Arya's third squad patrolled the mall until five o'clock in the evening.

It wasn't until another squad of knights came over to change shifts that they were finally able to catch their breath.

Even at night, there is still a lively night market in the upper town, which also needs to be patrolled.

Compared to Arya, these knights on night duty may be working harder.

"Great work......"

"Captain, Goodbye......"

“……”

After greeting Arya, the members of the third team disbanded on the spot, and Roy stretched aside and let out a long breath: "It's finally over!" ”

Arya also stretched her somewhat stiff body, and said quite embarrassedly: "Thank you, young master, for staying with me for so long......"

"Where." Roy waved his hand, "It's also a very new experience for me. ”

With his current status as a royal knight "under one person and above ten thousand", I am afraid that he will not have the opportunity to go to the grassroots level to "sympathize with the people's feelings" like he does now.

"That...... Are you leaving? ”

On the side, the little boy in the snack bar asked tentatively while holding a booklet.

Because of the relationship between delivering snacks before, he was no longer as nervous when facing Roy and Arya.

"Hmm." Roy nodded and asked kindly, "Is there something wrong?" ”

"Brother Knight...... No, it's a knight, you're the knight who stood next to Her Highness in the morning, right? ”

The boy pointed to the gold, red, and white knight's uniform that Roy was wearing, as well as the iconic one-shoulder cloak on his left shoulder.

He had of course seen it when the procession of the Holy Maiden passed through the street in the morning, so he had a rough impression of Roy's appearance and attire.

Later, because I was a little afraid of life, I didn't dare to ask when I delivered snacks for the first time, but now I finally couldn't suppress my curiosity and asked before leaving.

"It's me." Roy smiled, "It's okay, just call me brother." ”

Seeing him so approachable, the little boy also relieved himself and handed him the pen and booklet in his hand:

"That'...... Can I ask my brother to sign for me? You are my idol!

"When I watched His Highness's tour in the morning, my mother pointed to my brother and said to me, I hope I can become a person like my brother!"

"Yes, yes, you'll get ahead." Roy smiled and agreed, took the pen and paper and signed his name.

I didn't expect to become the idol of children so soon, and for some reason, an inexplicable sense of responsibility also emerged in his heart.

But you have to behave well, and you can't let the children's idols collapse!

Seeing the royal knight of such a high status standing in front of him to sign for himself, the little boy didn't want to mention how excited he was, and he talked more:

"Brother Knight, you are so powerful, then you must have also been to the wilderness and the high-level world in the World Tree, right?

"My parents didn't allow me to run around, they told me it was dangerous outside. Brother knight, is the outside world really as terrible as they say? ”

Roy paused slightly. He returned the signed booklet to the little boy, touched his head and said:

"The outside world is very big, with beautiful scenery such as mountains and rivers, as well as extremely vicious dangers such as natural disasters and demonic beasts.

"It is because of these dangers that Sidenia will build walls and your parents will warn you not to run around.

"However, we are not at a loss in the face of danger. Inheritors like us will not only protect the safety of ordinary people, but also survive outside the dangerous walls.

"If you can awaken and become an inheritor, you will be able to see the world with your own eyes when you grow up."

Hearing the picture drawn by Roy, the little boy's eyes sparkled, and he nodded heavily: "Well, I will definitely become the inheritor!"

"When I become a powerful inheritor like my brother, I will protect everyone like my brother and go on an adventure outside the city with my brother!

"Before that day comes, don't forget me, brother!"

The boy made his youthful vows with great enthusiasm, and Roy and Arya smiled and waved goodbye to him.

After the little boy left, the smile on Roy's face fell silent, and he turned his head to look at the towering World Tree with a deep look in his eyes.

The Outside World...... Is it scary?

Of course it's terrifying, and until now, humans have been afraid of demons.

Painting the ground as a prison and shrinking yourself in a city is the best proof that humans have failed to conquer the continent of Eden.

This mode of survival is undoubtedly pathological, but most of the people living in the city have become accustomed to it.

The horror of this world is not only that, until now, human beings have not figured out what the structure of the World Tree they live on is.

Humanity has not yet reached the top of the World Tree, and even the so-called "gods" who guide humanity are rarely recorded in human literature.

The unknown is the greatest horror.

And one of the human nature is to explore the unknown.

Once upon a time, like this little boy, he also had a great curiosity about the unknown world.

This curiosity is still in his heart, and what he wants to do now is actually the same thing that the little boy wants to do.

"Huh...... Young master, look, it looks like it's snowing! ”

Beside him, Arya's exclamation pulled Roy out of his musings, and he looked up and spread his hands, and sure enough, he saw dots of white particles falling from the dim night sky.

The white particles fell into Roy's palm, he looked at them carefully, shook his head, and said, "This is not snow, this is hail." ”

"Okay."

Arya also noticed this, and her expression was rather regretful, "However, this year's snow season is supposed to come." ”

In previous years, it would have been around this time that snow would start to fall in Sidnia.

"It's not too early."

Roy pulled out his pocket watch and looked at it, "Are we going to eat at a nearby restaurant, or are we going home?" ”

Arya thought for a moment and said, "Although the chefs in the house are very good at cooking, they occasionally want to change their tastes......

"Let's go to a nearby restaurant."

Roy nodded: "In that case, I do have a recommended restaurant." ”

Rather than a restaurant, the place he was going to take Arya to was actually called "Sidney Restaurant", which was the highest-grade restaurant in Uptown.

The first time I went there, it was after the Christian family's grievances were revealed, where he attended Qin Liu and Klein's farewell party.

The next few times I went there was when I recently interned with d'Artagnan.

Every time he had a meal, d'Artagnan would bring him here to eat and drink, and he was not short of money anyway.

According to the experienced veteran driver d'Artagnan, the food at Sidney is indeed the best among all the restaurants in the upper town, so Roy is happy to recommend this place to Arya.

The shopping street where they are now located is already close to the center of Uptown, and Sidenia Restaurant is near it.

Roy took out his umbrella from the spatial ring, and the two of them walked across the street against the sparse hailstones, and soon the palatial restaurant was displayed in front of their eyes.

In the evening, the temperature also dropped significantly, and they needed a place to rest and relieve the fatigue of a busy day.

The attendant standing at the door of the restaurant also noticed Roy and Arya, and when he saw the uniforms they were wearing, a warm smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he hurriedly greeted them.

"What kind of box do you need?"

"A small box will do."

Roy put away the umbrella in his hand, handed it to the attendant, and was about to walk to the restaurant.

At this moment, a fallen leaf in the night sky fell at his feet with a rustling sound under the cold wind.

Noticing the leaves, Roy stopped in confusion.

Speaking of fallen leaves, a large part of its surface is green, only the edges are slightly yellowed, but the color is not the point.

This is an oval-shaped leaf, and even the petiole is about half a meter long, which is considered a relatively large leaf-

And this is precisely the most counterintuitive thing, he has lived in the upper town for so many years, and he has the impression that there should be no variety of trees planted in the upper town that has such large leaves!

"My lord, what's wrong?"

Seeing that Roy hadn't entered the restaurant for a long time, the attendant politely asked, "Do you need our help with anything?" ”

"Nothing ......"

Roy bent down to pick up the fallen leaf, "Is there any new species of tree planted on the edge of your restaurant?" ”

The attendant replied with a blank face, "No, I have never heard of it. ”

Roy frowned, and he looked up at the sky, but the night sky was cloudy and pitch black.

"Young Master, has something happened?"

Arya saw Roy's frowning expression, and her face became serious.

"I don't know ......"

Roy shook his head, saw Arya and the attendants waiting for him, and said, "Let's eat first." ”

……

In the tavern's box, Roy ordered the food, and then stared at the leaf in a daze.

For some reason, a sense of foreboding suddenly welled up in his heart, as if something was about to happen.

"Young Master, do you think this fallen leaf is weird?"

Arya asked, seated down next to Roy.

Roy nodded slowly: "Although I haven't done much research, I also understand from life experience that the trees in Uptown can't grow such large leaves."

"So I suddenly had some doubts that this fallen leaf ...... Did you fall from the World Tree? ”

Because the little boy gave them the "Leaves of the World Tree" as a gift in the afternoon, he quickly thought of this stubble.

It's just that Sidney has long banned the picking of leaves from the World Tree, which is nearly a kilometer high.

So much so that neither of them, in fact, had really observed the leaves of the World Tree up close, but they felt that it was probably similar to the size described in the book.

"I don't know, eh......"

Arya was also a little unsure, "But the World Tree, don't its leaves never turn yellow and wilt?" ”

She pointed to the yellowed edges of the leaves.

The occasional pick up of a fallen leaf from the World Tree may be interpreted as being blown down by a strong wind or hail, or inadvertently pecked by a bird.

But what is certain in any case is that the leaves of the World Tree should definitely be green!

It's common sense that the leaves of the World Tree are always green!

"That's why it's weird." Roy's brow squeezed into a Sichuan shape.

At this moment, the waiter of the restaurant opened the door of the private room and brought the freshly baked dishes.

Roy forcibly retracted his attention and squeezed out a slight smile at Arya, "Let's eat first." ”

Originally, today was a happy day, and he invited Arya to the most exclusive restaurant in Sidneya for dinner, which naturally also had the meaning of dating.

The original plan was to take advantage of the fact that after a candlelit dinner, the relationship between the two could continue to heat up.

Unexpectedly, he encountered this strange thing on the way, this yellowed fallen leaf made Roy feel like a fish in his throat, and even the hearty dishes tasted like chewing wax at this moment.

Arya knew that Roy had something to do, and she didn't slack off, and the two of them filled their stomachs silently and quickly.

After eating, Roy immediately took out the sound transmission stone that d'Artagnan had given him and injected spiritual power into it.

Vera is participating in the Holy Land Tour and inheriting the Irlan family's legal instruments, which is estimated not to have come out yet.

The only acquaintance he could contact now was d'Artagnan.

After being injected with spiritual power, the sound transmission stone was silent for a long time, and just when Roy thought that d'Artagnan was not in the upper city, but went to another small world to fool around, there was finally movement on that side.

"Roy?"

d'Artagnan said helplessly, "Call me at this point in time, you don't want to fall in love with me, right?"

"Aren't you going to have a candlelit dinner with your fiancée?"

"There's something I want to show you." Roy said in a deep voice, "This matter is important. ”

He wasn't sure if the yellowing leaves were the leaves of the World Tree.

To do this, he needs to check with people who are more knowledgeable, otherwise he will not be able to sleep peacefully at night.

Hearing Roy's serious tone, d'Artagnan also restrained his joke: "Okay, where are you, I'll go to you now." ”

Roy reported his box number, then cut off the communication of the Sound Stone, and said to Arya, "You go home and rest first, I'll be back later." ”

Arya stood up, "If anything, please be sure to inform me with the Sound Stone." ”

Roy nodded.

As Arya left, the box fell silent, and Roy stared at the yellowing leaves, and suddenly his heart moved.

Yes, if you want to ask people with more knowledge, isn't there a more suitable candidate?

It's just that I haven't communicated with it much lately, so sometimes I even forget that it exists.

At this point, Roy asked in his heart, "Is the heart of God there?" ”

"No, no, no." The heart of God replied lazily.

"I'm not kidding you!" Roy raised his forehead, "Doesn't the safety of the World Tree matter to you?" ”

The World Tree is the lifeblood of human beings on the continent of Eden, without it, human beings are like water without Pingping, and the accumulation of thousands of years will be gone.

Since it is one of the three artifacts that have fought alongside humans in the past, it should not be indifferent when it encounters such a situation.

"It's just a yellowed leaf, so there's no need to make such a fuss."

The Heart of God said calmly, "You still have a handful of gray hair on your temples, do you see Arya crying for you?" ”

Roy felt his fist harden: "Can you give me a normal example!" ”

However, he also heard the sound of the heart of God.

Since there is no denial, it means that this is indeed the fallen leaves of the World Tree.

Moreover, the degree of wilting of this fallen leaf is not high, and only the most marginal part is yellowed at present.

Assuming that leaf wilting is positively correlated with the World Tree's vitality, then at least it shouldn't suddenly collapse in a short period of time.

This means that even if something goes wrong, Sidney has time to deal with it.

After clarifying this, Roy felt a little relieved, and asked instead: "In the impression of ordinary people, the leaves of the World Tree have never turned yellow and withered.

"Now that the leaves have changed, you don't seem surprised by the phenomenon......

"Heart of God, how much else are you hiding from me?"

------Off topic------

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