Lin Jie relaxed a little when he noticed that besides looking slightly pale and tired, Doris seemed to be alright.
Shaking his head, he said, "Nope. The heavy rain completely drowned out all your voices."
Doris' heart skipped a beat.
Her Silence Boundary had isolated external sounds and her Forest Refuge Boundary had practically blocked all damage.
The surrounding hundred-meter radius around the bookstore was completely unscathed.
It was clearly because of the boundaries... Wait a minute.
Doris felt as though there was some implicit meaning behind these words.
Does rain... mean something else?
Although Doris didn't comprehend it yet, she could understand that Norzin was currently caught in a troubled situation based on the words of that young hunter.
This bunch of maniacal black magicians validated that point.
Whether it was hunters, magicians, Secret Rite Tower, or the Truth Union, a massive vortex had formed and those involved were caught up inside.
Even a fight between two Destructive-ranks was merely a splash within this vortex.
In a flash, their voices had been completely drowned out till nothing was left.
Was this the scope of an actual high-level being?
Doris walked over and sat down. She no longer dared to guess what role this bookstore owner had played in this 'rain'.
Even if he wasn't the key player, this bookstore owner had certainly played an influential role in having a Destructive-rank black magician come knocking without a care in the world.
Just that Doris didn't know whether this influence was positive or negative...
For now, Doris kept her guard up and put on a slight smile. "Uh, I'm glad you weren't disturbed. They will never bother you anymore."
Lin Jie also couldn't help casually mentioning the current weather in Norzin. "The current situation in Norzin has been bad, but I'm seeing much more customers recently. Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not rejoicing about this weather getting worse and worse.
"Although I've seen more customers recently, I actually also liked those days where I had fewer customers and could do stuff like basking in the sun when I got bored as well as do some reading most of the time."
He glanced at dark streets outside and smiled brightly. "I believe that with everyone's collective effort and united will, the situation will definitely change for the better in the future."
The smile on Doris' face froze.
Everyone's collective effort... Did he mean the brazen 'Polarizing Death Ray', a Destructive-rank spell that nearly razed everything to the ground... effort?
Moreover, 'living a retiree's life basking in the sun and reading occasionally'. Clearly, that sounds extremely dull and boring, alright?!
Now that I think of it, doesn't this all sound like irony...
So the current situation was deliberately created because you felt you had too few customers and being only able to read books was boring?
Lady Silver, this dependent of yours doesn't seem to have a very good character.
Lin Jie noticed the customer's facial expression getting worse and his heart dropped.
How could he have forgotten that this young miss was surely tired after having braved the heavy winds and rains to get rid of those unsavory visitors?
Yet, he, the beneficiary of help, was still yakking away about collective effort and whatnot. Did he even want to retain this cash co... no, customer?
Alas, I have blundered.
Right now, what this young miss needs are warmth and concern.
He pulled his gaze away and pushed a cup of tea across the table. "Let's move on to something else. You've gone through quite a lot of trouble to resolve the matter. Have some tea and rest up first."
"...Mhmm." Doris took the cup with slightly more caution.
After all, the blessed one before her could decide the fate of the Iris Clan. Moreover, it seemed like he was rather temperamental, enjoyed toying with people and provoking fights without getting bored of it.
Her eyes shifted to the cup and she gazed at the floating tea leaves within it with some hesitation.
Ever since tea leaves were brought in from the North, drinking tea had already become a common tradition within Norzin. However, most of it was drunk as black tea with sugar and milk added. There were rarely any people that just brewed roasted tea leaves this way.
Doris hadn't come in contact with the outside world for a long time and was rather unfamiliar with these kinds of human stuff.
Her 'renting an apartment' was actually just her knocking the owner unconscious.
She carefully took a sip and found the taste very peculiar. Bitter with a hint of fragrance, yet this sort of naturalness was seemingly very compatible with elves.
On top of that, the warmth of the hot tea was indeed very comforting.
Doris smiled joyfully and exhaled. She put down her cup while being deep in thought. The bookstore owner had been completely unfazed by the Destructive-rank battle outside and had even brewed tea...
He hadn't just brewed a cup for himself and had incidentally brewed another cup for Doris as well.
It seemed like the bookstore owner was already certain of the victor before it even began. Just that he had given Doris a necessary task to observe her performance.
Given his current manner, it seemed like the bookstore owner was somewhat satisfied.
Doris composed herself and asked, "Can we continue on with the topic we left off?"
Lin Jie nodded and answered resolutely, "Yes, I can help with your problem but it won't be easy. Gaining recognition once more will be a long and arduous process. I will try my best but what is most important is how you all correspond."
For all that the young lady before him had said, Lin Jie deduced that she was from a noble family called the Iris Clan.
On top of that, this was a family clan that once had a glorious history.
Just that due to certain misfortunes, the true significance of the family's crest was lost, possibly along with the clan's historical annals. Over time, other noble families gradually stopped acknowledging them and the clan declined.
Restoration and filling the gaps of history was a rather large undertaking. Moreover, those of the clan themselves couldn't spill the beans or have a substandard understanding of this knowledge. Otherwise, there would be no end to trouble.
This young lady had come seeking him because of her trust in Ji Zhixiu. Naturally, Lin Jie would have to produce the goods.
He, Lin Jie might be untalented, but he at least had a slight knowledge of heraldry.
Since heraldry studies back in his own country were basically unheard of, Lin Jie managed to get authorization from the Academic Heraldry Association through a friend and published a book Emblems & Totems which could be sold in a series along with his other book Ceremonies & Customs.
Lin Jie drew out that book from the shelf behind him and handed it over to the young elf lady.
"Read this carefully first, it will definitely come in helpful. Regaining glory isn't an easy matter."
Doris' heart was thumping as she took the book.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to the strange symbol on the cover.
A distorted five-pointed star that seemed to stare straight into her eyes from its center point and overflowing with a hallowed overtone.
The book's title: Elder Sign.