"I still have to sort out this information and contact the ladies in the city," Jason said simply, then sat down weakly on the stool again. His acting skills were obviously quite advanced.
Seeing Jason's performance, Elena smiled, clearly not understanding his hidden meaning about 'contact with ladies.' She stroked her face and said, "I've finished my work, so it's fine to rest now. My main job is cartography. I observe the conditions on this island in detail and map them out."
Hearing this, Ed looked at the map in front of him. He hadn't paid much attention to it before, assuming it might have been bought from a market. But now, hearing it was made by this beautiful girl, who was about his body's age, he couldn't help but take a serious look.
He saw that the map was indeed incredibly detailed, with even the high and steep terrain depicted vividly. He clearly remembered that the map he had bought before wasn't even half as detailed as this one.
After observing it, Ed raised his head and looked at the beautiful girl before him. A gleam flashed in his eyes.
A big baby! She is the real treasure worth stealing. If she can be loyal, and we join hands, getting rich from digging up treasure is just a matter of time and travel. I have to check her character seriously, Ed decided.
It was already hard to find a good map in this world, but to have such a wonderful partner with superb talent in cartography? Their match would be heaven-sent, a girl who could make beautiful maps and a guy who could find treasure through them. What more could they need?
Having resolved to test this beautiful cartographer seriously, Ed asked calmly, "I have some ideas. Could you please take me to see the treasure house you found before?"
Hearing this, Elena smiled. She walked over, picked up the gold-rimmed straw hat hanging on the clothes rack beside her, and came to the door. She turned to look at Ed and said, "What are you waiting for? Let's go."
Ed smiled as well, nodded, and followed immediately. Of course, he didn't forget to glance at Jason, whose smile could no longer stay hidden, his expression clearly saying he would rocket toward town as soon as they left.
"Thanks," Ed said with a smile after walking out of the room.
"You're too polite. We're a team now. Helping you is helping me," Elena replied, walking beside him.
The two left the cabin, crossed the village, and began walking along the path. Large stretches of flat land planted with various crops unfamiliar to Ed surrounded them. After all, Golden Wheat Island had only wheat and some simple daily vegetables. Each island had its own specialties, but there was no beginner's guide to tell someone like him what other islands were famous for.
They walked slowly along the country road under the sunshine. A group of children dressed in linen clothes ran over from a distance, laughing and chasing each other. One poor child in the middle tripped on a rock, fell down, and started crying loudly while the others just laughed.
One kind-hearted boy came forward to help him up, but unexpectedly, the crying child suddenly stood, tapped him on the chest with lightning speed, and ran away shouting, "Now it's your turn!"
Ed felt nothing but admiration for that ingenious child in his heart. Only people like him could surely walk the path to wealth.
"Don't run around like that, or you'll fall down too," Elena said, looking at a little girl who had run close.
The group of children behind the little girl waved and asked with a smile, "Sister Elena, do you want to play?"
Elena patted the head of the kind boy who had been fooled and spoke to hide his embarrassment as the other children still teased him. "Sorry, not today. Sister is busy. You guys play by yourselves."
As she finished speaking, a random little girl handed her a bunch of wildflowers. Elena took them and placed them directly on her straw hat. She smiled brightly, crouched down, looked at the little girl, and asked, "How is it? Does it look good?"
The little girl nodded heavily in praise. "Yeah, it's really beautiful."
"Hehe, not as beautiful as your flowers," Elena smiled and rubbed her head. "Okay, go, have fun."
After that, the group of children happily ran past again.
Getting up, Elena looked beside her with a happy smile, only to find Ed standing a dozen meters away, gazing at the clouds in the sky with an expressionless face. Realizing peace had returned, he looked back, saw Elena standing alone watching him, and quickly walked back to her casually.
"Shall we continue?" He asked with a neutral expression, making the smile on Elena's face disappear.
"Yes," She replied and started walking again. But after only a few steps, she couldn't help but ask, "You don't like children?"
"Huh? Ah, no, I do. It's just that I don't like getting close to every random child I meet on the road. You can't expect me to have the same reaction as you, right?" Ed replied calmly.
For the next few minutes, neither of them spoke. Ed was more than happy with the silence, as it allowed him to perfect his plan for revealing information about the vaults.
However, a thought suddenly occurred to him, and he asked, "Can you tell me more about that treasure house?"
Hearing Ed's voice, Elena, who was walking slightly ahead, turned to face him and began walking backward. She nodded gently. "No problem."
Then she turned around again, answering with a brisk pace, "We actually learned about the treasure house two years ago, but we knew too little at the time, so we didn't search for it deliberately. Later, we accidentally got more information and came to this island. About a year ago, we began to formally search for the treasure trove. During that time, we've been gathering information about Thaad and some of his life experiences."
"We finally found the treasure house half a year ago. The treasures inside were mostly portraits and ornaments. But even though it was a small treasure house, we sold everything in it and got nearly 60 gold sails."
When talking about the wealth she had obtained, Elena's voice couldn't help but rise a note. Even now, she was still somewhat astonished by the fortune they had gained.
"60 gold sails?"
This amount of wealth was beyond Ed's comprehension, and he had almost no frame of reference for what one could do with so much money. He only knew that the single gold sail he had given Raila would be enough for her to live on for the rest of her life if invested well.
Of course, he couldn't expect Raila, who had hardly any business talent, to multiply it, but at least she and the children wouldn't have to worry about food until he returned.
Think about it, he pondered while rubbing his chin, How much is Hols' merchant ship worth? It seems to be 10 gold sails. That's a small to medium-sized merchant ship. If well maintained, it could support two generations. That ship could definitely guarantee a good life for three generations, barring any accidents.