Tess wasn't hurt.

The body of the cane slapped lightly on the side of her head, and only a little red mark could be seen on the corner of her forehead...... But her self-esteem was clearly extremely badly hurt.

If she was hit by a spell, it didn't matter, she was such a thief who was agile, dexterous, and quick to react that she couldn't even catch a deadly trap, and she couldn't dodge a clumsy guy who could inexplicably fall on flat ground and waved her cane!

She blames it all on Ed's beating knowing the game is over, which takes her by complete surprise and angrily rejects Ed's treatment, claiming that she will never forgive him again - and Ed's thousand apologies are no match for the spicy sausage that sizzles in Naria's frying pan.

The angry accusation quickly turned into a contented grunt, and Tess thought she would be magnanimously forgiving Ed with another bowl of mushroom stew - the fellow cowered by the fire without saying a word, eating almost nothing, and looking a little pitiful.

She glanced at Ed, a little annoyed to see that his silence and depression didn't seem to be due to guilt...... At least not exactly.

“...... You're angry. ”

Norway spoke calmly, "You don't think we should use Naria to pretend to be in danger?"

Ed, who was easily seen through, moved his ass uneasily, and did not deny it.

"I'm not angry...... "Isn't that a foul?" he muttered under his breath.

"Count. "But it's possible." If you get separated. If you are being pursued by different enemies, you are also in danger...... You can't panic just because of Naria's exclamation. ”

"But shouldn't I have gone and rescued her?" Ed, unconvinced, raised his voice slightly, "if it were you who had heard Tess exclaim in the same situation. Won't you go out of your way to save her?"

"Of course I have to save. Norway smiled, "But first, I'll believe that Tess has the ability to save herself, and she's not a girl who will throw in the towel easily...... Perhaps you should have the same faith in Naria. ”

Tess poked a piece of savender with her dagger and shoved it into her mouth, raising her eyebrows smugly at Ed.

Ed smiled wryly, glanced at Nalia involuntarily, and quickly retracted as they met - he could now understand why Naria looked even more upset than Tess.

"Secondly. You have to stay calm. Norway threw him half a piece of hard bread, "If you can get out of danger quickly and help her, that's fine." But if you don't want to give up your rare advantage and throw yourself into the net, you may need Naria to save you in the end. 'Desperate' is a brave but reckless act, most of the time. If you are calm enough. A better option can always be found. ”

Ed grinned awkwardly, lowered his head to nibble on the bread, took two bites and then looked up, and asked uneasily, "They really don't hurt people easily, do they?"

He knew that even after spending more than half a year on the ice field, his reaction speed was still not satisfactory, and he was very inexperienced in fighting the enemy alone, but Grivar's elves were almost all well-trained warriors, and if something happened. Having lost the aura of the "Sage", he is likely to be the weakest one...... That's why he's more than willing to train on the go.

But the training of elves is almost entirely based on the premise of "not harming each other".

This time. Norway was silent for a few moments before replying, "At least that's what I know - if you don't hurt any of the elves, they'll do their best to incapacitate you without bloodshed, and leave it to the garrison to find out your purpose and make a final judgment...... Most of the time it was handed back to the rulers of the human race. The elves are so close to the human kingdom, or they are completely surrounded by humans, although they still proudly think that humans are a low-level race by the elves, and they don't want to have any conflicts with you. ”

"But what if things change?" said Tess suddenly, "what if there is really some conspiracy, and the elves who discover our decide to kill without hesitation?"

Norway looked at her and smiled wryly. It was probably too difficult a question for him to answer - even when he was being hunted down by the Shadow Dancers, he hadn't hurt any of them. This elf, who was rejected because he was not at all like an elf, had a deep affection for his people.

Tess pouted with a bored expression: "Okay, I'll try my best to show mercy to my subordinates and spare their lives." ”

“...... Appreciate. Norvi's wry smile deepened, "but in any case...... I still want you to keep yourself safe first. ”

A few years ago, it would have been Ed's turn to be optimistic and naïve: "I don't think things will get this bad, we just go to Grivar to visit friends and see the scenery, maybe we can have a happy summer flame together, and then we can go home!"

But now...... Now Ed already knows that things always get bad, and usually only get worse.

He's grown up at last—thought Tess with some emotion, but couldn't tell whether she was happy or unhappy about it.

She liked the Ed Singhal who had worked hard to grow up in front of her, but occasionally ...... Occasionally, she still misses the heartless fool in the past.

Early the next morning, they continued in a southwesterly direction. There was still plenty of time to go until the night of the Summer Flames, and the west bank of the Vinez River to the south was the closest and smoothest road, but two days ago Norvi had suddenly proposed to change the route to the Antler Forest.

He didn't say what he was going to "see...... But no one questioned it.

It will take two or three days at most to turn around from the Antler Forest and back to the main road. The nearby port city of Damaran is well-informed, and they can also drop by to buy some supplies.

"You can also train a little more in the Antler Forest. Tess said to Ed, "Why don't you see how fast you can run when a leopard is chasing after you?"

She's still a little haunted by yesterday's events - and she's rightly cautious about herself.

"Ah......h......h It must have grown a lot by now. ”

"That's my little white!" Tess's sad memories were brought back again, "it used my name, but it ran away with someone else!"

Naria finally couldn't help but laugh.

It seemed to be getting harder and harder to tease her...... This is another thing that makes Tess sad.

She was about to make another effort to get Naria to leave all her worries behind her - including her brother who never let people worry about it, when Norway suddenly grabbed the reins and stopped.

"Good afternoon!" he greeted the other group of people who were approaching him, "Are you from the Antler Forest?".

(To be continued.) )