The weather is getting colder and colder, and it seems that even the words spoken will freeze.

Shogues has rarely been out lately, and most of the time he spends most of his time at the bottom of the well, either helping out with chores or swapping fishing with Saul, or chatting with each other about endless topics.

One day in the second month of winter, Thor was huddled in a corner wrapped in bloated clothes, fishing by candlelight while reading a tactical treatise on how Assassins should face heavily armored swordsmen.

Hugues suddenly returned to the bottom of the well, his whole head coming up.

"Guess what I found?"

Thor turned his head to see Shogues' excited face, like a cat stray near a mouse hole.

"Food?"

Shoggers shook his head.

Thor no longer continues to guess, in his opinion that only food is the most important thing in the current period.

Shogues may have found some coins in a certain household, but Thor was not very interested in them, and it would be at least until winter when they regained their ability to trade.

Hughes couldn't wait to say why he was excited.

"I found the Joyce sisters. ”

Thor shrugged disapprovingly, with that look on his face.

He didn't have a deep impression of Joyce's surname Saul, only vaguely knowing that it seemed to be the town's leatherman's house. There are more or less people in Grey Curtain today, hiding in the dark, and finding two living people is nothing special.

"They're doing ...... Uh, doesn't seem to be good. Anyway, I've agreed with my sister that if you pay a few salted fish and a small amount of food, you can choose one of the sisters first, and then we will have the warmest night of the whole winter. ”

Saul turned his head again a little speechlessly, but Shogues's appearance clearly didn't look like he was joking, and in the end Saul could only decisively refuse.

"That can't and doesn't make sense. Whether the current food reserves will survive the winter is still a question, and every bit of food share must be strictly controlled. ”

Thor doesn't reject the opposite sex, and he doesn't have any moral cleanliness, but in his eyes, wanting to find a woman to spend the night in Graycurtain is a trivial matter that is not worth mentioning. At this age, there is no need to be so urgent for that kind of thing, especially in a difficult time when food is incomparably precious in front of us.

"No point?"

There was an inexplicable anger in Hughes's rhetorical tone, as if Thor had trampled on his faith.

After a few moments, he bent an arm, shook it vigorously in a fist in the air, and began to proclaim some of his thoughts to Thor.

"Listen, girls become women through us, and in turn we can become men from them. Don't you think it's a sacred rite between men and women than the bullshit coming-of-age ceremony of having the robed fools of the monastery pour a few drops of rancid water on their heads?"

Shogues's words caused Thor to sneer, and he didn't expect this guy to be able to tie the night with a bride and mitzvah.

Regardless of whether this idea is ridiculous or not, Thor knows that the reason for this must not be some bullshit sacred ritual. Maybe Schuggers just wanted to have something to do with the girls, but he was embarrassed to say it because he was embarrassed to say it.

When the children of the realm reach the age of fourteen, they receive a rite of passage in the Fenis Monastery, after which they are truly treated as adults.

As for orphans, the monastery certainly does not hold a separate ceremony for one orphan, but gathers a group of orphans of similar age at different times to be baptized together.

Although Saul also felt that the so-called coming-of-age ceremony was really not good, he had just celebrated his thirteenth birthday in the winter, and the coming-of-age ceremony was at least a year later, and it was still far away.

Watched by the flaming gaze of Shogues, Thor shook his head again.

"Anyway, I'm not going to get involved, and you don't want to think about the idea of hitting me. ”

In the face of Saul's attitude of not advancing oil and salt, Shogues rolled his eyes.

"I stole food from the guild for you, do you know what kind of risk I'm taking?

Thor replied without burden.

"But I have shared most of it with you, and if you do the math, you will see that the food you consume is almost greater than the food you create. Also, don't forget that your life is still in my hands, I don't know the recipe of the antidote, and it is likely that I suddenly forgot it because of some accident. ”

Thor casually threatened with the fishing rod, and suddenly found that there was no movement around him.

Turning around, Thor saw that behind him, Shogues was already lying on the ground, his hands and feet with his belly open to the sky, like a sunburned gecko in the sand, staring at him with a resolute expression.

"Anyway, I've made a pact with someone else, either you go with me, or you poison me now!"

“......”

——————

Somewhere in a dark room, a slender figure tossed and turned on the bed, a little sleepless.

It's not easy to fall asleep in such a cold winter.

It had been a long time since the fireplace had glowed warmly, and the damp quilts and clothes were no longer reliable, and in the darkness she could only hug her shoulders and curl up in silence to endure the cold and hunger.

Occasionally, the cold wind whistled outside the window, and more often than not, only the sound of snowflakes falling on the ground and shattering bones remained.

After some while, a dark shadow crept into the room.

After hanging up his old coat that had been brushed off the snow, the shadow sat down gently on the edge of the bed.

The cold outside was obviously very uncomfortable, and the black shadow kept breathing hot air at his closed hands, and the whole person couldn't help but tremble.

"Is there a catch? The girl on the bed stretched out her slender hand and gently stroked the long smooth hair of the black shadow.

The person who was called Sister next to the bed shook his head tiredly.

It's the depths of winter, and although the streets are relatively safe, getting around is getting harder.

In order to avoid the crazy living people in the North District, every time you travel, you have to take more detours.

The closed portals were too close to be approached, perhaps someone was hiding behind them waiting for the prey to come to the door, and those with the gates open had already been thoroughly looted by the marauders.

It is very frustrating to be cautious, vigilant, and sparing physical strength all the way, only to end up with an empty-handed result.

"Get in the blanket to warm up, and I'll leave the rest. Yesterday I found a few empty houses, but unfortunately I didn't have the strength to do a detailed search at the time, so today I'm going to go straight to it. ”

"Don't worry, sister, you know I've always had good luck. ”

My sister sat up from the bed as she spoke, giving her a cheering hug.

The elder sister also raised her hand in response, and the two embracing figures fell silent in the dark.

In fact, both sisters are well aware that luck has been away from them for a long time.

When the famine came, the parents left most of the food for the sisters, and then formed a team of adventurers with familiar hunters to leave the town and enter the dark wilderness to find a way out.

After their parents left, the sisters began to take turns going out to search for food, and they ate very sparingly, but no matter how they resisted, it finally came to the most difficult moment, and a few days ago they had eaten the last crumbs of bread.

Resting her head lightly on her sister's forehead, she sighed slightly and began to tell about the day when she had found nothing.

The only thing that was different from usual was that my sister mentioned that today she had met an orphan and had made some kind of reluctant agreement with her.

Listening to the almost irrepressible heaviness in my sister's tone, my sister's mood was surprisingly calm.

In fact, I barely survived to this day, and I was prepared to anticipate and accept all kinds of endings.

Trading your body for food isn't the worst of all the outcomes, and even in the current period, it's a blessing to have it.

This damn world has long lowered the dignity to the dust, and the sisters' persistence has finally reached the moment of shattering.

"I have asked him for a certain amount of food, and when he and his companions arrive, you will find a place to hide and let me deal with them. ”

My sister made her tone as relaxed as possible, as if what was coming was just an inconsequential matter.

"No, sister, I'll face anything with you. Since our fathers and mothers have left us with more opportunities, we must survive on our own. ”

"We're going to survive. ”

In the dark, my sister hugged my sister and said firmly in the other person's ear.