"He told me I absolutely had to deliver it to Dn in person!"


    "He also gave me a lot of money and warned me to leave Alerasia and never go back, saying it was very dangerous there!"


    "He also instructed me not to tell anyone I knew him, and especially not to mention I was bringing something back for him!"


    "He said if he had the chance, he woulde back to get it from Dn himself. If he didn''te, his son would!"


    "He said that no one could take it except you or him!"


    "I didn''t know what it was, but he said it was more important than his life, so of course, I swore to protect it with my own!"


    "Just as Mr. Bradford instructed, I went to my boss that same day, used the excuse of being homesick, and went through the formal resignation process."


    "Then I took a ship across the ocean. The journey took nearly a month to get back to Border City! We even ran into pirates. I had to give them all the money Mr. Bradford gave me just to get away with my life."


    "After I got back, I took the item to Dn that very night, handed it over, and repeated everything Mr. Bradford had told me."


    "Dn and Mr. Bradford were very close. The moment he heard it was something more important than Mr. Bradford''s life, he took it extremely seriously."


    "He guarded that item constantly. It was only on his deathbed that he called me over and told me where it was hidden. He knew I had been faking my madness..."


    "He passed the task on to me. He hoped I could take his ce and continue to guard it for Mr. Bradford. I promised him I would!"


    "I pretended to be crazy to protect myself, and to protect Dn."


    "...Over twenty years ago, not long after I returned from abroad, I suddenly got an overseas call. It was from my old boss, the restaurant owner in Alerasia."


    "He asked me again why I had suddenly returned home, and also asked if I knew a Kendrick and an Elizabeth Gonzalez."


    "I knew something was wrong right away. I lied and said I came back because I was homesick and that I didn''t know them."


    "Because Mr. Bradford and I hadn''t met many times, no one knew we were acquainted."


    "My boss then asked if I had brought anything back to Zhinora for someone else. I lied again and said no."


    vel?


    "My boss said that something very important had gone missing back in Alerasia, and they suspected Kendrick and Elizabeth had stolen it and were searching for it."


    "I was shocked. I guessed that what they were looking for had to be the thing I brought back!"


    "I asked my boss, why did he think to call me?"


    "My boss said it wasn''t just me. The people in Alerasia were questioning every Zhinorian who had returned home around that time."


    "He also said if I had any leads, I could tell him. The reward for information was $10 million!"


    "After hanging up, the more I


    thought about it, the more nervous I got. If they were willing to spend that much money and go to such lengths to find a clue, it meant the item was vital!"


    "I was afraid someone would figure out I was the one who brought it back, so I just


    decided to y the part of a madman!"


    "If I was crazy, even if someone discovered I was the one who brought it back, what could they do to me?"


    "The worst they could do was kill me, but a crazy person can''t answer their questions anyway!"


    "And if I was crazy, they wouldn''t suspect the item was with Dn, and they wouldn''t go looking for trouble with him!"


    "Later, before Dn died, he


    entrusted that thing to me. I made up my mind then and there that no e that po matter what, I had to protectat,


    protect it for the rest of my life!"


    "I had to live up to Mr. Bradford''s trust, and I had to honor my brother''s dying wish!"


    "I may not be a schr, but I know what loyalty is. I couldn''t let my friend and my brother down. I..."