Morning Star, the deep pit left by the evaporation of the holy lake, the ground cracked.

Where the statue of Sister Oumar once stood, all that remained was a white irregularity.

Lancelot stood silently, behind him a Langdon with an empty sleeve.

The chief guard had been following him without saying a word since he had rescued him.

Lancelot didn't think about getting rid of him, so the latter followed him for three days.

"It used to be a statue."

He spoke, as if speaking to himself, as if to Langdon.

"I know, the statue of Sister Oumar." The former chief of the guard replied.

"Yes, the statue of Sister Oumar." Lancelot sighed, "Now it's gone, and Morningstar can't find the sword Citi anymore." ”

Langdon hadn't been born when Morningstar changed the flag, and he didn't understand what Lancelot meant, but that didn't stop him from hearing the regret in the other party's words.

The cold wind of early spring blows, adding a bit of gloom to the city that survives the catastrophe.

"Have you ever hated the king? The guy who left the people behind and fled. Lancelot asked again.

Langdon shook his head after a moment's momentary pause.

"Why?"

"Cowardice and fear are something that everyone can't escape, but some people show it, and some people don't. As an ordinary person, I understand his fears; But as the king of a country, I can't accept his actions. ”

"Then why don't you hate him?"

"Mia is fair to everyone, and he will be punished as he deserves, or condemned by conscience, or betrayed by the people, or nothing." "I hate him for not being able to get these trials and sanctions to come sooner," Langdon explained. I do not hate him, nor can I share in his retribution. So 'hate' doesn't make sense. ”

Lancelot couldn't help but chuckle.

"So what makes sense? Or rather...... Why do you keep following me? Does it make sense to do that? ”

"Yes." Langdon insisted: "'Repayment' makes sense. ”

"Repay?"

"That's right, pay it back. You saved my life, and allow me to express the awe and gratitude I deserve. ”

"Awe and gratitude? What's the point of that? ”

"It would be unfair to you, to your kindness and integrity, if I am so immersed in the grief of losing my arm that I forget to repay you and lose my reverence for strength. If the next time you encounter the same situation, you refuse to shoot because of this unpleasantness, it is unfair to the next rescuer. ”

Lancelot shook his head noncommittally.

"You go, I'll just save you. If you insist on 'repaying', live well, and living is the best way to repay. ”

"I will, sir. I will also use the last of my strength to protect this country. ”

"Guard?" Lancelot turned around and said curiously: "I know your clothes, only the king's attendants are qualified to wear them, but you don't have epaulettes and ribbons, are you deprived?" ”

"I gave it up myself. I felt that the people in the square needed more protection at that time. There was no sadness on Langdon's face, his gaze still unwavering.

"Isn't it enough to lose an arm? Besides, now that you're a waste, how many people know? How many people are grateful to you?

"This ...... Is it worth it? ”

He seemed to be asking the other person, and it was as if he was asking himself.

Langdon smiled and replied aloud:

"My lord, the day I became a knight, I made an oath to the banner of the Morning Star:

"I will remember the virtues of being a knight: humility, integrity, mercy, valor, justice, sacrifice, honor.

"I swear to be kind to the weak, to protect them with the sword in my hand, to be faithful, to guard all that is in this country.

"If winter strikes, I will turn into a flame to drive away the cold. If darkness fills the way, I will be the light of the dawn. If a strong enemy comes, I will turn into a shield against the attack, shed the last drop of blood, and defend the oath with my life.

"It's my belief, and there's nothing worth it."

Lancelot's eyes twitched a few times.

"Do you think the same when you see them?"

He pointed to Central Avenue in the distance.

There, the scarred mercenaries pushed the guards and vented their frustration in a hysterical way.

"Their sacrifices are not remembered by anyone, leaving only scars and pain. They crave the reward they deserve, or respect, in this moment, not some illusory future.

"They are the best answer to this question: this country is not worthy of their efforts. Nor worthy of you. ”

"But." Langdon retorted, "They did it anyway, didn't they?" ”

Lancelot couldn't help but be stunned.

"What do you mean?"

"Mercenaries are the ones who weigh the pros and cons the most, even more shrewd than the merchants. Merchants lose money in business, and mercenaries pin their heads to the waistband of their trousers. My lord, I can vouch for the answer, they already had the answer before they heard Lord Brando's call to draw their swords, and that answer was no different from the current result. ”

"But, they did it anyway." Lancelot said, bowing his head.

"yes, they did."

Langdon sighed as well.

"They're just the people of this country, not even knights, but they've done it. No one thinks about 'worth it', 'don't care', all they want to do is to protect the country and the people around them.

"That's what they believe in."

Lancelot was silent, and the two stared silently into the distance.

On the central street, the young guards who had been pushed and shoved finally couldn't resist the pressure and knelt on the ground and cried, and the tears of grievance couldn't stop flowing.

Old Bill was dumbfounded, he looked at the helpless child in front of him, and couldn't help but kneel on the ground, hugged him and cried loudly.

The cry seemed to have some kind of magic that silenced the whole street.

Lancelot watched it all, the words he had just heard.

Those words seemed innocent and terrible to him, but word by word seeped into his heart.

Since when did you slowly become so cold-blooded?

He thought.

I began to feel that it was a bad thing to be emotionally swayed by others, and I must look coldly at the world, the people and things around me, and I must see the essence of things better than anyone else, and try to be high.

It seems that from the time he witnessed Vinia's death, from the moment he gained great power, his mentality has quietly changed.

Begin to aversion emotional fluctuations, try to become rational, cold, and overly attached to their subjective feelings.

It's like planting a seed of paranoia in the bottom of my heart, lurking in the shadows and slowly accumulating strength.

Leorick's presence caused anger to pour out like a flood that burst its banks, and the seed took the opportunity to thrive. It made Lancelot tyrannical and bloodthirsty—for a brief moment, but he was sure he couldn't escape that paranoid grip.

Because he clearly felt a glimmer of pleasure - the pleasure of bullying and killing was like a narcotic, obscuring the sanity that should have been awake at this moment.

He was sure that Leoric had also become crazy like this, and that no one was more paranoid than he was.

At the same time, he also understood why Xia Mu would rather sacrifice himself to save the young man who was worthless in his opinion.

It was a belief that belonged to Xia Mu, a belief possessed by a teenager who was diametrically opposed to him and was able to maintain absolute rationality.

The nobility of faith has nothing to do with the lowliness or strength of life.

……

"Your name is Langdon, isn't it?"

After a long time, he spoke.

"That's right."

"Can you get used to practicing swords with your left hand now?"

"It should be ...... You mean ......" Langdon's eyes widened and he looked at each other in disbelief.

"And then."

The other party also threw a sword: it seemed to be made of gold, and the sword body was royal blue, and it was heavy to start.

There is no doubt that it is the Sword of Victory of the Oath, and after Yuneru was sucked up by the ancient scroll Cantusha, it fell into the ruins of the arena and was picked up by Lancelot.

Langdon held the sword in his left hand, a little overwhelmed.

"Don't be so surprised, you deserve it."

"'Deserved'?"

"This is a 'Guardian's Sword', use it to enforce your beliefs."

Langdon was stunned for a moment, then nodded heavily, hearing the other party ask.

"Where are the victims buried?"

"A cemetery on the outskirts of the city."

"Let's go check it out."

Lancelot then took a step.

He owes apologies to those lives lost - as Leorik says, if he had done his best to stop that attack in the first place, he would have saved many lives.

But for a moment he hesitated.

"Yes, but," Langdon asked hurriedly, "I don't know what to call you, my lord." ”

"Lancelot."