22 Reality and Art

At noon on May 15, the two groups finally reunited and boarded a cargo ship bound for the Duchy of Komet, carrying the two horses that Kolan had been thinking about. The day before had been uneventful, and Milo and Irene hadn't visited much. However, Klan's opinion of Parrett has changed, because Parrett only follows her from a distance like a guard, does not cause trouble, and is extremely attentive to his own image, and when Klan visits a quieter or more elegant place, Parrett will spend time nearby, without any trouble at all, and his attitude is extremely sincere, which makes Klan even more impressed with him.

The ship is about to leave port, and Parrett is in charge of carrying the luggage into the cabin, while the other three gossip at the stern.

"And what about when you watch the stage play?" Erin asked with a smile.

"It's not uncomfortable to look at it like everyone else. He was quiet when he sat next to me, and Parrett was very polite even when there were episodes that made the audience laugh. Still, I would like to remind him that our relationship is unlikely to go any further, that he does not seem to seek any progress, and that the state seems to be harmonious. ”

"Parrett told me that as long as he was by your side, he felt at ease." "Actually, I feel that way, too, and Koran feels very safe by his side. ”

"I feel the same way, from the first time we met." Erin agrees.

"Hey, it's not that great, but I'm very grateful for the trust of my friends." Kelan said humbly, she looked at the port of Alex City that was gradually moving away, and suddenly showed surprise on her face, "Look there-"

Milo and Erin looked at the harbor together, only to find that at the other end of the harbor, a huge sailing ship was moored, like a sea fortress, "Pearl! The two recognized the luxury passenger ship that had carried them out of the three-tier encirclement of the Dragon navy, "I didn't expect to see it again." That's how we met on this ship, Kolan. ”

"Hey, it's really fateful to bring us together with people who have roughly the same goal."

"But why is the Pearl painted blue-gray? It doesn't look so pretty. Erin reminded, and several people looked at it, and sure enough, more than half of the Pearl hull had changed color.

It happened that a sailor passed by and told the crowd the reason: "The Navy has requisitioned her, so she has to be repainted." I heard that the Sprelet Empire is frantically preparing for war, and this side must also prepare for war. Hearing the sailor's explanation, several people's hearts were clouded.

"I thought the peace would last a long time." Mello said, but then made a gesture to stop the conversation.

Once on board again, the advantage of day and night sea traffic was revealed, and it was expected that in a maximum of five days the Duchy of Komet would be reached, while the trip had been planned to take at least a month. The boat was sailing along the shallow sea, fast and very steady, and Erin did not react uncomfortably, but still needed to lie down in the cabin to avoid seasickness. On the morning of the second day of departure, Klan was going to the warehouse to check on the two good horses, and happened to run into Milo, so the two went together.

"What about Irene, don't you have to accompany her?"

"Let her sleep a little longer, there is something I want to tell you."

In the warehouse, Kelan fed the horses by himself, and the two horses were eating high-grade feed, full of energy, and neighing softly from time to time. "This warehouse is like a stable," said Milo, "and when I first joined the army, I was in charge of the stables, and there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity. His gaze fell on a small quadrangular window on the wall of the warehouse, and he did not move for a long time, while his body trembled slightly.

"You look nervous?" Koran had finished feeding the horses and sensed that he was going into a trance.

"Ah, some bad memories, it's been a long time coming." Milo came back to his senses and prevaricated, "I want to tell you about the two guns in Erin's hand......" Then, Milo told what he had seen and heard at Ryder's gun workshop two days ago, mentioning the conjecture that Spreett's technology came from the "future", and also told Erin what he thought about it.

After listening to this, Kelan did not have any unexpected reaction: "I don't know about the development of technology, but I know that the technology of the Spallow Empire is very advanced, and the steamship is the best proof of this." However, it is still too arbitrary to think that it is from the future just because of the large technological lead, and there is no magic to travel through time at the moment, let alone evidence. Historically, the development of many technologies has been the result of accidental phenomena, mistakes and even accidents, and they have not followed the law of gradual progress. I agree with Erin that it is entirely possible that the Djinn Crisis prompted Spoulet to complete a technological leap, as if an advanced weapon had been captured and copied through research. ”

Kelan's answer was reasonable, and Milo nodded, not saying any more. After a brief silence, Klan suddenly asked, "I heard Parrett say that he gave you and Erin tickets to The Girl in the Treetops, did you go and see it?" ”

"Ah, I went to see. That story seems to be ......," Milo replied with some hesitation.

Kelan smiled and nodded, her face very serene. "I'm afraid you've guessed it, that's my story......"

Later that day, Kelan told her story to three friends:

For example, Karl Dutveld was not an unknown scholar, he had the royal blood of the Aube Empire, but he had no inheritance rights. In today's Aube Empire, people from the Dutved family can still be found, but they have nothing to do with Carl or me. When I first met Carl, I was fifteen years old, and just like in the novel, I was standing in a tree looking at the stars, and the tree was on a small hill as described in the novel. Carl was not a personable young man, he was almost fifty years old at the time, older than my parents. Maybe it's a shared hobby, maybe it's love at first sight...... We fell in love. Although at first he only wanted to be my stepfather and let me take his last name, at my insistence, we got married—unlike in the novel, where I was the one who proposed. My parents were open-minded and fully supportive of their daughter's wishes, and Carl was willing to stay in my house, he had never been married before, so there was nothing to hold back. As in the novel, we lived a peaceful, happy life, and thanks to his painstaking research, we saw the comet and the unique starry sky together, and I believe that until now, no third person knows where and when this comet was observed...... Later, there was no plague, but he was over sixty years old, and with the fatigue of years of research, he finally fell ill. In the last month of his life, he confessed to me a lot: when I was twenty years old, she secretly used magic to delay my time, and every eight years or so, I would actually grow a year old; He also handed me the diamond-shaped wooden accessory, guiding me to go to the Desperate Desert to find its secrets...... Of course, now we all know what that is. Carl and I, from the time we met to the time we got married, to the time he passed away, were just over ten years in total, and the ten years we spent with him were experiences I will never forget. ”

After Kolan finished telling her story, she exhaled comfortably, as if relieved, and smiled kindly. Beside her, Milo, Irene, and Parrett were all fascinated by the listen, and the dinner in front of them did not move at all, the others had already finished eating, and only the four of them were left in the dining room.

"That...... Comet ......" Erin asked hesitantly, as if to confirm it.

Kelan smiled and said, "This is absolutely secret, because it only belongs to Carl and me. Erin nodded, an apologetic look in her eyes.

Mello probably guessed that what Kran had said that Sylvia Ansekson wanted to know from her should be information about the comet, so it was no wonder that Kran wouldn't reveal it.

Parrett listened to it in a serious manner, and stared at Kolan with very reverent eyes, tears glistening in his eyes. He didn't speak, probably completely absorbed by the story.

All three understood that this was Kelan's experience, her own story. The fact that Kran was able to tell the three of them in person showed that she had already recognized them as trustworthy friends, especially Parrett, and he was very proud.

At dawn on 19 May, the fog had not yet lifted, and a ray of sunlight had reached the top of the mast of the cargo ship, and the harsh light woke the sailors on the lookout, and in the blurred fog, the rolling mountains and towering peaks could be faintly seen.

"The Duchy of Komet has arrived."

As you can see from the map, the border between the Aube Empire and the Duchy of Komet is a huge mountain range covered with a thick layer of snow that is difficult to pass through by conventional means. Even if the two countries are separated by a mountain, they can only be reached by boat. The Principality of Komet also has large plateaus and hills, and people live there, and the plains occupy less than half of the country's land area, which is used to grow crops to feed and clothe them.

Looking at the mountains across the sky on land in the distance, Kolan introduced: "More than 70 years ago, the Aube Empire failed to attack Komet for the second time, so it adopted a policy of gentleness, and instead supported the development of Komet, and made it a principality, and the generations after that were peaceful. Because it is a country of mountains, it is still very rich in minerals, and most of the mineral deposits are mined and sold directly to the Aube Empire. There are also many people who work in agriculture, animal husbandry and fishing, after all, the area is small, and the annual hunting ban and fishing moratorium are longer than in other countries. Although the highest mountain in the world is not here, because the average altitude is very high, Komet has a fairytale name—"

"The closest place to the stars." Erin hastened to answer.

"Hey. Friends, welcome to my hometown! ”

In order to borrow the "Horn Spell Stone" possessed by the Green Dragon Mercenaries, everyone crossed thousands of rivers and mountains, from the desperate desert in the middle of the western continent to the country of mountains in the corner of the eastern continent, and the journey of nearly a month of trekking through mountains and rivers is about to reach the destination.

But fate is far from over challenging them......