When the shepherd's song was far away, and the shadow cast by the goshawk could no longer be found on the ground, cascading vegetation appeared on the ground in front of them, and together with the raised hills, they formed a three-dimensional space, and the trees opened their branches and leaves to shade the sky, such a lush scene was quite uncomfortable for those who were accustomed to the vastness of the grassland. If there is anything that can still make the advancing travelers believe that they once walked on the grassland, it is probably the murmuring of water not far away, and the untimely heavy clothing on their bodies. It's the height of summer, and there's no one who wants to stand long without shade.

Two horses, two people, a cat. The gray-robed and the girl with small chestnut hair rode side by side, and the former breathed significantly longer. It's not because Cheese is practicing some kind of spitting kung fu, it's simply because the hot weather has forced him to suppress the restless heat in his body in this way. As a man who has lived on ice fields for most of his life, he has an aversion to heat. The lush forest was chaotic in his eyes, with teeth and claws, far less lovely than the snowflakes of the Northland. The hot weather makes it easy to lose reason, and it seems that mages are not exempt from vulgarity.

Compared to Cheese, Atta was much more relaxed, she didn't grow up in an extreme environment like the ice field, and although the heat in the air also made her feel a little uncomfortable, the occasional pillar of light from the forest could cure this little irritability. The female swordsman tied her hair back in a tail to expose her neck to reduce the sensation of heat. In front of her, the cat fairy lay listlessly on the horse's back. It's not cost-effective for a hairy creature to be active during the day, and recently Kailas has returned to his nocturnal instincts, which saves them the trouble of keeping vigils in shifts.

"Let's rest for a while, and wait for the rest of the way when the sun goes down. Cheese looked at the sun hanging high in the sky and said to his companion. They have been like this for the past few days, leaving early in the morning, resting at noon, and walking again in the evening. The trouble with leaving the grasslands is that there are no longer so many stars to provide light at night, and with the threat of the beasts of the woods, they don't have much time to move forward each day.

The swordswoman nodded, gently pulling the reins, and her mount immediately stopped, knowing that this morning's journey was over. These horses, who come from the steppe, are also not used to being here. As Atta went to prepare lunch, Cheese carefully checked the state of their mounts, and only walked slowly when his companion called him to eat, his face not very good.

"If they go on like this, they can't bear it, and the food is different. And the ground here is not like a grassland, there are too many stones, and you have to nail them to the horseshoe. Without waiting for Atta to ask, Cheese told him what he had found. Horses are very precious, and the better the horse, the more care they need when they are out of the environment in which they were raised. It's just a matter of these questions, and soon the climate and mosquitoes will cause more trouble, the mage thought for a moment with a frown, and looked at the two mounts that were eating unappetizing grass stalks, "We'd better sell them for two local horses in the next town." It's good for them and for us. ”

Atta had no problem with the mage's proposal. She has been like this for the past few days, although she is not slow to react, but she just doesn't like to talk. It's no wonder that the cat goblin was listless during the day, and Lothar, who was good at livening up the atmosphere in the team, had left, leaving only the unsmiling gray robe of Cheese to cause such a problem. It's not that the mage is too serious, he's just always thinking about something, so every time he takes the initiative to speak, the topic is often realistic and heavy, and there is no room for refutation. I'm afraid that only people of Elsa's personality can enjoy spending time with him.

This is not the way to go. Although Cheese is not good at enlivening the atmosphere, he also knows that Atta's state is not right now, just like these horses on the grassland are not used to here, and the female swordsman's heart is also experiencing some kind of change. The mage took a breath when he thought of this, he had to do what he wasn't good at, didn't he? The problem was there, and he had to solve it, "You, thinking about Batuu?"

The female swordsman was stunned for a moment, she blinked at the cheese, opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to stop talking, and after a while, she relaxed as if she had finally given up, "I don't know, I can't say it." I just feel empty, maybe I'm missing him. I don't mean that, but I always feel that our team is deserted and a little lonely. ”

Cheese smiled, he could understand what Atta was saying. Once upon a time, he was also a man who was used to being alone, and the training of the Gray Tower allowed him to live alone for a long time without trying to communicate with people. But after a few years in Valley City, he found himself losing that power, loneliness, loneliness, and the things he had abandoned were gradually reviving in him. The mage didn't think it was a bad thing, because he had long since strayed from the path that the Lord of the Grey Tower had set for him, and instead of being a reclusive wizard, he chose to embrace those who would accept him.

"Alone? Indeed, those two guys are not there, and there is a lot of loneliness along the way. Cheese put his hand on his knee, and his tone calmed down, "Listen to them, before you, I mean the blue lion, you were traveling alone, right?

"Hmm," Atta said in confusion, burying her head in the crook of her arm, "not before. When you are alone, you have to think about the direction of the next step, you have to calculate the entanglement on your body, you have to beware of calculations, there are many things to be careful, you just feel very tight all the time, and you don't have time to feel lonely. Isn't that weird? Compared to back then, Kailas was by my side, and you promised me to help me find my family, and I was obviously much more lively than I was then. Why, why do I feel this way now? Am I a greedy person? I don't allow people to leave me. ”

The mage laughed, and he suddenly felt that Atta's appearance was familiar, she was like him, the former him, the self who had not met Elsa wearing a high mask and looking at the world with an indifferent attitude. Unexpectedly, this time it was his turn to enlighten others, "If you haven't tasted honey, you don't know what sweetness tastes like." If you don't know sweetness, you naturally don't care about bitterness. You're not greedy, everyone is, you've experienced a comfortable environment, and naturally you don't want to go back into the dark. But don't be too pessimistic, just like this river is flowing forward, it has crossed the grassland to get here, does it know what the road ahead is, does it know whether the road ahead will be better or worse? Maybe we have two less companions now, but tomorrow we may have new companions. Isn't that right?"

The female swordsman nodded vigorously, and the gloom on her face quickly dissipated. Those sky-blue eyes bloomed with full vitality again. As if in response to Cheese's words, an unusual sound came from the woods behind them. Immediately after, two figures rushed out of the woods, the one in front was a person, and the one in the back was a wild boar with red eyes and fangs!