Five years later.

The nineteen-year-old shadow owl wore the uniform of a servant of the Divine Official's Mansion and waited for the second lady to come out at the gate of the "Imperial Conservatory".

The Imperial Conservatory of Music is a magnificent complex, and the imposing plaque at the entrance is also handwritten by a national treasure musician. The Shadowlord leaned against the outer wall of the academy arch, carefully hiding himself in the shadow of the plaque.

Now he is a little less melancholy and childish than when he was sold as a bonus in the "Original People Trading Market" five years ago, and he is more calm and mature. The dark blue uniform he wore was dull in color, contrasting with the glamorous college uniforms around him, and the silver collar around his neck made it clear that the original man was not only a servant who had sold himself, but was also under the strictest control.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, students came out of the school gate one after another.

The students here are all winged people, and most of them come from prominent backgrounds and wealthy families. Their parents were social elites, celebrity academics, imperial officials, business executives...... These children from elite families learn and grow together, dedicating their energy and love to the supreme pursuit of music. They will grow all the way and become the envy of everyone.

The students walked by in groups of three or five, talking and laughing, and did not notice that he was hiding here through the shadows.

About ten minutes later, a light, slim girl walked towards the school gate surrounded by many students. The youngest daughter of the Imperial Grand Priest - Eliza. Walker wore a beige double-breasted spring school uniform jacket and a crimson skirt, and his short brown hair, carefully groomed, was swept by the breeze, and a few strands of snow-white streamers were wrapped around the ends of his hair to sway gently, delicate and chic.

Although she is only a freshman in the first year of college, Eliza has captured a group of fans in the school with her cheerful and bright personality, excellent taste, solid musical accomplishment, and noble background. As the sun sets, she is surrounded by the crowd but it is very eye-catching, and her slender figure can be clearly distinguished at a glance. Like clouds and moons, it's not beautiful.

The crowd stopped in front of the school gate.

In order not to block the passage of the students behind her, Eliza deliberately leaned to the side before saying goodbye to her classmates.

"You guys go first, someone will pick me up later." Her voice is no longer immature five years ago, and there is a bit more neat coercion in her pure and beautiful voice.

"Huh!? Can it only be delivered to the school gate? The blonde girl closest to her was the first to be unhappy, "The Divine Official's Mansion is not far from here, so there's nothing wrong with sending you back, right?" ”

"Everyone has to go home, so it's better not to take a detour for me alone." Eliza smiled, "Besides, each of you also has a driver and housekeeper at home to pick you up, and it would be undignified to make your subordinates wait too long." ”

At this point, most of the students in the crowd said goodbye and left.

After a few moments, there were only a few die-hard die-hard fans left who didn't want to leave.

"Is the person who came to pick you up late?" The girl closest to her just now not only didn't leave, but also interrogated reluctantly, "Either you go with me?" Eliza. My family's car has arrived, and I asked the driver to take you back. ”

"Not really, Miria. I like to walk home from school. Eliza waved her hand, "You go first, we'll see you at school tomorrow." ”

"Okay...... the girl pouted and said goodbye reluctantly, "Then I'll go first, see you tomorrow." ”

Miria is arguably Eliza's most die-hard fan. When the others saw that even she had given in, they followed suit and did not stay long, saying goodbye and leaving.

Eliza stood in place, watching her classmates disperse before she looked around: "Hmm...... Where are you hiding this time? ”

Before she could finish speaking, the Shadow Owl stood silently in front of her.

"Are you a cat?" Eliza was taken aback, "Why didn't there be any movement at all......"

"No......," the Shadow Owl replied with a sigh.

"I should have named you a rhinoceros or an elephant if I had known it...... Animals with a louder voice. Eliza turned her head away.

"Uh......" Shadowlord reacted a little, "I'm not scaring you, am I?" ”

"Not really."

"That's there...... Well...... I'm sorry. I'll pay attention next time. With that, Shadow Owl stepped forward and naturally took the bag in Eliza's hand, "Do you want to go back now?" ”

"Go back. Just take the road that passes through the park. ”

"Okay." The Shadow Owl then followed Eliza's left back and headed towards the park.

The birds that arrive in the evening whisper in the air, and the afterglow of the setting sun drags their shadows long. The surrounding street scene is as quiet and picturesque, and the Shadow Hero feels that he should remember this beautiful moment for a lifetime.

"It's been five years before I know it." Eliza sighed suddenly.

"Do you say it starts from the day you bought me?" Shadow Owl reacted quickly.

"Hmm...... We were both 14 years old. Eliza smiled as if she remembered something, "I still like the first time we met, you had that high ponytail hairstyle that only existed in the Middle Ages." ”

Shadow Owl blushed: "That's what the store manager asked, I don't like it...... Girls just comb their ponytails. ”

"But it's very majestic, like a little general from a martial arts novel."

"......" Shadow Owl deliberately did not answer.

The atmosphere froze slightly.

After a moment, Eliza suddenly asked, "Have you thought about what you are going to do in the future?" ”

The person being asked looked at her inexplicably, "Later?" How long later? ”

"A year? Maybe longer...... I mean, according to the rules of the Gensheng Wing, you can only stay with me until I am 20 years old at most, right? In fact, according to the country's regulations - you have citizenship at the age of 20. No longer subject to the Wing Man, you can live the life you want. Of course, if you want to leave the Priest's Mansion by then, I can help you get an Imperial Citizenship Certificate. With the return of your six years of work, you should be able to cover the cost of the purchase at that time......"

"Hey, wait a minute...... Shadowowl looked confused, "Does this kind of thing need to be considered now?" ”

"Huh? Don't need it? ”

"Ah, I haven't thought about it yet...... Shadowlord scratched his hair in embarrassment, "after all, it's a year later." ”

Eliza looked at his troubled appearance, and suddenly felt that this scene was not unpredictable: "That's right, this is your style." ”

Before they knew it, the two had walked into Central Park.

Central Park is an open attraction between the Imperial Conservatory of Music and the Mansion, about 3 or 4 blocks in size. The scenery is pleasant, full of greenery, birds and flowers, and it is free to enter, making it a good place for citizens to take a walk and play on their days off.

Eliza finds a rocky area where she can avoid the crowds. With light drums on both wings, elegantly fly to the top of one of the highest rockeries and sit down.

Shadowowl took a brief look at the terrain around him. With his right hand, he carefully picked up his master's school bag, and with his left hand, he climbed up the gap between the rocks, and sat down next to Eliza in a few leaps, which was not much slower than the speed of flying.

"It's hard for you to fly so high." Eliza put her foot in the air and shook it twice.

"This kind of stone is easier to borrow." Shadowlord found a clean place to put his bag down.

"It's been like this before...... No matter where I fly, there's always a way for you to climb up to me. Others are playing tricks on their own servants like this, how can they not be effective for you? ”

"Because you don't seem to like teasing me." The shadow owl is serious.

Eliza glanced at him, burst out laughing, and then said while laughing, "It's a pity that you're not a winged person, otherwise such a good skill, you should really go to enlist in the Guards Legion on my sister's side." ”

"Hmm...... Unfortunately not. ”

"There are still 10 months ......to go," Eliza changed the subject, "less than a year." ”

The Shadow Owl didn't react for a moment, and was stunned for a moment before "Huh? "Yes.

"If you don't have any plans for the future, can you listen to my advice? …… In the last 10 months. ”

"Suggestions?" The term was a little unfamiliar to Shadow Owl, "Not a requirement?" ”

Eliza shook her head: "This has to do with your future after you are free, so I can only suggest it." How you do it depends on your own choice. ”

"Oh......" The shadow owl looked like he didn't care about himself, but looked at each other curiously, "I think you're serious this time?" ”

Eliza leaned forward: "Shouldn't you be the one who should be serious?" ”

"Really?"

"Forget it...... I shouldn't expect you to take your own affairs very seriously. ”

“……”

Eliza took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it, then straightened up slightly, turned sideways to face the Shadow Owl, and said word by word, "I hope you can consider Wing Humanization." ”

Shadowowl froze.

It was as if he had heard a language that he couldn't understand, and his face was stunned.

"I'll admit it, it's my extremely selfish thoughts......" Eliza's emerald green eyes had a look of guilt, "but I really want you to stay by my side." ”

At this, she paused.

Birds chirp in the air as they prepare to return home, and the sky near the setting sun is dyed red.

Eliza looked at the glow in the distance and continued: "20 years old is a watershed in life for a person like me. On their 20th birthday, the Origin Wings must dismiss their former servants and appoint a Daybreaker as their immediate attendant. I actually...... Not ready to say goodbye to you. But rules are rules, and even I have to follow them......"

Shadowlord nodded, he understood these words.

The difference between the so-called "Daybreaker Wingman" and "Origin Winged Man", he has been with Eliza for so many years, and he has long heard the people around him talk about it. The origin of these two titles can be traced back to before they were born, the tragic war that involved most of the world in the flames of war-

In 1970, the long-standing diplomatic confrontation between the "United League of Mankind" and the "Winged People Special Zone" finally escalated into a world war called the "Dawn War" with the declaration of independence of the Special Administrative Region as the fuse of the "Qingyun Empire". The five-year war ended with a treaty, but both the United Alliance of Humanity and the Empire of the Clouds, sitting on either side of the negotiating table, paid a terrible price. The Wingmen of the Empire even hated humanity because of this, disparaging the humans who still inhabited the Empire as inferior citizens, and even stripped them of the name "Human" and called them "Primitives". On the other hand, the Qingyun Empire counted all the winged people who fought for the country in the "Dawn War", and rewarded their bloodline, the title of "Origin Winged People". Based on these two principles, the Winged Society was divided into three parts: the Origin Winged People, the top of the pyramid and less than 20% of the empire's population; Humans who have undergone wing transplantation, or winged people who originally lived in other countries, immigrated to the Qingyun Empire after the war, and are collectively referred to as "Daybreakers"; and the lowest level of the pyramid, the lowly human race, who nevertheless made up more than half of the total population of the empire.

"So, if, I mean if......" Eliza withdrew her gaze, with a faint twinkle in her eyes, "if I had a choice...... I wish I could appoint the Wingman Squire, and that would be you, too. ”

Shadowlord blinked.

What started out as a stunned look turned into consternation.

“…… Me? ”

Eliza pursed her lips and nodded vigorously.

The Shadow Owl was stunned for a moment, then looked up to the sky and sighed, "Alas...... You know that every time you are serious, you will not make any normal requests. ”

“…… Looks like you're embarrassed. Eliza pursed her lips and turned her face to the side.

"Nope." The Shadow Owl looked at her and said seriously, "I have always felt that being chosen by you is the most glorious thing in my life, and I have decided to work hard to complete every job you have given me. It was you who gave ...... There is no sense of living in this world without the past me. ”

“…… Shadow Owl. ”

"In return, your wish is mine." At this point, he paused and tilted his head slightly. The collar around his neck flashed red like blood in the rays of the setting sun, "If you want me to be a Wingman, then no matter what the price, I will also become a Wingman." ”

"I ......" Eliza, who has always been quick-witted, felt a little choked, "I ...... I really didn't think that you would be able to agree to it so smoothly......"

"Well, yes." The shadow owl is light and light.

“……”

"What's wrong? Aren't you happy? ”

Eliza lowered her head, her eyes drowning in the shadow of her bangs.

The wind passes without a trace, the birdsong is still there, and the tourists in the park are sparse but endless.

The Shadow Owl was not nervous about his master's silence.

For the most part, this silence is often followed by astonishing utterances, but he doesn't resist, as he did five years ago.

I don't know how long it took for Eliza to slowly raise her head.

The breeze ruffled the ends of her hair, and the halo of the setting sun reflected the soft and bright lines of the side of her face.

She blinked in the wind, her voice drifting through the air around her, "You've never told me about your own wishes. ”

"Huh?" Shadowlord was puzzled, "Didn't I just say that?" ”

"No, I mean...... Your own desires. It has nothing to do with me, just yourself. Eliza turned to look at him, "Don't you have anything you want to do, want to know, or want to accomplish?" …… I thought that people wanted to be free – like being able to control their own lives after the age of 20. But you don't seem to be like anyone else, you don't even think about what happens after freedom...... So what exactly do you want? What about forgetting the command and only saying that you really want it? ”

"......" This time it was the turn of the Shadow Owl to be silent.

True Desire......

It was a question that no one had ever asked him and no one would ever ask him.

The winged people don't care what a proto-human servant wants - proto-human beings are originally like objects, bought and squandered at will. Eliza, however, was different, unlike all the Wingmen he had ever met, and she was really asking such a question, which he had to answer even as an order.

The Shadow Owl thought very seriously, his fingers subconsciously rubbing the edge of the collar.

"Maybe once in a while...... Want to know who I am. For a long time, he said lightly, "Where were you born, who are your parents, and what your childhood was like." But in fact, I know in my heart that even if I know, I can't do anything, so it doesn't make a difference whether I know it or not, and life is still the same. ”

"It's different!" Eliza suddenly raised her voice, "It's different...... If that's what you want. ”

"Huh?"

"Let's exchange. If you can grant my wish, I'll grant yours! I'm here to help you get your erased memories back. ”

"No, I'm just talking about ......"

"But I've decided." Eliza interrupted him, looking back firmly.

This shadow owl has seen it.

Five years ago, when she decided to buy him, it was the same look.

How could he stop a determination that even Aurelia couldn't stop?

“…… All right. Shadowlord raised his hand in surrender, "Although I don't think there's any value in giving me such a 'broken code' to retrieve my memories." But...... Whatever you want. ”

"Hmm!"

"Now, isn't it time to talk about my mission?" Shadowlord asked, "Something about Winghumanization...... As far as I know, the Empire's current policy is extremely strict with the control of the Winged Humanization metrics. Not to mention a primitive without a free identity - even those adult primordials who have already made great achievements in the industry have to be one in a million if they want to obtain the wing humanization index. Unless you have some way to take shortcuts. ”

"Yes." Eliza replied, "But before you do that, you have to go to the Imperial Academy of Sciences once. Only that agency can detect whether a primordial has the basic qualifications for wing-humanization. ”