I'm done writing today, and I'm sorry for the replacement tomorrow morning.

The knight and the mage walked out of the forest along a path that would be almost imperceptible if it were not for a keen eye, beyond which was a grassy knoll, but not deserted, and although they were not good at farming, the plants on the grass knoll were all identical, and they were still visible, with green leaves, pink flowers, very similar in size and size, and there was no withering and overly dense place, and there were ridges like markings in the middle.

"Is this a tomato?" asked the knight.

"No," said the mage, tomato is also one of the spellcasting materials, so he can still recognize: "Tomato leaves have serrated edges, and these leaves have smooth edges, potatoes." As for why he recognizes potatoes, isn't it okay for him to like potatoes?

The knight had also eaten potatoes, but he had not paid attention to what the potatoes looked like when they were in the field, but this did not prevent him from pulling them out easily, and with his strength, he pulled out a large piece of soil at once, and he shook it, and the fine root system of the plant was indeed mixed with a few small pieces of light brown fruit, and the mage was about to say something, but the knight's horse stretched out his head, bit the peanut, and ate it with relish.

Then they heard a shrill shout.

The knight looked up and saw a child in a tattered robe leap out of the thick field, shouting and running away as if a dozen devils were chasing him.

"I think," said the mage to the knight's blank look, "he was left to look after the fields." He paused, "Do you think we need to escape?"

"Why?" asked the knight, and then realized that he had done something stupid, for before they had even left the potato field they were surrounded by a crowd of villagers with iron forks and flails, but as soon as they saw the mage and the knight, they hid the tools they used as weapons behind their backs or threw them on the ground, and the leader looked at the knight's handsome white horse and his armor, and as for the mage, they hesitated for a moment to make sure that it was not a servant's robe but a mage's robe.

The knight took two steps forward, and the villagers stepped back a little, but they still didn't want to disperse, and the one at the head kept blinking his eyes, as if he had something to say. The knight exhaled a little impatiently, he had already guessed that the villagers were because the child had gone back to report that there was a thief, of course, it was only his horse, he just pulled it out of curiosity, it was his horse that ate the potato, he put his hand into his leather bag, grabbed a shiny silver coin and threw it out, although he did not recognize the potato, he knew that the silver coin would allow him to eat a whole plate of fat venison in the tavern, and in any case, the potato would not be more expensive than the venison.

The silver coin flipped in the air, shimmering beautifully, and landed among the potato bushes, and one of the villagers picked it up and handed it to the man at the head, who was obviously more decently dressed than the other villagers, with a short wool cloak with a hood, a linen shirt, cotton leggings, cowhide boots and a belt, and a perforated gold coin hanging around his neck, and his cheeks were fuller than the others. But the rest of the villagers also looked healthier and stronger than the farmers elsewhere, almost all of them wore boots, and some had hats.

"Why," said the knight, raising an eyebrow slightly, looking at the villagers who were still unwilling to get out of the way, "isn't one silver coin enough to buy your potatoes?"

"No, by no means like that," the man at the head bowed deeply to the knight, "it's just a few potatoes and it's our kid who doesn't understand, he's a little stupid, yes, he's an idiot, he's just a little scared because he saw a living person," he licked his lips: "He screamed so frightened, we thought ...... I thought there was a beast here, Lord Knight, I swear we don't have the slightest idea of what we want to do to you......"

"Then why are you in my way?" said the knight, seemingly kindly, "do you want me to be a guest at your house?"

"yes. What made the knight slightly stunned was that the man at the head immediately said: "Dear knight, in order to express our apologies, please come to our village as a guest." He said urgently, clasping his hands together, "Look, it's getting late, we're the last human village in Irettalo, there's no longer a place to take a hot bath, eat some hot porridge and delicious broth, you can rest for the night and move on." ”

The knight glanced at the mage, "My friend," he asked gently, "what do you think of their proposal?"

"I think it's ......," the mage glanced at the surrounding villagers, those who looked at them with fear and hope, "I think it's not bad." ”

The knight laughed, "well," he said, "since you say so, my friend," he nodded to the villagers, "just for one night." ”

As they walked past the villagers, the man in charge wanted to return the silver coin to him, but the knight refused: "Even if it's the cost of lodging." He said so.

The village was small, or rather a settlement, and they lived in the chief's house, a large and clean house, divided into two floors, which might sometimes be used as a tavern or council chamber, and on one side of the ground floor was a hearth for eight people, and two pots had already been erected in the hearth, each of which could hold a whole sheep or a calf, one pot of lamb stewed, and the other of which was boiling hot water.

"What do you think they want?" whispered the knight as he munched on the tender lamb.

"It may be that there are goblins or orcs around the village," said the mage, "such a small village may not be able to afford to hire mercenaries or lord's soldiers, but an adventurer that occasionally meets in the middle of the journey is much cheaper, and it is better if it is a knight from Tyre or Rosada." He turned his glass to the flames: "Although they will do their best, this is the first time I have drunk such mead." ”

The knight frowned: "It's not pure honey, but it's made with black spirits and a lot of honey." ”

"No wonder it tastes a little weird. The mage said that in order to disguise the distinctive spicy taste of the black spirits, the honey they had added was almost sticky to the point that it almost condensed his lips and tongue, and the mage put down his glass listlessly.

"But I see you haven't even touched the lamb much, there's a problem, it's a dead sheep?"

"No, the lamb is fresh. The mage shook his head: "It's just that the taste is too ......" is hard to say, especially in order not to waste or custom, this sheep is cooked together with a sheep stomach wrapped in offal pieces, and a sheep's tail full of fat, not only with salt, cream, honey, and precious spices may be basil, but this cooking method is not at all what he can tolerate now The sheep itself is very good, in this case, as long as you pick out the lamb ribs and clean them, cut them into small pieces and put salt, ginger and wild onions are boiled together until crispy and delicious," I'm missing my apprentice. His apprentice had caused him a lot of trouble, but he must say that he was a good boy, especially in the matter of housekeeping, and when he finally found that he did not have to hold a spatula but only waited to enjoy the delicious food, he dared to assure him that his relief and joy were no less than that of that day.

"I miss my apprenticeship. The mage dropped the spoon, rested his chin on the table, and said bitterly.

"Do you have an apprentice?" the knight didn't mind swallowing a large mouthful of mutton, he had tasted more delicious mutton before, but this method was common on the mainland, so, at most, the mutton was more tender, the salt was purer, the cream was thicker, the honey was more, and the spices were more complicated, so to him, the mutton was also delicious. "You still look young, does your mentor allow you to take in an apprentice?"

"Believe me, I didn't want to at first," said the master, "who would want a little baby to be an apprentice, and his father is a crumb of the crumb, but I can't leave it alone, after all, his birth has something to do with me, of course, you can say that it doesn't matter, but I do...... Mistakes were made......"

“...... You use that...... The crumbs of the crumbs to describe the father of your apprentice......" the knight asked tentatively, "isn't it a little too ...... "You must know that the relationship between the apprentice and the mentor is very close, if the apprentice's father is just such a thing in the mentor, it stands to reason that the child will not be favored by the mentor, and from the analysis of the master's words, the apprentice was still an infant when he accepted this apprentice.

"That's ...... Because of her mother's entrustment. The mage sighed deeply, "I can't refuse. ”

"But now it seems that you like him a lot. The knight said.

"It's hard not to be, it's just an innocent puppy. The mage lamented, "The little one who will whimper and burrow into your arms even if he is kicked will take care of himself, not only to find himself food, but also to bring you a ......." He still remembered the feeling of seeing half a bloody howling beast as soon as he opened the door, and that little guy also inherited his father's talent, which allowed him to understand all things at a very young age, cast spells, and I don't know when he became the spokesperson and executor of the mage, taking care of all the complicated affairs that can be seen and invisible, from preparing three meals to driving away the dragon, that serious and persistent attitude and great strength, and of course, the most important loyalty, which many demon lords and gods covet, but even todayThe mage also did not understand that he had anything worthy of his loyalty, and the mage was never a good caregiver and guardian, and sometimes he even wished that the little baby would die quietly.

If it weren't for his apprentice, he would still have lost half of his father's blood after all.

After that, the knight said nothing, until a few young girls had taken away the dishes after they had finished their meal, and a bath bucket was brought in, and the girls poured boiling water into it, mixed it with clean spring water, and poured dried herbs and flower petals into it to invite them to bathe, and if at first they were guessing, now they were almost certain that the village might be asking for them.

The knight stretched comfortably in the warm water, he looked at the girl who was gently caressing his hair, she was not very beautiful, but she was healthy, and she was very young, her chest was this little undulating, perhaps her mission had been clearly explained before, and her face had always been as bright as a rose when she realized it, and the steaming mist condensed into droplets on the tips of her pale yellow hair, making her look as sweet and delicious as a dew-stained apple, and she placed the knight's head on her chest, so that he could hear her pounding heartbeat。

When the knight pulled her into his arms, he didn't feel much resistance, her body was supple, and so was her consciousness, maybe she didn't feel how unbearable it was to be with a knight master.

"You can tell me. The knight whispered in her ear, "What do you need? Do you need my help? Are you threatened?" or something else?"

"Where are you from?" the girl did not answer his question, "Lord Knight." ”

"From the Highlands Norman. The knight said softly.

"You don't look like a Norman. The maiden said, "You are gentle." ”

"Our cruelty is only to the enemy. The knight said, "Are you my enemy?" and then he felt the girl's waist stiffen suddenly.

"We have not been threatened, nor have we been plagued," said the maiden, stretching out her arm and drawing the tall knight into her arms, "if you will keep this secret. ”

"Secret?"

"We have no lord," said the maiden, with a slight gasp, "and there is no king either. ”

"Oh," understood the knight, "you are outcasts and you have built your own village......" he leaned his head, his lips rubbing against the warm skin.

"But no taxes were paid, and no service was served," said the maiden, patiently not screaming under the knight's kiss, "we ...... We chose the ...... of Eritalon"

"Yes, it's close enough to the Lich's tower, close enough that he could be here at any moment, but you've chosen this place anyway. The knight said with a clear understanding, "for no lord or king would dare to claim that this place belongs to them, and that you will not be compelled to pay taxes and serve." "So the people here look a little richer than the peasants elsewhere, with ruddy complexions, and a lot of children.

"We ...... I think you're a lord or a king's ......"

"We're not. ”

"So...... Please keep our ...... Secret...... Please ......"

"Of course. ”