In the early hours of the morning, the waterfall was dark, and although the torrential rain had stopped, the dark clouds did not retreat, hiding the moon and all the stars behind. However, the roar of the waterfall still surrounded the three of them, and the footsteps of nocturnal animals and the chirping of insects were muffled, and even the sound of speech became intermittent.

Fern struggled his way up the muddy road as he tried to ask Karel for news about the Eastern Continent, trying to speak as loud as he could so that the other party could hear him, but the gray-haired man in front of him simply gave a yes or no answer, and hid all the key information. Disturbed by the sound of the waterfall, Fern gave up his intention to continue the question, he had only slept for less than four hours, and yesterday's heavy rain and the ever-present muddy roads had exhausted all his energy, and he was too tired.

After climbing blindly with Karel for almost an hour, they finally came to another flat land, from which they could see the entire side of the waterfall, and Fern realized that the dark clouds had receded, and the light of the moon sprinkled the earth.

The torch in Karel's hand illuminated the three of them as he pointed ahead. "There's a path that leads to the top of the waterfall, and the person you're looking for is there, but it's not easy to walk. The gray-haired man's tone was disapproving.

By the moonlight, Fern could faintly see the shadow of a wooden house on the other side of Karel's direction. "That's what you call Kamimura?"

Karel didn't even glance in that direction. "That's right, there aren't many people there, don't bother them. ”

Fern looked at Karel, the light on their faces fluctuating in the light of the torches. "What did you come here from the Eastern Continent for?"

The other party clearly does not intend to answer this question. "Ask the person you're looking for, and she'll probably tell you that now we have to go back to the sentry, we've been away for too long. ”

With that, the two of them left Fern to stand alone, and walked down the hill without looking back.

Losing the light of the torches, the surroundings suddenly darkened, but fortunately, with the guidance of the moonlight, Fern walked towards the mountain.

The trail was even more muddy and difficult to walk than the one just passed, and the weeds on both sides almost buried the path, and the rain from the mountains flowed unchecked. Not long after walking, Fern's shoes were wet again, and his feet were getting heavier and heavier as he trudged through the mud.

The final level of the waterfall had a huge drop, so it would take more time to reach the top of the waterfall, and Fern had long forgotten the time and relied on perseverance to support himself to climb numbly.

The air around us is getting clearer, the birds are chirping, the dawn is coming, and the night is finally fading. Fern took out a few sips of the water bladder and looked up, it was not far from the mountain, and the moon was nowhere to be seen.

Finally, after a final turn, a straight path leads to the top of the mountain. As she walked quickly in three steps and two steps, a sparse forest came into view, and there was nothing else on the top of the hill that obstructed the view. The distant skyline had turned slightly white, and the warm and moist wind blew across the unobstructed hilltops, blowing Fern's curls and cloak away, taking away his weariness.

The crimson sun slowly rises from the earth, bringing light and tropics into this world. With the gentle sun shining on his face, the breeze on his face, and the sound of a waterfall like a fairy singing behind him, Fern felt hope again, and his already numb nerves were awakened again. Walking all the way from the foot of the mountain, it seems like a whole century has passed, which is trance-like, but so real.

It was already dawn, and Fern walked slowly into the trees, the sunlight slanting in, and the dappled shadows of the trees were confused. In the alternation of light and shadow, a colorful flower bush appeared in the clearing between the trees, and in the middle of the flowers, a chic wooden house was erected.

Fern walked along the path among the flowers, stopping in front of the cabin. The four wooden stakes raised the ground are not large enough for one person to live in, and the wooden stakes ensure that the rainy southern house will not be flooded by rainwater, and there are three wooden ladders leading to the door. The ends of the roof were upturned upward, like the top hat worn by a mage, and there was a small window in the eaves.

There seemed to be no one in the room, and after knocking on the door a few times, Fern simply lay down on the floor in front of the door to rest, and as soon as he lay down, the exhaustion of the night's journey came like a tide, and in the warm sun, he fell asleep unconsciously.

"Fern ......" A familiar voice sounded from the bottom of my heart.

"Ness, where are you, are you awake?" Fern sat up, and found himself in the tavern, a tavern he knew all too well, whose name was the Queen's Patronage.

"Great, you're finally awake, it's time for us to go, remember? Ness's bright red ponytail jumped behind her head.

"Of course I do!" replied Fern with a smile, trying to get up, but found that he couldn't move, and his whole body was tied.

"Soon, Fern, I'll go first, you're going to catch up!" said Ness, running happily off into the distance.

"Wait for me, Ness! I'm ...... I can't walk......" Fern struggled, but still couldn't move a step.

"Fern, hurry...... Come ......" the girl's back is getting farther and farther away.

"Don't go, Ness!" Fern jerked off the plank, sitting on the floor gasping for air, his chest soaked with sweat. When his breath subsided, he realized that there was another person sitting in front of him, smiling at him.

It was a woman with a charming smile, and the years seemed to have left no trace on her face, but her dignified demeanor told others that she was definitely not as young as her face. Her long reddish-brown hair was draped over her shoulders and fluttered slightly in the warm breeze. She was dressed very simply, just a plain dress that coordinated to wrap around her slender figure. Several pieces of jewelry are worn around the neck and hands, simple but not monotonous.

For some reason, Fern didn't feel nervous in the face of a stranger. "Are you...... Arsutia?"

The woman's smile was still there. "Yes, Arsutia, that's my name, it's just that no one has called me that for so long. ”

Fern exhaled with relief. "Great, I've finally found you, the help we need, Great Sage. ”

"Don't worry, I know your purpose. Arsutia's speech was slow, and it was calming. "The moment Adeline left, I already knew. ”

"You know about Adeline's death?" Fern wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, and he felt that his image was a bit rude in front of the Great Sage.

The smile on Arsutia's face finally disappeared. "That's right, she and I have been friends for many years, and we have a tacit understanding in our hearts. ”

"That's easy, and I don't need to explain more. Fern smiled and said, "Where are we going next? Cumberland or Dayton?"

"I said it, don't worry!" Arsuday's tone suddenly became less calm, and her eyes met the sword at Fern's waist. "Where did you get this sword?"

Fern looked to his waist. "This was given to me by Barreid, I didn't know the story of this sword when I first got it, and I thought it was ......"

"Why didn't he come by himself?" interrupted Fern in a stiff tone.

"He?" Fern was a little overwhelmed by the sudden questioning. "Adeline's death has hit him too hard, let alone coming here, and even getting him to speak is harder than fighting demons. ”

"Really, he still can't let Adeline go after all these years, even if Adeline doesn't choose him. Arsutia's expression softened again, and she slowly stood up and walked into the room, her dress swaying with her steps. "It's still early, I'm waiting for someone. ”

Fern wanted to ask the Great Sage who she was waiting for, why they couldn't hurry up and discuss what was going on, Wallis was on the verge of dying, but he was wasting his time here. But the momentum emanating from the Great Sage dispelled this thought, and he knew that all he could do now was wait.