FIN I

The bed under him shook slightly, and the sound of noisy conversation came from his ears. Awakened by the sound of conversation, Naimon slowly let go of the hand that grabbed the pillow and woke up from a comfortable sleep.

As he usually woke up, he felt weak and didn't want to move at all. He mobilized his somewhat paralyzed brain cells before he remembered that he had been hit by at least three bullets: the paralyzing sensation on his right hand and left leg that was characteristic of the end of the healing spell reminded him of this.

The conversations of several male voices kept coming to his ears - most of the voices he could recognize.

“...... You mean to make a deal?" He had just spoken to this man a few hours earlier.

"I want the support of the entire Northern Army," the second man's voice paused, "-- as long as this is the case, I will not be prosecuted for treason." ”

Hearing this, the tone of the first person became a little strange. "Oh, do you want this marshal's epaulettes?"

"There is no one who does not want this marshal's epaulette. However, to get the epaulettes, you need not only merit, but also capital. ”

"It's a pity that even if I speak, it may not be useful. What the soldiers on the northern front need is not my life, but arrears of pay and supplies. Besides, your name probably hasn't reached Fort Still, so what can you do to get their support?"

"Salaries and supplies will be available soon. As for support...... There will be. ”

"Relying on the little people of the Southwest Army who were improvised to put together, even if you add the credit of capturing me, the leader of the rebels, I'm afraid it won't be enough to win the marshal's epaulettes, right? Betsy has been in the Eastern Army for twenty years. ”

The conversation was abruptly interrupted, and there was silence for a moment. When it started again, there was a new old bass.

"If you add in your and my assurances, it should be almost enough. ”

Tables and chairs crashed against the ship's deck, making a cacophony of grinding sounds. Someone must have stood up suddenly.

"Is that so...... I'm doomed, so you've decided to support him? Principal Fawkes, your stance has changed so quickly, worthy of the Kengler Fox. ”

"Because I'm a patriot. The new old man said slowly, "I can't support your efforts to split the Federation. Will you cooperate with us, Radetz?"

The sound of sitting back on the stool. "If you don't accept it, it's treason...... Then I accept it. I'll leave the Northern Army to you. ”

"Thank you. Clad replied, "I'll do my best." ”

"Don't thank me. I'm old and fed up. Goval's voice sounded like the detached tone of a clergyman, "I love my epaulettes, but I've already died for it once, and I don't want to die again." This kind of corrupt army where everyone grabs credit for each other, ambushes the inside line, and competes for power and profit, whoever wants to take it will take over. Marshal Fawkes, I'm sorry you can't put the army you left behind. ”

The accused Conti Fox coughed twice in embarrassment and did not answer.

"Since this is the case with the army defending the country, we should be determined to change it. If it were for the country, I wouldn't mind dying a few times as well. Clad is not answering, but stating a belief. "I've got my hands dirty, so I'm going to make it. ”

"I'm afraid you can't build a pure fortress with filthy hands, right?"

"Perhaps. But before I think about it, I'm going to get there safely. ”

There was another long silence, which was very anxious.

Why do they talk about such confidential topics in the ward?

It was only at this point that Naimon became aware of the problem. He quietly opened his eyes, tilted his head, and looked around.

It was a logical medical room, cramped and filled with the smell of the tide, and the dim oil lamps dangled from the ceiling. There were two beds and a table cramped into the cabin, and there was no room for people to talk. Only a young girl sat on the bed across from him, barely discerning from his vantage point that she was wearing a red Interray Army uniform. Although he couldn't see the face, he knew that she must be Denica's friend.

"Uh...... May I ask where they are all here, sir?"

He sat up with his left hand and asked her. The blonde girl was taken aback and panicked as she slipped something into her uniform pocket.

Originally, I wanted to use this only room where no one would disturb me to do the monitoring...... Miscalculation. Let's put the receiver away first.

Anne, who didn't expect the boy to wake up at this time, thought so and quickly put away the bugging. She lowered her right leg and returned to the proper sitting position of a lady, and asked Soleton with concern, "Are you awake?" How do you feel in your right arm and left leg?"

"Uh...... Except for some paralysis, it's all fine. ”

Naimon's gaze paused on the pocket of her military uniform before jumping away, rubbing her right arm and saying.

The girl leaned back slightly, leaned her head against the wooden wall casually, and changed the subject: "Speaking of which, your self-first aid is quite good. If you don't use hemostatic magic, your arms and legs will probably die, and if you use more advanced healing magic, the lead bullet will remain in the muscles that are forcibly healing, affecting your movement. Both of these situations were difficult for the pastors on this boat to cope...... You may have the potential to be a career pastor. ”

Even if you know it's a compliment, only a few people can refuse a compliment from a pretty girl. The boy laughed stiffly, and the question he wanted to ask was a little unanswerable.

"It's not that great, I'm just trying to save precious mana for attacks. By the way, can I go to the ground?"

Anne removed the boy's clothes from the hanger next to her and threw them on the chair. "The lead particles have been taken out, so it should be fine. ”

"Thank you. ”

He sat on the edge of the bed and tentatively stomped on the ground with his left foot. An irresistible tingling sensation rushed from his heels to his brain, and he bared his teeth and stood up against the edge of the bed. Anne looked him up and down boredly: an ordinary figure that was neither strong nor thin, neither tall nor short, and a face that could blend in with any crowd and was inconspicuous. It is very suitable for playing a trick with a lifespan of less than three shots in a costume war movie, or being a second-level subordinate to the villain......

Soleton noticed her gaze, suddenly blushed, grabbed his clothes and began to put them on in a panic. Anne smiled understandingly, lay down on the bed, and turned her back.

"Can you answer my question now? Didn't you originally want to elope with Danika?"

"Ahh

"The letter she sent back said she was now on an adventure with you. Since you're here, I can't say how much of that letter is true...... Probably because she thought you were dead, she made up the story in order to reassure her relatives. What a good girl. ”

Namen's eyes moistened slightly. "I see...... It's all my fault. I should have written to her to explain. Sisters, are they all right?"

"Well, they're all very good, and they don't have to support you two big stomach demons recently, and they're a lot more financially comfortable. Anne decided not to mention her monthly donation, "They seem to have gotten closer lately." What, do you want to go home and see?"

"Uh...... Of course, I think. "Not just wanted to go home, he wanted to escape from this military organization whose vocation was to kill, betray, and schem," but I was a little worried...... Once I go back, they're definitely going to ask me about Denica. How can I explain it......"

"Ah, that's a good question. I can accompany you to explain - I should still be somewhat convincing. Anne, who was in a good mood because everything was going well, agreed, "By the way, did you sneak here on the orders of General López?"

The boy stood up after putting on his blue military trousers, picked up his military shirt from his chair, and replied, "What do you say...... It's a coincidence. Marshal Govar thought I was a combat hero, so I acquiesced and earned this lieutenant epaulettes. ”

Anne stared at his huge shadow dangling on the wall and asked, "Oh, so he still promoted your benefactor." You're also amazing, you don't have any affection for grabbing credit, and you have a future. ”

It was like a hammer that hit Naimon in the back of the head. He jerked to his feet, touched his head against the oil lamp dangling from the roof, threw himself forward, and fell on Anne's bed with the back of his head clutched. The girl quickly shrank into the corner of the wall, making room for him to pounce.

"Hey, are you alright? I'm just joking, this reaction is too intense, isn't it?"

However, Soleton never got up, as if he was deeply hurt by that statement. Anne was momentarily confused, rummaging through her pockets to find a stick-like object to poke at him.

What she didn't know was that the boy didn't get up for a completely different reason.

She was suspicious. She's so suspicious. In her pocket, it must have been a magical item for eavesdropping.

Almost as soon as he woke up, Naimon decided on it. He didn't want to be nosy, but he felt that he had to catch the spy in his current position. He didn't think he would be captivated by his old friendships - not to mention that the beautiful girl in front of him didn't leave him with any good memories.

Almost all of his movements are purposeful. He needed enough opportunity for him to steal the magical item out of her pocket. This is not too difficult for a teenager who once devoted all his energy to the road of "survival". You know, even his time-tested teacher was successfully stolen by him back then. Use body language to lure the target to turn away, then use your own shadow to block other shadows that might leak secrets, then use exaggerated performances to distract the target and create an opportunity to get closer, and finally find a topic to get Anne to stop checking the object -

However, the problem lies in the moment of success. In Anne's pocket, there was more than one thing.

From the touch of his fingers, he knew that there was a large rectangular metal object inside, a leather bag much larger than the palm of his hand, and a small oval glass object.

As a thief, you don't have a choice. He can only choose what is easy to hide. He took out the small, round glass object and held it in the palm of his hand.

--In the last moment, he glanced at the thing: it was a blue oval gemstone pendant.

Then he lost consciousness. Almost sucking consciousness out of that thing, to be exact.

If magic is like water, the magician is the river that guides the water, and the ordinary magic item is the lake where the water is temporarily stored, then this pendant is the ocean. The ocean without water. The river flows to the mouth of the sea, and what awaits is an abyss.

This humble pendant may have once been a powerful magical item before, but it is now empty.

He had never seen, heard, or even imagined such a large volume of magical objects. Compared to the humble pendants, the structure of other magical objects he had seen was ridiculous. What kind of power was there in this tiny sapphire pendant?

For some reason, Naimon felt that the abyss in front of him was not terrible - on the contrary, it was somewhat kind. He stood at the mouth of the river and took a tentative step forward.

The whole world unfolded before his eyes in an instant. The horizon stretched out into seas, land, and mountains, and it was faintly discernible that it was the shape of a world map, but with greater accuracy than any world map he had ever seen. It's hard to see the end of everything, only to know that the sky is above your head and the earth under your feet.

No, not the earth, it's the words.

The overlapping words are carved deep into the turquoise crystal ocean floor, overlapping and devouring each other. A tidal wave of words and images flooded into his eyes.

It was the mark of the owners, the previous owners, and the previous owners of this great magical object, those who fought between life and death, between ideals and reality, between different ideas. I don't know how many years it took to engrave this ocean with these words.

It was an endless pile of thoughts, knowledge, and beliefs. Although the discourses and incantations overlapped and obscured each other, he was surprised to find that he could read them, as if there was a wordless resonance.

"Magic was once considered a gift from the gods and the well-being of the people, and it was also considered an accomplice to the powerful and a tool of careerists. I've thought about why there is a spell and what it is. ”

Those are reason and faith, nature and sacrifice, blood and music—the sum total of all the unbelievable principles of spell casting and means of implementation, all the super-magical and anti-demonic techniques. At the top of the submarine mountain range, which is counted in tens of thousands and classified according to different systems, there is such a simple wording.

"Spells are not prayers, not spells, not talents, not blood. ”

He subconsciously read silently, as if he could sense the mood and conviction of the magician who had written these words.

"The sword and the horse gave the military aristocracy power and existed for the hierarchical society. Fire and education give equality to the common people, and exist for a free society. Magic is a self-proclaimed magician who exists to protect the mind and fights with it. First the thinker, then the magician. Arcane is the blade of reason and faith, and magic is the shield of morality and faith. ”

The young magician bowed his head in shame as he repeated the words he had written in these other dimensions. He had no ideals and no convictions. He didn't pursue it, he gave up. Before he could reach maturity, he became sophisticated. He thinks he is already a real person, but in fact, he has been going with the flow in order to survive.

He lowered his head numbly, trying to avoid these ignorant and idealistic words, but he saw the pillars that supported them. It was three short sentences that were stacked on top of each other over and over again.

“Thought is source”。 “Knowledge is skill”。 “Faith is strength”。

Thought is the source. Knowledge is skill. Faith is power.

And the name of the inscription is......

"Wake up!"

The boy didn't see the name of the sign. In a trance, he heard a pleasant voice calling, and the feeling of attraction instantly receded. He felt extremely tired, like a feeling of detachment after all his magic had been exhausted.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that the blonde girl was pulling the pendant out of his palm. Her lovely neat teeth marks are still on her broken index and middle fingers, which shows how difficult the process is.

"I'm sorry. I mistook it for a bug......"

Soleton apologized numbly, smiling stiffly. There was still a blue in front of his eyes, and the memories of the past battles, his usual eloquence was gone.

Anne didn't notice it, but just clutched the sapphire pendant tightly. She looked at it with a gentle gaze, smiled delightfully, and lowered her head to kiss it gently. It was only after cherishing the former magic item in the inner pocket of her military uniform that she began to think about how to deal with the aftermath. Many different thoughts flashed through her mind, from nervousness, shock, confusion, struggle, to calm. If it had been a month ago, she would have not hesitated to use magic to erase his memory, but now she wouldn't.

There was no blame, no contemptuous looks, and no scolding. Anne just stared silently into the boy's eyes and asked a question:

"What do you see?"

"I saw the pale blue sky and the blue earth. And...... and ......"

He wanted to lie and excuse himself as usual. Probably because the impact of the pendant had not yet dissipated, it was impossible to make up any decent lies.

“...... and a great world. ”

Anne smiled, "Then just remember it, it might be useful to you." Think of it as my Advent gift. ”

"Huh?" Soleton paused, "Rite...... Gifts?"

"Well, I can't say more. Because that's not actually all I have. Anne turned and walked out of the hatch.

"Although in my ability I may not understand...... But thank you still for the gift. ”

"Don't thank me, after all, this gift may not be for you. And also...... If you want to be a good man, it's best not to peep into a girl's past. ”

The hatch closes. After dropping these words, she didn't look back, not once.

Soleton stared blankly at the door. He could only see her back, not her eyes.

The coup d'état is over, and the day of the celebration is approaching. He didn't feel any excitement, just lay in bed and waited for dawn.

Welcome to the majority of book friends to come and read, the latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all here!

Welcome the majority of book friends to come and read, the latest, fastest, the hottest serialized works are all here!