Travis Ives specializes in a craft that is rare in Anktanen – book restoration. It was only in Balach that he could survive on this craft. Even if many people collect old manuscripts just for posstry, they prefer to have things that they have spent a lot of money on their shelves to get their hands on.

When Scott knocked on the door of Travis's house in a small alley southwest of Old Town Balach, the owner who came out to open the door had a gloomy face, he usually finished his work in the silent night, and it was his sleep time.

"I'm going to pick up a book. Scott began, "Thaddeus's Names of the Gods." ”

Travis came to his senses for a moment, and without saying a word, he opened the door to welcome two special guests. When the door was closed, the expression on his face had completely changed.

"Pastor. He saluted Scott respectfully.

He was not a priest of Nesses, just an ordinary believer. Scott had not met him, but Kormit had assured him of the believer's loyalty.

"I think you know why I'm here. Scott got straight to the point.

Travis nodded: "I'm sorry, I didn't know the news in time, now I only know that the king ordered Lord Pascalis, the lord of Barach, to send troops directly from here to the surrounding villages to capture the priests and believers of Nesses, but the lord of the city refused this order, so the king sent troops directly from Llewellyn...... Also, I heard that His Majesty the King has in fact not been seen for a long time. The order was issued from the crown prince, but I can't be sure. ”

Scott looked down in thought, he didn't expect Travis to know much. But in this city, someone should know more about it.

"Do you know a priest of Anduch in the temple here? Nigel Lowe, a middle-aged man. He asked.

“...... I've heard the name. Travis replied, "That's a kind of strange priest." ”.

Like many of Anduhe's priests, Nigel didn't like to leave the temple in the past. If people needed the help and guidance of the gods, they could have come to the temple themselves, rather than arrogantly and lazily expecting divine grace to come down from heaven while staying at home.

Now he has somewhat changed his mind. Perhaps the real arrogance and laziness are themselves, the priests who claim to be the messengers of God. They see their duties as a favor of sorts. The belief that people are not entitled to help if they do not ask.

In a way, they seem to see themselves as gods.

Initially, however. The priests of Anduch also used to measure the mountains with their own feet, so that even the people who lived in the most remote valleys knew that they were not alone, that the gods were above, and that Anduhe would watch over them. Like the silent guardian of the mountains.

Nigel had no interest in interfering with how other pastors acted, and that was not his job. But now, with an unhappy face, he would often walk around the new town and beyond, like those he once despised, who "spent more time trying to win the hearts of people than to meditate on the teachings of the gods," and tried to help those in need. Many times, he doesn't need to use the power of a priest at all.

Sometimes people just need to know that they have not been forgotten.

He wasn't surprised when he was stopped on the steps leading to the temple, even if he was a little surprised by the person who appeared in front of him. It didn't make his expression change much.

"What guidance would you like from the silence of Anduhe, Lord of the Mountains, child?" he said with a look of composure to the blond-haired and blue-eyed young man in front of him.

“...... Truth. Scott replied.

"That's something you need to find yourself. Nigel said. "But perhaps I can talk to you about the paths that lead to the truth, come with me, we need a quiet place. ”

He walked straight to the temple, and Scott followed without hesitation. His instincts told him that this man was trustworthy, but if there were any surprises...... Isis wasn't around. He didn't have to worry about anything.

Isis looked up at Anduhe's towering temple, the daunting height of the steps that narrowed upwards on all sides. The square temple is located on a platform above the steps, overlooking the entire city, and it does look a little calm and imposing of the god of the mountains.

Scott refused to take him with him to the priest of Anduhe, but he could have followed him secretly, but when Scott climbed the high steps into the temple with the priest, he hesitated to stay here.

He's a dragon after all. He knew that some temples had defenses against "evil" creatures like him, or removing the disguise of all those who entered, and he didn't want to cause Scott any other trouble.

He looked around, looking for a place where he could wait unnoticed. There were many people sitting on the steps of the temple in a daze, and they didn't know if they had nothing to do and nowhere to go, or if they were meditating on something near the gods. The street directly opposite the temple leads to the west gate of the old city, which is still bustling in winter.

In the midst of the bustling crowd, Iss saw almost at a glance the two men he had not expected to be here—in such a situation.

"There are such flowers in winter!" said Naria, holding a small bouquet of red flowers in her hand, each of which was slightly bowed its head, and there was another layer of petals near the stamens, like fine fluff, and the slender and straight leaves spread out around the flowers, and the smooth surface seemed to have a layer of wax.

She brought the bouquet close to her nose. The unknown flower did not smell anything, but it did not hinder her love at all.

"What kind of flower is this?" Ed fiddled with the thin petals curiously, but he didn't expect the flower to be so fragile - he didn't use much force at all, and the whole flower broke away from the stem and fell to the table.

Naria involuntarily screamed and glared at Ed fiercely.

Ed picked up the flower that he had touched and held it in the palm of his hand, not knowing what to do for a while.

"We call it flamingo grass. The girl in the flower shop smiled and said, "It usually blooms in spring, you have to keep it in a greenhouse and take care of it so that it can bloom in this season." ”

The round-faced girl picked up the flower in Ed's palm, dragged a rattan basket over it, and expertly fastened the flower to a hairpin and handed it to Ed.

"You can stick it on her head. It's easy to fall off when it's about to be gone, and we often do that. She tilted her head to show Ed the one on her braided hair.

Ed didn't think much of it, and happily clipped the flower to Naria's jet-black curls. The bright red suited her perfectly—and then he realized that the movement seemed too intimate, and the hand that had not yet withdrawn froze awkwardly in the air.

Naria glanced at him quickly, her cheeks flushed, but she didn't say anything.

"Your wife is so beautiful. The girl in the flower shop winked at Ed.

- yes, they're a couple now!

Ed felt so confident that he even had the audacity to pull Naria's long thick hair back before lowering his hand, in exchange for an indescribable look of annoyance or shyness, rather than a firm slap on the back of his head, which made the corners of his mouth almost reach his ears, and his heart suddenly beat like a bird that had just learned to fly, up and down, and slammed in his chest in a panic.

He'd always considered Naria his friend, just like Is, like Norway and Tess. But at that moment, he suddenly understood that the black-haired girl in front of him was different to him.

Maybe it's never the same.

And when he pretended to take Naria's hand and continued to walk forward, the girl did not refuse, but hung her head and smelled the red flowers that did not smell like flowers.

Iss lowered his head and pulled his hood even lower.

That's not really necessary. He didn't know why he was hiding, but perhaps even if he hadn't hid, standing so straight in front of the steps of the temple, the two men would probably not have seen him at all.

They probably only have each other in their eyes.

He stared blankly at the ground, his mind in a mess. It wasn't that he didn't think that Ed might like Naria—that was fine, he should be happy for them, but he couldn't explain the anger that sparked in his heart, as if someone had taken something precious from him...... It's like being betrayed and abandoned again.

He knew he shouldn't feel that way. Both Ed and Narya have done enough for him...... But perhaps a dragon is doomed, if not destined for evil, but also destined for greed. He didn't like gold or precious stones, but he couldn't deny that he had the same hunger in his heart—an insatiable hunger for what he wanted.

He didn't know how long he stood in the shadows until someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"I knew you weren't going to wait in the hotel. There was some exasperation in Scott's voice.

Iss tugged at him stiffly.

"What's wrong?" Scott immediately sensed that Is's depressed mood didn't seem to be due to him being caught.

"I just don't like being so close to the temple. ”

"Then you shouldn't come along. ”

"It's boring to stay in a hostel. ”

"No, you just want to keep an eye on me, lest I beat anyone half to death...... Eth, do you remember that I'm your brother, the one older than you?" Scott shook his head helplessly, turning and walking down the crowded street.

Eth made some flustered confirmation that Ed and Nalya were nowhere to be seen before following.

"So you didn't beat that priest half to death?" he asked.

"No, to be honest, I kind of like that guy. Although he didn't have any useful news, we had to go to Llewellyn. ”

"How to get there?" said Is, raising his guard.

“...... Ride, we ride!" Scott almost wanted to sigh.

Isis nodded in satisfaction.

(To be continued)