Akan carefully picked up Norway and placed him on the bed. Naria got busy. She dragged Tess to wash her face, told Ed to change Norvi's bloodstained clothes, hurriedly made something to eat, forced Tess to eat, and allowed her to curl up beside Norway and fall asleep - no one could get her out of this position.

Thornon disappeared for a while before returning and explaining everything to Ed with an apology. He had to tell Borena what had happened, and even though their mysterious leader seemed to be more wounded than Norwe, they still relied on and trusted him.

Ed hung his head and said nothing. It didn't seem to blame anyone, no one could have imagined that there was such a monster hidden beneath the ruins.

"We've sent someone to watch from the neighborhood, and if that necromancer comes back, we'll be able to catch him. And Deb...... With the head of the monster and the testimonies of those who were rescued, we can drive all those soldiers back to Llewellyn!" Thornhorn said, looking a little excited.

Llewellyn was the capital of Anktan. Ed didn't know why those soldiers had been sent not from the nearest city, Balach, but from Llowellyn, but he didn't care about those now—every country had internal conflicts of one kind or another, and he couldn't care about them at all, he just regretted letting Norway and Tess get involved. From Visa to the Ice Plains, they've chased a dragon so far, burrowed into dwarven mines, fought hordes of undead, and never hurt Novi so badly. He was not used to seeing Norway so pale and fragile.

"Isn't there a priest around here?" he asked worriedly.

"If anything. We've been here for treatment for Borena for a long time. Sonoen's face also darkened, "We sent someone to Balach, but there is no news...... Priests don't come to a place like the mouth of the Kuz River. It's been a long time since we've seen any priests among the adventurers, who probably prefer to stay in the temple in comfort. ”

"What about the nearby villages?" asked Naria, "for example, doesn't the priest of Cantril Nesses often go there to preach?"

"Priest of Nethers?" Thornon was stunned, "I did hear of them...... But they should all be hiding now, and it's not so easy to find them. ”

"Hide?" Ed was a little surprised, "Why?"

"You probably haven't heard of the King's decree not long ago that Nethers is an unrecognized false god. His priest was an evil mage who believed in the devil. "That's the charge that was imposed on the townspeople when the soldiers took them away." The priests of Knesses had never been here, they had only been found in the remote villages deep in the forest. ”

Ed and Naria looked at each other.

"Doesn't the temple of Anduch have any problem with that?" Ed asked. He remembered the always unhappy Andukh priest he met in Miaz Weiss, Nigel. He seems to have acknowledged the existence of Nesses, and has even stated that he will work with the priest of Nesses to the temple to deal with the necromancer. And he doesn't look like a duplicitous guy.

"Haven't heard of it. "Besides, what opinion can they have?" Perhaps that was their idea, that most of the followers of Nethers were originally Andukh followers. ”

Ed stared blankly at Norvi's pale face, not knowing what else to say for a moment.

Scott probably didn't know what was going on here. He was the priest of Nesses after all, and if he heard this, he would inevitably return to the Castle Forest to help his companions and the devout believers.

And then...... Where does Isis go from here?

"Maybe we shouldn't have left the ice so soon. Naria whispered, apparently thinking the same thing.

Ed shook his head, "We can't help there either. ”

He subconsciously grasped the small box hanging from his chest. Everyone who knows says that Ni'o chose him, and that he has so much power in his hands. But it still can't help anything...... Is that his fault, or is it Nyo's fault?.

For the rest of the night, Ed crouched down beside Norway in a daze.

He held the small crystal ball in the palm of his hand. Just got it for a while. He likes to hold it even when he sleeps, and letting the cold, round little thing cling to his palm will make him feel a little at peace when he is often awakened by nightmares.

But as he embarked on the journey, more and more things happened, and the nightmares disappeared into more and more tired nights, and sometimes he couldn't even remember that he was carrying this mysterious little orb with him. Until it saved his life in Miaz-Weiss - it saved his life more than once, and then ignored it when he needed help more...... Could it be that Ni'o, who is a goddess. Is it a more headstrong guy than Is?

He held the crystal ball high and squinted at it. When it is dim, it looks like an ordinary glass ball, but if you look at it carefully, the extremely light blue like a glacier seems to be constantly flowing without stopping.

It may be alive.

Ed suddenly realized this.

“...... Can you hear me?" he whispered, "tell me what to do......

He kept his mouth shut, thinking it was a bit silly.

A shadow hung over him. He looked up, and Narya was standing in front of him, frowning slightly, looking at him condescendingly. She probably saw him talking to a crystal ball.

"I'm just ......" he stammered, not knowing how to explain it.

Naria sat down beside him and glared at him angrily, "Do you have to squat like a monkey and sit properly?"

Ed sneered and leaned back and sat down.

"Show me. Naria held out her hand to him.

Without hesitation, Ed placed the crystal ball in the palm of her hand.

“...... Do you know how many people will be willing to give anything to get it, at any cost?" asked Narya, in a low voice.

Ed nodded, Keller Brian, Allen, Norway, Filly, Is...... He had been warned countless times.

"And you just threw it at me like it was something worthless. ”

"I didn't 'throw' it at you. Ed said a little aggrieved, not knowing what Naria was dissatisfied with, "Besides, you're Naria Kavo, what can I give you." ”

Naria blinked her eyes, blinked again, and her face quickly turned red: "I didn't mean this ......"

She bit her lip.

Ed looked at her with some blankness. It was a long time before Naria shook her head, took his hand, and carefully slipped the crystal ball in.

"I just think...... It's not just some powerful artifact, it's not like Celebrian's teleportation ring, or the staff that Isis left behind - I dare say you care more about that staff than you do about it. ”

"Because it's Is's thing, maybe he'll want to take it back one day......" The cane leaned against him now. He did carry it all day, but he never used it as a walking stick, but kept it carefully.

"And this hapless guy chose you, so it doesn't matter that way?" Narya flicked her finger on his hand holding the crystal ball.

“...... You mean, it will be jealous?" Ed asked, puzzled, "jealous of a cane?"

Naria couldn't help but slap him on the back of the head.

Ed snorted, "I just wanted to say that you have become a little gentle!"

He was even a little moved!

"You don't need to be gentle with a fool like you!" Nalya whispered in his ear in exasperation, and she was just about to grab his ear, "I just wanted to tell you that if it really has something to do with a goddess, maybe it's not just an object!

"I didn't let her do anything......" Ed argued. Even if there were, wouldn't she ignore him?

"I know you don't believe in God, Ed, and neither do I. But it saved you, and for that, you should thank it, or thank Nyo—tell me you at least thanked her?"

Ed froze for a moment—not really, even when he woke up from that deep dream in Miaz-Weiss's drain, the last words he left seemed to be a complaint.

“...... Maybe Celebrion was mistaken. It didn't choose you at all, and I can't think of a reason why it chose you. Naria said unceremoniously, "You would seriously thank anyone who has helped you in the slightest, but not a word of gratitude to a goddess who saved your life?"

Her tone made Ed feel like an ungrateful bastard...... Maybe he was. He didn't understand why it never occurred to him that he should at least say thank you to Ni'o.

He spread his hands and stared at the crystal ball. He thought he had never really believed that he was chosen—what kind of blind goddess would choose him? He had never even really believed in himself.

He always tries to be optimistic and confident, thick-skinned enough to defend against all attacks, but God knows, his confidence falters every day, and all his persistence is only because he is too afraid of losing.

The inferiority, timidity, and frustration that he did not dare to look at suddenly weighed down, and they had accumulated so long that he could barely breathe.

He didn't know when Naria left him, or when he fell asleep. But in the dream, he saw the little girl with white hair and blue eyes again.

"Ed. She smiled at him, and there was a faint shadow of Is's in her smile.

In the sparkling waves, they felt as if they were under the water.

“...... Can you really hear it?" Ed asked softly, "Can you hear it all the time?"

"I can always hear it—as long as you really call with your heart. ”.

(To be continued)