It's not the worst, but it's not that good. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Ed wandered around the uncomplicated corridors of the temple in a trance, unconsciously procrastinating for time, unwilling to face reality.

Unsolved troubles and unanswered puzzles made a desperately long list in his head...... Even if you hang on the spire of a three-storied tower, you can probably hang down to the ground.

He felt trapped in the misty world of his dreams, with neither the wisdom nor the power to dispel the fog, and he could only wander alone forever, exhausted and dazed.

Frustration and exhaustion crept out of some unseen corner of his heart, wrapping around his heavy legs like cold tentacles, dragging him into the dark waters...... Until the sound of a fierce dispute inevitably reaches the ears.

"After all, you don't believe me at all!"

Is's roar already had a faint dragon momentum, and it shook Ed's head.

He stopped, and for a moment he wanted to turn and run away...... But what he wants to escape is the people who support him to persevere.

Ed pinched his stiff face, squeezed out a smile, and strode into the kitchen, his raised tone overly exaggerated brisk:

"Hey...... I heard there's food here?"

Two angry faces turned to him. Almost exactly the same blonde hair and blue eyes, and almost exactly the same stubbornness.

There is indeed food here. The half-charred venison on the grill was still soothing, but Ed, who was nowhere near as thick as Filly's nerves, could take a piece of it and walk away in such an atmosphere.

"It's better to leave them alone and let them have a solid fight. ”

That's what the irresponsible paladin said. Ed believed that he would not really sit idly by, and that the brothers would not really fight you to the death anyway, but they still ...... Secure.

At the very least, he couldn't let this temple that Brooke had kindly "lent" them to suffer innocently.

"I say......" he sighed bitterly, giving up the pointless pretence of stupidity: "Can we find a place to sit down, have a bite to eat, and have a good talk?" I have some bad news, some good news, maybe we ......"

"It's none of my business. Iss interrupted him stiffly, but he stood motionless, his transparent pupils shifting between gold and blue, making Ed's scalp tingle for a while.

Scott seemed a little calmer, but as soon as he spoke, Ed knew things were only going to get worse.

"He doesn't need to know anything. He said.

Add fuel to the fire.

With a bruise on his forehead, Ed suddenly understood how Calebryne had felt when he had raised his staff and slammed Scott's head - he wanted to do that now.

But even with Calebrynn's staff, he wasn't the half-elven priest who could make the dragon bow his head just by squinting coldly. He could only rush over as the glittering claws popped out of Is's fingertips, stretching his arms between the two of them, tiptoe to try to block their angry burning gaze at each other.

"Calm down!" he yelled angrily, "Calm down, okay?!"

Is's claws swept over his shoulders and lowered his gaze to look at him.

He was not calm at all—his eyes were burning like molten gold. But he retracted his hand stiffly, clenched it into a fist, suppressed his anger, and squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: "...... I'll be waiting for you outside. ”

Ed was stunned for a moment before realizing that the sentence was addressed to him. His friend didn't take to the skies in a fit of rage like he used to be, never looking back...... But he didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

He watched dumbfounded as Iss turned to leave, listening to the hurried footsteps tapping against the hard ground and moving away, before he looked back at Scott in annoyance.

Scott, dressed in a white robe, smiled wearily at him, the anger that had burned a moment before had disappeared from his eyes.

“...... You're not angry at all. Ed finally understood.

"If I still can't control my anger, how dare I risk giving up control of my body?" Scott smiled wryly, "I just ...... I want Isis to leave. ”

"It's not as effective as it used to be, is it?" said Fili's muffled voice from the door.

The paladin swung through the door and threw away the gnawed bones.

"I told you. He's not here for you, Scott...... Not just for you. "Even if you could really beat him up—or be beaten by him—don't expect him to fly back to the north and bury his head under his wings and sulk in that little valley without doing anything...... Or are you going to just find a chain to lock him up - oh, I remember, you do have such a chain, where did you hide it?"

He doesn't show mercy at all when he wants to be sarcastic, and he has no scruples when he's in a bad mood.

Scott's face was gloomy and he didn't say a word. Ed looked left and right, scratching his chin uneasily.

He understood Fili's words, and he knew Scott's concerns, but he couldn't get rid of Iss in the same way. As soon as Iss glared at him angrily, he subconsciously wanted to pounce on him and apologize, whether it was his fault or not.

Besides, he didn't want Isis to leave at all...... He needed his friend, at a time when there was a good chance he had already lost another friend.

It was a very selfish reason, but he couldn't get the thought out of his head, and he began to quickly look for more reasons.

“...... You swore an oath. ”

Perhaps seeing his hesitation, Scott reminded in a low voice.

"But......" Ed muttered, and before he could say anything, the dying flames under the grill suddenly burst into the air.

Ed instinctively clenched his staff, Filly didn't hesitate to reach for his sword, and under their nervous gaze, Scott took a step back, frowning slightly.

"Not me. He said.

A tall figure faintly appeared in the rising flames, and the deep voice of Kopas Fenton sounded intermittently:

Scott...... You've got to come back...... Now ......"

The flames suddenly extinguished, and the shadow of the middle-aged priest disappeared with it, but his voice seemed to still float through the air along with the curling green smoke.

“...... How could he do that?" Filly growled in surprise and exasperation, "This is the water god's—"

He slammed his mouth shut, his face pale.

Scott stared at the pile of embers that turned gray for a long time, speechless.

. (To be continued.) )