Stan was waiting for the three girls in the tavern on the first floor of the inn early in the morning, and Ray and Ness sat down at the same table as the knight until the three of them had finished breakfast, and Nerfi didn't show up until they finished their breakfast.

"Shouldn't we go up and see if she's sick? Anyone can get sick on such a cold day. Ness timidly looked at Rui who was about to explode.

"Well, I'll go up to her, and if I find out she's not sick, I'll give her some color!" Rui slammed up from his chair and walked quickly upstairs.

Stan rubbed his temples with a tired face.

"Stan, didn't you sleep well last night?" asked Ness, concerned.

"Yes, Ness, I can now feel what Fern felt like on his previous trip. Stan rubs his hands against his face, trying to get rid of some of the fatigue.

"She's gone!" Rui ran down from upstairs, panting, holding a piece of parchment in his hand. "I found this at the head of the bed. ”

"What!?" Stan stood up suddenly, startling Ness, and the knight snatched the note from Ray's hand.

Nellfi is in our hands, if you want to save her, come to the Twilight Forest, right now, we won't wait long.

"Who is it? Who the hell?" Stan slammed his fist on the table, nearly smashing it, and the innkeeper looked at him from afar, not daring to speak.

"Could it be a mage? But we didn't meet them along the way. Ness looked at Stan anxiously, trying to guess.

"Not encountering them all the way shows that they have been planning for a long time, and they will not act until we get here. Rui shook his head in annoyance. "I should have thought of it, but I was negligent. ”

"Let's go now, hurry!" Stan picked up his luggage and walked out the door.

"Wait, Stan, if you fall into their trap like this, they must have set up an ambush in the forest. Rui stood in front of the knight.

"We can't waste time, it's very clear on the note, they won't wait long. Stan tries to bypass Ray, but the mage's nimble footsteps always stand in his way. "Get out of the way, Rui, don't let me bump you. ”

"Calm down, Stan, of course they write that, are they going to write so that you don't worry, take your time and prepare and go to them when you're ready?" Ray grabbed Stan's hands and glared at him. "I know your feelings for Nerfi, but don't be impulsive at this time. ”

"It's not a matter of feelings...... It's not just a matter of affection, Morris entrusted her to me before she died, if she has any accidents, how can I be worthy of the dead Morris!" Stan trembled all over, beads of sweat the size of beans oozing from his forehead.

"I assure you, Stan, those mages won't do anything to Nalfi, their target is Ness, and none of them will hurt Nellfi until they catch Ness. Rui pats Stan's arm lightly, comforting him.

"Hopefully you're right, Rui. Stan crouches on the ground in frustration, like a fighter who has been defeated in a duel. "It's all my fault, if I insisted last night that the three of you have to sleep together, she would have been fine, those bastards must have targeted her because you two were in the same room. ”

"Don't beat yourself up, Stan, it's not your fault. Ness crouched beside the knight and whispered.

"Now is not the time to discuss who is responsible, we have to think of a way to deal with it. Rui tried to pull Stan up, but the knight's weight was not what she could lift, so the mage had to pull Niss up and sit down at the table. "I came up with an idea, albeit at a risk. ”

"What's the idea? I'll try to get Nerfi out of it. Stan quickly gets up from the ground and sits on Ray's side.

"We can't just go in together, we have to leave someone to hide in the shadows and give them an accident, otherwise it's tantamount to falling into a trap. Ryo held his chin and frowned. "I think about it, there is only one way. The mage glanced at Ness. "Ness, I need you as bait. ”

"Bait?" Ness looked at Rui's serious eyes worriedly. "Is it for me to exchange Nerfi?"

"Yes, we are going to approach them under the guise of this. Rui turned his head to look at Stan. "Stan, you escorted Ness in, and when you saw them, you said you made the decision to trade Ness for Nerfi. ”

"What about you, those mages wouldn't be stupid enough to believe you agree. Stan listened intently, like an apprentice in a mage tower listening to the archmages.

"It's so simple, you can say I don't agree, so you knocked me out and tied me up. Rui calmly planned a countermeasure. "But you'll have to come up with a reason to convince them that you're going to give up on us to save Nellfi, and I think they probably know that we've known you much longer than she did. ”

"Isn't that easy? I'll just tell them that Maurice entrusted her to me?" Stan clenched his right hand into a fist and struck it into the palm of his left hand.

"Don't be stupid, why do they believe that Maurice has entrusted her to you? I suspect they don't even know who Maurice is, they are only mages of the Mage Tower, not from the Frontier Country, and Ness and I didn't know Maurice at all when we first went to Wolfsburg. Rui shakes his head, rejecting Stan's idea.

"What then, what's the reason?" Stan asked the mage anxiously. "Don't make me think, you know, I'm not good at lying. ”

"I'm not asking you to lie, I'm just asking you to tell what you really think in your heart, and since it's your true thoughts, it must be more realistic to say it, so that you have more hope of hiding it from those mages. Rui stared into Stan's confused eyes. "What? Still don't think I'm referring to?"

Stan shook his head blankly, Ness couldn't stand it anymore. "Rui, just say it, I don't think Stan really knows, and ...... I don't know. ”

Rui shook his head helplessly. "Stan, you touch your chest and say, do you like Nerfi?" the knight put his right hand on his chest, blushing and nodding slightly. "Well, tell them this, that you are in love with Nerfi, and that you are willing to pay anything for her safety, as long as she is safe, you don't care about anything else. ”

"But, Nerfi will be there at that time, I'm afraid I won't be able to speak. Stan clutches his head, clutching at his hair.

"When is it, you're still thinking about this, do you want to live up to Morris's trust to you?" Ray lectured Stan harshly, taking his hand so that the knight could see his stern eyes.

"Well, I'll listen to you. Stan glanced at Rui's eyes and quickly turned his head away.

"Very well, it's decided, I'll sneak behind you and wait for an opportunity to attack those mages. Ray nodded in satisfaction and turned to Ness. "Ness, they're going to set up shields, and even enchantments, if worse, but I know you're not what you used to be, and if you go it alone, none of them will be your match. ”

"I don't know, what if there's an archmage among them?" Ness pouted, still very worried.

"Archmage isn't necessarily your opponent, and Etiyesh isn't useless in his training. Rui shrugged. "But we don't know how many of them there are, but I guess there aren't too many, otherwise they would have rushed up and taken us back to the Mage Tower, and we wouldn't have to wait until now. ”

Ness pursed her lips and nodded vigorously. "I see, I'll keep an eye on shields and enchantments, and if I find them, I'll try to destroy them. ”

Rui nodded approvingly. "Those mages would not have expected that you were already so strong, and that Etiyesh would not tell them what he had taught you. ”

Ness remembered the days she had spent in the Mage's Tower, and bowed her head.

"I'm sorry, Ness, I didn't mean to bring it up. Rui realizes that she has said too much and quickly apologizes to Ness.

"It's okay, Rui, it will make me more determined to deal with those mages, I must not let them take me back again, I would rather die than go back. Ness looked up at the mage steadfastly.

"You must not die, if Fern knew he would have thrown me into the Borderlands. Rui couldn't help but laugh when she looked at Ness's serious look.

"If you're done, can we go?" Stan couldn't wait. "I'm afraid they can't wait, what will they do to Nalfi......"

"You can't wait. Ray's words retracted Stan's words, and the mage stood up and threw up his cloak. "Okay, let's act when the opportunity arises, and if necessary, you can be ruthless. ”

Ness looked at the two worriedly. "I have a request, can you not hurt their lives, just hurt ...... It's best to just stun them, as they're just carrying out Etitysh's orders, and we've probably seen them all in our time at the Mage's Tower. ”

"Don't worry, Ness, as long as they don't kill them, we won't. Stan also stood up and patted the mage on the shoulder.

"They're not going to kill Ness, not to anyone else. Rui pursed his lips and sighed. "Let's do as much as we can, unless we have to. ”

The trio strapped Stan and Ness's luggage to their mounts, then found a rope to tie Ness's hands behind their backs, and rode slowly towards the Twilight Forest. Rui rode his horse and cast a dark wall spell, following the two of them from a distance.

As the dim forest draws closer, the gray-white mist that hovers over the forest scares Ness, Stan holding a sword around her neck behind him, encouraging her. With an unusual sense of oppression covering them from head to toe, the backs of the two disappeared into the edge of the forest.