Later, Saul met Erin Joyce in front of his house, in the cemetery outside the gravekeeper's hut.

The last time, also at the door of the grave keeper's hut, through a doorframe, the last time Thor and Erin saw each other was in early summer, the day Evan surrounded the door.

And now it's autumn, and it's been a few months since that day.

In fact, after Thor went to Bamia to find out where Erin was, it was only two weeks before Erin returned to Grey Curtain Town, but she didn't come, and neither did Thor.

The reason why he didn't go to Erin was because Thor didn't know how to vent the unspeakable guilt in his heart. This is not an escape, but because no matter what is said or how much is said, there is no reversal of the life that has passed.

Then ...... Let's not talk about it.

Seeing Erin in the cemetery today, she seems to have changed a lot after returning from Dead Leaf Ridge, Thor can feel that she is losing her former innocence, of course, he can't say anything, after all, his own innocence has long since been unable to find the remains.

Obviously she has only been seen for a few months, but she feels that her hair has grown a little longer, and her once slender figure has gradually become fuller than a mature woman, showing the passage of time on her.

Thor suddenly remembered the conversation he had had with Erin, which began as a joke and extended to questions about the future and beyond that they had never seriously thought about. She wanted to live a peaceful and stable life, but he wanted to leave this place and go to the curtain.

After that, both men were careful not to bring up similar topics again.

But some problems, not to be discussed, do not mean disappear.

So for a long time, Saul has been deeply troubled by this problem.

When he returned from Lorton's wedding at the foothills of Bat Mountains, after a deep lingering from body to soul, Thor put the question back on the table with his arms around Erin.

In fact, the problem itself is not very complicated, and there are only three directions to solve it.

One is for Thor to leave Erin on his own terms and leave this place. One is to stay on her own and accompany Erin to live the life she wants. Another is that Erin walks with herself, leaving her homeland and loved ones, and embarking on an unknown journey together.

Thor was not satisfied with all three methods and could not think of a result.

So Saul put his arm around Erin and told her about the three futures. Let her make her choice, and promise that he will stand by whatever she chooses, while also forgetting any unrealistic ideas outside of Erin's choice.

Erin rubbed his chest a little lazily, then winked playfully at him.

"And what will happen to us if I go with you?"

“...... Well, maybe you will die on the road, maybe you will go through some hardships and tribulations, and of course, you may also get tired after a walk and see and arrive in a bigger town to live a better and more convenient life. Thor shrugged.

"Okay, I'll go with you, you know I can't do without you, you won't leave me halfway, right?

"Fool, how is that possible? Even if I become a corpse, my corpse will be your last line of defense. Saul said with a smile.

Erin pressed her cheek against Thor's chest.

"I just feel a little sorry for my parents, who raised me for a while, but I selfishly left them. But perhaps the most sorry thing is my sister, because because I am gone, and it feels like everything is on her shoulders. ”

"Perhaps, we can find time to come back and visit them, or wait until we have a better life to pick them up. Saul tried to suggest.

After all, things are difficult to complete, and Saul knows very well that this kind of parting of family affection is far from being soothed by leaving a little money or some meaningless comfort. So in the dark, Thor could only be silent in the end.

The whole thing wasn't perfect, but it still had a result.

The problem was solved, and for a long time after that, Thor was excited. He actively cleaned up his life covered in cobwebs, desperately thinking about how to protect her on the way, so that she could embark on an easy journey instead of taking risks.

He had thought that every day would be sunny from now on.

And then...... Hehe.

Today, Saul sees not only Erin in the cemetery, but also her father and mother.

Like most ordinary families who mourn the deceased, their family is uniformly dressed in deep black clothing, and in this deserted cemetery, in front of Cowell's tombstone, each bowing his head to express his own sorrows.

This is the first time Thor has met Erin's father, a middle-aged man with a strict appearance but who doesn't know if it's old-fashioned. He wasn't old, and he didn't see any obvious sadness, but the corners of his mouth were pursed and his face showed hard lines.

Shogues and Thor stood quietly to one side, like two silent attendants, not too close and not far away.

Thor is a little better, at least he has the title of 'grave keeper' on his head, and his presence here at this moment can be said to be his own job. But Shoggers ...... What kind of mood is he standing here?

Saul felt sad in his heart, not from the relationship between him and Erin itself, but from Shogues. He suddenly remembered that when he went to Bamiya's house to inquire about the news, Bamia had mentioned that Covier had a marriage contract.

So did Hughes know about it, or did he still stubbornly love her even if he did, and what would have happened to their future if Corvier hadn't died?

Everything was buried in this thick period with the departure of Cowell.

And the future that Shoguers has not yet had time to weave will no longer be possible.

There were five people in the cemetery during the whole quiet memorial, but there was no communication between them. Even Thor and Erin, from beginning to end, never even made eye contact.

He and she seemed to be back in strangeness, just as she looked at him indifferently and distantly when they first met, reminiscent of the glacial waters of winter.

Until Erin left with her family, Thor and Shogues remained there for a long time.

"I explained to Erin for you, she's a good girl. In the quiet darkness, Hughes said.

Interpretation...... Maybe it's useless.

"Thank you. In the end, all Saul could say was just those two words.

After returning to the hut alone, Thor suddenly felt a little confused, unable to concentrate on anything, and did not want to do anything. Throwing myself face down into the bed, maybe I should sleep for a while, Saul thought.

It turned out that wanting to fall asleep in the mood was undoubtedly a luxury, tossing and turning and finally unable to sleep, and finally Thor could only sit on the floor in frustration, with his head half leaning against the wall, one leg stretched out, the other bent, and his arms on his knees.

Yes, that's the right posture for grief.

I don't know how long it took.

"Tom...... Tom"

There was a knock on the door, but it was still ringing persistently after getting no answer.

Eventually, Thor stood up and walked over to open the door.

"Why don't you light the lamp?" asked Erin as she walked over to the table and lit the oil lamp, driving away the darkness in the room.

"Oh, I'm sitting in the dark thinking about something. Saul replied.

Then the two of them sat down at the table, just like before, but they both understood that they were no longer the same.

After a long silence, Erin stood up, as if she were leaving, as if her whole presence was only for the sake of leaving at this moment.

However, Erin took two steps to the door before turning back to look back at Thor.

"I'm engaged, with someone else. Erin said.

"What kind of person is it?" Thor said in a calm voice, staring at the flickering flames of the oil lamp.

"The family is not big, and our family is also a family friend, he is the second son in the family, most of the property has nothing to do with him, and he may take over some small businesses of the family in the future. ”

"My sister and I have met him together a few times, and we are familiar with him, and now that he has been separated and lives in Dry Leaf Ridge with a few servants, we plan to ....... At the word "we", Erin suddenly paused.

"What about people?" Thor asked again, turning his head to Erin.

"Very gentlemanly, very cultivated and graceful, more than enough for me. ”

Erin's eyes lit up as she stared at Thor, and there seemed to be some kind of provocation in her words.

But in the end, Thor only smiled slightly.

"It's so good, I wish you happiness. ”

Wishing you happiness!

These faintly whispered words were like the beginning of some magic spell, which ignited the fierce oil in an instant, and in the blink of an eye, the flames were raging.

Erin's eyes turned red in an instant, and she cried fiercely, her voice was sharp, and her speech was fast.

"You know? I used to have a very heavy smile, but now I hate your goddamn expression. ”

"Whether I am walking or falling asleep along the way, I have been thinking about you, thinking about you!!"

"I even had a dream on my journey that on a rainy night I was alone dragging your cold corpse and stumbling through the mud of the wilderness, pitch black, desperate, and full of arrows. ”

"People like you...... Except for a little crappy cooking, he doesn't know how to take care of himself at all. ”

"You said you were going to accompany me to the end of the world, you said it, you said it! You liar...... Badass, woo~!"

"I can't be with you anymore, my father and mother are the only daughter of mine. I can't accompany you on a journey, I can't accompany you to a distant place, I can't accompany you to see the future of the future. ”

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving you!"

"Would you be better off without me in your world?"

Erin stood there, half-bent, her hands clenched into fists, her elbows pressed against her waist, and she shouted these words with all her strength in a hoarse, high-pitched voice, and then snatched the door.

Will you be better off?

Is it better?

Thor sat there, feeling like he had experienced the roar of a dragon, and it was like a raging tide coming in his face, blowing his hair and clothes so that he could not even open his eyes, and blew the whole hut to the ground.

Of course, these were just Sol's hallucinations at that moment.

The whole summer had long since died with Covier.

And now, Autumn is also dead.