"You too. Helena looked brave, but Gwen could see that the woman was a mess underneath her stoic, self-aggrandizing endurance. Her mother's makeup is usually impeccable, with chiseled shadows framing her vivid eyes and lips with a defined silhouette. Now her eyes were a little darker than usual, and her lips were nothing more than a faint crimson that gave the impression that she was cheap and careless. Of course, that doesn't mean she's not her usual self. Even now, when others pass by them, they stop to peek at the striking couple, though more of the raw, effortless sensuality that emanates from Helena. When her mother seemed overwhelmed, Gwen felt a glimmer of sympathy for the poor woman. It must be too tiring to live like Helena and be on the lookout for other people's thoughts all the time.

As they gauge each other's weaknesses, Helena notices three burly men who serve as her bodyguards by Gwen's side. The mana emanating from these people at least indicated that they were high-level mages, and their cold demeanor suggested that they were veterans of many battles.

Helena felt her chest tighten. What is her daughter's status now?

Just a year and a half ago, Gwen was a meowing teenager who whimpered every time she heard criticism from her mouth. What could her daughter do to gain so much influence? What was the use of the late Henry Kilroy to her daughter? How did she get the favor of someone like Ganser Schultz? Of course, she had talent, but hundreds of mages had talent. Why Gwen?

Helena felt full of curiosity, but she didn't dare ask.

"Gwen, here," Surya's voice came from behind the double doors of the second living room.

"I'm coming!" shouted Gwen. She turned to Helena.

"Please be safe, Mom. ”

Helena nodded.

"You too," she repeated, feeling her heart pound as soon as she spoke to her daughter. Helena confesses that her wayward daughter frightens her and that she is not ashamed. "Stay safe, Gwen. ”

Gwen reached out to hug her mother, and after an awkward hesitation, she resumed her love. As they swapped cheeks, Gwen noticed that her mother generously smeared Chanel No. 5 Chanel and wiped it off on her blouse. She had been terrified of the smell before, but now she was almost nostalgic, and it reminded her of the times they had truly shared the innocent happiness of mother and daughter.

"Gwen, come on. Su Ya kept watching them. "You can kiss and make up at dinner. What do you want to know? Schultz doesn't know the details. ”

Gwen asked her mother to stand and Surya into the room.

The second living room was also a mess. Most of the statues and artworks are hidden inside to make room for the clinic.

"Yes," Gwen said, finding a place to sit down.

Surya left for a while and came back to get a bottle of cold water and a couple of glasses. Gwen took the hand from the venerable wizard and poured her heart and soul into the men in the room, realizing that she was inferior among them.

Alicia's men timidly removed their glasses from the tray, noticing that Alicia had never done anything resembling warm-up labor in her life. Usually, it was the men who went to get brandy or whiskey so that Alicia could wet the whistle while talking. That woman was born a queen on the one hand, and lacked etiquette and emotional intelligence on the other, what a terrible combination.

Suya took a sip from the water and looked at Gwen with gentle eyes.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked his granddaughter. Just last night, Gwen choked on uncontrollable emotions and confessed to Surya what she had done and how Henry had died. His granddaughter was so sad that she felt unspeakably guilty. Part of it was because of the death of his friend, and part of it was because of the trouble they caused his granddaughter because of their lack of vigilance. After all, when they "confirmed" that Elizabeth was dead, Sulya was there. When the new wizard announced that Elizabeth was still alive, he also voted to condemn Mark. What if they chose to continue investigating the matter? Would they have found traces of Elizabeth?

Surya was skeptical. It took her more than one Elizabeth Sobel (Perempuan) to orchestrate something of this magnitude.

And the matter of Deborah Jones, that poor girl. Sullia only sympathizes with the original Deborah, feeling deep horror at his stupidity in bringing shameless people to the meeting. They were in Elizabeth's hands.

Surya was a military man, and although he was sensitive to art, he knew that there was a moment of sadness and a time for action. Now is not the time to grieve over the loss of a friend and ally, but to make sure the city survives and perpetuates his legacy.

Gwen reached out and took Suya's own hand, feeling the empathetic warmth of the sadness that resonated between them. She tells Suya in a trembling voice that she wants to save her friend.

"Grote, Ha Surya took another sip and remembered the past.

Jonas was coming to prepare and make the fuzzy aerial lumen recordings between the archipelago of Singapore and Jakarta. A circle is drawn around a small group of islands, where there is a red dot with a faint green color on it and a handwritten name: Elizabeth Sobel.

"You will face a difficult test," Surya warned them in advance.

He recalled as much as he could about Henry's boast about finding Sofina. "Henry the Immortal" has become a popular nickname when their team was first formed. Henry was at least ten years older than all of them, though his presence always made people feel young due to the influence of his familiar Drade and her abundant vitality. "It's heaven's milk," Henry joked. He is happy to share it with people, but Sofina is stingy and stingy when it comes to golden meadows.

"Well, it's said that there's a rather xenophobic marmot ditch on the island," Surya continued. "Cannibalistic variety, that is. ”

When he saw Gwen's curious and anxious eyes, his face turned redder.

"You know what that means, right?"

A smile broke out on Gwen's face. Paul explains quite clearly what marmots usually feed on and exercise.

"Yes," Surya coughed. So the story goes that Henry was a mage who advocated scouting and mapping the area in the 70's so that we could find potential sites to further Capgraglio against merfolk. When he and his squad were caught by a sudden sea bud, they were blown off the course by the wind and came to this island, which today we call Capraurione. The location of the island and its archipelago is very convenient as it has a greater long-distance teleportation distance from Vietnam, Singapore, the coast of Malaysia, and even Brunei. ”

Jonas and the old mage discuss some geographical details before continuing.

"They explored the island for half a day without incident, but then they met the inhabitants of the island. As you can imagine, this millennium tree lives right in the center of this bay. ”

"I remember Henry telling me that his men had been flying kites in the forest for days before they were all overwhelmed by marmots. Immortals have a charm that deceives people, especially young people. ”

Surya stopped and took a sip of water.

"However, when it came to Henry, he told me that because he was a mage who was born to be compatible with plant life, he managed to 'convince' Drade to go with him instead of leading him into the woods. ”

Paul whistled.

"If the boss's boss can kidnap a wood fairy from her people, then he's a beautiful boss. It's a huge reversal. ”

Surya nodded in the affirmative.

Of course, Sofina is still young, a century at most, so it is easier to be a close acquaintance. They were both lucky. I've been thinking. I've never met a plant mage like Henry, and Henry hasn't come across a magical creature as suitably like Sofina since. ”

"Now that brings me back to what I'm going to say," Surya continued. "You can't attack the marmot itself when you're fighting your way into the island. ”

"How strong are they?" the Taj Mahal asked. "A regular class for mature people?a big class for the elderly?a great class for the elderly?a titan for the mother tree?"

"No, no, it's not like that. Surya waved her hand. "No exaggeration. Your average FOB can be taken down by a Level 3 Fire Summoner without breaking a sweat, at most for a soldier squad. Only the hostess, who feeds on the groves, can be said to be close to the giant class. I mean, once Sofina returns, she'll be much stronger than your average Drade, and may even approach the Titan class on her own. If you start killing Dry, you're going to kill her relatives, and then you're going to have to face her wrath. ”

"But she'll remember us, right?" Gwen asked anxiously. "She'll know who Yue, Elvis and Huitu are. ”

Su Liya nodded slightly.

"She's a sentient person, so she'll have memories of friends and allies. However, when a contracted creature is released, the empathic bond is lost. When you've shared telepathy with a partner for over 30 years, and then all of a sudden it's gone, you're bound to feel a little crazy. Gwen, you have animal companions, so you don't know how much feedback losing a spirit mate will give you, but it's said to be worse than death. I've even heard of magicians committing suicide after losing a lifelong acquaintance. The feeling of losing a sentient soul is said to be a heartbreaking feeling that you will never know about completion or happiness. ”

Gwen took a nervous breath of cold air. In the silence of the room, they could hear her erratic breathing quickening.

There was a knock on the door.

"Afternoon tea?" Tess looked into the room with a bright face. "Hi Gwen!"

"Hey," Gwen said weakly, still thinking about her friends, and now adding another psychological trauma, the paranoia of losing a loved one.

"Let's take a break. Either way, we'll have to wait for the last member," Jonas suggested. As he walked past Gwen, he tapped her on the shoulder, reassuring her. "It's going to be fine. We will find your friend safe and sound. You'll see. ”

Gwen followed the others to the open-air dining room on the balcony. All were present: Richard, Kwan and Tully, Helena, Don and Percy, Tess and Melissa, Gwen and her companions. A large table was set up and filled with simple sandwiches, slices of kebab cut into cold cuts, and fresh fruit.

"That's all we have to do in this case, sir. One of the maids apologized to Sulya, who patted her gently on the head and forgave her. Gwen watched them, and her heart raced as her gaze met the wild men tossing and turning in the camp. Here they were, barely surviving on the supplies given to them by the army, and less than a dozen meters away, the mages at home were having a picnic.

They may not know that for someone like Suriya, this is already considered a grossly underrepresented afternoon tea, but their resentment is palpable.

Suya ignored them, but Melissa seemed genuinely unhappy with their eyes.

"Ungrateful serf," she muttered to Tess, audible in her tone. "If it weren't for Master, they would now be hiding from merfolk in knee-deep waters. ”

Tess patted her sister's hand and told her not to mind.

Surya tapped the glass.

Today all our old friends are beginning to appreciate patriarchy, and it really touches them. "While there has been some big upheaval in the past few months, I hope that in this time of crisis, this family will remember that blood is thicker than water, and that no matter how far we go, we will remember that unity brings strength and prosperity. ”

Listen to me!" To Guan Yingshan's surprise, Guan Yu began to applaud wildly.

Everyone else is not far behind, and some are more energetic than others.

After the applause subsided, Surya continued. "I hope we are all here today, because even in the next few months we may part ways due to different circumstances, but I want you to at least remember that today, on this day, we are a family. ”

"You're all close to me. Surya's voice was full of emotion. "It means a lot to me

They were interrupted by a figure walking onto the balcony.

Gwen's eyes are as big as quail eggs.

Suriya's face stiffened and darkened.

Helena almost vomited her sparkling Chardonnay.

A casually dressed man walked in in straight-top jeans and a tight white shirt, his hair cut haphazardly to give him a nonchalant and uncaring look. He had a rugged, handsome face and well-defined features, and his body was equally well-proportioned and strong. The only downside is his height, which is six feet below the ideal magic number.

"Uh......" Moyer immediately realized that, in hindsight, this might not be the best time to leave the hall and let people know that he was there.

He thought that since the whole family was here, he might as well put an end to all the sorrows at once. He swallowed nervously, not knowing if he had made a serious mistake.

"I ...... Excuse me?"