Chapter 92 The Old Cobbler’s Collection of Books

"Does Uncle Phil desire an heir?" Jesse was initially taken aback before nodding. "I believe so. I've heard him complain that he has no son to look after him when he's unwell."

Lister glanced at Jesse.

He then asked abruptly, "Jesse, if I'm not mistaken, aren't you an orphan?"

"Yes, sir. I grew up in the Orphanage of Coral City. Thanks to the generosity of the Tulip Family, orphans like me were given a chance to live," Jesse said devoutly.

Orphanages were institutions established by nobles to gather orphans. Commoners often met with accidents, leaving their children uncared for. To display their benevolence, some wealthy nobles would build orphanages on their family lands to take in orphans, who would then work directly for the castle upon reaching adulthood.

Jesse was precisely such an orphan.

"Is Old Cobbler at his shop now?"

"Yes, sir. I had actually wanted to invite Uncle Phil along for a stroll, but he wasn't willing to."

"Well, Jesse, come with me to visit Old Cobbler. I have something to discuss with him."

"Very well, I'll prepare a horse for you, sir."

Outside the castle, in the riding grounds, there was a makeshift resting area where Philip and Xavier had been standing guard. As squires, they didn't enjoy the luxury of holidays.

Upon seeing Liszt mount the Fire Dragon Horse, they each climbed onto a sturdy horse and followed him.

Together, they made their way to the tannery.

In most towns, there would be a tannery where tanners crafted leather, sewed furs, and repaired shoes. Specializations included leather helmet makers, armorers, saddle makers, drumhead makers, leather goods craftsmen, cobblers, and more, with cobblers being the most common.

In Flower Town, the old cobbler Phil was just that.

In larger cities, cobblers often enjoyed the status of wealthy freemen since handcrafted leather shoes commanded a high price. However, in small towns like this, cobblers had a humble existence since few could afford leather shoes. Most peasants and freemen wore wooden or straw shoes.

Of course, many people went barefoot altogether.

"Is that Jesse?" The old cobbler's raspy voice echoed from behind his worktable. He was deftly mending a pair of shoes, his hands still nimble despite his blindness.

Jesse hurriedly replied, "Uncle Phil, it's Lord Liszt. He has something he needs to discuss with you."

"Ahh, Lord Liszt.Greetings, my lord," the old cobbler hurriedly stood up from his chair, bowing respectfully. Like any commoner meeting a lord, his hands trembled with nervousness.

Lister surveyed the narrow and dim tannery, noticing that it had clearly seen better days, with sunlight peeking through the dilapidated roof.

Like the old tanner himself, it exuded signs of age and decay.

"Old Phil, no need to be on edge. I'm just here for a friendly chat."

The old man's turbid eyes revealed no change in emotion.

However, Lister sensed that his trembling hands had abruptly ceased – not due to calming nerves, but more like he was done with putting on a show. The earlier tension might have been feigned. It was easy to understand; after all, nobles enjoyed seeing commoners quiver before them.

The elderly man, seasoned by life, replied, "Lord, it is an honor for Old Phil to converse with someone as noble as you."

"You begged for residency in Flower Town ten years ago. So, where were you originally from?"

"I was born on Dodo Island, my lord."

"Dodo Island?"

"It's a deserted island without a lord's governance, located even farther north than Coral Island. There, we have dodos, birds that can't fly and cry out 'dodo.' And there's also an exceptionally tall tree with a terrifying name, the Skull Tree, whose fruit is called the Skull Fruit."

"Boneskull Tree?"

"Yes, Lord, the fruit is white, appearing like human skulls from afar. Yet, it tastes delicious. The natives of Coral Island rely on Boneskull Fruits for sustenance, and Dodos also eat them. However, Dodo meat is extremely unpalatable. Life on the island is challenging," said the Dodo, reminding Liszt of the extinct Dodo bird on Earth.

He wondered if the Dodos here were the same species as those that once lived on Earth.

"How did you end up on Coral Island from Dodo Island? You were born on Dodo Island, so you must be a native there. Where did the original inhabitants of Dodo Island come from?" Liszt inquired.

There were still many uninhabited islands surrounding the Sapphire Duchy, and Dodo Island was likely one of them.

"I am a native of Dodo Island. I don't know where we came from; all I can remember is living there. After the Dodo volcano erupted, the Boneskull Trees were destroyed in large numbers, leaving us without food. We had to cut down trees to make canoes and drift with the ocean currents... That's how I ended up on Hot Springs Island, where I became an apprentice at a leather workshop."

In the following tale, Hot Springs Island fell into turmoil, and he was sold into slavery to Coral Island. A baron on the island purchased him, but later, the baron went to war with the earl and never returned. The territorial Elf Worms perished, and the serfs, fearing punishment, began to flee.

The old leatherworker fled alongside them.

After a long journey, they arrived at Flower Town.

"The rumor back then was that the baron had been betrayed to his death by a serf squire who had risen through the ranks. The followers were enraged and decided to massacre all the serfs in the territory as revenge for the baron..." The old cobbler sighed as he recounted the tale, perhaps lamenting his own ignorance at the time.

It was a lowly rumor. Nobles placed great value on their serfs.

The accurate interpretation should have been—the baron had died in battle without an heir. His overlord, the Earl of Coral Island, reclaimed ownership of the territory, including the serfs.

In short, the old cobbler's life had been rather uneventful, and he was not someone with "a story" to tell. Even his blindness had occurred naturally while he was living in Flower Town.

The only story he had was his identity as a native of Dodo Island.

Lister inquired carefully about Dodo Island and discovered that it was just a small island with no more than three hundred natives, eventually destroyed by a volcanic eruption. Apart from a few remaining Human Skull Trees, there seemed to be little value in developing the land.

He felt slightly disappointed.

He had expected the person mentioned in the Fog Mission to hold some mystery, but it turned out to be an ordinary native.

He still planned on completing the mission to obtain the promised book—bringing Jesse along was so that he could give Jesse to the old cobbler as a son. An orphan without parents and a widower without children, both of them having hit it off well, would likely find it easy to form a father-son bond.

Suddenly, a bold idea struck him.

"Why should I follow the trail of the Smoking Quest? I'm not its puppet. I can directly ask Old Cobbler for that book instead of relying on completing the quest to obtain it!"

Lister didn't think Old Cobbler would have many books in his collection.

Thus,

he said straightforwardly, "Old Philip, I've heard that you have a collection of books. I hope you could sell them to me."

With the lord speaking, Old Cobbler dared not refuse. He immediately agreed, "Yes, Lord Lister. I do have a book in my collection, but only one. I'll dedicate it to you, my lord." With that, he bent his back and, with Jesse's help, pulled out a wooden box from beneath a cabinet filled with leather shoes.

"Jesse, the book is inside the box. Hurry and give it to Lord Lister."

Jesse opened the box and took out a thick book, passing it to Lister. Lister glanced at it and realized that it wasn't printed but written by hand. The cover was inscribed with Serpent Runes and another foreign language.

He couldn't read the foreign script,

but he recognized the Serpent Runes—it read "The Diary of Philip, Descendant of the Sun."