Standing in the hall was An Long, who looked dark-skinned, a little emaciated, and tired, but with a smile on his face. Minna rushed over and hugged his waist, but her heart was sore, and she couldn't help crying: "Dad, I miss you so much......"

"Dad misses you too......" An Long hugged the child, his eyes were also red, and gently stroked Minna's head, and the guilt in his heart surged up like a tide.

After a long while, he let go of his daughter, looked up and down carefully, and was very happy: "My little Minna has grown taller, half a head taller than last year, and she is much whiter, and she is getting more and more beautiful." ”

Minna smirked and suddenly remembered, "Where's Dad, Mommy?" Why don't you see your mother? ”

An Long paused and said with a smile: "Dad only has half a month vacation, and he came here on a fast horse, where can your mother stand it?" So take a boat ride with Winnie and walk slowly, and it will be there in a few days. ”

Minna felt that something was wrong when she heard this, but when she thought of meeting her mother, she didn't ask much: "Is it only half a month?" That's in a hurry, I'll go pack my things right away. With that, he turned around and went upstairs.

An Long hurriedly stopped her, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Minna, you don't have to pack your things, Dad has to rush back as soon as possible, you don't have to go with me." ”

Minna was puzzled, but soon thought of the answer: "I know, Dad wants me to go back with Mom, right?" No problem! ”

"No......" An Long hesitated for a long time in embarrassment before he said, "Dad is thinking, you don't go back with us for the time being, stay in the magic capital, and study here for a few years first." ”

"Why?!" Minna was taken aback, and then a little aggrieved, "I want to be with my parents, I haven't seen you for more than a year, why don't you let me go back?!" Her nose was sour, and her eyes were red again.

An Long hurriedly coaxed her and said, "Minna, listen to me, in the past, our family was in Dun, and there was no school nearby, so only your mother taught you something, but you have never studied seriously. You're seven years old this year, you can't play all day like you used to, you should learn something. Your lobby brother is now in the Knight Academy, the lobby sister has passed the magic apprenticeship exam, and even the second cousin, who is only half a year older than you, has entered the Ito Elementary School of Magic. Mom and Dad don't want you to be better than them, but at least you should learn something useful. You're in the Magic City right now, and it's a great opportunity. ”

Minna heard about her cousins for the first time: "The hall sister is only three years older than me, is she already a magic apprentice?" After thinking about it, he was a little frustrated: "Actually, Professor Sauron also asked me to take the exam, but the examiner said that I was young and my magic was low, so he didn't let me pass." ”

An Long smiled: "How can the exam conducted in Ito be compared to that of the Magic Capital?" There are a lot of talents here, and the exams must be difficult, but in fact, you can really learn things here. ”

Xiao Tianjian, who had been left hanging aside for a long time, also interjected at this time: "I heard from the steward of the trading house just now that you are learning potions from Sauron now, aren't you?" In fact, he is not bad, and he can be a potions master. ”

Minna pouted: "I didn't learn from him, he uses me as a coolie now, and I have been cutting branches and leaves with him for two months." She glanced at her grandfather, and although he had brought her father, she was still a little angry that he had caused her to suffer with Sauron!

Xiao Tianjian touched his nose and didn't speak.

An Long looked at his daughter disapprovingly: "Minna, you can't be rude to grandpa." Minna stuck out her little tongue and obediently responded, but the meaning revealed in her eyes obviously didn't take it seriously. An Long glanced at his father with a wry smile, turned back to his daughter and said, "I have already discussed with your mother, your grandmother used to study here, you studied here for a few years, whether it is to learn magic or potions, lay a good foundation, and when you go back to school in Ito, you are not afraid of not being able to keep up with your homework." ”

Minna squirmed and refused to agree, but her father grimaced, and she nodded reluctantly. Xiao Tianjian saw that his little granddaughter looked aggrieved, so he said, "Okay, okay, although your father is busy with work and can't come to see you often, but your mother can come to live with you, it's much better than before." ”

Minna thought about it, so she turned her smile and showed her father: "Dad, let me tell you, I know a lot of things now, I can cook several potions, I can also look at the stars, I can recognize many plants, I can walk a lot of places, I can cook by myself." She suddenly remembered that it was dinner time, and exclaimed, "Dad, you and Grandpa haven't eaten yet, have you?" I'm going to do it right away, I don't need a magic circle to make delicious broth now! Before An Long could figure out the connection between the magic circle and the broth, she went to the kitchen.

An Long watched his daughter busy in the kitchen, and somehow a trace of emotion surged in his heart. Xiao Tianjian stood quietly behind him and asked softly, "Have you figured it out?" Do you really want to do this? ”

An Long didn't look back: "I've thought it through. Father, maybe I used to have my own selfish motives when I took on this task, but now that I know the more truth, the more I can't give up. It was my homeland, and I had sworn to shed my last drop of blood for it, and I couldn't watch those people destroy it and do nothing. ”

"Even if you don't do it, there are others, why should you take this risk?" Xiao Tianjian couldn't understand, maybe he would not back down if he was asked to sacrifice for his motherland in that world, but for the sake of Eastman, he didn't think it was worth it. Moreover, he has another concern: "Since the death of Yuri's son, the Heddah family has been vigilant, and all evidence and traces have been erased. You're my son, and they're having a hard time believing you. Is it necessary for you to leave behind your wife and children for a plan that is likely not to succeed? ”

"If everybody doesn't do it, nobody does." An Long smiled slightly, "What's more, I didn't leave them behind, I just temporarily separated from them for their safety." The department has a well-thought-out plan, and even if it takes a little longer, there will always be a day when it will succeed. Since I went to the Knights of the Capital, I have already made a lot of contributions to the department, and when this task is completed, I will no longer have to be an operative, and when the time comes, the family will be reunited, and our good days will be long. ”

Xiao Tianjian sighed and gave up the fifty-third persuasion: "I understand, I will help take care of the child, but you also have to promise me, you must be careful, you must wear the armor I gave you, and the sword must be carried with you." I'll call someone from the firm to help you. ”

An Long looked back at him gratefully: "Thank you, father, I know that you are thinking about me, but it is better not to let too many people know about this kind of thing." Believe me, at the earliest, one year at the earliest, three years at the latest, I will definitely have enough evidence to bring the traitors to justice. ”

===================== I am ====================== dividing line where time flies

Two years later.

On a summer evening, when the sun had lessened the heat a little, Minna walked briskly on her way home, humming a tune out of tune. She wore a popular local white gauze skirt and a small vest, and her long hair was loosely tied into two pigtails, and she was dressed like a little girl in Shaonan.

She is nine years old this year, and she is a whole head taller than two years ago, almost to her grandfather's chest. I don't know if it was because her mother urged her to develop the habit of drinking milk every day, and because she often walked between the top of the mountain and the bottom of the mountain, she obviously grew taller and faster than girls of the same age.

She is now a second-year student at the Elementary School in the West Commons of the Magic City, and like the rest of the students, she studies common language, history, astronomy, geography, arithmetic, art, and other popular subjects. Because the school was half-day, she spent the afternoon learning the basics of potions at Sauron, the potions master. After a full year of working with magical materials and half a year of training in mixing skills and heat mastery, she finally began learning how to make potions eight months ago.

However, each recipe had to be practiced for ten days and half a month, not only to understand how each of the ingredients worked, but also to ensure that there were no mistakes in the preparation process, and that the efficacy of the medicine was the best, and even after she had completed all these requirements, Sauron would ask her what would happen if she changed one or two of the ingredients, or what would happen if the procedure was wrong. In short, every time she learns a formula, she feels like a master too.

The most terrifying thing is that Sauron asks her to learn different recipes for the same potion, for example, she has already learned how to make four cold potions, and tomorrow she is going to learn the fifth, and before that, she has already learned how to prepare three scabies potions.

Thinking of this, Minna raised her hand to look at the tips of her ten fingers, which had been blackened by the long-term exposure to potions, and her mood fell. She has only learned less than ten potions in two years, when will she be able to finish it? She couldn't help but sigh when she remembered the words that the old magician Sennet had told her to learn from Sauron when he came to the Magic Capital to purchase materials the year before. If he hadn't said that, and her grandfather, father, and mother had urged her to go to school, she would have retreated a long time ago.

That Sauron, who has known her for so long, is still that stinky temper, and he always says that she is a fool, and that she is not worthy of being called a potion. In fact, she knew that he had always been very proud, because he had taught the stupid students that Sennet had not taught well to be his right-hand man (she had handled the materials he had used to prepare potions for the past two years).

As she walked, she turned into the commercial street, looking left and right boredly, and suddenly saw a large gauze scarf in the window of the cloakshop next to her, the pattern was her mother Dora's favorite kind, remembering that her mother's birthday this year was less than a month, she walked into the store and bought a scarf, and picked a delicate water lotus brooch, as long as you gently rub the flower holder, it will exude a faint fragrance, making people feel calm and happy.

In the past two years, Dora has come to her daughter's side a lot, and the longest time she lived was more than three months. Because the house was not big enough, Dora also rented the small building where Minna's grandmother lived and took her daughter to live. may want to compensate for her daughter's relationship, in addition to being very concerned about Minna in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, there is no more beating and scolding, and the mother and daughter get along very closely. However, even so, she couldn't help but worry about her husband, and always stayed with her daughter for a month or two, and then ran back to Ito with Winnie.

To be honest, Minna doesn't understand what happened to her parents, obviously they love each other very much and care about each other, but they always quarrel, and Dad will make Mom angry every time to go back to her parents' house, but after a while, Mom still can't help but go back to Ito, so things are in a vicious circle again.

I wonder if buying a cold-scented brooch can make mom and dad calm?

Thinking of this, Minna picked out another knight's cloak pin, which was of the same type as the water lotus brooch, and asked the clerk to pack the three things, pay for it, walk out of the store, and put it in the storage bracelet while no one was prepared.

This is the work of the alchemist Han Lin who completed it half a year later than originally planned, a simple golden vine, dotted with three small amethysts, which can change in size with the thickness of the owner's wrist. Although the storage space is only about two cubic meters, it is enough for Minna.

She walked towards the Xiao family merchant on the corner of the street, intending to ask them to help with the ride, but when she passed by the weapons store, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure: "Harpy?!" Why are you here? Didn't your mother say you weren't allowed to come here again? "It's the boy I met on the way to the Magic City.

Harpy was about to sneak into the store, but she was startled, and hurriedly shushed several times, looked left and right, and dragged her into the alley next to the store. Minna was almost dragged down by him, and asked inexplicably, "What are you doing?" Sneaky. ”

Harpy booed a few more times, looked out, and quickly shrank back: "Stupid! Are you going to kill me? I sneaked out while my mother was talking to the tailor, and it would be bad for her to find out. ”

Minna learned from him to look out, and sure enough, she saw his mother's round face looking at the door of the tailor's shop, and hurriedly shrank back and smiled: "You deserve it!" Who told you to sneak away? I heard that you hung up again on this exam? If you keep going like this, you'll be dropped out of school! ”

Harpy waved his hand nonchalantly: "I didn't want to be a magician, I dropped out of school, and then I could go and learn swords." He rolled up his sleeves to show the little muscles in his arms: "You see, I'm much stronger now than I used to be." ”

"Wait until you find a swordsmanship teacher who is willing to teach you." Minna poured cold water on him, and he was immediately deflated, but soon looked at her with eyes full of hope: "Minna, isn't your grandfather a big hero and a big master?" Can you intercede for me and let him teach me a few tricks? It doesn't take much, just a few tricks. ”

Minna said embarrassedly: "My grandfather hasn't come back yet, and he never accepts students." "Even if you accept students, you may not have the heart to teach. has lived a stable life in the past two years, and she can see the true face of her grandfather. When he has nothing to do, he sleeps until he wakes up naturally every day, and when he wakes up, he eats and drinks, or walks around, or finds friends, or goes to the tavern to have two drinks. What's more, because Minna has to go to school and learn potions every day, he simply doesn't teach her swordsmanship anymore, at most reminding her to practice when she has time.

Harpy lowered his head in disappointment, rolled his eyes a few times, and then had an idea: "That's better than ......" As soon as he started talking, there was a loud shout from the entrance of the alley: "Stinky boy!" You've made it here! "It turned out to be his mother's arrival. Harpy jumped up in fright: "Mom! He hurriedly dropped a "goodbye", turned around and ran.

Minna saw Happi's mother rushing over, hurriedly turned around and pretended to be a passerby, and when she chased after her, she hurried to the alley. In order to avoid her being angry with herself if she couldn't catch up with her son, Minna quickly went to the Xiao family branch, handed over the gift, and ran home.

Once inside, Minna cast a cleaning charm on the turtle and rag bats on the floor, then put them away. After looking at the situation in the house, he knew that his grandfather Xiao Tianjian had not come back yet. She sighed and prepared her own dinner. She has long been accustomed to this kind of life.

After dinner, she went to the study to do her homework. Today there was only geography and history homework, and it didn't take long for her to finish it, and she reviewed her potions knowledge again, and was about to go back to her room to sleep, when she heard the sound of the door opening downstairs. She was overjoyed, and quickly ran out of the room and downstairs, shouting, "Grandpa, are you back?" ”

Xiao Tianjian took off the old boots on his feet, walked to the sofa barefoot, stretched his waist and lay down, and said, "I'm back, how are you at home these days?" Good or not? ”

"Of course, I clean every day." Minna leaned over and sniffed, pinching her nose and waving her hand to fan the wind, "It stinks!" Grandpa, let's take a bath! ”

Xiao Tianjian went to the bathroom with a smile, and shouted as he walked: "Make some supper for grandpa, I'm starving, and I haven't eaten anything good on the way." The wind and sand are getting stronger and stronger on the other side of Wisha, and I'm about to be blown dry......"

By the time he came out, Minna had already brought out the leftover veal stew and vegetable soup from today. Xiao Tianjian devoured it for a while, and then slowly and methodically picked his teeth and asked, "How are you studying lately?" Did Sauron scold you? ”

"It's been okay lately, I'm used to it anyway." Minna stretched out ten fingers, "It's just that I've been boiling cold potions for the past few days, Grandpa, you see, my fingers are all dyed black." ”

Xiao Tianjian carefully looked at the little granddaughter's fingertips and frowned: "It won't be poisoned, right?" It's a medicine that is poisonous, and those things are not so safe. He regretted it a little, and although potions mastery was a fairly safe and promising profession, it was not a good thing for a little girl to work with herbs and animal organs all day.

Minna was amused when she heard it: "Grandpa, I won't be poisoned, it's just that I'm contaminated with medicinal juice." "She drank a body-strengthening potion for a whole month, and ordinary poisons didn't work for her at all, not to mention that she only made very ordinary potions.

But Xiao Tianjian was still a little worried, and after thinking about it, he asked, "Your mother hasn't been here for six months, right?" Minna nodded: "Dad wrote that they quarreled again, and Mom ran back to Grandpa's house." I really don't understand, why do they keep arguing? And, mom left Ito, why didn't she come to me? ”

Xiao Tianjian smiled: "Silly boy, you have studied geography, from Ito to Port Matt, you only need to walk by water for five or six days, and if you ride a fast horse by land, you can get there in three days." It's easy if your dad wants to pick up your mom, or if your mom wants to go to your dad, but if your mom comes here, it's a long time. ”

Minna thought about it and said with a smile: "So, in fact, my mother wants to reconcile with my father more easily, so she doesn't come to me?" It's really troublesome, why do adults like to quarrel so much? quarreled and thought about reconciliation. ”

Xiao Tianjian smiled and said nothing, suddenly, he remembered that there was only one year left in the time that An Long had agreed with him, and judging from the news from the trading house, things seemed to be going well, and maybe he could succeed in advance, so he said to his granddaughter: "Minna, your semester is almost over, right?" Do you want to see your mom and dad? ”

Minna blinked, her heart was overjoyed, and she hurriedly approached her grandfather, but heard him say, "Let's go on another trip, shall we?" Follow the river to Igny and Porto Doro. She glared at her grandfather in disappointment, then turned away from him.

Xiao Tianjian chuckled and said, "Then let's start from Doro Harbor, go north along the coast, go to Matport to see your mother and grandfather, and then go to Ito with your mother to find your father, okay?" ”

Minna turned around excitedly and lunged at him.

(Why can't I write in 4K lately?) I didn't plan to write that much...... ）