It wasn't a big city, not as big as Ston Butch, not even as big as Visa, but it had an imposing atmosphere that Ed had never seen before.

It is like a giant white tree, rising from a basin and standing close to every mountain peak around it. Countless bridges leaping in mid-air connect every building, large and small, covered with snow and overhung with icicles hanging upside down, all you can see is a rough outline, but you can still imagine the grace and grandeur of its stretching under the ice and snow. It has been silent for a thousand years, but it is like a newborn, with the fearless pride and confidence of the race that built it, as if it were the center of the world even if it were hidden deep in the mountains.

"That's really...... Indescribable. Ed whispered. He could no longer find a better word to describe what was in front of him, far better than all the accounts he had voraciously read over and over again, far better than the lifeless landscapes, far better than his fantasies.

"Is that the case with Grivar?" asked Naria, wistfully as she stood beside her. She couldn't take her eyes off her eyes at all.

The elf's gaze suddenly darkened.

"No," he replied, "they ...... It's not quite the same. ”

Grivar is the largest city in Quiring, the only elven kingdom today, and is where most elves live. In Naria's imagination, the city would be more elaborate and magnificent than the ruins in front of her.

The elf's answer surprised her a little, but she didn't ask any more. Ed had jumped off Akan and rushed towards the ancient city that seemed to have been forgotten by time.

"Ed Singal!" Naria shouted to chase after her, she wouldn't let Ed run through the gates first.

She rushed past Ed and gave him a hard push, sending him face down into the snow.

"Hey!" Ed got up in frustration, "Friends shouldn't do that!"

Naria laughed and ran away. Akan yelled with joy and rushed out to join the chase.

Norway stood there and shook his head, the excitement of the young humans dispelling the dark cloud in his heart.

"It looks so much better than Grival. Tess whispered, it was the first time she had spoken since she had been in the ice cave.

Norway looked back at her quietly for a moment, then finally smiled helplessly and held out a hand to her.

Tess's eyes lit up, and she jumped over happily and hugged his arm.

"Aren't you angry?" she asked.

"I wish I could be mad at you, too. ”

"So you're not angry, aren't you?"

“...... No, I'm not angry anymore. ”

"It's not that I don't like your home, or your ancestors' homes, or something......"

"I know, you just hate elves. ”

“...... That's right. ”

"But I'm an elf. ”

"You're the 'red-haired Tess elf', everyone in Stamp Butch knows it. Tay made no secret of her smugness. She looked at the people on the snow and ran away after me, and asked, "Don't you want to be the first to enter that city?"

"What does red-haired Tess want her elf?" asked Norway with a smile.

Tess looked up at him, laughed and let go.

"Run!" she shouted.

Even though the last one departed, still carrying the luggage of two people, Novi easily outtook everyone. By the time the others reached the gates, the elf had found everything he needed from the base of the statue lying on the ground in several pieces, its face blurred by snow.

"Welcome, my friends, to Miaz-Vess, the light of the far north, the ancient home of the Sunseekers!" the elf stood on a recumbent statue, outstretched his arms to his friends, pride and pride leaping in his eyes like a spring day of light leaking through the thick green foliage.

"I love the name. Ed said from the bottom of his heart.

"Oh, whatever it's called, you'll love it. With her hands propped up, Naria jumped over the statue and rushed into the city gate, "I'm still number one!"

The elf laughed and jumped down, waiting until Tess ran over panting before taking her hand and entering the city.

What could not be seen from a distance, the traces of the erosion of time were revealed in front of them little by little. The huge stone bricks on which the walls had been built were scattered all over the place, and thick roots and bushes took their place. In the empty streets, only the footprints of animals can be seen occasionally. A snowy owl landed near them, tilted its head and looked at them at a strange angle for a long time before suddenly spreading its wings and flying away.

Snow can cover the cracks that crisscross the stone slabs and accumulate thousands of years of dust, but it can't hide the broken stone pillars and crumbling lintels. Hardly a single house had an intact roof, where the hands of the god of ice and snow could not reach, withered vines wrapped in intricately carved escalators, stone steps that were broken but faintly recognizable, wooden balustrades that had long since rotted into mud.

But that didn't diminish their excitement in the slightest, especially Ed and Naria, as they scurried from room to room, building to building, guessing how everyone who had ever lived in it lived, and a small group of rats were so frightened that they fled in all directions. Akan ran around with them, and even if he didn't understand what they were looking for, it alone was enough to make him happy.

The elves were calmer, instead. He discovered that the city was not in fact built out of thin air, as it seems, but built around a small mountain. The ancient elves took the rocky peak that stood abruptly in the middle of the basin as the center of the city, and carved several tiers of platforms and steps and ramps connecting the upper and lower levels, while using the peaks and the earth as the fulcrum, each layer stretched outward one or two wide and strong arch bridges, which were then supported by arch bridges to connect the other, more slender bridges.

Most of the heavier buildings are located on the ground and platforms, some of the smaller ones are suspended between the bridges, some have fallen to the ground over the years, falling into countless pieces, and most of them are still hanging quietly in the air, as if waiting for the return of the elves.

There is a wide road leading to the center from the city gate, and the buildings on both sides appear to be mostly residential rather than shop. They climbed the long slope up the second platform, where there were more large buildings, and even a temple to the goddess of ice, where the colossal statue of Caluti was intact, but the center of the upward raised hands was empty.

Norway believed that when the elves still lived here, her priests would make it swirl with blue-white flames, symbolizing the frost power she wielded, which ruled the land for nearly half of the year.

Before they could explore the entire platform, it was already dark.

"We were able to find a room to stay in. Ed said wistfully. It is possible to live in an elven city - even an abandoned city can feel like a dream.

They were debating whether they should split up to find a suitable room when Norway suddenly turned his head back and gestured for them to be quiet.

Faint voices came from the other side of the street.

“...... Haven't the elves left here?" asked Ed in a quizzful whisper.

The elf shook his head.

"Humans. He heard the distinctive tones of the northerners with more nasal tones.

Before they could find out where each other came from, they decided to go into hiding. When everyone had hid in a small room nearby, Tess whispered, "Footprints." ”

Their footprints were clear in the snow, and if they got close enough, they were sure to be spotted.

Luckily, the men stopped some distance away from them, and their voices rang out through the empty streets and into their ears.

"Look at the bridge!" said one of them, "just break it and we'll have enough stones to use." ”

"Oh, I'm not sure that's a good idea. Look over there, look over there, it's all supported by that bridge, and if the bridge collapses, the whole city could fall on our heads. Another said, "I think we should go back and look at the houses on both sides of the street in front of us, because the stone bricks that fell on the ground alone are enough for us to use for a while." ”

Ed furrowed his eyebrows, the voice sounding familiar.

Novi also began to frown. Even if it was a city abandoned by the elves, he didn't want those ancient buildings to be smashed by humans and used to build something else.

"Yes...... But none of that was big enough," the first voice insisted, not very strongly, "I think we need bigger stones." ”

"Even if we were, we'd have to have more people to move bigger rocks down here, and those half-dead little monsters can't do that. ”

Lyad said Risek would be able to bring more people in a few days. ”

"Oh, that's great news, but I'm really hungry right now, Eric, aren't you hungry? ”

"However, you said that you want to see if there is a more suitable material......

"No, I didn't say that, Eric, have you forgotten anything again?"

"Really? But ......"

"Dinner! I hope the meat is at least cooked today......"

Their voices faded away. Naria poked Tess, "Did you hear that?"

"It's not a surprise at all. Tess said, "I knew that none of the paladins could be trusted!"

"Philip Zeri!" the name made Ed uncomfortable from hair to toes, "Shouldn't he take Baie back to Collins?!

"We'll figure it out. "But I'm afraid we'll have to find a more secluded room." ”