The sun gradually rose high, but the view of the pond did not change much, and sometimes the wind blew and rustled the reeds and rush grass beside the pond, and the branches of a low willow tree on the shore that almost sloped into the water danced with the wind, kissing the ripples of the water little by little. Unknown little grey finches flew up and down among the reeds, and occasionally a curious red-billed coot stepped over and tilted its head to look at the lone ducks.

The cooster was a game that the hunters often caught, but this time none of them shot an arrow at the cooster, and as if they hadn't seen it, they waited silently for the cooster to get tired of watching it and go away.

A turtledove landed on the ground between the duck shed and the pond, and the meat of this bird was so delicious that it was suitable for stewing soups and pies, but this time the hunters did not even look at it.

Two ducks climbed ashore and combed their feathers in the sun, while the other three continued to float leisurely, occasionally flapping their wings as if they were sunbathing, when one of them suddenly sank into the water!

Almost at the same time, an arrow grazed the surface of the water and hit the shadow, and then a black shadow rolled on the water.

"Hey!" Now the hunters came out of their shelter, and under the sun they saw the creature that had caused so much panic among the people of the parish of Tournest, it was a great otter, and an arrow from Francis had just shot through its eyes, and it only rolled a little before it ended its struggle, and lay quietly on the water, and the hunters saw that it was fattened by the fish in the pond and the ducks that were grazed by the people, and its fur was shiny, "What a big one." But why didn't anyone else find out before? ”

The knight took off his clothes quickly after only looking at it, and he didn't wait for anyone else to stop him. So he jumped into the water, "Hey! ”

When he comes out of the water again. "There's a hole in the bottom of the pond," he said, "and the exit is blocked by the roots of the willow tree, and it is estimated that it got through there, and after catching a fish or a duck, it will return to its hole to eat, hey, so no one finds the otter's footprints." ”

He said with a smile as he carried the otter's carcass to the shore. His blonde hair was strewn with green duckweed and aquatic plants, and from a distance it looked like the green laurel wreath worn by ancient heroes—his broad shoulders and graceful posture were very reminiscent of those heroes who were said to have been pampered by the fairies of the mountains and rivers—and the sun shone on him, shining the droplets on his skin like beautiful jewels, adorning his sculptural body.

"Well......" The man on the shore thought of the brilliant and wayward ancients of the legend, and he took the otter's carcass from the knight's hand, but he hesitated not to hurry to call back his horse-releasing companion. I don't know how to speak.

"Call Josie here, let's show this 'youkai' to the people in the village and scare them, haha- seriously. They have to thank us, I heard that the woman who raised the duck was scared and couldn't get up, now. How many ducks do they have to thank us? Five? Well, at least five. The one that was bitten to death doesn't count ......"

"Young Master ......"

"Huh?"

"It's time for you to go home." He plucked up the courage to say so, because in his memory. His little master prefers to reply with a hammer rather than words, "It's time for you to get back on the right track, go home." ”

“……”

"Don't play any more." The other party said sincerely, "Go home." There was concern and genuine distress in his eyes, yes, and the thought of his little master getting up early in the morning, and having been busy here for a long time, and finally having to bargain with the farmers over it, made him feel bitter, "No one there can teach you to be busy for a few ducks." ”

"That's true," admitted the knight, and he laughed heartily, "but I'd rather be busy with a few ducks, what should I do?" ”

"......" Now it was the other party's turn to be speechless.

However, he quickly cleaned up the mess, regrouped, and made a comeback, he had to win this battle, "Young master, please don't be willful anymore, there are already many people who can't get used to you, and when you are not there, they say to the old master day and night, you are ......"

"They did not stop their mouths while I was there," said Francis, whose eyes were as clear as ever, "that even their tongues were turned to ashes in the flames of hell, and that ash is a gossip—why do you put the words of such men in your ears? They were all over the body, and only that tongue dared to attack me from behind. ”

"But," the other party looked at him worriedly, "I'm afraid that the old master will ...... him."

"If he had listened to them, he would have listened," replied the knight, "and I am not a glorious thing to him, but who told him that he had not made an effort to produce a lawful son?" Hey, it's a good thing for him that I'm not with him, so that he doesn't feel bad. ”

"Those are all rumors, don't take it to heart, young master."

"Rumors!" The knight muttered again, "So I got out of there, and instead of being surrounded by those pesky flies (who won't change until the end of the world), I'd leave that big dung heap to them." Then he blinked, "I thought it would be difficult when I took that step, but God favored me, and I found that the path I chose was much better than I had imagined. ”

"......" the other party was obviously not persuaded by him, "you don't have to force yourself like this, the old master has no other sons, you can go back at any time." As for the oath you have taken, you will do it, but it will be the same to serve him at court, and to serve him more than to save a duck in the country. ”

"I'm not reluctant, Scott, and I'm not following a Bishop of the Jeffrey Order. He didn't teach me to endure hardships, but I ate better here than at home, and he never mentioned fasting, and I could go to martial arts or hunting at will, and I was more comfortable than at home. ”

"But you're saving the ducks." Scott stubbornly said, "Let's go home when you've had enough." ”

"Hey, you think I'm taking a detour here to save the ducks. Is it the right way to go home and compare the length of your tongue with your relatives? I think it's the opposite," said the knight. "Scott, it's time to send out the army. Didn't I lead you to see that? What other army do you think can match it in the kingdom? And I'm going to tell you right now, there are several of the same army. ”

When he thought of this, he showed a smile that he would never show in front of the Great Demon King and others, it was a smile that a person with a successful career would have when he inspected his achievements and remembered that he had worked hard to build a foundation brick by brick.

In the face of the Great Demon King, Jenny, and Jason, he often nitpicks because that is his actual position in the army. Commander of the Blues. Every time he beat the other side to the ground in the exercise, he always had to laugh at the other party's military ignorance and idiocy, so as to teach them a stern and profound lesson - they were indeed enough for him to laugh at, because they were really ignorant and idiotic, at first, they took out a bunch of more than two meters long, called it a pikeman, and tried to rely on that one to resist the cavalry, and he mercilessly charged and killed a back and forth. They lost their temper completely, and later, they moved out a bunch of four-meter-long gadgets, and still lost a lot. In the end, what came out was six meters long and stuck in the ground. The knight really can't get close for a while, but. None of them could take three steps with that thing in their hands.

Scott was confused, and he admitted that he was very impressed by that army. But at the same time, he also thought that his little master was not the commander of the expedition, and that when others won glory and victory on the battlefield, his little master was in the countryside to save the ducks...... As for the fact that there were several such armies, he automatically understood them as cowhides.

"How do you think they got to build such a disciplined team? I tell you plainly, and you won't believe it—they brought in peasants from the country, and they did not bring them in, but taught them hand-in-hand, and during the day, patiently taught them how to wield arrows and swords like children to eat, and at night they sent priests to teach them to read and write, and to memorize the rules—and they often held competitions in archery and with knives, and as in our joustades, they also had champions, flower crowns, and spectators. It is true that these soldiers were farmers and laborers, and they spent most of their time plowing and working, but at other times they were educated by nobles and clergy, or even better, because everyone could propose improvements. No, they are better treated than we are, because when we go on our expeditions, we have to guard against our neighbors taking advantage of the opportunity to persecute our wives and children, but what about them? All the neighbors, rich and poor, were to help their wives and children who had stayed. He laughed again, "Well, even a knight will help a farmer's wife save a few ducks when necessary." Scott, I think that's how Heaven's army should be. ”

"What?"

"My bishop has said that there will be peace on earth, peace for all, and justice for criminals...... At that time, I thought, is he going to move heaven to earth? However, he did it, and he did a good job, did you see a robbery in Turnest on the way here? Have you not heard that even a young woman with her baby in her arms can walk from one side of the parish of Tournest to the other without any scruples, as safe as in heaven? Why, then, should I step away when they have a great chance of building a paradise, in order to go back to fight with my relatives? ”

Scott must admit that he was utterly confused, for he really did not see what saving the ducks had to do with the establishment of heaven, and he only understood one thing, that his young master would never go home with him.

None of them convinced anyone, but the man who had been arranged to let them loose came to them for fear that they would be eaten by the "water demon", so they took the otter to the village and showed it to the owner of the duck and the other villagers who were frightened by the rumors. As they came out of the depression where the pond was and climbed up the hills, they saw something they hadn't expected to see before: beacon fires.

Along the coastline of the entire diocese of Tournest, beacon towers raise beacon smoke one after another, heralding the arrival of enemies at sea. (To be continued......)

PS: If there is something tomorrow, stop for a day