The ruins, immersed in darkness, take on a special blue-gray color under the light of the gemstones, which is the color of basalt. Of all the people of Vaughnde, the Miner are the only ones who like to build majestic structures out of this particular igneous rock, and the ruins stand in the woods, and the knights of the guard pass through the basalt columns, dragging the huge pine bear carcass with ribs through the rope to the center of the camp in the middle of the ruins.

A pile of corpses piled up like a hill.

Half an hour earlier, the team had encountered these uninvited guests, the pine bears belonged to the category of dinosaurs, which the Cruz people called ferocious animals. They are creatures that are somewhere between monsters and animals, unlike monsters that do not leave crystals after their magic escapes after death, so they become the best food reserves for Brando's party.

Luckily, after entering the Eternal Night Forest, there were hardly any living animals, except for the occasional small animals that got lost. There are no large carnivorous beasts inhabiting the Forest of Anlath, and this group of pine bears should be from the northern part of Lantoniland, strayed into the forest, and was corrupted by the dark magic, and even went berserk to attack Brando's group.

Brando knew that the pine bear was a gentle carnivore, and that they usually only hunted large herbivores. For example, a herd of deer on the north shore of Lake Crystal Lake, or a hippopotamus called a cloven-hoofed herbivore. But rarely against humans.

The peeled pine bear's fur was rolled up and tossed aside, and Peiya took on the task of taking on the task, a job that the Hunter Maiden knew it to be. Peya used a skinning knife to make a cut in the spine, and then flipped it, the hunter's skinning knife was passed down from generation to generation, the edge of the knife was slightly curved, and the blade was long and narrow, like a silver ruler; She made an incision to the caudal vertebrae. Then spread out to the sides. It took only ten minutes to peel off a complete bear skin.

Brando looked at it for a while and then turned around, holding a transparent crystal like bright yellow amber in his hand, which was the magic crystal left by the Dusk Dog. It is a bit larger than the black wolf's. There was more magic inside, but Brando's face was not satisfied, and he stared at the crumbling nest of several sharp white rocks not far in front of him.

This is supposed to be the den of the Dusk Dog. But now all that remains is the ruins that have been destroyed.

Someone got first, I don't know if it was Anlek or Cruz. In the distance, Nimesis walked up with Freya stepping on the scattered stones, one foot deep and one foot shallow, and the female knight approached and shook her head at him: "No valuable clues were found, they did not camp here, destroyed the lair and left to the north." There are traces of fighting nearby, but on a small scale...... There may also be a possibility that the Dusk Dog was eliminated by the other party before it could react. ”

"The Dusk Dog is very vigilant—"

“…… Still, it looks like they're coming from the other direction? ”

"It's very likely, there's no way I've not noticed any clues before. These people should not be on the same path as us. Nimesis thought for a moment and said.

"I trust your judgment. But do you think it's Anlek, or is it the Cruz? ”

Brando's 'I trust your judgment' made Nimesis look up slightly. Gave him a look of surprise: "It's probably An Leek." The Cruz people should not have strayed in this direction when they entered the forest from the Wallendenburg side. But other possibilities are not ruled out, Monsieur Earl. Will there be adventurers in this forest? ”

"Occasionally, there will be some."

Nimesis looked up in the direction of the forest, thoughtfully. On the side, Freya whispered, "Brando, do you want to move on?" ”

"No, Anlek is only a week ahead of us in the Forest of Anlath. He wouldn't know the forest better than we did, and if they hadn't gone the same route with us, we'd have been pretty much in the back of the day. Brando didn't really want to meet with Anlek too soon, because Anlek shouldn't know that they were behind by now, so it would be better to let the other party go and break the blood.

Moreover, Nimesis's previous words reminded him that if there were no signs of a large-scale battle in the forest, he suspected that the leader of the Dusk Dog might still be swimming in the forest.

"Camp," he said, "the vastness of the Black Forest is difficult for ordinary people to understand. Let everyone have a good rest, this time I'm afraid it's not a matter of a day or two. ”

Freya glanced at him and nodded submissively.

Dinner was a sumptuous pine bear feast, and the chefs were Charles and Peya. According to Charles himself, he was a foodie during his lifetime, and traveled to many regions just to learn and document the local food culture; And Peiya has the qualities of a child from a poor family, industrious, tenacious, ingenious, and handy at handling prey.

Bear broth, roast bears, and warm campfires bring warmth to the still, cold night, and Brando has Hipamela set up a barrier to block out sounds and smells, lest they attract more monsters from the forest.

The Charr called it the 'Dinner in the Forest', and it is said that Murrin, the king of the elves of the Elrantachnoz Peninsula, used to entertain guests in the forest, and it was the night elves who would light up the forest with magic lamps like an open-air palace, hence the name of the feast in the forest. The metaphor of the young wizard's acolyte was echoed by everyone, and although they couldn't drink heartily, everyone was full of praise for the 'hearty' food.

The dinner in the forest came to an end after about eight or nine o'clock, and the ruins quickly fell silent. The knights from the Royal Order were the most prominent soldiers in Eruin, and naturally they could not be as disciplined as ordinary noble private soldiers. All that remained in the camp were red flames and dancing shadows and knights on night.

Brando is particularly fond of campfires in the dark.

The bright light of the fire seemed to dispel the darkness and coldness in people's hearts, and whenever he sat by the campfire and watched the dancing flames outline the outline of the ground, he couldn't help but think of the days when he was in the game. Compared with the dullness of the average adventurer, the players are always free of taboos, and the senior sister sometimes mentions yì to hold some small activities, these episodes are always accompanied by laughter, and Brando can't help but smile on his face when he thinks of several interesting experiences.

With her hand on the title page of a red-covered book, Médisa quietly looked at her lord, who could sometimes be seen with a look of remembrance on Brando's face. But she never asked, only secretly thinking in her heart that it must be quite a warm memory.

Métisha also has some warm memories. Since the soul returned to this world. She often remembers a qiē from the past. But memory is a painful process for the dead, and it is as if she has been stripped of her soul when she thinks of her sister, her mother, her father, and her soul. The magic of darkness always tempted her to think about the problem she had been reluctant to face.

A voice whispered in her ear in the darkness: Why are you the one who is sacrificed? You should have had better memories, do you remember what happened after the Battle of the Sages? No. You can't remember, because you never have a memory of it.

You were born in war, you died in war. You have never experienced peace in your life, how can you understand the happiness of mortals?

But the little princess of the silver elf just silently buried these negative feelings in her heart, and then raised her head and faced her future with a smile. She looked at Brando, her eyes sparkling with both yearning and admiration. It's as if she can find her own ordinariness from this lord.

Brando seemed to have finally noticed the little elven princess's gaze, and he was slightly stunned. Then I saw the book in Metisa's hand, which was a folklore and geography of the Cruz and Jingwan areas. Since reintegration into human society. Métissa has always been interested in human society today, but Brando knows that she is learning how to fit in with other people.

She always prioritizes thinking from the perspective of others.

"Is there anything you don't understand?" Brando asked softly, a thousand years ago and even now. Silver elves think in a very different way than humans. Sometimes Metissa couldn't understand some human words either. I had to ask him for advice.

"Hmm-"

Suddenly feeling that her lord was a little cute, Medisa hummed softly in a nasal voice. "I don't quite understand it. Why do the people of Jingwan give lilies to their sweethearts on the day of the midsummer festival? Does this have any symbolic significance? ”

Brando was stunned for a moment, not expecting this question - although Metissa was a princess and an important general of the silver elves, she still had a girlish side - he thought for a moment, and replied: "Because in the legend of the mountain people, midsummer represents the fiery and unrestrained, just as love is in full bloom. Since the Dark Ages, people have believed that the Midsummer Festival is a festival that belongs to the trade winds, and the seafarers believe that the trade winds represent the transmission of thoughts, and I think there may be some connection with it. ”

"Elves are different." Medisa whispered, "The elves think it's a kind of mutual waiting, which no matter how long it goes, it can't be penetrated. It is like a distant song in the dark forest, lingering in people's hearts. ”

That's because human life is so short that it is impossible to understand the meaning of the word time. For mortals, a short burst of blazing brilliance, even if it is a fleeting sparkle, is enough to attract respect. The elves understand the meaning of waiting because of their long lives, but mortals are also clumsily going back and forth in the cycle of history, time goes parallel in two ways, it seems that summer insects are indescribable, but how can they understand the beauty of the short term for a long time? ”

"Really?"

Médisa closed the book, and she tilted her head, "Lord, can I lean on you?" ”

Brando hesitated for a moment, he saw that Medisa had a quiet look, and finally nodded. The tone of the little princess of the silver elf was like a feather, so soft that it was impossible to refuse. What's more, she never asks for much, leaving people as if she is the best impression.

Then he felt a gentle body come against him. Medisa smiled knowingly, as if she remembered the time when she was next to her mother.

"At that time, my mother would tell me stories about heroes, and my greatest wish was to be like them."

"Huh?"

"But now I just want to be an ordinary person. Thank you, my lord. ”

Medisa said in an inaudible voice.

……

(PS: Today's ~ It's been 2 days, and everyone is forbearing.) ）