Brunei hadn't woken up at a time like five in the morning for a long time — about a little over a month.

On this day, however, he awoke punctually and naturally at five o'clock, as he had slept in the longhouse, and spent a dreamless night, awake as if he had never slept, shrouded in the cold of winter, and accustomed to it.

Theoretically, spring does not start on the day of the New Year, sometimes early, sometimes late, and Brunei once studied at a very young age and has vague memories. But in reality, no one cares what day spring starts, everyone in Taal Village will start sowing after the New Year, so what is the significance of the so-called theoretical start time of spring?

Brunei put on a black close-fitting fleece jacket and black fleece trousers, the only two clothes that Miltrov's servants had equipped for free, seemed to be warmer than when he had wrapped himself in layers in the past. He quickly and methodically put on his black coat, and finally, took out the torn black robe that had been used as a futon from under the bed, and wrapped himself completely in it.

Then he spread the sheets with his own hands, folding the cups into the shape of squares he had seen when he came—something he had never done before, which made it a little difficult for him to do it, and repeated it three times before he could barely make a point. Next to the bed, on the table, on the floor, and everywhere else, except for a black cloth bag about the size of the one he had carried when he left home, it was exactly the same as when he first saw the room under the guidance of the Ford butler.

After taking a basin of water and carefully cleaning his face, Brunei took out the sharp dagger from his waist, tested its sharpness with his fingers again, and then used it to clean the fluffy beard on his face.

[Hey, I thought you were going to create a raunchy image of a worldly master, and you were growing a beard in advance. 】

So, three minutes after waking up, Brunei rechecked his full outfit and pushed open the door to his room.

"Ah...... Miss, you woke up early today. Brunei was slightly stunned when he saw Scarly, who looked startled by his sudden opening, if he was really scared by him opening the door, Scarly seemed to have been lingering at his door for a while, "The letter from Your Excellency the City Lord said that the duel will begin in the afternoon, you can rest for a while before leaving. ”

"I didn't fall asleep. Scarly was right, the dark circles under her eyes were unusually clear on her fair skin, "Besides, didn't you get up early?

According to the impression of the first meeting, Scarly was not actually mean - at least to a low-level person like Brunei, her attitude can be regarded as gentle and polite among the students of College City as a whole. But now hearing her say this, Brunei didn't feel any disobedience, smiled, and changed the topic: "By the way, Miss, Happy New Year." ”

"Happy New Year—" Scarly nodded in response as if subconsciously, and then, as if suddenly reacting, somehow got angry again, and shouted in a reprimanding tone, "What are you talking about!

Brunei laughed: "Miss, in the eyes of our empire, the New Year is one of the most important festivals. How can you say a New Year's message with the attitude of 'in the mood to think about this'?"

Scarly choked for a long time, and finally stamped her foot viciously, and said angrily: "Nonsense! New Year's is the most important holiday, it is not a matter of course, what is in the eyes of the Imperial - you know what I am talking about!"

Brunei blinked: "Miss, you don't have to worry so much about me. ”

"I didn't worry!" Scarly's fair skin, in addition to the black of the dark circles, the red was also very conspicuous, "It's just that you're my guard, I can't-"

Although it's a pity that the double ponytail burns off, it's still great!]

"I'm a makeshift guard. The not-so-competent kind. Brunei coughed twice, "And, the month is almost over." ”

The red on Scarly's cheeks went from light to dark, and finally it looked as if she could squeeze out the blood with a pinch of her hand: "Less nonsense!"

Brunei bowed his head and ended the topic: "Yes, Miss." ”

Brunei finally walked out of the room, her eyes drawn to the doorway, and at the same time, Scarly finally saw what was going on in his room, sparking a new round of conversation.

Scarly was obviously stunned for a long time, until Brunei felt that she was looking back quietly, and then turned to look at Brunei and spoke, but her tone suddenly seemed a little happy: "You're leaving College City?"

Brunei nodded: "There is such a plan." ”

"Oh, no wonder you're so relaxed. Scarly suddenly laughed, which made Brunei very puzzled for a while, but fortunately she quickly added to her own explanation, answering Brunei's doubts, "But it's a shame that you still have the heart to sleep here." If you want to go, of course, it's better to leave early?Do you need me to help you? Although I'm in the family—well, I don't have much status, but it's okay to do you a little favor as a homeless man in my name. Hurry up and pack up—oh, you've got it, we-"

"Miss, you misunderstood. Brunei interrupted Scarly, who was becoming more and more energetic, in a normal tone, and his attitude was as respectful, cold, and a little combing as usual, though he actually had a very subtle feeling in his heart, half of which seemed to be sad, and the other half of which he could not even find a similar emotion. He continued: "I didn't intend to run away from the glorious duel to the death. Although I have always considered myself an Imperialist, after all, I am afraid that I will live in the sphere of influence of the Federation in the future, and of course I should also adapt, well, the living habits of the Federation. ”

Brunei's words were a bit too much, he wasn't going to say so much. It's just that he didn't know why he was a little nervous, and he didn't want to hear the answer of Scarly, who had lowered his head and clenched his fists from the moment he interjected, so he started talking nonsense with his mind blank. Whenever this happens, he sincerely thanks the system, and in the system's exemplary education and repeated practice with its cooperation, Brunei's ability and level have been significantly improved.

But there weren't so many suitable things for Brunei to talk about, and there was a moment of finishing, followed by a silence that made him feel intensely uncomfortable, or a dead silence. And yet in the midst of this excessive silence, it was evident that something was fermenting and expanding, like a bubble agitated under the calm surface of the water, growing bigger and closer—

"No kidding!" finally exploded.

"You're going to die! What do you mean by that attitude! Are you trying to tell me you're not afraid of death at all! Are you trying to tell me I'm the only one worried!" Scarly's voice no longer looked like a roar, and even because of the repeated breaking, Brunei couldn't hear it very clearly when she was so close, the only thing she could hear clearly was the sobbing mixed between her words, just as the only thing that could be seen clearly was her tear-soaked red eyes.

Scarly punched Bruneith on the shoulder, and Bruneith silently endured it, only to realize that Scully was not wearing the shoes with horribly thick soles that he had barely left since Ford Butler left.

"System. Does she like me?" he asked in his mind, and the response was greeted by a few sneers.

[Psychological test: 93>60, failed.] You can't understand the thoughts of the girl in front of you, and the assumptions you think of can't find a basis in your heart. In your opinion, even if she really has an extraordinary affection for you, she is acting too exaggerated at the moment. You can't understand her, you can't judge her. 】

[Heh, hehe, haha. My little Brunei, you're so cute that I almost mean you're the innocent kid who thinks you've never experienced a fart. 】

The system is right. It wasn't the first time he had felt that Scarly had a special affection for him, and it wasn't the strongest feeling, but he had never felt it before, and at this time, he asked the system this question. The psychology test fails, but that doesn't matter — yes, it doesn't matter what the outcome is.

Brunei in turn pressed Scarly's head, and when she looked up in surprise because of this abrupt and disrespectful action, she showed the warmest smile he had shown since leaving the Empire: "Miss, thank you for worrying. I'm not going to die. ”

"Moreover, no one will die. ”

............

The venue of the duel was set by the dean outside the south gate of the academy city, and the time was from four o'clock in the afternoon.

It seems that Skordi, as the dean, is not completely ignorant of the illegal industries outside the south gate of the city that do not comply with the rules and regulations of the academy city, and may even trade with some of them for money - not to mention the location, this time seems to be the time to go back after watching the duel and having a meal outside the city.

Maybe it was because Scully wasn't used to following Brunei that she didn't speak all the way, and as a result, Brunei had to think about these messy things, because she didn't think about them—

[Ha!ha!ha!Brunei, my little Brunei!hahaha!I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you, it's just, I can't help it, hahaha!'Nobody will die', hahaha!, is it up to you?】

His mind would be completely controlled by the system's endless and insane laughter from the moment he uttered it, and most importantly, as he had done so many times in the past, he would have no idea what was causing the system to laugh so wildly, or to rage, or to react in any other way.

Today, the south gate of the College City was rarely wide open - it was the first time that Brunei knew that the south gate had been opened outwards rather than inwards. There were twice as many guards as usual, and the armor and spears were as if they were new, and they were even brighter than usual, and if it weren't for the cloudy day, Brunei believed that the reflection on their bodies would be dizzying.

There were so many people crowded outside the door that just by looking at their dress and sunken cheeks from a distance, Brunei could guess that they were the ones who had already lived outside the city. They didn't go home on New Year's Day, and they took every possible opportunity to get into the college town. Brunei felt that he should have felt something, but in fact he did not have it at all.

The eight extra guards, plus the four who were supposed to be standing inside the gate, were now standing outside the gate, preventing them from attempting to enter the city, and at the same time forcibly dividing the crowd into two parts, squeezing them on either side, and barely squeezing out a wide passage in the middle, which could be called a man.

Today's opening of the south gate is for the preparation of the duel of life and death in the afternoon. After thinking of this, Brunei's heart beat violently, and the chaotic thoughts that had been pressed in his stomach surged into his throat, making him feel a little like vomiting for a moment.

Thankfully, Brunei's ability to self-adjust had improved considerably, and in just three seconds, he had put back those jumbled thoughts and the nervous and panic that came with them. He swept the faces of each guard one by one, but did not see Munch in them. This made Brunei feel a little regretful.

After passing through the passage that the guards had helped to hold out, leaving the extremely crowded area of the city gate, and officially walking outside the city, Brunei found that the outside of the city was much more lively than usual today. It's only about nine o'clock in the morning, and there are already pedestrians on the road. In the past month or so, Brunei has never seen such a lively situation when he goes out of the city, especially since most of these pedestrians are well-dressed, and most of them seem to be people from the college city, and nine times out of ten they are students and teachers, let alone the situation.

They were looking forward to the impending life-and-death duel, perhaps because it was a rare event for them, maybe they were expecting a battle for glory, maybe they were expecting the death of someone else to come. It's like the system, it's not cold-blooded or cold-blooded, it's just out of the way, so it's able to detachably take pleasure in cruel things.

After leaving the city, he walked for about forty or fifty minutes, which was not a very long distance for Brunei, although he was not proud of his physical strength, and was even quite weak among his peers, but perhaps it was the results of those months of training in the Endless Mountains, and walking seemed to him to be a completely non-exhausting task.

But it didn't seem so easy for Scarly, Brunei was walking according to his own pace all the way, and now when he looked back, he found that Scarly, who had been following him, was already flushed and sweaty, and when he settled down slightly, he began to gasp slightly, not at all in a cloudy winter morning, but in the scorching heat.

The corners of Bruneisi's mouth twitched: "Miss, you really don't need to come along." ”

"I don't come along, how do you know if you're lying to me?" Scully saw him turn around, straightened her waist suddenly, and after saying a few words, adjusted her breathing, as if this would suppress the desire to breathe, and then, as if she reacted, crossed her waist again, "Why, do you think I can't even hold on to these two steps?"

Brunei laughed twice and continued to walk forward.

[Having said that, although I don't know why she is so naïve, your words really restored her spirits. This is commendable. Well, well done, little Brunei!]

The system has finally stopped sneering, but now Brunei doesn't have the energy to respond to the system's slightly more normal nonsense. He could already see a majestic building that he had never seen in the suburbs of the south of the city before, like a tall circular building, with pure white marble cast into a wall with a total height of more than ten meters, inlaid with huge black holes, revealing the black clouds on the other side.

[Arena, this old thing is a bit tasteful. 】

Brunei was as sure that there was no building a week ago, just as he was sure that this was the place where he would fight Thrace Fernando to the death. In other words, the so-called "arena", which was as tall and majestic as any building Brunei had ever seen, was built in the space of a week.

It's a pity that Brunei doesn't have much time to spend lamenting the engineering abilities of His Excellency Lord Skordi.

The man who was also shrouded in black like Brunei, but whose intricate black dress was like a jewel, reflecting a little thin light on a cloudy day, did not look luxurious in his clothes and decorations, but undoubtedly extremely expensive, enveloping him in it, blending in with the vast backdrop outside the city, and at the same time, appearing at any banquet would never be out of place.

The man stood in the doorway with impeccable manners, saluting everyone who entered the building, with gestures and every subtle movement that was more appropriate than any doorman Brunei had ever seen who specialized in this aspect of etiquette.

After kissing the finger of a lady who was not well dressed for such cold weather, the man straightened up again, his gaze turned to Brunei's side, and his sky-blue eyes seemed to project endless sorrow - or nothing.

"Scarlett, long time no see. He bowed.

"Brunei Carlisle, I've been waiting for you for a long time. Good morning. ”