The rain fell heavily all night and did not stop until the next morning. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

As the heavy cumulonimbus clouds gradually dispersed, the sun began to shine through the clouds and shine on the woodland.

"It's clear. ”

Hope lifted the tent and nodded in satisfaction. But when he thought about the road after the rain, he frowned again.

"......Uhh

But Little Red Riding Hood didn't think that much. She squeezed her head out of the hunter's side and squinted her eyes for a deep breath. With the refreshing and slightly bitter smell of the forest after the rain, her nose soon filled her nose, and her face soon filled with a simple smile.

“…… Great!"

"Yes. ”

"Eh, it's sunny, isn't the teacher happy?"

"Maybe it would't have been raining since the beginning. ”

"That's a lot of demand. ”

Hope tightened his shoelaces and began to pack up the tent. At the same time, Little Red Riding Hood lit up a fire and began to grill the chicken left over from last night.

She uses a knife to cut open the bread and sandwich the grouse roast inside. So, just as Hope had packed up his tent and tied them to his horse, two large pieces of barbecue sandwiches were ready and handed to him by Little Red Riding Hood.

"Give. ”

"Oh, thanks. ”

Hope opened his mouth and bit down on the bread, and he said in a muffled voice as he checked the buckle on his luggage.

"If nothing else, we'll be in White Rock City by noon. ”

"Is the teacher going there to run errands?"

"One thing, it's mostly about going to see a friend. ”

"Huh~Friend?"

Little Red Riding Hood's tone was full of distrust.

But it was also a matter of course, because in Hopeless's life so far, there were very few people who could be called friends.

"Of course. Even if it's me, there are still one or two things like friends. ”

Hope smiled and turned around and patted Little Red Riding Hood on the head.

"But Master, you never told me?"

"Really?"

"Of course. ”

"That's because you didn't ask. ”

The hunter patted Little Red Riding Hood on the head and smiled.

"Let's go. ”

"Okay, okay. ”

The two men mounted their horses and continued north. Walk through muddy forest paths and walk through the rest of the journey. They soon left the small forest and came to the plains to the north.

The castle known as 'White Rock' stood here, and under the rule of the king, it protected the nearby farmstead.

Yes.

Although it is only a small country, White Rock is indeed a capital city. Within its modest walls there was a real royal palace, and although it was a little shabby, there lived a real king.

- even if he's just an idiot.

"Ambitious and talented, resourceful and undecisive. ”

"Huh?"

The reason for this is simple.

For the king who rules this city, this plain, and even this country is a disappointment.

Snorr III, he did not have the ambition of His Majesty I or the fortitude of His Majesty II. Although he has always been committed to the restoration of the kingdom, his forward-looking personality has made him inactive.

He wanted reform, but he was always hesitant. As a result, he was hated not only by the aristocracy, but also by the people.

Everyone thinks he is a liar full of nonsense, and the prestige of the royal family of Snorr is no longer in his hands. Even the most loyal royal nobles were no longer willing to follow him, and they turned their allegiance to his daughter—following the orders of the 'Snow White'.

And so things got worse.

After the ruling class was completely divided into the 'princess faction' and the 'aristocratic faction', Snow White's living environment began to become sinister.

First, they forced the king to accept a political marriage with the weak fellow. Then he tried to get Snow White to marry away from home - but unfortunately the latter thing did not go well: as the only son of the king, even if the king did nothing, she still managed to stay in the country by herself.

In place of the king, she became the representative of 'reform' in the country, a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh of the nobility.

Seriously, Hope doesn't think there's anything more ironic than that.

But what does it matter to him?

Hope had decided a long time ago that he would neither be a hero nor a sage. He just wants to go home, and he never wants to see any trouble on the road to this result.

"Go find my friend first, and then go. ”

"Continue north?"

"Yes. ”

Hope said as he walked down the street with Little Red Riding Hood. Because White Rock City was not very large, they soon arrived at the destination of their trip, what Hope called a 'friend's house'.

It was a strange little shop from any point in your view: it was in a dead end in the middle of nowhere, and there was no one in the neighborhood. Although topographically speaking, it is a noisy area dozens of meters away, but it is so close, but there is an eerie silence in the air here.

“……”

It's hard to describe what it felt like, and it's hard to describe what the shop looks like.

It looked dirty and broken, and the windows were dusty. The only signboard was not hung with iron bars, but nailed to the equally dilapidated wooden door.

"Uh...... Looks so broken?"

In the end, Little Red Riding Hood can only be summed up by the word broken - although the small village she lived in before was quite unbearable compared to White Rock City, it had a crushing advantage compared to the place in front of her.

"Absolutely. ”

Hope nodded approvingly, then began knocking on the door.

"Dorothy, are you home?"

"In yo~"

The door was opened by a little girl in a blue dress, who looked to be only about ten years old, with long blonde hair hanging down to her waist and a ponytail tied with a white ribbon.

Her face was full of smiles, and although her white skin was a little dusty, she looked very cute.

"It's Hope~"

When she saw the hunter, she said hello energetically. The small palm waved a few times in the air, full of childishness.

"Teacher, this is your friend?"

Little Red Riding Hood turned to look at the hunter with a "you criminal" expression on her face.

"Well, that's it. ”

The hunter shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably, deliberately ignoring Little Red Riding Hood's gaze. On the other hand, Dorothy didn't care about the interaction here. She just smiled and shook her hand, then continued to ask.

"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?

"Well, excuse me. ”

The hunter nodded, and followed Dorothy into the house. However, unlike what he expected, there were other people in the house.

It was a gorgeously dressed girl who looked very identical. She was probably older than Little Red Riding Cycle, about sixteen or seventeen.

She frowned slightly as she watched the hunter enter the house, but then stood up again with her usual face and asked Dorothy.

"Who is this?"

"My friend~ It's good to call Hope - and Hope, this is Snow White. ”

“……”

Hope reached out and pressed his eyebrows, feeling his head ache suddenly.