Under the walls of the river side of Stonebuge, most of them can be easily destroyed by a flood under the walls of the river, but once the flood waters recede, people will rebuild rudimentary houses, many of which are even directly supported by wooden frames, built on the water. In the winding waterways separated by houses, the river became turbid and black, and even glowed with a strange oily sheen. Small boats that do not need a port to moor can shuttle back and forth, selling vegetables, flowers, salt, and cloth...... Selling everything necessary for life, as well as all kinds of bizarre knick-knacks, stolen goods, and even forbidden things, it looks a little more lively than the busiest streets in the city.

Rosa maneuvered the boat nimbly, avoiding a smuggling boat apparently loaded with wine and another boat laden with flowers. The men behind her nearly caught up with them as she crossed the Old Street Market to Dark Water Street, and she wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible - but apparently not quickly.

Fortunately, here, no matter how strange the person is, it will not attract attention.

Rosa looked helplessly at the two men on the boat who had to hide under a dirty cloak. The elf had to hide his pointed ears, and the paladin ...... Even if he changed his clothes, he didn't look like he belonged to this place at all.

If she had known that there was such a gentle middle-aged man hiding under that armor, she would probably have changed into a better outfit and brought it.

Lowell sat calmly in the stern of the boat, looking around with no curiosity or disgust. His armor was piled up in the bag at his feet—no matter what Rosa said, he insisted on throwing it down.

When the congested waterway is finally rowed. Rosa instead raised her guard. Once on the open water, they only stand out more.

Before she could get far, Sethyana touched her arm lightly.

Rosa looked back. In the light mist, three other small boats rowed towards them.

-- Maybe it's just the same direction.

Rosa thought about it by chance, but saw two of the ships change direction slightly, apparently trying to flank them on either side.

The opposing ship's is bigger and faster than theirs. Even as Sesyana sat on the other side and rowed together, the two sides were getting closer and closer. Under the gloomy sky, Rosa could almost see the shining arrows on the bowstrings that were open towards them.

The elf reached for the longbow at his feet. Rosa didn't doubt his archery skills, but the disparity in numbers was too great......

Without warning. One of the boats suddenly began to shake violently, and the people on board cursed loudly and fell into the water one after another.

They are swimming against the current. The seemingly calm water of the river quickly washed the people who fell into the water far away. The other boat slowed down, as if hesitating whether to continue the pursuit or to return to fetch their companions, and for a brief moment Rosa and their boat seemed to be being pulled by some great force. Leaping forward.

Splashes in the water. Rosa had to grab a free hand to the side of the ship and looked at Rowell in surprise.

The paladin withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened, and shrank into his cloak that he couldn't discern the color. But Rosa was sure she heard his low incantation.

“...... I thought the paladins weren't very good at spells. She said.

Lowell just smiled and didn't say anything.

“...... You're Lowell Turner, the paladin who was a mage!" blurted out the name that suddenly came to mind. Rosa suddenly felt a little uneasy—in the event of any accident, she believed that she and Sesyana would be able to deal with a paladin who had taken off his armor, but a paladin who could spell...... That's another story.

Borena stayed with her family...... I knew I should have let them hide separately.

She threw the elf a warning look, but Cesyana's gaze fell on Rowell curiously.

"Hopefully, those chasing us aren't as sharp as you. Miss. Rowell glanced at Rosa, and the polite salutation made her a little awkward.

Rosa shrugged. "To be honest, they're chasing you, and they probably already know who you are, but as long as you don't get caught, I believe there will always be a way to fool you. ”

Lowell smiled bitterly: "I hope so." ”

"Humans with short lives rarely make choices like yours. The elf suddenly spoke bluntly.

It takes a lot of time and effort for a mage to study spells in order to achieve something. Lowell was clearly not the kind of mage who could only bluff a few tricks, and becoming a paladin, putting on that heavy armor and using a sword as a weapon, was tantamount to giving up all his advantages.

Lowell didn't care about the elf's almost rude evaluation, and smiled indifferently: "I just found something more important." ”

- What is it? God?

Rosa didn't ask. Mercenaries like her are usually a little disrespectful to the gods, but she also has no intention of making irresponsible comments about other people's choices.

She carefully made sure that there were no other boats nearby and that there was no one on the shore, and then she carefully let the boat turn into another channel. The low-hanging branches were half-submerged in the water, and they had to crouch low in the boat from time to time, and they had to avoid getting stuck in the trees. These natural barriers made Rosa somewhat reassuring - even if the ships just chased here, it would be difficult for them to pass smoothly.

"Rosa!"

Monroe's voice came from overhead. The young man brushed aside the foliage to reveal a face still full of freckles, and looked at them with a grin.

Rosa breathed a sigh of relief—she had always feared that the enemy would come to her door while she and the elves were leaving, and it seemed safe now.

Monroe was guarded with a longbow and a trap nearby, so that if an enemy did come after him, he alone could have resisted for a while - if there were no mages or anything like that.

Rosa couldn't help but glance at Lowell.

"Go back and hide!" she splashed her brother with water.

Monroe grimaced at her and disappeared into the foliage.

The further upstream, the narrower the river becomes, and the reef is hidden between the rapids, so even Rosa, who is familiar with the area, has to pay full attention. She was already sweating when she finally rowed the boat to the shallows near the mouth of the cave, and was about to jump off the boat when she suddenly felt a little uneasy.

It's so quiet.

This cave is a wonderful hideaway. The hole is narrow and difficult to detect, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. There are also many small gaps in the cave where you can see what is going on outside...... They had only two boats, and now the other was resting by the shoal, and Lange and they should have been in the cave, and now they had definitely found them back, but none of them had come out to meet them......

The people of the Latus family, with the exception of her and Barrett, were not so cautious.

She suppressed the panic in her heart, leaned down, and pointed to her ear at Sethana.

The elf listened for a moment, but frowned and shook his head, a hint of annoyance and anxiety on his face.

He wouldn't say anything, but Rosa had already noticed that the thing that Lange had thrown out last night had done some damage to him, and it didn't seem to have fully recovered yet. He was still much sharper than the average person, but obviously not as sharp as he used to be.

Rosa bit her lip - what happened? The waterway below was the only way to pass...... Nobody is going to go around the river? It could take days!

It was impossible to figure out what was going on inside the cave outside the cave, so Rosa pondered for a moment, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Lange! come out and help me tow the boat up!"

It was a long time before Lange roared in the cave: "No time! baby, don't tell me you three can't tow a boat!"

Rosa's face instantly darkened.

She jumped from the boat into the shallow water, giving Sethyana a seemingly random gesture at the sound of splashing water.

She was actually a little worried that Sesyana would refuse, after all, they hadn't turned their back on it now...... But the elf didn't hesitate to draw his twin swords and slammed them down on Lowell's neck like lightning.

The paladin looked at him quietly, and the unusual calmness only made Rosa feel even more uneasy

“...... May I ask why?" he said softly.

Sesyana looked at her, the same confusion evident in his eyes.

"Because he calls me 'baby'. Rosa gritted her teeth and replied, "That means there is an enemy in the cave, and if he didn't let me escape, it means that the enemy is in control, and my brothers and sisters are all inside...... He said three people, which means that the people in the cave already know the number of people on board...... I know it probably doesn't have anything to do with you, but I don't want to give them any reason to hurt my family or give you any chance to attack us from behind!"

Lowell smiled slightly: "It seems that there is a bit of a lack of trust between us. ”

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly disappeared from Rosa's eyes.

Before a curse could utter, Rosa could already feel something sharp against the back of her heart.

There's no time to resist - damn mage! he's probably prepared.

"Lay down your sword, elf. Rowell's voice was still soft and polite, "I know how fast your twin swords can be...... But you probably wouldn't want to risk checking how fast my dagger could be. ”

Sethyana clenched his sword motionlessly, glared at him for a moment, his lips losing their color like white knuckles, and finally let go of his hand, letting his life-loving weapon fall into the water.

Lowell whispered the incantation, and the next moment, the twin swords replaced the daggers and pressed against Rosa's neck.

The elf's pupils contracted suddenly, and his cold and sharp gaze was like a blade, but unfortunately, his gaze alone could not kill anyone.

"Please lead the way. Lowell smiled at him disappreciatively.

Sesyana walked briskly past them without a sound, and Rowell nudged Rosa to turn around.

The anger made Rosa's body tremble slightly—she wouldn't have been so careless before...... Maybe she shouldn't have put a little more trust in these priests because of Ed.

Right now...... She only hopes that Monroe will escape.

(To be continued......)