Chapter 1701 - 309: The Loyalist (Part 3)

On the surface, it seems that the actions of the Arcanist haven't been mentioned at all by the Princess, as if she is completely unaware. But even if Istania's system is outdated, could the rift between the King of Sand, who belongs to the Royal House of Penelope, and his daughter really be this vast?

Not to mention they share common goals, wouldn't this be a huge waste of intelligence resources? Since they're acting separately without communication, it inevitably means a lot of duplicated work. Even Fang Hong thought that the King of Sand and the equally astute Princess wouldn't ignore such an obvious problem.

It clearly doesn't make sense.

But despite many remaining doubts, Fang Hong believed some of Delan's words, at least it didn't seem like casual nonsense. If it were truly nonsense, the other party could have offered a more reasonable excuse instead of such an absurd conclusion, inviting suspicion.

Delan noticed his eyes flickered for a moment, then calmed down, showing a trace of surprise: "You didn't doubt at all?"

Fang Hong looked back at him: "Why should I doubt?"

"I thought this conclusion contradicts your common sense."

"Why say so?"

"You work for that Princess, don't you?"

Fang Hong was taken aback, looking at him.

"Don't be so curious. Though I'm kept here, I occasionally gather some outside information from the prison guards' chatting. I may not recognize others, but the famous Princess, of course, I wouldn't be unaware of. Besides, before I was locked in here, her father was already the King of Sand..."

Delan laughed again: "And when you were imprisoned by the Arcanists, I happened to hear them discussing about you. They probably think I'm just an insignificant prisoner, and since I've been locked here for over a decade, they've probably forgotten there's a person here."

Clearly, this person isn't a prisoner of the Arcanists, the thought flashed through Fang Hong's mind.

He looked at him and asked: "What did they say?"

"Nothing much, just some trivial words. They seem to plan to keep you imprisoned here until 'the entire event' ends. In this regard, the little girl didn't lie to you. I mentioned earlier, there's really no need to rush to escape, isn't it?"

Fang Hong frowned slightly, indicating that the Arcanists clearly knew his identity, but it doesn't explain why they acted against him and the Shield of Lufu. Plus, the 'entire event ending' mentioned, what event does it refer to? This sandstorm?

Speaking of this sandstorm, he now recalls a detail, the girl at the front desk of the Istania Artisan Association, was her name Amira or something? Oh, it should be Camilla. In any case, when she was transmitting his drawings to the Golande Artisan's General Guild, she complained about communication issues more than once.

Back then, they thought it was equipment aging, but thinking more carefully, could it be due to the impending sandstorm? But this sudden sandstorm, had it really started impacting a month earlier? Fang Hong feels there might be some issue here, but he can't figure it out at the moment.

He only asked again: "What does 'the entire event ending' mean?"

Delan laughed: "You think I'm some well-informed 'Bard', but unfortunately, I'm not. I've only heard things here and there, and I don't know what the Arcanists are planning."

Fang Hong couldn't help but look at him deeply.

But Delan said: "You still haven't told me, don't you doubt my words at all?"

"Of course I doubt," Fang Hong replied, "but I have my own way of judging, which doesn't mean I will believe or disbelieve."

Having said this, he noticed Delan suddenly frowned.

The man was looking at his eyes, the eyes of this fallen middle-aged man were hidden beneath thick and dense eyebrows, beneath messy and dirty hair, messy and grimy, yet at this moment they appeared particularly bright, dispelling the previous dim feeling, and instead, giving a sense of profound mystery, even making Fang Hong feel as if he was being seen through.

"This sounds familiar."

Delan replied: "I seem to have heard it somewhere."

Fang Hong took a slight step back, almost thinking he saw Odin, in fact, up to now, Fang Hong had only seen such an expression in a few people, including even the 'Wanderer', none of whom were ordinary—a smart Miss Sicape being the exception.

But seeing the mysterious look on his face, he sighed lightly. It seems the effect of Desert Blood has passed, and this guy has reverted to his previous self. Yet even without any change, he had already anticipated that he wouldn't be able to extract any more useful information from him.

Although merely these current messages were enough to overturn many of his previous judgments, sometimes overturning previous judgments may not be a bad thing, as within an event, the possibilities eliminated all lead to specific conclusions.

Fang Hong gave him one last glance, and asked a final question:

"Mr. Delan, aren't you leaving with us?"