The third day of rest in July seemed to be a good day.

Children over the age of 10, who have been given a vocation, are also allowed to temporarily return to their childhood and play until dinner time on this day. Mu Ou and Yun Xu usually fish with other boys or pretend to practice swordsmanship, but today they left the house before the morning dew dissipated, and gathered under the ancient tree outside the village to wait for Murong Xue.

「…… It's slow!"

Yun Xu grumbled as he left him behind what he had kept Mu Ou waiting for for a few minutes.

"Really, women always pay more attention to dressing up than they allotted. If this goes on like this for another two years, maybe you'll be like your sister who says things like you get dirty and don't go to the forest."

"I can't help it, girl."

Mu Ou said this with a wry smile, thinking a little about what Yunxu said would happen in two years.

Murong Xue still belongs to the category of children without vocation in terms of identity, and the surrounding people also acquiesce to the fact that she and Yugeo act together. But originally she was the daughter of the village chief, which basically decided her

In stance, he is a model for the women of the whole village. In the not-so-distant future, it will undoubtedly be strictly forbidden to play with boys, and it will be accepted not only in fairy arts but also in daily behavior.

And then...... What happens after that? Will she marry into a certain family like the eldest sister? And it's possible that the object is Mu Ou or Yunxu, right? What does this partner think about this kind of thing......?

"Hey, what's the fuss. Did you sleep well last night?"

Suddenly stared at by Yun Xu with a surprised expression, Mu Ou nodded hurriedly.

"Uh-huh, no problem. …… Ah, it looks like she's coming."

He heard the sound of clattering footsteps, pointing in the direction of the village.

Murong Xue, who appeared in the thick fog of the morning, was just as Kirito said, wearing a beautifully combed black hair with a ribbon and wearing a spotless white overcoat. Mu Ou couldn't help but glance at Yun Xu, couldn't help but laugh, turned around and shouted at the same time.

"Slow!"

"It's too early for you. It's true, no matter how long it takes, it's still a child."

Murong Xue pretended to speak, and stretched out the rattan basket in her right hand towards Mu Ou, and the kettle in her left hand towards Yunxu.

After the two of them reflexively took over the things, Murong Xue turned to the back, in the direction of the sheep intestine path that extended from the village, and bent down to pick an ear of grass from her footsteps. Pointing to the stone mountain towering in the distance with the bulging tip of the ball, he shouted energetically.

"That...... Let's go in search of summer ice!"

Why is it always like this, it looks like "The Princess and the Two Followers", thinking so, Mu Ou exchanged glances with Yun Xu again, and followed behind Murong Xue who walked out.

The road that runs through the village is very solid on the south side because of the many people and carriages coming and going, and in the north direction there are almost no people, and there are many roots and stones on it, which makes it difficult to walk. But Murong Xue walked in front of Mu Ou with a relaxed pace humming a song.

Anyway, the body movements are really beautiful, Mouu thought. Until a few years ago, Murong Xue still occasionally mingled with the troublemakers in the village to play continuous swordsmanship games, and the thin branch in her hand hit Mu Ou and Yun Xu many times, but her own stick had been uselessly chopping the air as if it was an opponent of the wind. If she continued to practice like that, Alice might be the first girl in the village to step into the cultivation of immortals.

"Cultivating immortals, ......"

Mouou suddenly muttered.

Until he was given the title of carver of the giant tree, Mucho had been vaguely thinking about unreasonable dreams. If you can be selected as a cultivator that all the boys in the village dream of, you can get rid of the ugly wooden sword made of branches that have been removed from the bark, and get a steel sword that is a second-hand product, and learn real swordsmanship.

And that's not all. Immortal cultivators from the villages on the northern border go to the southern town of Soya every autumn to participate in the sword fighting competitions held there. Then, if you get the top few places, you can show off as a monk in the town, who is recognized as a true immortal cultivator, and is awarded a standard sword forged by the forge workshop in the central capital. At this point, the dream is not over. If you can have any adventures in the immortal cultivators, you can also get the test qualification of the ancient famous immortal cultivation academy of the Forgotten Immortal Gate. I've heard that it's a difficult task, but if you pass the exam and graduate from a two-year academy, you'll have the opportunity to participate in the Immortal Tournament of the Forgotten Immortal Gate. The legendary Xuanyuan clan won the championship in this conference.

And then there is the ultimate, only the real heroes are gathered, and the "Unification Conference of the Four Empires" is personally organized by the Supreme Elder Council of the Forgotten Immortal Sect. Only those who win this battle under the watchful eye of the gods will be appointed as the apex of all immortal cultivators, with the mission of protecting the world order, fighting the demons that inhabit the "Demon Domain" from time to time, and riding the highest honor of riding a flying sword.

Enforcers.

It's impossible to get there, but maybe Mouu sometimes thinks so. Perhaps, Murong Xue will not be an ordinary person, but will leave the village as an apprentice of immortal cultivation and go to the school in Suoya Town, or maybe he can go to the "Immortal Cultivation Academy" of the Forgotten Immortal Gate. At that time, as a bodyguard next to her, she wore a white and pale brown uniform with a shiny flying sword hanging from her own .......

"The dream isn't over yet."

Suddenly, Yunxu, who was walking next to him, whispered. Mouou raised his face in surprise. It seemed that all his fantasies had been read from that sigh. Giving him a wry smile at his usual sharp instincts, Mul replied in a whisper.

"No, it's over."

"The vocation that has been decided cannot be changed even by the village chief."

"With the only exception."

"Exceptions......?"

"The job is done."

This time, he was taken aback by Yunxu's stubbornness and smiled bitterly again. This partner has not given up his huge ambition to cut down the immortal tree that is harder than iron in his own generation.

"As long as we bring down that great tree, our vocation will be complete. Then you will be able to choose your next vocation. Right?"

"Although it is......

"I think it's great not to raise sheep or grow wheat. There's no end to that kind of work, but ours is different. There should definitely be some way to put that tree in three ...... Cut it down in less than two years, and then ......."

"Attend the Immortal Cultivation Conference in Sota Town."

"What, are you planning to do that too? Mouu."

"You can't just let Yunxu be a hero."

Entertaining with jokes, somehow I feel that it is not such a distant dream, it is incredible. He imagined himself returning to the village after receiving the flying sword, causing the village chief's eyes to widen, and Yun Xu and the two of them walked with a wicked smile. At this time, Murong Xue, who was walking in front, suddenly turned around.

"Hey, what are you talking about?"

"No, no, nothing. It's not lunch yet, or something."

"Uh-huh."

"Lost to you, haven't you just just started? Compared to this, I see the river."

Looking in the direction that Murong Xue pointed at with the front end of the grass, a swaying water appeared in front of the road. It is the Lu River, which originates in the end mountain range and flows east of Dew Village to the south to the town of Sota. The road splits into two here, the one on the right crosses the North Dew Bridge to the forest to the east, while the left one runs north along the west bank of the river. Of course, the three of them took the northbound one. As he reached the fork, Mouou knelt at the water's edge and put his hand into the tinkling clear water. True to summer, the icy water at the beginning of spring is now quite warm. It must be very comfortable to take off your clothes and jump in, but you can't do that kind of thing in front of Murong Xue.

"It's not like the water temperature will be drifting down with ice."

Turning his head to say this, Yun Xu immediately pursed his lips and retorted.

"That's why I went to the first cave."

"It doesn't matter, but if you don't go back when the bell rings at night, you'll be scolded."

"I can't help it. In that case, hold on!"

Behind Alice, who was walking on the soft grass, the two also followed quickly.

The trees on the left side are intertwined with foliage, shielding the sun from the sun like a canopy, and the water on the right side is cool, so the three of them can walk comfortably even after the sun rises. The shore path, which is about one meter wide, is covered with shallow grass in summer, and there are almost no stones and potholes for stumbling.

The road was so easy to walk, but thinking about the place where he had never set foot behind the Twin Lakes, Mu Ou felt a little incredible.

According to the rules of the village, "The Mountains of the North", which prohibits children from passing alone, is still far ahead, so even if you walk across the lake, you won't make adults angry, but maybe it's against the rules themselves, right--it can be said that they are afraid of something, so they stop far in front of the mountains.

He and Yun Xu were always taught by adults to obey the rules, but if they thought about it carefully, they didn't break the rules or taboos, and they didn't even think about it. Today's little adventure is undoubtedly the closest thing to a forbidden act in their lives.

Now he suddenly felt a little uneasy, and looked at Kirito and Alice who were walking in front, only to find that the two were leisurely singing a shepherd's song. The two of them are really not afraid of heaven and earth, Mu Ou can't help but sigh.

"Hey, I said."

Hearing his voice, the two turned their heads in unison as they walked.

"What's wrong, Muou?"

Murong Xue tilted her head and said in a pretentious voice with a hint of threat.

"It's a little far from the village now...... There won't be any dangerous beasts around here, right?"

"Huh? I haven't heard of it."

Murong Xue looked at Kirito, and Yun Xu shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"Hmm...... Where did the old man in the village see the huge thresher bear?"

"It's near the apple tree in the east. And that was 10 years ago."

"At most, there will only be four-eared monkeys in this area. Really, Mouou is scared."

The two laughed together, and Mu Ou quickly retorted.

"It's not, it's not, I'm not afraid....... I mean, it's the first time we've been across the Twin Lakes, so it's better to be careful."

Hearing this, Kirito's dark eyes showed a mischievous glow.

"Well, that's right. Do you know? When our village was first established, the demons of the Demon Domain...... "Scavengers" and "Orcs" would climb over the mountains to steal sheep or capture children."

Then he deliberately squinted at Murong Xue. Murong Xue snorted and replied.

"What, two of you teamed up to scare me. I know, in the end, it was the enforcers from the Forgotten Immortal Gate who drove away the boss of the scavengers, right?"

"—'After that, on a sunny day, you can see the figure of the Silver Enforcer high above the Ending Mountains.'" 」

Yun Xu read out the last verse of the story that all the children in the village knew, and turned north again to raise his head. Mu Ou and Murong Xue also looked up at the continuous pure white rock mountain that was close enough to cover a large part of their field of vision, and the blue sky above it.

For a moment, it was as if I saw a small light of fresh fruit in the gap of the clouds, but when I blinked and looked closely, it disappeared again. The three of them looked at each other and smiled to hide their shame.

"—that's the story. The white dragon that lives in the cave must have been made up later by the Xuanyuan clan."

"Hey, if you say that in the village, you'll be beaten by the village chief. Monk Xuanyuan is the hero of Immortal Tree Village."

Hearing Mu Ou's words, Murong Xue showed a clear smile again and quickened her pace.

"You'll know when you go. Hey, if you walk too slowly, you won't be able to get to the cave before noon!"

That being said, in fact, Mu Ou didn't feel that he would be able to reach the end mountain range in half a day.