. He’s going straight to the Black Tower later."

"That Dwarf is no fun."

Colin continued, "We’re going to see the funeral today. It seems ordinary citizens can’t attend the first and last parts of the ceremony, so let’s just watch the procession first. After that, we’ll head to the Overseas Coffee Shop for a few drinks."

"What’s coffee?"

"You’ll know once you’ve tried it."

The four of them walked to the Southern District, chatting and laughing along the way.