Early the next morning, the two men prepared their luggage and food, mounted their horses, and left Deville. Stan's easy stride on the horse made Fern shake his head. "You still haven't waited for Shalene?"

Stan gives the mercenary an unnatural look. "I waited, but we didn't do anything, I told her I wasn't settled down yet, and I wasn't a casual person to have fun. ”

"So she'll let you go?" Fern straightened up in the saddle and adjusted to the most comfortable position.

"Yes, I told her I was going to leave here at dawn and she cried, I gave her a hug and promised that I would come back. Stan looked blankly ahead, without any expression.

"She's crying!?Stan, you have to keep your word. Fern glanced sideways at the knight.

"Of course. Stan patted his mount on the neck.

Both Stan and Fern's mounts were re-selected after returning to Deville, and after receiving the commission, Fern insisted on giving Stan half of the commission, and after the knight tried every possible way to prevaricate, Fern gave him two hundred gold coins. Then the two of them changed all the equipment and weapons on their bodies, except for the sword in the stone and the obsidian sword, and they were all the best Deville could buy. Then the two went to the horse farm outside the city to pick two tall horses, and Fern still picked a gray northern horse, still named Dark Cloud, in honor of the dark cloud that he had no choice but to leave in Doyle. Stan picks a yellow northern horse and names it Hope.

The two are separated at the fork in the road where Canrito is more than a day away, Stan turns northeast to Canrito, and according to the news received all the way into Cumberland, the blockade of Canrito has been lifted, and there is a constant stream of travelers and caravans rushing to Canrito from the fork in the road, so Stan thinks there is nothing to worry about. Fern continues east, with about three days to ride to Chavanna. There are also a lot of pedestrians on this road, but not many people go to Chavanna, and most convoys take another fork in the road to Alesia half a day away. When Fern entered the territory of Shavana, he found that there were no pedestrians in front of him, and he was the only one riding the dark clouds on the vast plain.

There is no need to worry about being robbed on this main road in Chavanna, as the guards of the Mage Tower patrol the road back and forth, and of course their main duty is not to protect the safety of travelers, but to protect any mages and apprentices who will pass through this road to the neighboring countries.

Along the way, Fern encountered at least five patrols that staggered towards him, each consisting of five guards, led by a standard-bearer with his head hidden in a helmet, and the other four guards wearing simple helmets that only covered their foreheads. Some of the guards watched Fern warily as they passed him, but once they passed him, they never looked back at him.

At noon that day, Fern arrived at the town on the outskirts of the Mage's Tower, Lot. The town gates were not guarded, and everyone was free to enter and exit, although there were no outsiders other than mercenaries. Fern found an inn only five minutes from the Mage's Tower, handed the horse to the groom, and walked into the inn called Cheerful Whistle.

The innkeeper was a chubby woman and hurriedly greeted her. "Hello, mercenary from afar, I'm guessing you're here looking for a job, or are you here to try your luck at the Judge Tower, which girl in the tower needs a guard?" she led Fern to a table, her eyes wandering back and forth over him, Fern glared back at her warily, and the innkeeper smiled embarrassedly. "I'm really sorry, you see my habit, every time a mercenary or swordsman comes to me, I will take a good look at them and guess if they can be caught by a girl. ”

"I'm here to visit a friend, I don't need to work. Fern removed the sword from his belt and placed it on the table.

"Yes, that's a pity, as far as I can see, you're much better than most people who come here trying to make a living, and there must be a mage who needs you. The innkeeper saw that Fern seemed genuinely uninterested, but still unwilling to give up hope. "If you change your mind, you can come to me, I'm the boss here, you can call me Colette, and I can help you deliver a message to some of the little girls in the mage tower who are in desperate need of protection. ”

"I see, thank you, Ms. Clayte, for now, I just want to have a meal and find a room to drop off my luggage, and then I'll go to the Mage Tower myself, my friend is waiting for me. Fern said lightly, trying his best to maintain the little patience he had left.

"Okay, in that case, then I won't bother, we have the most delicious food and wine in Lot and the most comfortable rooms, and you will definitely have a comfortable stay here. Clayte's hands rubbed against her pale blue apron.

Fern took out a silver coin and handed it to the innkeeper, "Give me a jug of ale, a small basket of bread with cheese, and a plate of beef sprinkled with cumin." ”

Satisfied, Clay slipped the silver coin into his apron pocket. "Of course, the food and drinks will be served as quickly as possible, so please wait. With that, the innkeeper turned and walked towards the kitchen, shouting something as he went.

After a while, a maid came out of the kitchen with a tray of wine and vegetables in her hand, and after placing all the food on the table, the maid glanced at Fern secretly. "Mr. Mercenary, can you eat so much alone?" Seeing that Fern did not answer, but looked at herself strangely, the maid hurriedly covered her mouth with a tray and ran back to the kitchen quickly.

Clay didn't boast, the cheerful whistle food was really better than most inns, and it didn't take much effort for Fern to gobble it up, and then slowly drank his wine, thinking mentally what to say when he saw Queay. Maybe I should have gone to Ness first, no, it wouldn't be fair to Queai, it was her letter that got me here.

The maid immediately came to clean up the used utensils, apparently much more active than usual, and the girl smiled and looked at the mercenary. "Mr. Mercenary, you can really eat it, by the way, do you like pork pies? My pork pies are the signature dish of the store, do you want to try them?" the maid bowed down. "If you come back tonight, just come to me in the kitchen and I'll make you two, and I'll make you two, and I'll pay for it. ”

At this point, Fern felt like he could understand Stan's feelings. "Thank you for your kindness, ma'am, but I don't need to. ”

The maid snorted, picked up the cutlery and walked away without looking back.

At least it was much easier than Charlene, and Fern exhaled with relief.

There are only two guards standing guard at the entrance to the Mage Tower, and they can't compare to the guards in the kingdom in terms of momentum or equipment. Fern even felt that he could easily take them down and enter the mage tower without resistance.

The two guards watched vigilantly as the mercenaries slowly approached them, and Fern didn't want to get into trouble and stopped five yards away from them. "I was invited by a friend to visit her in the Mage's Tower. ”

"What's your friend's name?" asked one of the guards, who didn't even wear a helmet, in a polite tone.

"Quiai ......" Fern realized that he only knew Quiai's name, but not her last name.

"Quiai. The other guard spread out a piece of parchment in his hand and found it on it. "Queai Fresno, is that her mother?"

"I guess so, I only know her name as Quiai. Fern rubbed his chin in embarrassment.

"And what's your name, where are you from?" the guard asked, glancing at Fern and continuing.

"Fern, Fern Woodrow, from Deville. Fern knew that he was wrong, so he had to answer politely.

The guard looked the mercenary from head to toe three times, and just as Fern was about to force his way in, he spoke. "Alright, you go in, her room is on the fourteenth floor, and there will be the mage's name on the door, so you'd better not be mistaken, Queai Fresno. ”

Fern nodded sheepishly to the guard. "I see, thank you for your kindness. ”

Walking into the Mage Tower, although the mercenary was also surprised by the internal structure of the Mage Tower, it did not show it on his face, and the anxiety and nervousness filled his heart, making him keep his head down and walk with a serious expression.

Suddenly, a white skirt appeared in front of him, and at the hem of the skirt were two white cotton shoes that showed their toes. Fern looked up, and a girl he didn't know stood in front of him. "Are you a mercenary? Looks like you're well-trained, are you here looking for a job?"

Fern just wanted to see Guy as soon as possible, so he didn't look at the girl closely, but walked around her. "I'm sorry, I'm here to find a friend. ”

The girl shouted behind her, but Fern ignored her and walked straight to the fourteenth floor. But just after reaching the ninth floor, he saw an old mage standing on the side of the hallway, and his instinct told him that the mercenary mage was waiting for him.

"You're finally here, Fern, I'm Fabioso, Nice's mentor. As Fern approached, the mage's bearded jaw began to shake.

"Ness's mentor, how did you know I was coming?" Fern looked at the old mage warily, he was wary of these ** masters.

"Queai is waiting for you on the sixteenth floor, and Ness is here, come with me. Fabioso didn't answer his question, but walked to the front of the hallway.

Fern's head thumped. Hell, now Ness knows I'm here because of Quiai's letter. "You didn't just happen to meet me here and kindly take me to meet them, and they've been waiting together for a long time?"

The division did not look back, and the crutches tapped against the white granite floor. "We need to talk, both of them, everyone. ”