"Unfortunately, not yet. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info" Yuffie took Ed's hand and walked in front of Lily. The boy looked around in a panic, too frightened to speak.

"Haven't you come out to see each other yet?" The girl raised her voice, "Mr. Howard Harris." ”

A sneer came from not far away, sounding like it belonged to an old man. "When did you find out?"

Lily recognized this voice as the old man who had invited them to meet with the mayor last night, the cousin of the current mayor.

"From the very beginning, when Ed asked me the first thing. But I couldn't confirm who the mastermind was, until just now. "You're going to get rid of us and blame us for the deaths of Ed and Buffalo?" ”

Howard snorted coldly and didn't give an answer.

"Okay, another question." Yuffie cupped his forehead, "Where's Mr. Buffalo?" ”

The man scoffed. "It's here, but you won't see him alive."

Ed looked left and right, as if he understood something. He covered his face with his hands, stared at Yuffie in disbelief, and sat down on the ground.

"Why did you do this?" Lily felt her body tremble, not out of fear, but with anger, "Aren't your men and Ed your companions in this town!?" Thou hast let them die like this! Her voice trembled slightly, "Is there anything more important than the lives of these people!?" ”

"Absolutely." Howard sneered under his breath, and then turned into a wild laugh, "To save the lost creatures, to proclaim the glory of our Lord, and to bring the world to the ultimate salvation!" He emerged from behind the tree and pounced on Yuffie, who was closest to him, "Die! Ignorant! My lord—"

The dazzling silver-white light pierced through his heart for a moment, and the old man fell to his knees, struggling to spit out his last words.

"I'll ...... Get ......" he threw himself forward, his body convulsing a few times, and finally calmed down.

Yuffie treated Lily and Bell's wounds, crouched down, and softly comforted the weeping teenager. Alphonse came up to Lily and patted her on the shoulder. Lily hugged Al's arm and stayed quiet for a short time before heading back to their campsite.

She took a lantern from the carriage and lit it, confirming the injuries of each attacker in turn. For some reason, she couldn't treat these people like ordinary robbers. Maybe it's because of their fearless momentum...... Maybe it's because not so long ago, they were just townspeople living in peace.

Only three of the attackers survived the battle, and all of them were unconscious. In order to quickly subdue them, Lily had to prioritize her attacks on the vital points, and she was unable to restrain the strength of her attacks. While the three people who were initially hit by Yuphe's spell were still asleep, Lily simply tied them up and came to Howard, who was the last to die.

She slowly crouched down and flipped the old man's body to the front. The lantern illuminated the old man's face, and his expression was unexpectedly serene, as if he had just fallen into a long sleep. Lily stroked the old man's face with a bloodstained hand, which was not wrinkled and slightly warm, no different from the others.

"Why ......," Lily muttered, "it's not interesting at all......"

"It's not your fault, Lilianor." Alphonse approached at some point, "Don't blame yourself for unnecessary things. ”

"I thought he was trying to take the mayor's position, or have some old vendetta with Buffalo." Yuffie took Al's words, "Looking at it now, it's more like he's being hinted at for the sake of faith. She glanced around, "and Buffalo...... And Ed the same. ”

"Hint?" Lily looked up, puzzled. "Thou sayest that stubborn ...... Uncle was deceived to come up with that terrible idea? In that case, can't you convince him directly? ”

Yuffie shook her head. "Thoughts are easily induced. It will even actively deceive itself into turning false news into what it believes to be 'facts', and then believe it deeply. The girl looked at the dead Howard with a hint of sympathy in her eyes. Everyone may unconsciously be affected by external objects in their original judgment. They think they've made a choice, but in reality, someone else is giving the answer. ”

"Hints only speed up the process." She was silent for a moment, then sighed softly. "We persuaded him this time that there would be other mercenary groups next time, and the problem was not solved." The girl crouched down and pulled out from the old man's bosom several silver and copper coins, several pieces of paper with strange symbols, and a bronze emblem with two rings wrapped around a seed in the middle. She looked at the emblem for a moment, "Faith can soothe the soul or deceive the world. Howard...... Maybe you don't understand what you want. ”

Lily didn't seem to understand it, but the inexplicable sentimentality was diluted. "What you want...... I can't think of it......" she shook her head, "Speaking of Elena, what do you want?" ”

"Hmm. Pursue the truth, popularize magic or something...... Sure enough, it's still too far away. Yuffie looked at Lily, thought for a moment, and added, "Let everyone I like be able to live happily." ”

Lily suddenly felt a little hot in her cheeks, and she stood up, several familiar images flashing through her mind.

"Boss! I've found a dead man! Bell shouted from a distance.

Lily answered, and walked quickly over to Bell, with the remaining three following behind. She shone a lantern to Bell's side, where Buffalo's muscular body lay flat, his head covered in dried blood, his chest soaked with dark red, and his arms hanging limply at his sides. Lily pressed the man's arm, a little stiff to the touch.

Ed broke free of Yuffie's hand and threw himself on top of his father, wailing.

"Do you have a way?" Lily looked away with some reluctance and looked at the thoughtful girl, "You must have a way?" ”

"In my own strength, I can't resurrect him." Yuffie walked around Ed, looking at the dead man. "But there seems to be something familiar about him...... Ah, here it is. ”

The girl took out a folded piece of paper from the pocket of her Buffalo jacket. She slowly unfolded the paper, and there was a crystal as thin as a cicada's wing, glowing with a soft blue light. There seemed to be handwriting on the paper, and Yuffie glanced at it and slipped it into the bag of materials around his waist.

She placed the crystal in the center of the man's brow and prayed in a low voice. Ed stopped crying at some point, his eyes unblinking, watching the girl's every move.

Lily stared nervously at Buffalo, her right hand unconsciously clenching his arm. The muscles of the man's arm softened, the dark purple marks on his skin faded, his body warmed, and his heart began beating again.

The prayer took much longer than Lily had imagined, and the crystal's glow intensified, then slowly dimmed, until it finally vanished. Yuffie exhaled, put away the crystal that had lost its luster, and raised his hand to wipe the non-existent sweat from his forehead, revealing a satisfied smile.

The man's body moved, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"I ...... Where is this? Buffalo coughed a few times, and his eyes gradually returned focus, "...... Ed...... You're still alive. ”

"You big stupid bear!!" Lily glared at him like a hungry tiger and yelled, "Hear me clearly! If you do stupid things again, this kind of good thing - there will be no next time! ”

……

The dawn of a new day came on time, and the morning sun dyed the forest with a touch of gold, but it could not erase the tragedy that happened here last night. The crow chirped hoarsely and flew over the treetops, not knowing whether to laugh at the shallowness of humanity or to sigh for the worthless lives lost. The crowd helped Buffalo stack the dead townsfolk on a flatbed wagon.

They came here in it, and now they are returning in it again - but lying.

Yuffie treated the injured people briefly, but the injuries caused by Lily, including psychological damage, were unlikely to be recovered in a day or two. Buffalo declared that they would be punished according to the town's rules. Lily was a little worried about them, but Yuffie grabbed her arm and shook her head slightly.

At parting, Ed approached Lily and the others and saluted them respectfully.

"Sister Lily...... Sister Elena...... There are also Belgo and Alphonsgow. The boy looked very reserved, and he didn't see the initial jump at all, "I...... After thinking about it, I still don't want to trouble you...... And," he turned his head to look at his father and lowered his voice, "I ...... A little worried about him. ”

Lily lowered her head and stared at the boy, "Are you really not going to travel?" Do we think you're still suitable? ”

"Woo......" Ed flinched back, "maybe...... No, I will be when I'm older! I'm going to a lot of places I haven't seen before! ”

Lily laughed, and she patted Ed the shoulder, ignoring the boy's soft cry of pain, "Good boy! We read you right! ”

"Here's for you." Yuffie shoved a silver coin into the boy's hand, and the silver coin reflected a white-gold sheen in the sunlight.

"Ah...... Is it hot? The boy held the silver coin in both hands and his eyes widened.

"You have the talent to be a good wizard, and that's proof for you." The girl replied lightly, pursing the corners of her mouth, her voice a little nostalgic, "If you make up your mind, take it to the City of Water, and Mr. Dean of Eagle Academy will take you in." ”

"That's kind of a ...... Good friends, Lilianor? Alphonse asked.

"We don't know." Lily looked at Ed, then at Al, "Probably...... Should it be counted? ”

"No one listens to me anymore......" Bell muttered as he harnessed the horse.

Then they set off again.

"Speaking of which, Lily." When Buffalo's carriage disappeared from view, Yuffie poked his head out of the carriage, "I'm sorry for what happened before." ”

"Huh? What do you say? Lily didn't react for a moment.

"Decided to take Ed with you." Yuffie shrugged, "I've got you in danger." ”

"Ah, it doesn't matter." Lily waved her hand, "Anyway, the result is not bad...... Right, that's enough, huh? She suddenly remembered something and turned around, "By the way, what the hell is going on with the crystal on that stubborn uncle?" ”

Yuffie laughed, and she took the folded piece of paper from her fanny pack and handed it to Lily. Lily spread it out and saw that there were only two lines written on it.

"It's a birthday present. Happy adulthood.

- Alicia Hilda Stanmiz

"It's a gift from my mother." The girl said happily, "As every year before, the gods are mysterious. ”