"You asked me why I wanted to learn spells...... To be honest, I haven't really thought about it. Milton was much more relaxed when he heard Charlotte's answer, "I was born in a rural area, and when I was ten years old, I met my teacher. He's a wild mage, and he performs tricks there, and I think that's cool, so I sneak over at night to learn spells from him. Then something wonderful happened, and since then, I have been wandering around with my teacher. ”

"It's hard, but it's much more fun than in the village. I've been to many places, seen a lot of beauty, and had some adventures. It's nothing compared to your vision and experience, but it's an unimaginable experience for a country kid. ”

In the midst of such dissection and recollection, Milton seemed to have an epiphany, "You asked me why I wanted to learn spells, why did I want to please you to enter your mage tower to continue learning. Now that I think about it, maybe I want to see more different scenery. ”

Vivien and Lolita were thoughtful, they had both embarked on the path of mages because of their family's ardent hopes, but they had never thought about why they wanted to continue their studies.

"Sounds good. Charlotte felt that this reason was not magnificent, but it was very simple and sincere, "Let me introduce myself, my name is Charlotte Clayderman, a member of the Inner Ring Council of Icewind Castle, and a master of the Eight Rings. ”

Milton smiled excitedly, "I'm guessing you're him!So young, silver-haired, master from Icewind Castle!I can't think of anyone else who can meet this requirement other than the red pupils don't match the rumors." They all say that you are the Empire of San Lorenzo, no, the most gifted genius in the world of Steeu at the moment, destined to become a legend!"

Charlotte was not happy with this compliment, but was a little distressed and ashamed.

"I may be the most famous, but I'm definitely not the most gifted mage. Charlotte retorted, but was seen as too humble by Milton, even Vivien, and Lolita.

But that's what he thought in his heart. He thought of Aven, Claire, Kathryn, Elbert, Malthus, and others, all of whom were undoubtedly exceptionally gifted. If the scope is expanded to include more than just the mage class, there will be more people who can rival Charlotte, or even be more talented.

Vivien Leigh, Devany, Zenas, Teklin, Bruno, Judson...... These people are all leaders in their fields. If there is a selection of Steeu's most gifted geniuses, only time will tell.

Charlotte was terrified by such praise, and as he grew older, he was no longer the lawless and pretentious time-traveler teenager he used to be. Perhaps it was the different level of power he faced, perhaps it was a change in his vision, or perhaps the emergence of a sense of crisis, he began to be in awe of this mysterious multiverse, and staggered forward on the path of the root with great reverence and trepidation.

He couldn't stop, he didn't want to stop, he didn't dare to stop, because he knew that if he slackened a little, competitors with the same talent would leave him far behind him without hesitation.

The excessive praise made him both happy and uneasy, and he could not understand the thoughts of the people who had given him all kinds of titles and all kinds of magnificent praise. Can't they see competitors who are just as good?

They—like Aven—were even harder, more talented, more powerful than I was, but why, I was the only one who got such praise?

It made Charlotte feel like a fame and reputation deceiver, and made him feel that such excessive beauty was an embarrassing pressure on him.

But Milton did not think so, and said earnestly and respectfully, "You are too humble. But Charlotte waved her hand and forcibly changed the topic.

"You mentioned that you have a teacher, but what about the others?" Charlotte was more concerned about this, because it was about the essence of Milton.

Milton's expression became gloomy, and the light and shadow on his face flickered in the firelight.

"He's dead. Milton's voice was a little dry, but surprisingly calm. However, he held the five fingers of the barbecue iron rod hard, obviously he was not cold-blooded, but gradually accepted the fact, "died in the war." ”

"War?" asked Vivien.

"War. Milton nodded affirmatively, "Zenas has recruited mages to fight Elbert's mage group, and my teacher and I are on the list. Judson approached my teacher and introduced us to Zenas after making promises. Zenas told the teacher that in the event of victory, Elbert's Mage Tower would be opened to us, and that we would be appointed as members of the Lighthouse Mage Order, providing us with resources for research and study. ”

"The teacher told me that he didn't care about those things, but that would be great if it could give me a bright future. Moreover, he felt that Zenas was a trustworthy leader, a good man who could really think about people. ”

Speaking of this, he paused in a tone, with remorse and resentment on his face, "That was the stupidest decision the teacher and I have ever made in my life!"

"What happened next?" Lolita asked questions that shouldn't be asked, but you can't suppress the curiosity of the Genki Maiden, "Why did you leave the lighthouse?"

"Later, we were all deceived, and the cost was the teacher's life. The flame of light reflected in the stove burned in Milton's eyes, "the teacher was killed by Elbert in the war, and when I found his dying body, he even thought he had died a well-deserved death." ”

Vivien always felt that something was wrong, "You don't hate Elbert?"

"Hate! But I hate Zenas who deceived us even more!" Milton's facial muscles stiffened.

Charlotte had been silently biting the roast rabbit, and only then did he raise his head and spit out the rabbit bones from his mouth.

"What did he do?" the tone was inexplicably calm, and when Charlotte spoke, the temperature in the room seemed to drop by several degrees.

Milton instinctively sensed that something was wrong, and years of wandering had given him an extraordinary instinct to look at words. He hesitated for a moment, then spoke slowly through the stove in Charlotte's faint red pupils.

"After Zenas defeated Elbert at the Battle of Arad, the Lighthouse established the Council of Elders of Valcam in Arad, claiming to govern the continent of Valcam together with the common people. But then I gradually discovered that the so-called Elders' Council system was still dominated by lighthouse warlords, supplemented by large merchants and small and medium-sized nobles who defected, and the lighthouse speaker had absolute authority like the king and the Grand Duke. In the area ruled by the lighthouse, the lower class people are still miserable, and the warlords of the lighthouse have seized a lot of land in the war, and they are called councilors, but they are actually new nobles, and it is impossible for the lower class people to enter the elders. The so-called co-governance is even more nonsense. ”

"What does this have to do with Zenas?" asked Lolita, curiously.

"Because he betrayed us!" Milton's expression was dark and full of resentment, "the teacher and I used to idolize him, but he betrayed us. ”

"What do you mean?" Charlotte asked faintly.

"After the Lighthouse organization gradually deteriorated, the army under the command of Zenas became somewhat restless. It wasn't long before Zenas was appointed Deputy Speaker and Generalissimo by the Lighthouse Council, recalling Arad. Since then, entire armies have corrupted at a breakneck pace. The officers colluded with the local nobles and squires to make a fortune for themselves and for Zenas. ”

Milton concluded, "People always become, no! maybe that's what Zenas is." He made me feel that our sacrifice was stupid and meaningless, and that's why I chose to escape the lighthouse and become a wild mage again. ”

There was silence.

Vivien and Lolita couldn't help but think of the knight. At that time, the two of them were still young, and they had only a few encounters with Zenas. But in the only memory I have, I feel that the man who was tied up by the guards and pressed to the dungeon is full of righteousness.

The thought that it was nothing more than a man's disguise made the young mages shudder at the fickleness and pretentiousness of human beings.

Charlotte bit into the rabbit again, crunching and chewing on it, spitting out a muffled sound.

"Wait, Zenas, wait. I'll always correct that mistake. ”