27 Past grievances

The Past of Toom City II

In the spring of 1798, the consuls of the city of Tum announced the start of the annual epistolary rafting, and notices were posted throughout the city.

Epistolary Drift in the City of Tum

If you have something difficult to say, or embarrassed to say,

Write it down and hide it somewhere in the middle of the city—

Waiting for someone destined to discover it and read it......

If you can, please put the reply in the same place,

Wait for the sender to discover it and read it......

may not solve the problem,

Maybe it's just hope,

Maybe...... In order to expect a reader, too.

Write a letter, hide in a corner,

Let our letters carry with us our sincerity and friendship—

Let the letters drift!

The poetic notices attract people to participate in the letter rafting activity, and the enthusiasm of young people is particularly high, because every year there are rumors of strange young men and women who have achieved positive results as a result of this activity. However, most of the letters ended up in very awkward ways, for example, many of the letters were hidden too secretively, and were either discovered after many years or were forever missing; In some cases, the location of the letters has changed, and the letters have disappeared completely; Most often, there is a clear difference between the sender and the recipient, such as a young man's letter being picked up by an old woman...... In the end, there were far more jokes than the rumored fate.

Imperial soldiers stationed in Tum were not allowed to participate in the Epistolary Rafting activity, mainly because they had to spend more time and energy on combat training, and partly because many soldiers could not read or write. However, there were some well-educated soldiers who tried to hide their letters on the edge of the barracks or outside the barracks, and they were discovered by ordinary people, including one such case......

One soldier placed his letter in a ventilated window above the side wall of the stables and pressed it down with a flower pot, in which he wrote that he was treated coldly because of his origin, and that even though he had proven himself in many ways, he was still unrecognized and marginalized. Although he confided in his heart about his fate and misfortune, he did not complain about it, and pointed out in the letter that he just hoped to find someone to confide in and listen to, and release the bitterness and depression in each other's hearts. The ventilation windows of the stables face the streets of Tum City, and since the windows are not large enough to drill through people, there are boxes piled up on the outside, just enough for people to reach......

The soldier had expected no one to find out about the letter, and even if he did, he didn't expect a reply...... But the story often takes its unexpected turn - the letter is discovered by a young girl who loves flowers, because she wants to see what kind of flowers are planted in the pot at the ventilation window, and she accidentally gets the soldier's letter.

The flower-loving maiden was educated, and after reading the letters, she was moved by the unfortunate fate and optimism of the soldiers, and wrote a reply to encourage the soldiers, which were also placed in the ventilated windows of the stables, pressed with flower pots, and came from time to time to check if there were any replies from the soldiers.

When the soldier found out that the reply was a few days after the girl's reply, he read it with joy and was moved by the heartfelt encouragement and encouragement from the other party, and he could not wait to write a reply, expressing his or her desire to become a pen pal with him or her, even if he did not know who the person who replied was, whether it was a man or a woman, and what kind of person he or she was...... Soldiers just want to make a true friend.

After reading the soldier's second letter, the maiden agrees to become his pen pal.

The correspondence between the two as pen pals began in earnest, and the two would correspond three or four times a month, still using the old method of drifting letters, which were hidden in the ventilated windows of the stables and pressed in flower pots. They tacitly don't find out who each other really is, they never wait for each other to appear at the vents. In the letters between the two, there are confiding, encouragement, warmth, and ridicule...... The content covers experience, city, weather, food, life and so on...... The most important thing is that the two of them do not reveal their information in the letter, in order to protect this subtle mystery and enjoy this trust from each other.

One month, two months, three months...... Half a year has passed, winter has come, and the correspondence between the two is still the same, and a deep friendship has been established through the true feelings between the lines. When the new year approached, the soldier finally couldn't take it anymore and made a decision - he wanted to meet his pen pal, even if at this time he did not know the identity of the other party, his gender and more information. And the girl, too, didn't know who the soldier was, and she didn't even know whether the pen pal was from one side of the stable or the other side.

After much deliberation, the girl finally made a decision and replied, "I would like to meet with you." The letter was followed by a time and place of the meeting......

Unknown day, misty jungle.

Milo remembered the time when the letters in Tum City were drifting, and his spirit gradually became tired, and fatigue prevailed, and he took a short nap beside Erin, and fell asleep.

After only a short time, Milo, who was just in a trance, was awakened by an imperceptible sound, and he hurried to check on Erin, and found that she was still sleeping peacefully, breathing evenly and with a peaceful face. Milo was a little relieved, and looked at the left and right sides, but there was no abnormality. "Maybe it's an illusion......" he thought, and he looked back at the back—

It's Herm Bain's blue eyes!

"Shhh

The fog was thick, and the arrows emitted a faint cold light, making Milo shudder. He didn't dare to move, for Erin was asleep beside her, and Herm would probably kill them both, and it would be futile to resist. The two looked at each other like this, and in the blue pupils, Milo found no mercy.

"How did you find us?" Mello asked in a low voice, not to wake Erin, but also to hide her nervousness.

Herm whispered expressionlessly, "Hatred guides me. Then the corners of his mouth lifted up, showing a smug look, "I tracked you down when you first came to Windwalk. Later, when you came to Dragon, I followed you closely, and I kept an eye on you, including when the dust was in the dust...... I didn't expect you to die after all the dangers I went through—but that's fine, and I could get revenge with my own hands. ”

"Spying on me? Aren't you going for revenge? ”

"I'm looking for an opportunity." Herm said, the crossbow in his hand was terrifyingly stable, and Milo couldn't find the slightest flaw, "It's so cheap to kill you directly." You ruined my future when my happiness was about to come, and now, it's finally my turn to do so. ”

"What do you want to do?" Mello's eyes widened, his hands clenched tightly, he expected that Herm might say something terrible.

"I want you to be tortured, and—" Hem shook his head in Erin's direction, "I'm going to get rid of her." ”

Milo's worst concern was said by Herm, and he forced his composure, "It's a matter for the two of us, and it has nothing to do with her." ”

"It's not your turn to say that," said Herm, unmoved, "you know best in your heart what you've done. And, you're also responsible for Heidi's death! These were the words that Milo feared the most, and he had always remorseed Heidi's death, and his Adam's apple trembled up and down twice under the blow of Herm's words.

"Scared? Regretted it? When you did bad things, did you think that this day would come? Herm continued to stimulate Milo with words, "If you don't want her to suffer, you can kill her with your own hands." ”

"Let me kill Erin with my own hands?" Milo replied in despair.

"Can't you do it? Coward! Hem took out a small paper bag from his pocket, the crossbow in his hand was as stable as before, "This bag of poison, if you take it well, can make people sleep without pain, and then never wake up." With that, he threw the paper bag in front of Milo.

Milo hesitated for a moment, picked up the paper bag with a trembling hand, but didn't dare to look at it, "I'll think about it." ”

"I hope the next time I come to see you, you'll be alone. Also, don't eat it yourself. ”

"What if not?"

"Hmph, I will torture her in front of your eyes, so that you are worse off than dead; Or kill you first, and then just me and her......" Herm said with a sinister smile.

"Don't!" Milo hurriedly interrupted him, "Don't ...... hurt her ......" The latter words have no confidence at all.

Hem raised the corners of his mouth again: "It's not your turn to say that. "With the same words, he wanted to break Milo's heart." As you said before, this is a misty jungle and no one can get out...... So start early, the longer it drags on, the more painful it becomes. Without further ado, Hem retreated into the thick fog and was nowhere to be seen.

Milo's tense body did not relax all at once, and her heart began to cramp. There was a cold temperature from the paper bag in his hand, and death was not as terrifying as this. He didn't dare to look at the paper bag, regretted picking it up, and hurriedly stuffed it into his leather coat.

"Turns out he already knows about the poison...... "Melo struggled in pain, covering her eyes with one hand...... In a state of confusion and despair, he made a difficult decision.

Milo stood up gently, broke a few strong branches from a tree not far away, returned to the fire, carefully took out a cloth bag containing various small objects for survival, and used iron wire and thick wire to tie the branches to make the main body of the crossbow; Tie the fishing line to the sides of the crossbow and tighten it to make a bowstring; Arrows were then made from iron nails and a few short branches, and placed in the "groove" of the crossbow body (the depression where two branches were tied side by side and gradually joined); There is no lookout, no precise aim - a rudimentary crossbow is just done.

"Erin, if I do something wrong...... "Milo muttered as she looked at her sleeping face, "...... I'm here to protect you. He took a simple crossbow and arrows, and did not forget to carry a paper bag containing poison, and went to a place not far away to test the power of the simple crossbow.

Since Herm didn't intend to let himself go (let alone the dream talk, how could he let go?). Then fight to the death!

Milo finds a tree and shoots at a distance of about five paces: a direct hit. He took another five or so steps back, and fired at a distance of ten paces: the projectile grazed the tree and flew into the bushes on the side.

"That's enough distance." Estimating the accuracy of the improvised crossbow, Melo nodded, pleased with his workmanship, and then plucked the arrow from the tree and burrowed into the bushes to find another. It didn't take long for him to find it, and when he returned to the fire, he saw the last thing he wanted—

The fire is still burning......

Erin was gone again.

……

The Past of Toum City III

Imperial Calendar 1798 (8 years ago), the city of Toom.

The popularity of the letter rafting activity gradually decreased with time, and there were no enviable rumors this year, and jokes still emerged.

But the exchange of letters between the soldier and the girl continued, and after half a year, they cared for each other, and even if they didn't know anything about the pen pal's information, or even the name, gender, and age, the two of them unanimously decided to meet.

Let's announce the answer:

The girl's identity is the flower girl in Toom City: Heidi Triester.

Soldier's identity –

—the rider of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment: Herm Bain.