The first day of the Morning Star Moon is New Year's Day, and it is customary for all taverns to serve ale free of charge on this day.

And Mossar, of course, is no exception.

This day is a day of celebration, and even the notorious homeless will not be turned away by the owner of the tavern. Of course, the premise is that they have eyes. If you have to make trouble on such a big day, you can't complain about being thrown into the swamp to feed the insects.

But this kind of thing is still rare. Well...... Relatively rare.

And now there seems to be a slight sign of something wrong in this ordinary tavern.

"Hey, old man. Have a drink. A stout, dirty-clad man smuggled to the front of the bar, his thick knuckles tapping impatiently on the lacquered oak board.

"Don't let me be impatient, uncle!"

The balding bartender looked at him, muttered a low 'rude fellow,' and turned away. Soon, a large glass of frothy ale was placed on a thick oak plank.

"Drink it, get out. The bartender said with a straight face. The guy in front of him is a well-known bastard, and once he gets wet, he may be pestered for a long time. But that didn't mean he was scared - the bartender was confident in the guards he hired for a long time.

Dare to make trouble on the New Year's Day, even the lord doesn't want to keep this bastard!

But the stout man only chuckled twice, and then pointed to the corner of the tavern. The thief whispered, "What about the...... Who is Miss? She looks lonely. ”

The bartender looked in the direction of his finger. Immediately, the object described by the bastard was found in the corner.

It was a heroic young woman. Blonde hair, gray eyes, typical Nord blood. She had a melancholy expression on her face, her eyebrows that should have been straight were lowered, and there was a half-drunk bottle of Nord honey on the table, and two toasts.

That's not a guy anyone can afford to mess with!

"She, you'd better not hit her mind. The bartender replied in a pretentious tone. "She can hit you five with one. ”

He took his tone very subtly, just like Cheng Dù who could provoke the other party without arousing his vigilance.

"Hehe, then I'd like to see it. Sure enough, the strong man's competitive spirit was easily stimulated by the bartender. He drank the ale from his glass, then stood up and staggered in the direction of the woman.

A minute later, amid cheers and whistles that resounded through the tavern, the poor fellow was beaten from beginning to end and thrown outside the tavern.

It's a happy scene.

The bartender smiled and ordered the waiter to bring the lady a complimentary bottle of wine—he wasn't the kind of guy who didn't know where to go.

………………………………

Lydia sighed softly.

Sure enough, was it the wrong choice to come out for a drink on New Year's Day? This is the third person she's cleaned up today.

One finds fault, and two picks up. Don't these guys know how to read the atmosphere? It's a mistake to come out in civilian clothes. If you wear a half-body armor and hold a long sword and a thick shield as usual, you must have weighed it first for those who came to find trouble.

Really.

I don't give any room for Ansheng.

The girl shook her head, soaked the bread in the wine, and then bit slowly.

There were a lot of people in the tavern, and it was very lively, and a little episode just now didn't make much of a difference. After only a few minutes, the poor fellow was completely left behind by the drunkards. Instead, it's something that should really be present inside the tavern.

Fighting, punching, wrestling, fighting, chatting, and so on. The noise soon enveloped the tavern completely, and in the noisy environment, Lydia found a brief peace.

Unfortunately, this tranquility is not destined to last. Just as she was halfway through the wine-dipped bread, a conversation at a nearby table caught her attention.

“…… Loristed's side is miserable. Yesterday someone came from there again, and he was the only one left in the family who died. ”

"Alas, the way of the world. What's the solution?"

"It is said that a wizard did ......"

Lydia pursed her lips. Turned his head.

If there is nothing in the tavern, there is no shortage of news and wine. Of course, just as the wine here is usually 90% water to 10% wine or 10% wine to 90% water. The news here is also nine false and one true.

They don't know anything.

Lydia closed her eyes, and the qiē that had happened that day in Loristed seemed to come back to her.

Destruction, destruction, killing, erosion.

Alice, no, the monster named Alice killed almost everyone. Whether old or young, good or evil, the only end under the overwhelming silver-gray metal cloud is to be completely devoured and turned into a part of it.

That was never her intention. And at that time, it was not Alice, who was known to Lydia, who dominated her body.

However, the self that was supposed to be the sword and shield of the lord and swore eternal allegiance to her chose to betray at that time.

[That should be when she needs me the most.] But I left her at that time. 】

Lydia sighed. She stood up, settled the bill, and left the tavern.

[He has broken his oath, he has broken his promise, he has broken his lord. What am I living for?]

On the street, the flow of people is weaving. There was a happy smile on everyone's face.

It's New Year's Day.

On the New Year's Day, you should be happy, shouldn't you?

However, in Lydia's eyes and ears, there was only silence and gloom.

A voice suddenly sounded from the girl's ears.

"Yo! Lydia, this way, this way!"

[At this time...... This location...... This way of speaking ......]

Lydia looked up, and a petite figure wrapped in a robe was waving desperately at her not far away.

"Martha. ”

She covered her face, as if she had seen something she shouldn't have seen. However, pretending to be an ostrich proved to have no effect on evasion—the man seemed to have crossed a distance of tens of feet to her in one step, took her hand and ran out.

She felt her head start to hurt.

"You guy...... Didn't you say you're going to find your magic book?" asked Lydia in a low voice, frowning.

However, the girl just waved her hand and spoke. "It's the New Life Festival, who is impatient to look for trouble at this time?"

Lydia was speechless.

The teenage girl named Martha is a companion she makes in Loristed. Also one of the survivors, she claims to be a high-ranking wizard at Winterhold Academy, and is tracking down a wizard named Draphay in an attempt to seize the Academy's magic book from her hands.

The reason why Lydia came to Mosal was also because she was pulling her.

If that's all there is to it, that's it. Lydia had even followed the Dragonborn, and a mere high-ranking wizard wasn't enough for her to react like that.

She has a headache because this guy is completely in a lot of trouble at all times!

"Anyway...... Why are we running away?"

"Oh, because I had a firework there. ”

"Fireworks!?"

"Uh-huh, the big one!"

Lydia's eyes widened. She clearly felt that there was something like a pinprick behind her.

Subsequently—

'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Boom'

The overwhelming tide of light swept in, drowning everything in sight.

This is the end of Lydia's story - just kidding.

It's just an oversized magic spell. Not...... To be precise, it should be an oversized magic spell with a sound and a reduced duration - it can't even kill a mosquito. Of course, scared to death doesn't count.

A quarter of an hour later, the tumultuous bazaar was calm.

"I'm talking about you...... Can't you do something reliable?" said Lydia, limply. I don't know how far Matha pulled her, but now where they are is surrounded by grass and no one is there.

"Uh-huh, I see. The girl with beautiful golden eyes nodded repeatedly. Of course, she couldn't hear a word. It's conventional, because it's happened more than once.

Lydia sighed heavily.

Well, it didn't make any trouble anyway. And it's better for others to be unlucky than for herself, and the other day she had foolishly volunteered to be a test subject for Martha's new spell.

It's hard to look back on.

She leaned back and sat down on the soft grass.

There has been no snow recently. And early spring in Mossar was not cold.

"Na~ Martha. The gray-eyed girl said lightly, "You say, what should I do?"

It is said that Alice, a dragonborn, appeared under the snowy city in the middle of the night moon and completely routed the army of the Stormcloak. So, going to her?

Are you kidding!

Where does she still have the face to meet her!?

But if you don't go back...... Where can she go?

"Hmm......" Martha sat down beside her, clasping her knees. The young witch thought for a moment and said, "How about going on a treasure hunt?"

"Treasure hunting?"

"The Armor of Alozemo has been reported in Mosal lately. Don't you think you should change into a better armor?" Martha said, pointing her fingers. "That's a time-honored artifact. ”

"Haven't heard of it. Lydia shook her head.

Hearing such an answer, Martha was not angry. She organized the language and whispered.

"The armor of Anrozemo first appeared during the Gate of Annihilation. It was a legendary era, and countless heroes came out of the hermitage to fight against the demon army that had invaded the mortal world through the Gate of Annihilation. ”

"Yet the glory of all of them together is not equal to the brilliance of one man. COC, Champion of Sirodil - the name of that person is still unknown. He almost single-handedly defeated the entire demon army. Had it not been for the Demon God Menerus Dagon himself, the Septine Dynasty would not have ended. ”

"Oh!" Lydia was intrigued by the legend, and she asked repeatedly. "So what kind of armor is his armor?"

"Not really. Martha shook her head. "The Armor of Anrozemo is not the equipment of the champion of Sirodiel. It has another identity, and that is the first trophy that His Highness obtained in the battle against the demons. ”

"Huh?" Lydia blinked.

"Some scholars believe that the champion of Sirodil is male. And that armor could only be worn by women. So it won't be the gear he wore. Although I am personally skeptical about this...... But that's not the point. Martha said in a low voice, the knowledge taught in the illusion class in the academy was subconsciously applied by her. Not noticing, Lydia beside her had shifted her attention from her words to herself.

[This guy ...... Actually, it's pretty good, isn't it?]

Lydia's gaze swept over the witch's face, and in her eyes at this moment, the witch in front of her undoubtedly had a different kind of charm.

"The point is that the armor gives the woman who wears it extremely powerful. It is said that the second holder, Ann Rozemo, fought sleeplessly for three days and three nights after putting it on, until he died of exhaustion when he lost the last drop of blood in his body. And that armor was lost, and it was missing. ”

[Why are her skin so fair, why are her lips so bright, and her eyes are so bright, they are as bright as stars...... Woo ......]

"But just a few days ago, there was news of this legendary artifact in Mosar. I got this news from a reliable source, and it's very likely to be true. ”

She paused, but didn't wait for the expected question.

"What? aren't you interested?" Martha asked, turning her head and quizzing.

Her movements woke up Lydia, who had been staring straight at her. The gray-eyed girl then slammed into a spirit.

"Not interested...... As soon as you hear the name, it doesn't feel like a good thing. She quickly turned her head and said in disguise.

"And you're still letting me talk for so long!?"

"Because your voice is so good. ”

"Gah-"

“…………”

“…………”

There was silence.

The black crow quacked, flapping its wings and flying unhurriedly over the heads of the embarrassed two.

Lydia only felt her throat dry, and her heart was beating a little abnormally.

She didn't know what to say.

Long.

When the crows were gone away and the light of the setting sun was gradually shedding, Martha broke the bad atmosphere.

"Now, Lydia. Martha's voice was fluttering, as if it had come from far away. "If, I mean if. If you're free in the future, how about traveling with me?" she seemed to think that this sentence was a bit explicit, so she quickly added a snake: "Wizards are very fragile, if you don't come to help me, I may die alone." ”

Lydia opened her mouth.

She felt like her brain was in disarray. Two diametrically opposed thoughts are entangled with each other, as if they were armies fighting each other. She didn't know what she was thinking. However, when she reacted. The word 'good' has already blurted out.

Now it's a big problem.

However, Martha didn't give her a chance to repent. She left only one sentence: "Then it's decided." He fled and disappeared without a trace. Lydia was left standing in place, stunned.

"Hey......" she grinned, not how good it was.

The girl sighed. Her weight was put back and she fell to the grass.

Really.

In this case, how should she face Alice?

At sunset, the sky is dyed a charming crimson. Flocks of birds hula and fly by.

In the distance, there was a commotion as the people of Mosar were celebrating the New Year's Day. They were noisy and chasing, like the snow that had melted a week ago, turning into a trickling stream of water, moistening the earth that was gradually awakening.

It's New Year's Day. New Year's Day should be happy, shouldn't it?

Lydia opened her eyes. In her gray eyes, a colorful world gradually emerged.