When Cheese and Roland followed the little sparrow to the south gate of the royal capital. They saw the unusually lively scene gathered under the city gates, the crows hovering in the sky and the noisy passers-by on the ground, bringing an irritating concert on this oppressive afternoon. Shadow...... Or rather, the body of the shadow was hung from the inside of the city gate, and a black noose was put around his neck, hanging the killer in mid-air over the city gate.

There was no need to get close for Cheese to be sure that the man who was hanging from the gate was indeed a shadow. And again, there is no need to get closer, and the mage can be sure that the shadow is dead. The soul in that shell has left this world. Cheese took a deep breath. Although he had not known the bartender and killer for a long time, the mutual temptation of the first meeting had already impressed the mage.

When Sparrow sees the Shadow's corpse again, he loses the strength to stand. For the little sparrow, the shadow is his brother-like existence. In the days before Cheese came, the "Crimson Blood" bartender often bullied Sparrow, but more often than not, the presence of the shadow saved Sparrow and many children like him from a tragic fate. But now, the unforgiving bartender has become a corpse at the gates, and he can no longer protect the children.

Roland's brow furrowed under the brim of his hat, although the old man and the shadow had only been in the witch's house once, but he knew very well that this man was on the side of the cheese. Moreover, Sparrow wept so sadly that the old man had to wrap him in a wide cloak and carry him out into the shadows of the street so as not to attract the attention of passers-by. It is conceivable that if the little sparrow had not escaped to the house where Cheese was located in time, there might have been one more corpse hanging here today.

"When was he hung there?" said Sparrow was unable to speak. Cheese walked alone into the crowd of onlookers and asked a passer-by. The mage controlled his facial expression well, making him look like another guy who had come to join in the fun without knowing the truth.

When it comes to spreading gossip, human beings may have an instinctive talent. After the man had taken a look at Cheese's normal attire, he made a lewd look and looked around, as if he was about to say something shocking, and whispered in the mage's ear.

"I don't know exactly when, it seems like the man was hanging there just after noon. ”

Afternoon...... In other words, it was a day after Sparrow was separated yesterday before he was hung here for public display.

"Did the city guards do it?" the mage whispered with the same expression and movement. Hanging the most heinous criminals at the gates of the city as an example was a common practice in armies such as the city guards. So it makes sense for Cheese to guess that the person who hung the shadow was the city guard or the armed forces of the kingdom.

"Hey, who's to say it's not! The king hasn't hung himself on the city gate for many years, and I remember the last time he did it was when the first king exterminated the rebellious noble lords, and then the first king hung that guy's body on the city gate for three days and three nights. The man said excitedly, "But I don't think it's that simple this time." You didn't see it late, and I heard that when the body was first discovered, the soldiers guarding the city gate were also surprised. It seems that the man was not hung by them, and some people say that they saw the soldiers sending someone to ask their superiors what to do with the body. ”

Although this kind of gossip cannot be fully believed, Cheese did read the puzzle on the faces of the soldiers who maintained law and order near the city gates. The soldiers did look like they didn't know what to do. But if the person who hanged the shadow here was not a soldier of the royal capital, who had the ability and means to hang a man on the city gate in full view of everyone?

Cheese's mind was a little messy. He didn't know what the best solution was in this situation. Should you pretend not to know and walk away?, but looking at the shadow's dead expression, the mage really couldn't bear to throw him here for the ignorant to see. Besides, he believed that if "One-Eye" knew that he was gone, the underground leader who regarded Shadow as a cronie would definitely not let him go.

But if you ask the guards to put down the shadow of the corpse...... It's just a matter of exposing your existence, which is likely to be a trap set by the enemy. Who can guarantee that there are no assassins who are lying in ambush with blades in the crowd around them?

With such a tangled thought, Cheese walked back to Roland and them. The little sparrow had stopped crying under Roland's comfort, it was not that the child had never seen death, but the death of an unrelated person and the death of the people around him were completely different things. Patting Sparrow on the shoulder, Cheese looked down at the kid. The little sparrow also looked at the mage, and the traces of tears and snot on his face made the already unclean little face even dirtier. But Sparrow didn't care, he looked at Cheese with a pleading look, and although he didn't make a sound, he said two words to the mage with his mouth.

"Save Him"

The moment he read the lips of the little sparrow, Cheese's head instantly exploded. The mage felt like something was breaking inside him, and the wound was pouring out of a scorching fire. Reason was shattered in an instant, and Cheese felt a rage he had never felt at the provocation of his enemies and the insults to his companions. But the more angry he became, the softer Cheese's expression became. He leaned down, touched Sparrow's head with his hand, and said.

"Don't worry, I'll bring him back. ”

The gray robe reappeared on Cheese's body at some point. The costumes that were originally worn to hide from others mean nothing to the current mage. A terrifying aura began to emanate from Cheese's body. When he stood up and walked towards the crowd, although he didn't know why, the people watching the excitement unconsciously avoided the gray-robed man wearing a hood. Although it was only for a few seconds, Roland was keenly aware that behind the cheese gray robe, a strange pattern with an octopus-like twisted body and tentacles, but also a large number of eyes flashed away.

"I'm sorry sir, you can't get any closer. The soldier guarding the corpse blocked Cheese's path with crossed swords. Although the two soldiers wanted to ignore the terrifying gray-robed man when they saw Cheese, they still drew their swords and stood up in front of the mage out of their duty as city defenders.

With his head down, Cheese saw the two shimmering metallic blades crossed in front of him, and he raised his head slightly, allowing the two soldiers to see his eyes.

"Stop, let him pass!" Just as the two soldiers were about to see Cheese's eyes, a voice rang out from behind the crowd.

Hearing this, the two soldiers hurriedly withdrew to their sides as if they had been pardoned. Since someone gave the order, then it was naturally no problem for them as soldiers to carry out the order.

Cheese, on the other hand, felt a little familiar with the voice, and he felt as if he had heard it somewhere. Feeling this, the mage turned his head away, and then he saw a golden figure walking in from the crowd.

"Long time no see, Mr. Wizard. Lothar said with an embarrassed smile on his face in his signature gold armor.