On the seventh day, Hertland's almost entirely forested and meadow-covered earth finally crashed into their eyes. The vigorous vitality is full of primordial power, as if it was the wilderness of the Obai continent thousands of years ago. When the huge shadow of the ice dragon swept across a vast grassland, countless animals jumped up in shock and fled in all directions. Wildflowers, not yet eroded by autumn, fall beneath their feet and bounce tenaciously like waves rolling in the clouds at dawn, all the dazzling colors blended together and swelled into the sky.

Ed opened his mouth wide and couldn't blink. He remembered telling Narya that he hoped to one day cross the ocean with her and Is, and venture out on this strange continent......

He thought about it, and spoke, melancholy and expectantly.

"Next time. Ice Dragon said.

Ed nodded vigorously.

The ice dragon lazily raised a little as several spears were thrown at them from the ground, and roared in return.

The attackers on the ground did not flee in fear. They roared, screamed, and persevered to catch up, but the weapons they threw with all their might did not pose any threat to the ice dragon.

"Minotaur!" Ed leaned on its back and looked down, his voice changing in excitement, "There really are minotaurs! their heads really look like cows! a little, a little...... It's kind of cute!"

"You're really getting more and more like Tess. The ice dragon flicked his tail angrily, "Are you still planning to take the lead home?!"

Ed sighed and reluctantly looked back at the "enemies" who were falling farther and farther away.

"It's not 'one', it's 'one'. He said, "They...... It's actually quite like a barbarian. ”

He paused, realizing some strange resemblance.

"And then," he said, "the centaurs of the forest, who are good at archery, don't they sound very much like elves? and the halflings are a bit like the dwarves, and the coastal tribe that deals with my father is said to be of the same kind as the Brie of the Rainbow Island...... Hertland, in fact, is very similar to Obai. ”

The ice dragon snorted.

"Haven't you heard?" it said, "this is the Land of Exile...... Most of the creatures that live here are considered 'imperfect' by your gods. The slightest twist and ugliness would have been thrown into hell—what a great Creator, wasn't he?"

"I think...... It doesn't have to be this way. Ed's voice lowered, "If they live on our continent...... Maybe you won't be able to live. ”

It's not like there are no other races on the continent of Obai. Goblins, orcs, hill giants...... By now, it has been almost completely extinct.

"Maybe it's ...... Another possibility. He said, and suddenly something came to mind, "Is there a dragon here?"

"Nope. The ice dragon replied dryly, "This is not a place for us to survive. ”

"Why?" Ed asked curiously.

“...... Don't you think I'm as slow as a cow right now?!" Ice Dragon asked angrily, "Don't you feel like you're as heavy as you've gained seventeen or eighteen laps?"

Ed laughed embarrassedly - maybe he was overexcited, he really didn't notice it yet.

"Find a place to rest?" he said, "...... I heard that there are mermaids in the lake here!"

.

The ice dragon landed on the edge of a huge lake.

It doesn't matter if there are mermaids in the lake, at least there are fish. Ed sharpened a stick and tied a few of them, and before he could show off, the ice dragon had already flapped a small pile with its long tail like lightning.

"Aren't you still ...... Pretty agile. Ed said smugly.

"I can't even spray ice slag right now. The ice dragon squinted at him.

Ed was stunned.

"Is it that serious?" he said, "I ......."

He seems to ...... Doesn't feel anything?

The body is not particularly heavy, and it does not feel particularly empty, although it is true that it is impossible to cast spells......

He snapped his fingers hesitantly, and a glimmer of light bloomed like a spark in the twilight.

“...... I can cast spells. He said in a daze.

The light flickered and dimmed, like a flame flickering in the wind, but it was never extinguished.

“...... It's a good thing. "But don't use the teleportation technique, it doesn't look very stable." No matter how slow I fly, I can fly in three or four days. ”

Flying over Hertland is the end of the sky and the sea.

"Hmm......" Ed clenched his fist, letting the light go out.

He still retains this power, mostly because of his bloodline. He's never been proud of it, but if it can be of some use...... That's a good thing.

.

Perhaps because Iss had always maintained the posture of an ice dragon, there were no uninvited guests to disturb their sleep that night - neither beautiful mermaids nor cute minotaurs.

They continued southward, straight across the mainland. The Hetrand is much smaller than Obai, but it seems to be more fertile. Ed didn't see any barren land, no desert, no bare rocky mountains. The race that lives here probably doesn't need much effort to feed and clothe themselves, and doesn't seem to have exhausted everything by overbreeding...... At least not yet.

The southernmost part of the continent is finally dyed with deep shades of red and yellow, and is no longer dominated by rich greens. In the newly ripened wheat field, the halfling, not much taller than the wheat, looked up in surprise as the ice dragon flew by, waving his arms and shouting, but he did not run away, looking far more excited than afraid.

"They're not afraid of you. Ed couldn't help but laugh, "The previous minotaurs weren't afraid of you." ”

"Do you want me to pounce and grab two gags right now and let them know what 'scared' means?" the ice dragon said in a gruff voice, but Ed just laughed.

"We must come back!" he said, "with Naria...... Well, bring Tess and Novi as well, and Akhan, and Rosa and Cesyana, and ......."

He didn't think it was a place of exile at all...... It's clearly a paradise.

.

Heading south from Hertland, it took less than a day to fly the waters from blue to deep blue and then to deep black. The sea was so calm that it didn't seem to even make waves...... It's so calm that it swallows everything. There were no more fish leaping out of the sea, no white seabirds, the black reefs that protruded like dogs' teeth were as dense as falling stars, and the waters swirled silently from reef to reef, some turning back to the north, and some to the south, to the abyss at the end of the world.

Ed cowered on the dragon's back and looked up at the stars. The stars in the sky froze as if they were frozen, and looked down at them indifferently.

Indeed...... Cold and beautiful.

He finally understood why Romuen West's notes mentioned these cold and beautiful stars. Not because the mad mage came here at night, but because ......

There is no daylight here at all.