Even Iss could not name the gem - though such a gem would obviously not go unnamed. Dragons are well-informed by the memories of their ancestors, while the cold-weather-loving and inquisitive ice dragons know very little about the southern world.

"How do you know? Have you ever seen it?" asked Tess curiously.

Rosa shook her head: "I just heard my father mention it...... The legend of the Heart of the Deep has always been passed down among the southern islands, and every pirate who has heard that story dreams of finding it. It is said that it is the condensation of the starlight sprinkled in the sea, and the deepest blue hides the brilliance of the most beautiful stars, the size of a heart, and can grant all your wishes......"

"That can't be. "It's a good gem to be a good spell caster, but right now, there's nothing in it other than the natural magical power that a gem of good texture should have." ”

"Don't shatter the girl's dreams so quickly!" Tate grumbled dissatisfiedly. But her interest in the gem apparently hasn't diminished at all.

Eth hesitated for a moment—and hesitated for a moment, then took Tess's hand and placed the gem gently in her palm.

“...... Give it to me?" Tess stared blankly at the gem for a moment before looking up ecstatically to confirm, "Are you sure?"

"If you don't want it, you can give it back to me. Isis said dryly. Even if he doesn't have a strong greed for this kind of thing, such generosity is really against the nature of a dragon...... He began to regret it almost immediately.

Tess smiled and held the huge gem in her hands. I laughed and rubbed my face for a while, and then looked at the sun, and then—

Beyond everyone's expectations. She let out a long, wistful and sad sigh, and returned the jewel to Is.

"You're my sweetheart's brother, my brother - you can't have a child's baby as an older sister. She held her head high and said solemnly.

"Did you hit your head when you jumped ship?" Filly blurted out without thinking.

“...... Little Mo, bite him!" Tis shouted majestically, reaching out to the paladin who was even more spicy than Ed.

As Philip dodged the little mongoose with its fangs. Tess squinted triumphantly, "Besides, if I wake up tomorrow morning and find that I still can't forget it...... I'll steal it back!"

Naria sneered, her shoulders trembling and kissing Tess on the cheek.

"I'd be happy to help you. She smiled and promised, "Whatever you need." ”

Shaking his head helplessly, Iss took back the gem - it was worse to be remembered by a thief than to give it away!

With the help of Akhan, Fili managed to get rid of the terrible little furball, and was angrily accusing at it: "It was I who saved you!

“...... It's just a mongoose. Iss resisted the urge to slap him into the ground with a paw. Asked angrily. "Do you want to go back to Collins or not?"

"Of course!" Filly jumped in surprise, "would you like to take me there?" and honestly, I said I was going to have Scott teleport me over, who knew he would run so fast......"

"He's going after the female mage. Iss said impatiently, retreating to a clearer place, proudly spreading his wings and changing back to his original form, having to admit that the screams of the girls with awe and excitement still made him slightly proud.

"Uh...... But we have to get these girls home first...... and say hello to Captain Becky...... Can you change back first? You're going to scare the people and sailors away......" Filly said cautiously.

The ice dragon slowly lowered its massive head towards him. The thin vertical pupils in the golden eyes revealed a faint murderous aura.

"Do you think it's easy for me to change like this?" it asked in a deep, bold voice.

“...... Isn't it easy?"

"Not at all!!!" the ice dragon roared angrily as it opened its mouth above the paladin's head.

But in the end he had to change back. Walking beside Naria with an unhappy face.

The girls were incomprehensible creatures - they didn't seem to be afraid of him at all now, but chuckled and shoved, bumped into him, intentionally or unintentionally, and then ran away with a red face, leaving him stiff and helpless. Naria just smiled and patted his arm to reassure, not trying to stop them at all.

The closer we got to the village, the fainter the sound of the girls playing, and the uneasy silence fell like a shadow over the stone bridge.

"Are you sure Madame won't come back?" finally someone asked worriedly, "she'll be upset......

"Even if she comes back, you can tell her that we forcibly took you away. Rosa smiled and comforted the girls, "If she's really 'not a bad person'...... as you say, I don't think she will blame you." ”

In the girls' accounts, Madame Raven did not treat them badly, although she forcibly sent them to the castle by forcing their parents into the castle.

"The castle was not like that before. Ivy melancholy told Naria, "It's beautiful...... Before I saw it, I didn't even dream of a place that was so beautiful. Madame sometimes scolded us...... But she will also teach us to read, so that we don't have to worry about food and clothing, and we don't have to worry about marrying someone we don't like......"

"Oh, but she also left us with no one to marry. I don't know who whispered a straightforward complaint, which made Ivy bow her head and blush.

I don't know when it started, but the castle gradually became weird. It keeps changing, getting more frequent every day. After the two girls go missing, Raven's gloomy face makes them all move into a room, showing them a safe passage to the kitchen and her room. Unless it's with her, you can't run anywhere by yourself.

But Ivy secretly keeps a guinea pig as a pet. It probably escaped from the crow's strange experiments, and was unusually well-behaved and obedient, and would not run around even if it was not locked up, but it disappeared inexplicably that night, and Ivy would muster up the courage to ignore the crow's warning and sneak out of the room at night.

"Either way, she never hurt us. Once again, Ivy earnestly discerned the eccentric female mage, "She's really not a bad person. ”

“...... What's the matter with the bones in the dungeon?" asked Naria.

The girls looked at each other. It seems that they don't even know that there is a dungeon in the castle.

"My grandmother said that a team of self-proclaimed adventurers had burrowed into the woods decades ago...... At that time, the castle probably did not exist, and the people of the village only knew that the woods were haunted and never entered it. Eventually, an older girl whispered to them, "Only one of the adventurers escaped, but he looked like he was crazy...... No one in the village dared to take him in, and it wasn't long before he died by the river. It was only after that that that the lady appeared in the village for the first time......"

"Decades ago?" Tess frowned suspiciously, "she doesn't even look like she's thirty!"

No one talked.

Everyone stopped almost at the same time. At the end of the wide and smooth stone path, a small village in the forest and meadow is in front of you.

The heroes who "saved the innocent girls from the evil mage" were not well received.

The village was eerily quiet, and everyone seemed to be hiding in their houses, peeking only through the cracks in the doors or by the windowsills.

"Hey, everyone, don't be afraid, that beautiful lady has left voluntarily under our persuasion, and she will never come to trouble you. Fili lied loudly without blinking.

In order to avoid trouble, or to frighten the villagers who did not have much knowledge, the elves did not even enter the village, but bypassed far away, waiting for them by the woods near the Viinz River.

But there was still no figure.

"There are only ghosts if someone believes in you. Tess gloated and laughed at him, "That 'beautiful lady' is not a person who will listen to any persuasion. ”

Firi grinned, scratching his head with a wry smile.

"Teresa!" a sobbing call broke the silence, and a wooden door slammed open not far away, and a mother finally couldn't help but rush out, crying and laughing and hugging her daughter.

Loud or hesitant doors opened, and more people came out of their homes and rushed over calling for their loved ones.

In the midst of the chaos, Naria pulled Isis to the side, satisfied.

"Van Lunding Rogers, First Officer on the Mouthy Jayne, he said, 'This is a voyage unblessed by the gods of storms and water,'" she whispered to Is, "for there should not be a storm on the Vinez in the spring like the night before...... But maybe he was wrong, maybe the storm was just for us to find the castle and rescue the girls......"

Iss didn't speak. He was eager to tell Naria that the storm was more likely born from the chaotic magical aura near the castle...... But Naria probably wouldn't want to hear that.

Naria looked up at his tangled expression and raised an eyebrow in understanding: "Okay...... I know you hate the gods, but it's a lot easier to think about. ”

That's true. Eventually, fragile creatures like humans may still need to believe in some eternal and powerful will that will guide them in times of uncertainty or danger.

They quietly watched every scene in front of them, some hugged and cried, while others were relatively silent, and even some girls were still looking for ...... in the crowd

"Paladin-sama!" Someone called out to Fili respectfully—the older girl approached with a dark, restrained hug, and an old woman who was so thin that her skin was almost hanging from her bones.

"This is my great-grandmother. About Mrs...... She said she had something to tell you. ”

The skeleton-like old man raised his half-blind eyes to look at Fili, and said abruptly in a hoarse voice:

"The woman...... Did you kill her?".

(To be continued......)