Despite his best efforts to retain him, and to bring down half of his retinue with barrels of mead, the mission departed early the next morning.

Before entering the forest, Lorente ordered all the horses to be left behind, and everyone to carry their bags on foot - a difficult task for the Byrnes of the Knights' Land to get them to abandon their mounts, but it was a must.

Without him, the cavalry was an absolute target in the rugged and narrow paths and dark and terrifying jungles of the Ancient Wood Forest, and the march on foot was a kind of "overture" for the elves, proving that they were not hostile.

It may not have mattered before, but if it was really like what Lu Wen said, even the elves of the Morning Star Forest began to seal off their settlements, then it would be necessary.

“...... Therefore, when the elves in the entire Ancient Wood Forest have begun to be hostile to humans for certain things, try to avoid any actions that will anger them, and at the same time win their favor, which is the first priority of our trip. ”

The black-haired wizard raised his head as he spoke, and looked at the long line of missions behind him, the heavily armed Byrne knights were carrying their bags and looking at the left and right sides vigilantly, relaxed and happy, as if they were on an outing:

"Of course, if you still can't avoid offending something in the end, then we have to let our great Lord Ain Rand come forward to resolve the misunderstanding between the Empire and the Elves of the Ancient Wood Forest;

"Laughing at me there again. The slightly drunken little wizard deliberately turned his head away and ignored him: "Really, save the empire... How can it be so exaggerated. ”

"It's not an exaggeration, it's a fact. Loren sighed and said seriously: "If something really happens, then all of us can only rely on you - even if they forget anything else, they won't forget what they promised." ”

All the spirits of the Ancient Wood Forest who fought in the Great Tree Wall are obliged to die for Ain Rand once... These are the exact words of a certain female elf.

He fought side by side with the War Dancers to win the Ogre invasion, but what really impressed them and made them unforgettable was a small wizard who was always busy in the back line, saving thousands of War Dancers.

Not only that, but in the early days of the alliance between the Duchy of Lothair and the Ancient Wood Forest, Ain has always been in charge of mediation and negotiation between the two sides, and the elves are definitely far more familiar with her than their comrade-in-arms who "comes and goes like the wind".

Of course, although the relationship was close, Loren's original first choice was probably the little priest Webber - compared to this "professional", the little wizard was certainly inferior to him in terms of eloquence and persuading others to believe in himself.

The priest who can make the elves believe in the Holy Cross wants to make the other party let down their guard and believe in themselves... It's simply not too easy.

The black-haired wizard shook his head, his mind flashing back to the big, eternally sincere, clear, talkative eyes of a young priest.

It's a pity... In the face of the continuous suppression and various demands of the Holy Cross Church, he must install a bishop who is bold enough in the Byrne Church, and at the same time, he must rely on Weber's various church reforms to "bear the blame" for himself and the United Chamber of Commerce's previous embezzlement of church property.

"That, uh... Since you have talked about the importance of your visit, Ain, there is one more thing......"

The black-haired wizard who wanted to stop talking wanted to ask, but he looked embarrassed and a little embarrassed.

"Huh?" the little wizard who turned his head tilted his head to look at him, blinking ignorantly.

"Something?"

"No, it's okay!" Loren immediately vetoed, smiling and scratching the back of his head: "I just wanted to ask, before leaving, Charlotte... What did you two say?"

"Charlotte, Loren, ...... you"

The little wizard frowned slightly at first, and then his eyes widened: "Ah... I see!"

"You just want to know this all the way around?!"

Well?

The black-haired wizard was stunned, and just wanted to defend something, but when he saw Ain's expression of sudden realization, he decided to give up again.

"It's not that exaggerated, it's... Curious. ”

A little stiffly squeezed out a smile, Loren waved his hand: "So... What did you talk about?"

"Loren Turin......" The little wizard crossed his shoulders and glanced at him with a soft snort: "What else could there be?' 'Follow this guy and not let go for a minute', 'Always be vigilant and don't let him take risks on his own initiative', 'Be sure to stay safe'... These words of concern. ”

“...... Really?"

"Of course it's fake!" Al Yin turned his head, "Who doesn't know how much you bastard like to let others worry about you!" Charles and I just talked about the elves, and apologized for the previous actions by the way, who will talk about you all the time!"

"Oh, that's ......" The black-haired wizard chuckled twice, then suddenly reacted, his expression frozen:

"Wait... Shire?!"

What's going on?

"Well, don't you know?" the little wizard blinked and looked at him suspiciously, "Charlotte is her official Christian name, and everyone in the family called her Charles when she was a child. ”

Childhood... Family ......

Loren's expression was even more confused.

When the hell did the two of them......

"When a certain Duke often leaves the castle and runs around......" Ain, who noticed the expression of the black-haired wizard, hooked a sly smile on the corner of his mouth, and deliberately showed a smug look:

"Well, they're pretty much good friends who talk about everything. ”

"......" Loren Turin.

"When she was a child, she adored Charlotte I, the 10th generation of the 'Dragon Queen', and it is for this reason that she took this name, dreaming of becoming a monarch, a poet, an artist, and a collector like her. ”

Ain's voice was very soft, and her smiling expression seemed to be standing in front of her at this moment: "She also dreamed of becoming the first female knight king in history!"

The black-haired wizard nodded silently, he absolutely believed in this, and he had no doubt that she would succeed.

"She's a bit stubborn, but she's not completely unreasonable, and sometimes she gets prejudiced against things and people, but it's inevitable - everyone, everything, has their own cognitive limitations. ”

Pursing the corners of his lips, the little wizard with his hands behind his back looked at him with pity, as if he was looking at a certain delicate ceramic with pity: "She is very strong in arming herself, and she is indeed very strong, but ......"

"It's just a girl who has experienced too much and carried too much. ”

Loren looked at the little wizard a little stunned:

"Ain, you... What exactly do you want to say?"

"Nothing, I'm just saying Charlotte is a good girl. The little wizard whispered, "What you usually see is what she has to disguise desperately. ”

Twitching the corners of his mouth, Loren chose to remain silent - at this time, he really didn't know what to say.

The quieted two walked silently, and even insects and birds could be heard in the lonely dense forest, and behind them was the heavy sound of the team's walking.

"Loren. ”

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the little wizard said abruptly.

"How?"

"Why... Is it me?"

"Huh? I've explained this. The black-haired wizard smiled and replied, "That's because Ain is a ...... among the elves."

"Nonsense. ”

Well?

The interrupted Loren raised an eyebrow.

"If some big bad guy can convince a group of elves who don't even know him to fight a fight they've never heard of. Ain said lightly:

"What's so hard about just making the other person believe in themselves again?"

Loren was stunned, and then stiffly squeezed out a smile: "Well... If you can have less trouble, you can have less trouble, not to mention that I can't always go so smoothly, there are always times when I fail......"

"Isaac, Charles, Mentor Dalton, and even... Charlotte. The little wizard with lowered eyebrows and lowered eyes murmured softly, "If any of them were any of them, it would be more useful than me standing here, right?"

The trail stretches through the woods, and the group walks as if it will never end.

"Maybe. ”

The black-haired wizard said calmly, "Maybe that's really the case. ”

Ain's expression darkened.

"But I can't imagine what it would be like for Isaac to put down his shelves, mingle with the elven apothecaries, and even talk and laugh. Loren changed his words:

"I can't imagine Charles, the always personable guy, in the woods, covered in mud, hurrying forward with his luggage on his back, and bandaging the wounds of the wounded;"

"As for Mentor Dalton... Well, he's very powerful, but there's no place for him to lurk in the Oldwood Forest, because the War Dancers are more familiar with it, and he's good at perceiving human nature, but he's not good at taking advantage of it, otherwise he wouldn't be used by Rut Infinit. ”

"And Charlotte Turin—I don't doubt how good our good Countess of the Crimson Castle is at mediating and juggling, but let a man who is too proud to do anything to deal with another group of elves who are so proud that they are elusive... Well, I'm afraid that tomorrow the Empire will have to declare war on the Grove of Ancient Trees. ”

"Poof——!

Before Loren could finish speaking, the little wizard couldn't help but laugh.

"No one is worthless—you can impress thousands of elves with the most mundane things, and make them want to die for you once, I can't do it, no one else can do it. Loren stared into her eyes and said softly:

"Bridging barriers, trusting each other, letting go of scruples and disputes... This is the greatest miracle!"

The black-haired wizard said this sincerely.

The little wizard pursed his lips the whole time and said nothing.

At this moment, Lusen, who was walking at the front of the team, suddenly stopped and raised his right hand to stop the Byrne knight behind him.

The movement ahead brought all the missions along the path to a halt.

"Hey?" the little wizard was stunned for a moment: "It shouldn't have reached the range of the Morning Star Forest yet, how can you ......?"

The next second, she was interrupted.

"Directly ahead, on the left and right flanks, someone is approaching - enemy attack!"

The gray-eyed young man who roared angrily unsheathed his double swords and stopped at the front of the line: "Byrin, take the battle-prepare to meet the enemy!"

At the same time as the roar sounded, the Byrne knights in the queue had already thrown down their backpacks and turned their backs to each other, scattering while still forming a circle in tacit and unity, surrounding the black-haired wizard in the center.

Under the edge of the cold helmet, a pair of sharp eyes passed through the two-handed swords raised horizontally, staring at every move in the surrounding dense forest.

Around the towering ancient trees that coiled Wolong, there was no movement or sound to be heard except for the grass caressing in the breeze.

The black-haired wizard with an expressionless face silently blocked the small wizard behind him, his eyes raised slightly, and swept towards a branch not far away.

On the empty branch, a leaf fell.

"Someone, ——! on it"

I don't know who shouted the first sentence, and all the Byrne knights drew their crossbows at the same time, aiming their cold arrows at the treetops around them.

In the next second, in the dense forest around the empty air, there were a few more faintly visible figures on almost every tree.

The sharp gaze has surrounded the entire mission from all directions.

It's like looking at the prey that is about to arrive.

The eyes of the Byrne knights widened, and the first sight of the elves really made them stunned, and many of them even showed expressions of confusion.

Loren, who had slightly curled the corners of his mouth, withdrew his gaze, gently patted Lu Sien's shoulder, and turned his gaze straight ahead under the nervous gaze of the gray-eyed boy.

A tall, thin figure was approaching them from the front.

A slender and slender figure, melon-seed-like pointed ears, a red spear in his hand, a willow leaf-shaped spear tip, and a animal skin wrap on his back, tied with a few shorter throwing spears.

The fiery red ponytail is as bright and dazzling as a fluttering swallowtail flag.

"This is the Ancient Wood Forest, the land that belongs to our Morning Star Forest settlement. ”

"Didn't the lord of the Deep Woodhold tell you that the forest has been sealed off? No human is allowed to enter until we officially announce the lifting of the blockade. ”

"If you dare to take half a step forward, the spear of the War Dancer will pierce your heart!"

The cold voice was sharper than the tip of the spear in her hand, and the emerald green eyes shrank visibly when they noticed the black-haired wizard.

"Yes, Rubén Fried told us, but we're going to come and see for ourselves and see for ourselves. ”

Speaking calmly, the black-haired wizard walked forward slowly, and looked at the emerald's eyes: "Look at the elves of the Morning Star Forest, do you remember their friends." ”

The thin figure trembled slightly, as if his breathing had stopped.

As if he couldn't believe that the person in front of him was exactly the same as the one in his memory, he even subconsciously took half a step back.

"It's been a long time, but it's become pretty. ”

"Leah. ”