"Isn't the situation unstable there, what are you going to do?" said Galadia, "Is there any danger?"

Griffith succeeded, successfully deflecting the elves' attention. While copying the report, he said with two minds:

"The veterans of the crackdown on January 22 are all Westerners who have been deported to their hometowns. ”

"Well, I've read the newspapers, there was a surge in bandits and rebels there last winter, and they were attacking the remote noble territories near the mountains," Garadya said with a solemn expression, "These veterans, even if only some of them join the ranks of bandits and rebels, a war will be inevitable." ”

Griffith nodded:

"The Senate had apparently anticipated this, and after a resolute crackdown, they immediately repatriated the survivors, leaving the crisis to the West.

"There were a lot of traitors hiding in the mountains. I've fought with these veterans, and if they join the rebellion, it's hard to say whether the native nobles of the Westlands will be able to resist it......"

Before he could finish his sentence, the elf grabbed his arm and said worriedly: "You can't go, the war is the most dangerous, the enemy doesn't wear uniforms, you don't know who you can trust, and you don't even know if it's safe to eat in the farmhouse!"

"You can't go, if there's an order, come and tell me and Sonya, we'll have a way to keep you from going!"

Griffith patted the girl's hand and shook it gently:

"You're mistaken, I'm not going to be sent to fight law and order.

"The aristocratic conservative forces of the Westlands are very strong, they are nominally loyal to the Grand Duke of Verona, but in fact they are loyal to their mines, farms, and plantations, and Bayeran has worked hard for hundreds of years, and has only controlled the two ports of Old Town and Varna, as well as a few nearby towns. ”

Griffith should have withdrawn his hand, but the delicate warm touch on the back of Galadia's hand made him unable to resist. He shook it lightly, and was ready to put his hand there.

Miss Elf withdrew her hand and tilted her head to look at him.

Griffith continued, "This is a difficult opportunity, and the Bayeran side is eager to use this crisis to destroy the West, so that the local nobles will perish with the distant knights and the dreams of the manor.

"We will not be sent until the rebels have shattered the traditions of the Westlands and disrupted the order that has been passed down to this day.

"At that time, not only me, but also Sonia, the heads or heirs of the major families of Bayeran, the regular legions and assault cavalry, will invade in the name of supporting the western frontier and defending the king's vassals, collecting as many western nobles and rebels as they can, and then occupying the territories of those nobles who have been eliminated.

"Now there is no war in the whole kingdom. The lords of the Westlands have weakened themselves with their greed, and the scavenging vultures are eyeing them. ”

Galadia was lost in thought, and after a moment asked, "Is this what you think, or did someone tell you?"

"I think," Griffith said, patting the book beside him, "something like this has happened in history, but on a small scale, and the truth has been obscured by the stories of knights and heroes.

"This time it happened right in front of me, I rushed into the ranks of veterans, and even knocked down one with the back of a knife with my own hands, killing two children. If you don't think about it for yourself, you'll be so sorry for the tragedy of that day. ”

The elf girl's face changed with all kinds of strange expressions.

She looked at Griffith, and seemed to look back at some past.

"You've grown, Griffith.

"You're more mature than when we first met.

"No, I can't say that, the first time we met, I thought you were different, at that time I thought it was just the army that trained you better. But today I can be sure that what I just said is not something that a legionary pawn can think of, and you are indeed different. ”

Griffith laughed. The girl's heartfelt exclamation was taken as a compliment by him, and it was especially useful to listen to it. He snorted twice: "Books enrich my mind like a whetstone sharpens a sharp sword." ”

"Are you still going there, though?" said Galadia after a moment's thought, "Even if you're not going to war, it's still dangerous!"

Griffith nodded and said, "I will be sent to the territories under the direct control of the kingdom to conduct intelligence gathering and training and review of the city defense forces, submit several reports, and make some preliminary preparations for future invasions for the Earl's Court and the Senate."

"This is a relatively easy and decent job in the task system, and the local people will attach great importance to my arrival, which is safer and can also harvest merit points. ”

"Alright," the elf shook his head regretfully, "let me know if you need anything." ”

Just waiting for your words!

Griffith came to his senses, leaned over to a position of only a few centimeters and whispered, "Today is February 14!"

Miss Elf's face turned red all of a sudden, and she didn't know what to do.

"Last time, well, just that day, I saw you make a bad piece of chocolate!"

“......”

The girl looked stunned.

In front of her, Griffith showed an ecstatic expression: "Failure, it's for me!"

......

It's March.

On March 12th, everyone ate breakfast as usual, worried about the day's lessons. A couple of brownies pushed carts into the hall and handed out stacks of reports to everyone.

Based on these reports, each college was divided into several groups to plan a travel itinerary for different target locations. Everyone will be setting off for spring camping in the near future.

According to the Hommonworth Spring Camp, Minerva Academy will be on a week-long trip to the volatile region of Verona in the near future. The exception is Galadia, who will remain in Holmonworth for promotion and will not participate in the trip.

The other academies were fine, they went to normal places. However, the travel arrangements of Minerva Academy were simply crazy, and the incomprehensible students suddenly became in a commotion.

Griffith observed the reactions of everyone at the long table, and found that the heirs of the nobles with the highest status had expressions of helplessness on their faces, in addition to the worry and nervousness on their faces.

"Sonya, why is this happening?" asked Griffith in a low voice.

"Well, this is it~" The girl's fingers tapped lightly on the itinerary plan, "We heard the wind a few days ago, and we also told our family how dangerous it is to do this, and whether we can cancel the spring camp." But, for some reason, the plan was finalized. ”

"Maybe it's okay, our journey is concentrated in the plain area near Old Town, which is still relatively calm," Fiona tossed her itinerary aside and took out a map, "The academy is divided into four groups to go to different areas, each group is led by a professor from Sequence 6. Our group took a boat trip to visit the noble estates and castles along the way, and then returned by water. ”

Theseus also nodded:

"If something happens, we can quickly evacuate to the old town by easy water.

"My thought is that the parties in Bayeran have agreed that a large-scale war in the west is imminent, and that staff travel to gather intelligence for the next operation before a full-scale war breaks out. This time, we were able to get in touch with the main lords of the eastern part of the West, and learn a lot about the local human geography. ”

Griffith looked at him without moving. Sonia prepared several batches of information about the Kloser family, and Griffith only read part of it.

Theseus's family no longer had a say in Bayeran.

Although his Kloser family has a long history and a prominent reputation, all the outstanding talents of the previous generation fell in the war, and the young Ishus did not enter the political and military circles, except for the title, he has no real power, and has no voice and influence in the decision-making of major events. So far, no suspicious clues have been found.

Sonia sighed and said to the two boys who were sitting not far away:

"Monsieur Berthier, Monsieur de Dedeus, we are in the same group. ”

The two men whose names were mentioned nodded politely. They are the heirs of two large families, and they also have their own Shutolar, which is a relatively eye-catching and powerful faction among first-year students, with their own small circles.

The one of the two, Berthier, calm and erudite, came up with an idea after a little thought:

"Now that this matter has been decided, there is no point in dwelling on it.

"Whether the school and the top management don't care or want us kittens to play with mice, we have to be ready to fight.

"Our group has five Shutolars, and we need to get them fully armed, apply for the family's holy weapons and seals, and then recruit some local city guards to follow us.

"We ourselves have to be prepared for battle, although the family and the big people above don't say it explicitly, but I can smell the conspiracy. ”

Everyone in the room nodded, and Fiona began to write home on the spot.

While everyone was pondering, Sonia opened a new letter. She was stunned for a while, and then said to everyone in frustration:

"There are no five more Shotolars, only four, at least halfway.

"Griffith, you've been assigned to Varna Harbor at the same time for a short intelligence analysis mission to review the readiness and stockpiles there. ”

Griffith immediately began to think about possibilities and reasons.

Sonia handed over the letter and the task: "This order came from the Reserve Command, copied to the Earl's Court. Dad already knew. The task initially looks okay. If you have time after this mission, you can join us by water, so stay safe. ”

"Okay. Griffith took the order and read it. It was found that it only mentioned the arrival time and general situation, and there was no mission breakdown, difficulty and reward information.

Galadiya was more nervous than he was, and she held a newly bought crystal close to her forehead, as if performing a divination. Soon, she whispered with a solemn face:

"Griffith, my divination is not very successful, and I have a not-so-good premonition!"

On the surface, this is a simple intelligence and patrol mission, and although the specific work needs to be collected on the spot, it looks very comfortable. Griffith thought carefully about the location of the area, and said to the girl:

"Varna, it's close to Lord Salorian's domain, and in case of any danger someone will take care of me. ”

Salorian is a great figure in the occult realm on a par with the headmaster, and I can ask him for advice in advance. However, Veronos' suspicions have not yet been cleared, and the possibility of a conspiracy cannot be ruled out.

Griffith pondered. He even thought of Peperanch and the call of the Old Gods, and wondered if this mission would be related.

The elf girl didn't know what he was thinking, and asked worriedly:

"And what about your Spring Staff Travel Score? What can you do without Sonya?Why did the Earl's Court agree to this mission?"

Griffith said that this is nothing: "This task can be worth the credit of practical classes, and Sonya's trip will also be mainly on water travel, with the professor taking care of them, and Lana, Murat, Nona and Kurala will travel together, so don't worry too much about safety, the Earl's Court said in the letter." ”

"Well, you have to be careful," Garradia's eyes were very uneasy, "Do you have any quest information for me?"

"No, just inform me to report to the port of Varna in full gear," Griffith repeatedly looked at the letter, which contained only the time, address, and ticket, and the task was issued by the Reserve Command.

"Speaking of which, how was your promotion trial?" asked Griffith.

"It's okay," Galadia waved her hand, "the prophecy has already given guidance, just let it be." ”

......

March 16th.

After a few days of preparation, the spring camp at Holmonworth began.

Minerva's teams traveled by boat from the private port of Holmonwood to Verona for expeditions and trips along established routes.

In the past few days, the rebels have grown in strength and have entered the plains, beginning to harass more noble territories. The Grand Duke of Verona had already begun to mobilize his lords and reorganize some of the local regulars who could still be counted on.

The newspapers were filled with the confidence of the West's officials, and the mighty Knights of Verona would crush the "scoundrels" with their time-tested courage and honor, and the King, the Senate, and the Arcane Council would have to do just to cheer them up.

The Grand Duke of Verona also pointed out that unwarranted speculation and negative comments about the situation in the West were an insult to the noble lords and knights, and that the resulting avalanche of securities and bond prices was a pure and unwarranted disaster, and that the speculators and commentators who sat in the offices of Beyeran were ignorant waste.

The big man further attacked the short-selling mechanism in the financial markets, which he strongly disdained.

The king and the senate fully supported the opinion of the Grand Duke, and they all gave good wishes and unconditional trust to the Westfrontier newspapers, neither mobilizing the legions nor doing anything to punish the newspapers for their nonsense.

Griffith smiled and threw the newspaper in the trash.

He boarded a merchant ship in the town of Baltimore, outside of Holmonwoods, and traveled alone to his destination, Varna.

Galadia stood by and watched as he checked his bags and weapons one last time.

"Has the armor been checked?"

"I have a piece of chain mail, and I bought another set of leather armor from the school," Griffith picked up a thick set of leather cuirass and knocked it, "It's rare to see you care so much about my armor!"

"Are you ready?" said Galadia, instead of answering him, she walked over and checked the saber and feather fencing on his belt.

"No problem, the spare hatchet and dagger have a lot of them, as well as a short gun. ”

The elegant elf lady lifted her breastplate and helped him put it on the outside of the chain mail, fastened the clasp, and tightened the belt. The two cooperated tacitly and quietly, although they were separated by cold chain mail, but the touch from time to time made his heart breed a warm and affectionate feeling.

This feeling is really curious.

For the first time in Griffith's life, a feeling welled up in his mind that he didn't want to carry out his mission, that he wanted to stay.

"Take these bows and feathered arrows with you," Galadia handed him a rucksack, "not enchanted equipment, but well-made, don't worry about wear and tear." You have to be safe in your mission.

"If you encounter something strange like Neopalis, you must stay away, and don't get involved in the mystical world and the conspiracy of the evil gods. ”

The girl's tone was unfazed, but she said a lot of inconsequential things.

Although he doubted whether he would be able to escape from the clutches of the evil god in case he did encounter the evil god, Griffith cautiously asked, "Did your inspiration or divination find any bad signs?"

"No," Garradia shook her head, "it's not that no bad omens have been found, but that there are no clear divination results at all, and there is too little information to identify. ”

On the sailing ship not far away, the sailors were already beckoning the guests to board the ship, and the time to set sail was approaching.

"Understood, I'll be careful," Griffith nodded to her, "Then I'm off." ”

"Did you bring anything to eat?" said Galadia hastily, "Surely the food of this kind of ship is not delicious." ”

"Bring it, enough to eat Varna!" Griffith is not negligent about this kind of thing, "and I brought the failed chocolate ingredient, the one you broke up." ”

"Have you eaten it, how does it taste?" the elf covered her face.

"Not yet, but it smells good. ”

Griffith patted his backpack and walked up the ladder to get onto the ship.

"Wait. Galadia chased after her from behind and took down a small bag she was carrying, "Here's this." You can dispose of it on the road. ”

Griffith's keen sense of smell immediately caught the familiar taste. He opened the packet and found it to be another piece of chocolate.

This sweet is made up of three irregular circles that resemble a teddy bear's head. Something seems to be painted on the front of the chocolate, but it has dissolved into an unrecognizable mass during the making process.

"That's very nice!" Griffith exclaimed, "I don't think this is a failure. ”

Miss Elf blushed, glancing at the ugly indescribable chocolate chunk, and stammered:

"This is, well, the experiment I named the 'Mother of Success', and I wish you all the best in your mission. ”