Zero stepped out of the gate of the Cretan Mansion and walked onto the clean and tidy capital avenue of the Laner Imperial Capital.

Emperor Lan'er is a prosperous capital city famous all over the mainland, and a splendid and prosperous place built under the feet of the royal family. Lan'er is the residence of most of the nobles of the Denos Empire, and all the nobles who can live in the Lan'er Imperial Capital are all wealthy families with heads and faces. The aristocratic mansions were built around the court, and the building materials were mainly solid white, gray or brown stones, giving people a heavy and solid visual feeling. The predecessor of the Denos Empire was the Deinas Empire, which once unified the continent, and its own strong military strength, and the people's love for martial arts, especially swordsmanship, has been inherited for a long time, which is also gradually reflected in the architectural style: the building towering into the sky like a sword highlights the characteristics of Denos martial arts. The eastern part of the court is the gathering place of the important officials of the imperial court, and the architectural style is a little simple and serious, from the neat and symmetrical windows and portals, you can see the degree of order and rules of the Denos people.

Located in the eastern part of the fertile and militarized empire of Denos, the aristocracy was fascinated by highly decorative and luxurious objects, such as jeweled headdresses and swords sparkling with magic crystals on their waists. Large verandahs and beautiful gardens with sculptural fountains were common in the mansions of the aristocracy.

Most of the outer areas of the Lan'er Imperial Capital were used as residences for the common people and as places for merchants to and from where they traded. Civilian buildings generally do not use large stones that are difficult to transport and time-consuming and laborious to carve, and most of them use wood and masonry, so most of the civilian buildings are relatively low, only about one to three floors. Because of the fact that they were already in a rich place, and the nobles' love for gorgeous things also affected the living characteristics of the common people in the Lan'er Imperial Capital, even if it was a civilian building, you could see many decorative elements with regional characteristics, such as the neatly arranged wooden decorative carvings on the edge of the roof, lace outlines, etc., coupled with the opening and encouragement of the empire's foreign exchanges and trade, the living standards of the people in the imperial capital were also very high, whether it was food, clothing, use and housing, it was unambiguous.

The Cretan mansion was also located east of the court, where the courtiers gathered, not far from the court, and the entire area was under martial law at night. Usually at this time, the important officials of the imperial court have finished their official duties and returned home one after another, and the imperial capital guards are also preparing to start patrolling day and night.

Nopeda Street is the closest commercial street to the Cretan family residence, the pleasant and light atmosphere wanders on this street, Zero is light under his feet, he walked into this street, looked up at the afterglow of the sunset sprinkled on the bright red bricks and green tiles of the pavilion cornices, adding a bit of hazy and poetic to the evening scene of this prosperous imperial capital. The streets are lined with teahouses, hotels, workshops, shops...... Usually at this time, there are all kinds of small vendors on the open space on the street to set up stalls to sell goods, but because of the rumors that there are enemy militants hiding in the imperial capital in the past two days, the curfew is strict during this time, and there are many fewer vendors, otherwise in the past, when it was night, it was full of people coming and going, and it was very lively.

At the entrance of the alley, where no one noticed, a dark shadow lurked in the shadows, staring intently at the figure of Zero Young. Zero, who was walking on the side of the street, suddenly noticed something strange behind him, he suddenly turned his head to look at the alley with a pile of miscellaneous items not far away, but he didn't see anything strange, he frowned, and there was a doubt in his heart, he turned around and walked forward.

The black shadow leaned his back against the wall silently, and after a while he poked his head out to look at the place where Zero had been, and found that there was no other party, and the black shadow slowly retreated into the depths of the alley. Sparse figures walked around the streets, and night was about to fall.

Vangelis walked up to the second floor of the HOS dining shop, and saw Zero sitting by the window walking over and sitting directly across from him, Zero raised his eyes to see Vangelis holding the menu and ordering food from the waiter.

After the waiter left, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he said to Vangellis, "Fortunately, Mr. Vangellis, why did you come to this small restaurant to eat?"

Vangellis pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose and replied, "I heard that this shop has a good reputation in the neighborhood, and I happened to see you walking in on my way back to the Holy See after finishing my errands, so I followed in to settle dinner." ”

"Oh~ That's it......" Zero nodded, "The pies in this shop taste good and have plenty of food, so I recommend you try them." ”

"I ordered it, and I also ordered the HOS herbal tea and glutinous rice dumpling rice. Vangellis replied.

Zero nodded and didn't speak again, instead holding his chin in his hand and looking through the glass at the street outside. Zero-Lai this shop just planned to order a cup of herbal tea and sit quietly alone for a while, so I chose this small dining table by the window on the second floor to sit, where you can see a corner of the night view of the imperial capital, this dining table is also small enough to accommodate two people sitting opposite each other. Vangellis's arrival did not arouse much interest in Zero, he said a few words of greeting and did not say anything more, just quietly watched the sky outside the window gradually darken, and the bustling streets of the imperial capital gradually thinned out.

"Your father sent a message to the Holy See of Light, saying that he was going to prepare for a magical awakening for you. ”

After a long silence, Vangelis opened his mouth to break the silence.

Zero looked sideways at Vangelis and said, "Yes, although he taught him a lesson, it is not entirely a bad thing. ”

At this time, a waiter brought over the things ordered by the two of them, and the herbal tea, pies and glutinous rice dumplings ordered by Vangelis were served on a plate with a few herbal teas and tea powder. Zero said "thank you" to the waiter, who smiled and set things up one by one before leaving.

Zero is a large cup of herbal tea, add crushed ice and berry pieces, open the lid, there is still a layer of white milk floating on the herbal tea, zero picked up the small spoon in the tea powder tray and scooped up the tea powder and sprinkled a thick layer on the milk layer, Zero picked up the teacup and lowered his head and took a sip.

After eating a rice ball, Vangelis looked at Zero who was drinking tea and said, "You like to sprinkle tea powder and drink?"

Zero took a sip and put down the teacup and nodded, "Yes, it's very fragrant." ”

"I thought kids would add a lot of powdered sugar. Vangellis chuckled.

"Then you're ...... Don't treat me like a child. Zero said with a faint smile on his lips as he looked at Vangellis.

Vangelis took a sip of herbal tea and said to Zero: "Many times, I don't think you look like a child, it seems that you have inherited your mother's composure. ”

"Why isn't it my father's?" asked Zero, frowning slightly.

"Your father?" said Vangelis, swallowing the pie in his mouth, "your father is sometimes impulsive, and it seems to me that your mother is the one who keeps her head level and level off. ”

"Do you still like her?" asked Zero, looking at the night scene on the street, and suddenly looked sideways at Vangellis.

Vangelis was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then chuckled and took a bite of the pie in his hand, chewed it slowly and swallowed it, he said flatly: "She doesn't like me, I can only bless her, don't tell her this......"

Zero didn't look at him, lowered his head and took a sip of tea, then continued to look out the window and was silent.

He felt that the man in front of him was very similar to himself, he liked someone wishfully, but in the end, the person he liked did not choose himself...... No matter how bitter you are in your heart, or you still pretend to be optimistic to face the world, in fact, your heart is already barren.

"You're a very nice man, Mr. Vangellis. Zero glanced at Vangellith and continued to look out the window and said, "Life shouldn't be so unfair to you, everyone has the right to pursue what they desire, and that dedication should be fully ......respected."

Vangellis laughed, he finished the cake in his hand, took a sip of tea, looked at Zero who was holding his chin with one hand and holding the teacup with the other, pushed his glasses and smiled again, and then turned his face to look at the night scene outside the window and said calmly: "But this world has never been as ideal as imagined, there is nothing that should not be done, only whether others are willing or not." Sometimes, the reality is very different from what we imagined. Regrets are all over the place, that's the reality...... When you grow up, you'll understand. ”

"Huh...... yes," Zero chuckled and took a sip of tea, "I'm still young......"

The two were silent for a long time, sitting opposite each other, drinking tea and watching the night scene. Most of the people in the store left, and there were few people left, and the curfew was approaching, and everyone hurried home.

"By the way, thank you for speaking for me at the banquet. Zero broke the silence and raised his teacup to Van Gellis.

Vangelis looked at Zero and said, "It's nothing, I'm talking about the truth, the nobles of the imperial capital...... It's all too numb in the extravagance. ”

Zero looked at the outline of the high wall of the palace wall in the distance outlined by the magic guide rope lamp, sighed lightly and said: "Everyone says that the emperor is good, who knows that the rich and the rich are chaotic......

"Sometimes I wonder what kind of scene is beyond Lan'er, this rich and vast continent must not only be as hypocritical as some things in the imperial capital of Lan'er, but also have kind people and good things, refreshing plants and flowers, and beautiful scenery that makes people forget to return...... It would be a pity if people could not experience the beauty that really existed but had not yet been experienced. Zero muttered as he looked out the window at the night scene.

Vangelis looked at Zero's immature but old-fashioned face, and asked him with an interested smile on his face: "You are still so young, you want to leave home and travel to the outside world?"

Zero hooked the corners of his mouth and smiled, lowered his head and took another sip of tea, and said: "Maybe I was born in the wrong place, aristocratic life is not suitable for me, and there are too many responsibilities to bear, too depressing...... Maybe I should be an ordinary person. ”

"There aren't many noble children who think like you now. Vangellis took a sip of tea with a smile on his face.

"Forget it...... Zero smiled bitterly, "Everybody longs for freedom, isn't it? Isn't that what is out of reach, what you try your best to pursue but can't get, isn't that our freedom? Everyone has his own freedom, although it is difficult to achieve it......"

"Yes...... Vangelis pursed his lips and nodded expressionlessly, "It's hard to ......"

The two of them fell silent again, and Zero silently drank the tea in the cup, he felt that he had talked enough to the man in front of him, and the child kept talking about his ideals with adults, and he felt that he would be considered naïve when he thought about it.

Vangelis looked at Zero, who was about to finish drinking herbal tea, and asked, "You said you were going to ask me some questions at that time, and you also mentioned a book, what did you want to ask?"

"Oh that!" Zero suddenly thought of it, and hurriedly asked, "As an archbishop, you should have seen all the books in the library of the Holy See Both, right?"

Vangellis nodded: "As a bishop, it is necessary to be familiar with the various books in the library, and this is also what my teacher has been urging me to do when I was alive, what's wrong?"

"Then have you ever seen a book without an inscription? The reddish-brown book cover, the cover has no text, with a dark gold quaint pattern, the front and the back are the same, it looks very old, there are some myths and stories recorded in ancient characters, and the back pages are made of cardboard, and there is a groove in the center of the cardboard that resembles a storage badge. Zero described the book in his memory, then stared into Vangellis's eyes.

"This ......" Vangellis frowned and thought for a while, then pushed his glasses and shook his head, "I really don't have the book you said, I have also seen some books without inscriptions, but they are all new books that have not yet been compiled due to the negligence of the collectors, and there are books with reddish-brown covers, but they are not the same as what you described, they are all ordinary books." ”

"Alas...... Still not ......" Zero sighed and lowered his head, clenching the wall of the teacup in his hand firmly.

"Forget it......" Zero let go of the teacup in his hand, exhaled a long breath between his noses, licked his lips and looked at the night scene outside the window.

"Is that book important to you?" asked Vangelis.

"It's nothing...... Zero chuckled and waved his hand as if he didn't care, "just ask...... I saw it once, but I couldn't find it later......"

Vangelis took a sip of tea, looked at Ling Qiang's smile and said, "Then I'll help you pay more attention, and if you can find it, I'll send someone to your house to inform you." ”

"Thank you very much. Zero thanked Vangellis.

"Nothing. Vangellis replied.

"It's getting late, and it's time for me to go back. Zero said to Vangellis after taking the last sip of tea in his cup.

Vangellis nodded and said, "You go, be careful on the road, I will pay for the herbal tea." ”

"Then thank you for the treat, I wish you a good night's sleep, I'll go first. Zero smiled and nodded, then turned away.

Vangellis watched Zero's back disappear from sight as he walked down the stairs, and then sat alone at the table, drinking tea and looking out the window at the night scene.

The moon is high and it is getting late......