Ronald, who had been walking for ten days and had procured poppy powder from the Pygmy tribe, crossed the forest back to the red maple trees. After entering the village, in order to relieve the fatigue of the journey, they decided to go to the tavern for a good meal first.

But as soon as they ordered a glass of ale from the maid, Ronald and the others found that the people in the tavern were all worried, and there was no such lively atmosphere as they should have been.

After the three of them looked at each other, Ronald pulled over a drinker and asked curiously, "What's wrong, uncle?"

"You've just come back from the mountains, right? No wonder you don't know. The drinker glanced at their outfits and shook his head helplessly: "A few days ago, His Majesty the First King died. ”

"Huh?"

The three of them frowned together.

The drinker continued, "I have heard that the newly enthroned Prince Grandon is a gentleman who does not know how to take care of things...... and he was only halfway through his sentence, and he quickly kept his mouth shut, and refused to say any more. After laughing and snorting, he didn't talk to Ronald anymore.

Ronald took a sip of the ale, the cool taste but it didn't dissipate his thoughts.

Granddon: I heard that Princess Victoria mention it once...... Seems to be a fool......

He shook his head, trying to recall the details of his first meeting with the princess.

"What's wrong?" the blonde looked at him with concern.

"It's fine. Ronald shook his head, his expression suddenly became nervous, he leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Isn't the Grand Duke of Hellington in collusion with the church, will it?"

"Quite possibly. The mage also lowered his voice: "As I told you last time, Princess Victoria is bent on establishing her own power on the border. If His Majesty the newly enthroned King didn't have that courage, if he didn't get it right, the princess would be attacked from both sides. ”

"Shall we go back to Fort Orleans first?" Ronald said in a somewhat urgent tone: "If Helrington really rebels, then isn't Anina in danger?"

The blonde spread her hands: "Annina is a believer in the supreme god, she should be fine." ”

The mage's expression quickly dimmed.

And Ronald, who has always been puzzled, finally figured out the little secret between the two fathers and daughters from Bruno's words.

So that's the case, no wonder!

He suddenly remembered the joke of "Supreme God, you are really an elm head" when he first met Annina.

The father is a dark mage wanted by the Church, but the daughter believes in the Most High God. Even if you can figure it out with your toes, whoever spreads such a thing on your head will feel like your head is extremely big.

"Anyway, let's go to Fort Orleans first!" Ronald stood up suddenly, "Although I have little interest in these, I don't want to see Turingites take over our land." ”

The mages nodded their heads again and again, and after throwing down a gold coin, they ran to buy three horses. After a little preparation, the three of them turned over and shook their horses, followed by the long whip.

"Drive. ”

After a few neighings, the horse raised its front hooves and galloped away in the direction of Fort Orleans.

Seeing that Fort Orleans was still as calm as before, Ronald and his family were relieved. Keeping their horses in the stables by the city gate, they hurried to the side of the Red Maple Avenue. The oak sign of Reinheim still hangs on the second-floor bungalow facing the street.

Ronald breathed a sigh of relief: "Looks like it's okay." ”

With that, they pushed open the door of the shop and walked briskly inside.

Looking at the new clerk, the mage opened his mouth lightly: "Is Pierrot there?"

The clerk, apparently not knowing the mage: "Who are you?"

"You go and report it, and the master is back. ”

The clerk was surprised for a moment, but soon understood the meaning of the words, he bowed his head slightly, saluted, and hurried to the backyard to report. It didn't take long for the old cook to walk out quickly: "My lord, you are back. ”

Christine nodded slightly: "During the time I was away, nothing major happened." ”

Pierrot stopped talking.

The mage saw the uneasiness in his eyes, and he turned back to Ronald and beckoned them, "Let's go in first." ”

Ronald, who also understood, didn't talk much. Led by Pierrot, the two of them followed closely behind the mage and walked to the backyard.

As soon as he sat down, Pierrot bowed respectfully: "Thanks to you, this time has been calm. He paused, and a melancholy appeared on his old face: "However, it is said that a new inconspicuous chapel has been built over there in Yorktown, and I am afraid that if it continues to develop, it will be detrimental to you, my lord." ”

"Really?" there was no sadness on the mage's face, "Anne, how is she?"

"Since the last incident, Mademoiselle hasn't been here very often. Finding that a flash of worry flashed on the master's face, the old servant hurriedly explained: "However, according to your orders, the little one has been paying attention to the young lady's movements. ”

"Say it. ”

A hint of joy appeared on the old servant's face: "Miss doesn't seem to go to the church's meeting house very much, she has always been stuffy in the thieves' guild and rarely goes out. ”

"That's good. The mage was in a better mood: "Is there anything else special?"

Pierrot thought for a moment: "I heard that the church has been in contact with the Grand Duke of Helrington more frequently. Also, it is said that there is not much peace on the other side of the border, and I heard the young lady mention that it is a spies who have caught several Turings. ”

Ronald nodded repeatedly: "We already knew this, and those Turings seem to be planning to start a war." He pouted in the direction of the castle, "Then Lord Blair, is it still in the castle?"

"You mean Her Royal Highness the Princess's Chief of Guard, right?" After receiving Ronald's affirmation from his eyes, he continued: "After His Majesty's death, he was given an idle position by the new King and hung in the name of Her Royal Highness the Princess. The old servant shook his head slightly, with some regret in his eyes: "It is said that His Majesty Granddon, who has newly taken the throne, has always been at odds with Her Royal Highness the Princess, and the princess has been clamoring for her own territory......

Ronald thought he was a little verbose, and hurriedly interrupted: "And then?"

"Her Royal Highness was given the title of Earl, and with the paperwork permitting the establishment of a realm, she was sent to the outside of Yorktown. Pierrot sighed: "I heard that I only have 10,000 gold coins on hand, and this amount of money is probably only enough to lay a foundation for the castle." And he only brought about thirty knights, although it was elite, but in the alternating season of winter and spring, the brown wolves in the forest were very powerful. ”

"Yorktown?" Ronald recalled, where he had been resupplied in the first days of his training, "the town closest to the Ecles Mountains?"

The old servant nodded: "Yes, that's it." ”

Bruno interjected: "Well, we seem to have missed it." If we had known to find a message, we could have gone directly from Hongfeng Village at that time. ”

The mage, who had been silent, suddenly made a suggestion: "Why don't we go to the princess?"

With doubts in their hearts, the two focused their eyes on the mage.

After reading the thoughts in her head, Christine began to explain seriously: "Hellington has been in collusion with the church for a long time, and this place is not suitable for us to stay for a long time, so we must choose a safe place. ”

Blonde nodded again and again: "That's right, every time I have to change places for research, and the progress of research will be delayed again and again." ”

"What's more, the princess can now be said to have nothing but that instrument of authorization. If we take the initiative to join, it will be tantamount to a relief for her. The mage nodded at Ronald: "Besides, hasn't that Blair always been optimistic about you before?" plus the princess was against the church, our past words are definitely a win-win situation. ”

"Like the princess, our common enemy...... No. He pointed to the three of them: "To be precise, the princess hates the existence of the church. With that, we have a consistent interest. ”

Ronald raised his eyebrows: "This is a good proposal!" But soon he was a little worried: "In that case, if a war is really launched, with the current strength of Her Royal Highness the Princess, what can we do to protect ourselves?"

I didn't expect Ronald to think so far, and the mage nodded appreciatively: "Good question." He took out the map and beckoned to Ronald: "Look. ”

Following the direction of his finger, Ronald saw a topographical map of Yorktown--- which was full of forests and rolling hills, with two high mountains echoing back and forth.

"The princess's spleen is not to be said, as long as that Blair is not a fool. The mage pointed to the vicinity of the two mountains: "He will choose to build a castle here." ”

As he spoke, the mage was deliberately silent for a moment, giving Ronald time to think.

Seeing the glint of encouragement in the mage's eyes, Ronald thought seriously for a while, and quickly raised his eyebrows excitedly: "This is a mountain, and it is a forest, so it is not suitable for large-scale battles. The more he spoke, the more excited he became: "So, as long as the troops are elite enough, they can rely on the terrain to defend it." And if you really can't resist, you can choose to abandon the first mountain and turn to the higher mountain behind. ”

The mage nodded with satisfaction: "That's it. The mountain behind it is in the middle of the forest, and it can be used as a backup as long as you send people to build some fortifications and build some houses. Unless, the enemy is determined to fight a war of annihilation......"

Ronald was in high spirits and nodded repeatedly: "Yes." ”

The mage pointed to the Ekris Mountains and his expression became serious: "More importantly, I am very concerned about the presence of demons here. He raised his head and looked at Ronald: "The devil is our mortal enemy. ”

Bruno, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, suddenly laughed: "Since that's the case, then let's go over." He glanced at the basement: "I'm still thinking about finding a quiet place to do my research." He tilted his head and looked at it with a look of fascination: "I'll tell you, Ronald, if it's really developed, it will be equivalent to a healing technique without magical powers! Unlike the two of you, I am a person who has no magical talent." If you don't get some potions or something, you'll lose a lot if you encounter someone who can do magic. ”

These words made Ronald and the others smile.

The mage waved his hand and told the old servant to go out: "Pierrot, you go and get Anne, and by the way, tell the kitchen to prepare dinner." ”

After seeing the servant's back disappear through the back door, Ronald suggested with concern: "I think, if you can, take Anina out too." ”

Call.

After exhaling lightly, the mage smiled bitterly, "It depends, I don't want to interfere too much in her life. ”

Bruno's expression also became solemn, he stood up in understanding, and gently pressed his hand on the mage's emaciated shoulder: "That's right, Anne is not too young, we should respect her choice." ”