Early in the morning, the barracks.

From the moment he woke up from his dream, Loren was ready to go... Because there's nothing to prepare.

Magic wand... Now he doesn't need it anymore, and if it weren't for habit and Mentor Dalton, even the left-handed "spellcaster" Loren might not have worn it.

Medicament... From the moment the second valve is opened, no potion will have any effect on itself;

Bright silver and Hidden Blade... It's the same habit, and it always feels weird not to have a few weapons on you;

Dawn... The ancestral sword of the Turin family, one of Loren's most handy weapons, hesitated for a long time before deciding to leave it behind.

As for the rest... Slim navy blue and silver-edged robe, silver-white ribbon collar, dark black and gold buckle riding boots... The gown, which had made a great impression on Loren, appeared at his bedside in the early morning, and all other clothes were gone.

Without even thinking about it, he could guess who did it.

After dressing, Loren walked out of the tent, and the familiar figure immediately came into view.

As his gaze stopped at someone, Loren involuntarily raised an eyebrow.

"What's the matter, are you so surprised to see me?"

Holding his shoulders, Isaac took it for granted: "Black Cross Serol, the war between the Void and the Material World, the truth about the destruction of the Dragon Kingdom... This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and there will be no such thing as this shop after this village! Do you expect me to stay out of the situation and watch my junior go alone?"

"Nope. Loren, whose eyes widened and his expression was stunned, was more natural than him: "I thought you would be caught by Lena de Salion before you left, and under her surveillance, I watched me go." ”

While saying this, Loren had to desperately suppress the corners of his mouth that wanted to rise like crazy.

"Very well, I can hear the sarcasm about 'fear of women', but dear Loren, I have some confidence in your senior. Isaac held his head proudly: "She's my girl, how could I possibly let myself obey her orders?"

"Of course, this kind of thing is not within the scope of the order, so I made a lot of promises before leaving, we will discuss first, this adventure must not last more than half a year, otherwise... Belch... Let's assume that all those bad things don't happen, okay?"

Looking at Isaac who was scratching his head frantically, the corners of the black-haired wizard's mouth that could no longer be controlled curled slightly.

"I... I'm not like Isaac and know what exactly you're going to do, I don't understand that. ”

A childish voice sounded, and Lusen, who was carrying two swords, stood in front of Loren, his eyes burning, as always: "I only know one thing, that is, no matter what you do, you need a sword." ”

"Lord Loren, I am your sword. ”

After a pause of two seconds, the black-haired wizard spoke: "If memory serves, Lusen, you are already the heir to the Duchy of Ellemont and the Wirtz family. ”

"Yuli Wirtz, my brother... He will have a better heir, not to mention ......" A hint of banter flashed on the face of the gray-eyed boy:

"Let's assume that all the bad things don't happen, okay?"

Loren smiled dumbly, and Isaac next to him spread his hands helplessly, with an expression of "my terrier was robbed".

The smiling gray-eyed boy took half a step back, his pitch-black pupils moving towards the last figure, and waiting there was a pair of sapphires that were as clear and transparent as a lake.

The two stared at each other without saying a word, because they didn't have to say anything.

No more cheating, no more abandonment, no matter what you're facing... All fighting side by side.

You promised me.

I will keep my promises.

Slowly retracting his gaze, Loren looked at his best friends with completely different expressions, but they were exactly the same, and shrugged: "Let's go." ”

"Let's go. ”

..............................

"I didn't mean anything else, just talk to him. ”

Brandon, dressed in black and wearing an iron crown, stood in the middle of the road, casually repelled the knights and guards who wanted to step forward, and looked at Loren:

"Everyone, including the dukes, counts, nobles, lords, have no intention of offending and disappearing. ”

Everyone with different expressions looked at each other, looked at Brandon's motionless and indifferent expression, and left one after another.

"To be honest, I'm still not reassured, you ......"

Loren raised his hand and interrupted.

"We've already said it, haven't we, Your Majesty?"

Brandon snorted.

"That's it... How can you be so sure that I will keep my promise, don't forget who I am, I am Brandon de Salion, the unlucky bastard of the dignified 'disgraced prince' who was pitted by me, more monsters than you have killed!"

"Uh... Have you forgotten that I fought in the Battle of Bloodbones Valley?" Loren kindly reminded, "There are no less than 300,000 monsters there. ”

"That's... That's more elves than you've ever seen!"

"The battle for Ebolden?"

"The elves of the ancient wood forest, I'm not talking about the scum of the Azores, it's the elves of the ancient wood forest!"

"Hmm... Envoy to the Foggy Moon Court?"

"What about the dragon, the dragon is always okay, right?!" Without giving Loren a chance to speak, Brandon took the lead in stealing: "Don't talk nonsense with me about undead dragons or something... There are no more than twenty dragons on Jufeng Mountain!"

"I don't think there's any comparison between this, and the example you gave is particularly strong......"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up! I'll just force my words, I'm the emperor! The emperor can be forced!"

"Good ......"

Loren raised his hands in surrender.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and sighed at the same time.

"You've planned it that way from the beginning, haven't you?"

Brandon's neck and cheeks were flushed, and he stared at the black-haired wizard viciously: "Brandon de Salion is a madman, even if you say more, he will be stubborn to the end, so if you give him a step down and make him satisfied, he won't be crazy, right?"

"Knowing before... Who used this tactic against me?"

Brandon said quietly, "Eckhart de Salion... My omniscient father. ”

"If I want to be free, he will let me and my sister-in-law leave together, if I want prestige, he will give me the battle of Broken Mountain, if I want power, he will give me a seat in the imperial cabinet, if I want military power, he will let me conquer the Great Green ......Sea for him."

"Satisfy my ideas step by step, and then let me follow the good trajectory he set... Go on!"

"Brandon ......"

"I know how you want to persuade me, I don't need you to satisfy me, I know... But I'm still not reconciled. Brandon still said to himself:

"I've lived in a cage all my life, I've been deceived by others all my life, and when I finally think I'm finally able to act on my own will, I know it's a scam... You won't know what that feels like. ”

The black-haired wizard frowned slightly, looked at Brandon's somewhat self-deprecating smile, and hesitated.

"I know. ”

"Huh?"

Brandon was stunned:

"What?"

"I said... I know. Locked in a cage and deceived... I'm well aware. ”

"yes, how did you get out?"

"I didn't escape, I'm still in the cage. The black-haired wizard spoke slowly, "I just learned how to deal with the people who take care of the cages. ”

"Why?"

"Not so many why... If I have to say it, I am afraid that if I escape but don't know what to do, I will be put back in a cage again. ”

Loren stared at him motionlessly: "But if you know what to do, you don't have to escape; ”

The stunned Brandon looked at the black-haired wizard in a daze, unable to utter a word.

Loren glanced at him, smiled slightly, and walked away.

"Loren!"

Brandon, who was stunned in place, suddenly spoke, calling out to the black-haired wizard, and also alarming the people around him.

Stopping, the black-haired wizard glanced behind him slightly, a pair of red pupils turning his head to stare at him.

"This sentence ......"

"You made it up on the spot,... Right?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Loren looked at him with a particularly sincere gaze:

"Which one?"

"Flutter!"

After a few seconds, the corners of Brandon's mouth rose uncontrollably.

"Hehehe... Heheheha... Hahahahaha......ha

A convivial atmosphere, permeated in the quiet barracks.

Brandon smiled brightly and laughed for a long time, until he was almost out of breath, curled up on his knees and crawling on the ground, drooling at the corners of his mouth and tears at the corners of his eyes, and finally stopped.

"You... You may, you may not know, but I was going to have a cage for you. Gasping for breath, Brandon, who was lying on the ground, said intermittently:

"But in that moment, in that moment, I suddenly realized... I don't have to do that. ”

"If you think about it, what does the 'Black Cross' Selior want to do? what he wants is complete control of the world, control everything, and turn everything into something that he can change at his whim, and that he can manipulate at will. ”

"What does that mean? It means that even if the world becomes a different shape, we will not feel it at all, we will not even be able to perceive that it is what you said, and you told me yourself, and no one can know, because our thoughts and memories are only in his thoughts. ”

"So who is really going to be affected, who is going to really feel the change and understand the pain?"

"It's just you... Loren Turin, only when you open the second valve can you feel the pain of all this and understand the cruelty of all this. ”

"So as you say, this is a war that belongs only to you. ”

Brandon stared at Loren, staring motionless into his eyes, and said word by word in an unquestionable earnest tone:

"You... Do everything you can to protect the cage that binds you. ”

At that moment, the barracks fell silent.

The dark-haired wizard with an unchanged face withdrew his gaze and walked away under the gaze of the red-haired boy.

..............................

Outside the barracks door, waiting for him was still the familiar figure.

Charlotte, alone, stood by the road, without troops, guards, or even any retinue, a simple smock and cloak, and holding a long, round package, like a little woman sending her countrymen away.

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to persuade you to stay. ”

Looking at the black-haired wizard with a vigilant face and hesitant to step forward, the countess smiled dumbly, her expression unusually gentle: "Those words, I believe countless people have already said those words to you, right?"

Loren's eyes dodged, and the corners of his mouth smiled.

Smile, it's okay to keep smiling when you're embarrassed.

"Dalton Kander, Ain, and Edward and Brandon... If no one fails to persuade you, or acquiesces to your own adventure, it proves that the matter is irreparable, and even if I really want to do it, even if I do, it is destined to end badly. ”

"In that case, let's go. Her eyebrows stretched, and Charlotte, who was as gentle as water, looked at the black-haired wizard's eyes and handed over the package in her hand:

"I brought what you forgot to bring. ”

The package opened, revealing the hilt of the great sword "Dawn".

Loren's mood sank slightly: "Charlotte......"

"This is the heirloom sword of the House of Turin, and the sword of the Duke of Byrne... It's yours. Looking at each other, Charlotte murmured softly, "The Black Duke didn't leave it behind when he went north, and neither can you." ”

"Take it, do what you have to do, add glory to it, and if... If you can't bring it back... Then you can't bring it back!"

There was no need for the power of the Void, and Loren could feel the pain from the tremor of Charlotte's voice.

There is nothing to be done, only the pain of watching from afar.

"I see. ”

Nodding, Loren, with a solemn expression, took the sword in Charlotte's hand and put it behind his back: "When I'm done, I'll bring it back." ”

Looking at those serious eyes, Charlotte bowed slightly.

"Remember, each Duke of Byrne, every Knight King is an example for their children, an example for their bloodline to be proud of, and it is through these legendary stories, glorious or tragic heroes, that the blood of Byrne and Turin can be continued and condensed. ”

Her voice trembled, Charlotte pressed her hands on her lower abdomen, raised her head and chest, looked at Loren with great seriousness, and said in her most powerful tone:

"What if... If you don't have the glory that your child can be proud of, don't come back!"

"I see. ”

Charlotte, who bowed slightly, glanced at Loren meaningfully and turned to leave.

The black-haired wizard let out a long sigh of relief, a smile on his lips.

I didn't expect Charlotte to be so reasonable, and she would choose to support herself... If you don't have a glory that your child can be proud of, don't come back... That's a ......

Well?

Kid, what she's talking about... Kid, right?

Whose child?!

No, no, no, it's also possible that it's just a rhetorical device, an exaggeration... Uh, well, that's like, 'let the children be happy,' 'let the children smile,' 'let the children grow up happy,'... Did she forget to add "we", right?!

What's going on?!

Loren was shocked, his expression stunned as if he had been hit by a thunderbolt from the sky.

Trembling all over, he quickly turned back, but Charlotte's figure had disappeared... Loren, who was clearer, recalled the meaningful smile she had when she left, and suddenly understood something.

"I see, ......I see," the dark-haired wizard muttered to himself, a smile of apprehension and inexplicable anticipation on his face:

"Charlotte Turin... You're my cage. ”