The sun still rose late the next day – perhaps later than yesterday.

Although exhausted, Ed slept restlessly. He stuffed too many things into his mind, and swirled into many bizarre images in his dreams, and when he woke up, he no longer remembered, only the anxiety and hesitation that he could not escape from being deeply trapped in it were still heavily blocked in his chest.

As the sunlight peeked through the cracks in the curtains, he crept up and left the house and stepped onto the grassy streets. The late autumn sky was clear and deep, without a single cloud shadow, but the sun was as warm as yesterday, as if it were the last day it would be able to climb into the sky. The silent city seemed even more lifeless than last night, making him feel less like he was walking in the city, but like walking in a desert where no grass grows.

However, there were still traces of blood left on the ground from last night—and they certainly couldn't be without casualties.

He originally wanted to take a breath, but his mood was even more depressed because of it. He's done his best...... But he didn't do anything to help, if he used real combat to solve the problem like Naria, maybe he could save at least a few more people?

He knew he shouldn't have thought so. Even in the face of the same battle, there are always people in different positions, and his efforts are not fruitless...... The frustration that had been going on since last night enveloped him like a gray mist, faint and difficult to dispel.

He shuffled along, smelling a strange aroma at the entrance of Lacey Street, evoking memories that seemed very distant. He followed the smell into an alley, and saw a small shop that was still open.

He did come here...... It was a few years ago when he followed Tess around the city, looking for the missing elves. Tess stopped here and invited him to eat "one of the lights of happiness of the commoners, the delicious scones of the Jeans".

Scones taste good, supposedly a flavor delicacy from the South-Western Federation, with some special spices added, delicious and cheap, but certainly not that long in their own right. The sign of the shop is only casually circled, and the short, strong proprietor is nimble, but always gloomy, as if everyone owes him a copper coin, but if you throw an extra copper coin in his broken iron bucket...... Throw one less, and he will stop at once, glaring at you without blinking, and the long iron clip in his hand that burns red seems to hit your hand the next moment.

At that time, business was so good that freshly baked scones would be snatched up in the blink of an eye, but now, when Ed stood in front of the shop, the palm-sized scones in the rattan basket were already piled up, and the boss, who seemed to be a little thinner and a little bald, still kept pushing the flattened dough into the oven with a blank face.

Ed wrapped up a few pieces of bread and dug it around in his fanny pack, but only pulled out one gold coin—he hadn't had to pay for anything for it for a long time, and the few gold coins stuffed in his fanny pack were habitually left in it as some kind of symbol, but they were already the least valuable thing he could pull out.

One gold coin is enough to buy all the scones here. Ed hesitated for a moment, and as quickly as a thief threw it into the large, seemingly broken iron bucket, and the boss's gaze, which had been ignoring him, immediately swept it over, still full of menace that sent chills down the back as before.

Ed craned his neck. He could actually get the whole basket of scones back......

There was a jumble of footsteps around the corner. As soon as he turned around, someone waved happily: "Good morning......! Lord Singh. ”

It wasn't the same group of soldiers he had met last night - Balk's men must have had some nickname he didn't quite want to hear.

Ed suppressed his unseemly curiosity and smiled like an elder at the young man who had been running all the way, "Did you just change shifts?...... I'll treat you to breakfast!"

The young man glanced at the lonely gold coins in the iron bucket, and then at the black-faced boss, and the corners of his mouth grinned even more: "Okay!"

A dozen people hugged a bunch of them, and the rattan basket was empty.

"I'll have the next shift come and get it! No pay!" the young man patted his chest and reassured, before the boss withdrew his gaze and continued his unchanged and fluid work.

"How many more shops in the city are open like this?"

As he walked down another street with the soldiers, Ed couldn't help but ask.

Patrick, the round-faced young man, raised his hand and counted it to him: "Blow's sausages, Jean's scones, Old Will's blacksmith's shop, these are the three." The old man of the Bullow family used to be an adventurer, and he still has many friends left in the city, and his family's sausages still have to be robbed...... Old Will had no relatives and nowhere to go, and according to him, he had a shop, or at least someone would find out if he died. As for Jean, he is just eccentric and stubborn, and he refuses to leave when his wife and children are gone. Either way, they kept their doors open as before, and they always gave a little peace of mind to those who remained, so Balk told us to secure their business and raw materials no matter what...... But Old Will couldn't even pick up the hammer, so we had to send the sword over and let him sharpen it......

Ed only asked one or two questions, and the young man kept talking about their breakup, and looked at his sparkling eyes, and Ed could barely bear to say goodbye.

He was still thinking about Jean when he got to the door, and before he could reach out the door, it opened. Naria stood in the doorway with her black hair in her hands, looking at him and at the paper bag he held on his chest.

“...... Morning!" Ed smiled brightly, "I went to buy breakfast." ”

Naria's expression gradually became a little meaningful.

"Well, of course the breakfast you made was the tastiest, but I want you to sleep a little longer...... I should have told you first, or left you a note......" Ed was rambling, getting weaker and weaker.

The girl took the scones and turned away without saying anything, but Ed had to follow silently, feeling apprehension.

After a few moments, the scones are piled up in beautiful shapes on the plate and served with delicious chickpea sauce. When Ed began to find a word in the girl's silence, Naria held out a finger and pressed it to his lips.

She had just washed her hands, and her fingers were a little cold, but there was heat spreading from that point.

"If you don't want to talk, then don't say it. "If you don't want to laugh, don't." Ed...... I'm here to share everything with you—and I'm willing to share everything with you, whether it's pleasure or pain. I know you don't want me to worry, but I don't want you to have to force a smile in front of me and pretend you're okay. ”