The halfling blinked quickly, rubbing his hands and scratching his ears, a little nervous.

“...... I don't mean anything else!" Ed quickly added, "It doesn't matter if you don't believe in God, there are many people among humans who don't believe in God, so it doesn't matter at all!"

When he tensed up because of this, Wigg relaxed.

"Actually, it's nothing. He smiled sheepishly, "Muru asked me that question too, and I answered at the time...... It seems to make him a little sad. ”

And he doesn't like to see people sad at all.

"What did you say to him?" asked Ed softly.

"I said, 'Such a great being must be busy, right?' the life of a small man like us, who has no pursuits, and there seems to be nothing to disturb him. Wigg thought for a moment, his voice getting lower and lower, "That's probably what it means......"

This time it was Iss who couldn't help but laugh out loud.

What a good answer. He commented, "It's humble and tactful, it's perfect!"

Ed glared at him - no matter how tactful and humble it was, it was also a refusal!

Wigg certainly knew exactly what his answer meant. He smiled wryly, and involuntarily rubbed his hands together again, like a fluffy and chubby squirrel: "But this is the truth...... He asked me so seriously, wouldn't I be more sorry for him if I lied?"

Ed nodded vigorously.

"Thank you. He blurted out, "...... Did I tell you?"

He didn't know if Muru finally found the answer he wanted. But at least, the last years of his life were peaceful and serene—at least, he found inner peace. And how much of that peace was brought to him by this halfling man who lived a life of "nothing to pursue", a little cunning, but enthusiastic, kind and tolerant?

"I've said it many times!" Wigg sighed a little exaggeratedly, "we don't say so much 'thank you' to our friends." ”

Ed didn't think a hundred more words were enough, but he just bent down and hugged the little friend hard for a while.

"Let's go to dinner!" he straightened up to hide his reddish eyes, and announced loudly, "I'm hungry enough to eat a cow!"

.

It was Isis who actually ate a cow. When it turns back into an ice dragon, a fragrant roasted cow is only enough for it. The halflings who had come from nearby villages and towns to help put out the fire had come back to summon more companions, adults and children alike had gathered around it, gasping in unison to express their amazement and admiration, and some had the audacity to touch its terrible fangs.

The ice dragon pretended not to know. It said reservedly that this would be enough, otherwise the others would probably have no meat to eat...... Then it ate a bunch of fruit and desserts, and drank two barrels of freshly brewed beer.

"Don't worry, everyone brought a lot of food and beer. Wigg smiled and comforted Ed, who was worried about their stockpiles, "And soon it's time to trade with the Minotaurs! We have a mountain of fruit this year, and it hasn't been burned by the fire, so we can exchange a lot of meat and cheese with them!"

"Isn't there a conflict between you?" Ed asked curiously, "...... the minotaurs?"

"Looks like a fight, doesn't it?" Wigg squeezed his eyes as he crossed his legs and took a puff on his pipe he didn't actually light, "But, seeing is believing, Ed." You know? Many of them, who don't eat meat at all, are vegetarians, but they like herding more than farming, while we, who love meat, are good at farming -- we are perfect neighbors in a completely different way! And they are usually quite gentle if you don't anger them. And we halflings, it's really hard to 'provoke' anyone!"

Ed listened with a smile on his face, in a daze of longing. If he could, he would really like to stay on this continent for a little longer...... However, he had to go back and work harder for the stronger desire to go on adventures in Hertland with his friends. Now, he's even a little more determined than he was before.

After all, he had to wonder if Blazing Wing really returned to this world, would this fairytale-like continent still have the beauty it has now?

.

"Probably...... No. ”

As they set off again, the Ice Dragon told Ed, "The Dragons are greedy by nature and possessive—much stronger than any other dragon. If it gets out of this world, it won't allow any corner that doesn't belong to it...... Even across the sea, it will not let go of such a large piece of land. At that time, the power that protected the continent was also likely to be weakened. ”

“...... Is it protected?" asked Ed.

“...... What do you think?!" The ice dragon rolled his eyes widely, "You wouldn't think that magic would fail on this continent, just because it was too far from the 'center of the world' and the eastern continent, right?!"

"I don't know who said 'this is a land of exile,'......" Ed muttered as he flipped through Muru's diary.

The halfling man thoughtfully made him two large cloth bags, which were connected by a sturdy leather rope in the middle, just enough to hold the wooden box in which Muru put his diary and the various foods they had forced in, and then put them on the dragon's back, one left and one right. And Ed, who was sitting in the middle, could reach for what he wanted with a slight stretch of his hand, which was so convenient! Of course, the ice dragon was not happy about it - it made it look like a donkey carrying goods!

It felt even more humiliating to say such a complaint, so it chose to act as if it didn't exist...... But the mood is still a little grumpy.

"Is there a conflict between 'banishment' and 'protection'?" it emphatically said, "The prison has walls and roofs!"

Ed chuckled lowly, not retorting. He knew that the Ice Dragon had accepted his speculation - it wasn't some Exile, just "another possibility". And the ease and casualness of this continent is obviously more like the style that Xing Yi will like.

"Maybe we shouldn't have left the 'other side' so quickly. Ed lamented it for the first time, especially after discovering that the passage of time between the two worlds was not consistent. It's hard to tell the time in "that one" world where there is no day and night, but it can't be just what the halflings say, and it's only five days since I saw them fly by for the first time and when they flew back - it took almost so long just to fly from the halfling's territory to the edge of the world and back again!

"If you stay longer, you don't necessarily get more. "And, such a wayward fellow...... If it asks us to stay there forever to chat with it on a whim, will you do the same?!"

In fact, if you don't add the word "forever", it's still quite interesting.

Ed thought silently, returning his gaze to the journal he hadn't finished reading yet.