Fern and Stan each carry a bundle of yellow demon grass and walk back to the cave in the snow. A few dozen steps away from the cave, Fern was shocked to find a faint glow of fire coming through the crack in the cloak covering the entrance of the cave, and the mercenary's head seemed to suddenly explode, buzzing non-stop.

"Not good!" Fern threw down the demon grass and ran towards the cave at full speed, ignoring the pain all over his body, pulling out his sword in the stone and holding it tightly in his hand. "Don't let anything happen, Ness, or I'll never forgive myself!"

Stan also notices that something is wrong, and puts the demon grass in his arms on the stone to the side, draws his sword and follows.

Fern lifted the curtain and bent down nervously to look inside. Rui was crouching in the deepest part of the cavern, and Ness was lying on her lap, a warm breath accompanied by the smell of charcoal. The cold wind and snow blew into the hole with Ferne's violent movements, swept through the burning fire, blew through Rui's face, and blew her black hair up.

"Rui, are you awake......? What's going on?" Fern finally let go of his hanging heart, and his whole body trembled from the extreme nervousness he had just had.

Stan had already made his way to the entrance of the cave, looking at the cave in confusion as the bodies of the two men blocked the hole.

"I saw in your eyes surprise, nervousness, and ...... Wondering, do you want to continue standing there, or do you want to come in and sit down and talk slowly on the fire?" Rui's expression didn't change, although a hint of joy could be heard in her tone.

The two of them climbed into the cave and sat down on their butts, having just experienced the experience of going from hell to heaven, and they now felt more relaxed than they had ever felt before.

Seeing that they were already seated, Mizuki shifted his body. "Now, then, let me tell you, you didn't find this firewood, and I have not seen any trees since I entered Dagger Mountain. ”

Fern breathed a sigh of relief and kept his hands close to the fire to keep warm. "Yes, we didn't find it, you were still unconscious when Stan and I went out, and Niss was sitting next to you. ”

"But I feel like I've recovered a lot now, and according to my estimates, I'll be in a coma until at least tomorrow...... It doesn't always come to wake up. Rui touched Ness's forehead, pulling the shredded hair from her face to the sides of her temples. "Also, Ness wasn't sleeping normally, she seemed to be in ...... Hypnotism. ”

"Could it be Quiai?" she might have been in the vicinity too. Stan pulls out the iron teapot and some pastrami from the package, hangs it on the improvised wooden rack he'd been carrying with him for the other day, and starts roasting.

"Probably not, she went to Dagger Mountain with us, she didn't bring any firewood with her before we parted, and it is impossible to find so much here. Fern picked out a slender piece of wood from the pyre on one side and flickered with the burning fire. "There are other people here besides us. ”

"The others, we didn't even notice!" Stan hung the water bladder on the wooden rack as well, stopping what he was doing, his expression rather serious. "Even if the other party secretly wants to kill us, we have no power to fight back, because we don't even notice it!"

"You're right, Stan, and while I hate to admit it, it's true. Fern was lost in thought, his gaze glazed over the fire.

"Hey, Fern, Stan, are you back? Great! and brought back so much firewood?" Ness woke up and propped herself up from Ray's lap, her eyes slowly reddening. "Please, you must leave someone by my side and Rui in the future...... I...... Very scared ......."

Fern heard something unusual in Ness's words. "What do you see, Ness?

"Yes, Fern, I'm glad you're back, and I won't be scared anymore. Ness sat up straight, calming herself, reassured by the warm air of the cave. "I heard footsteps, and thought you were back, but the footsteps disappeared when they reached the entrance of the cave, and I shouted your names, but no one responded to me, and then I didn't know who or what was busy at the entrance of the cave, and I only heard the continuous sound of rustling......" Speaking of this, Nis's body subconsciously leaned towards Rui's side.

"And then? The man, I mean, that thing, didn't rush in?" Stan listened to Ness's description, unconsciously lifted the corner of the curtain and looked out alertly.

"Then I felt a strange sensation, and then I lost consciousness until I woke up. Ness wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, crying in her voice. "Fern, Stan, please promise me that you will leave someone with us. ”

"Okay, we promise you, don't worry, this time it was indeed our negligence, I didn't expect that there were other people in this uninhabited place. Fern looked at Ness with an oath. "I'm sorry, Ness, and Rey. ”

"Hmm. Ness burst into tears and sat down beside the fire. "Great, you can have hot tea again, how did you find this firewood?" said Ness, who suddenly remembered something. "Wait, you just said that there are other people, what do you mean?"

Fern couldn't help but laugh and was about to reply, when the water in the kettle began to boil, and Stan poured the black tea powder into each of the four teacups, poured boiling water, and handed it to the others. "We're talking about it, we didn't bring it back, and we didn't light the fire. Fern took the teacup and took a small sip carefully.

"Who's that?Queai?" Nessy warmed her hands as she held her teacup.

"No, we have ruled out the possibility that it is her, and now, the only possibility is that there is someone else, but from the current point of view, at least the other party has not hurt us. Fern smelled the mellow fragrance of black tea leaves, and his fatigue was reduced a lot.

"Ness, you were hypnotized, so you lost consciousness, and I woke up that night, and someone helped me recover my mental strength. Rui kept sipping hot tea, and she especially liked the taste of black tea.

"As soon as you said that, I thought you would wake up tomorrow. Ness held her teacup and tried to make sense of what was happening around her. "Also, I feel like I've regained my mental strength, almost completely. The mage looked at Fern happily. "Fern, now I can treat your trauma. ”

"Don't worry, I've endured it for so long, and I don't care about putting up with it a little longer. Fern picked up a piece of pastrami hanging from a wooden shelf, tore it in half, and handed it to Ness, the roasted juice dripping onto the floor. "Let's eat something first, I'm going to be hungry after so long. ”

"Thank you...... Vern. Ness took the beef, lowered her head and ate it shyly. She ate slowly, taking a small bite from the already small piece of beef, and chewing slowly in her mouth, her lips closed without making any sound.

Stan noticed Ness's eating and quipped to her, "Ness, you eat very elegantly, does the Mage Tower teach you dining etiquette?"

Stan's unintentional question was suddenly overwhelmed by Ness, and the mage was at a loss as to how to answer, so he followed the knight's question. "Yes, the Mage Tower sometimes teaches things other than magic. ”

Rui didn't care about Niss's unusual behavior, but continued to bring up the topic just now, "Since the other party can use hypnotism and restore mental power for others, then he, or she, must be a mage." ”

"Or maybe it's them. Fern added, "We don't know the number of people on the other side yet." ”

"Let's call him that. Rui nodded, handing Stan the finished teacup, and the knight poured her a new one. "This he, brought us firewood, restored the mental strength of Ness and me, have you ever thought about it, why did he do this?"

Stan hands the refilled teacup back to Rui. "To help us move forward and reclaim the seal. ”

"You're only half right, Stan. Rui looked at Stan's puzzled expression and continued, "He does want us to recover right away so that we can get back on the road as soon as possible, but it's not necessarily helping us, I say that, do you understand?"

Stan shook his head, shoved a piece of pastrami into his mouth, and chewed hard.

Fern thought for a moment and answered Rui's question, "You mean, he has his own purpose to help...... I mean, temporarily help us to get the seal?"

That's what it means. Rui nodded approvingly, and began to sip black tea again. "I feel that behind this whole thing, there is an invisible force that is driving the development and direction of the whole thing. ”

"Hell, what do you say, we're just pawns at the mercy of man?" Stan swallows the beef and takes a sip of hot tea so that it can quickly slide into his stomach.

Rui shrugged her shoulders noncommittally, and Ness clenched her fists, her voice trembling a little. "Could it be that we are being watched all the time, and as long as we deviate from the direction they have set, someone will come out and correct it?"

For a long time, no one answered Ness, everyone focused on eating their own food and hot tea, and finally, it was Fern who responded to her, "I'm afraid so, Ness, from the moment you left the Mage Tower, someone was secretly watching you, of course, he doesn't follow you all the time, and there is no need to know everything you do, he only needs to know your general direction, such as which city you have arrived in and where you are going next." ”

"Bright, who the hell is going to do this!" Ness was both angry and frightened.

"I can't answer this question either, maybe it's an invisible force, maybe it's a person, maybe it's a group of people, but, one thing is for sure, they must be mages. Fern looked at Ness, who was helpless with fear, with some sympathy, and his heart burned with anger. "If I could, I'd get them out and throw them all into the Jordan River. ”

"I'm afraid you can't, Fern, you don't even have a chance to get close to them, don't forget, they're mages, and more powerful than Ness and me. Rui put down the teacup and said lightly, without a trace of emotion in his eyes.

Fern sighed heavily, leaned his head back against the cave wall, and a sense of powerlessness filled his body.