The owner of the small inn in the corner of Lake Town, where Henry and the others lived, was a typical old Suomir.

He was about in his late seventies, tall and thin, with sparse eyebrows and a beard of few beards, and always wore an off-white linen shirt with a long woolen apron, and a pointed tricorne hat characteristic of Suomir.

Compared to the eloquent Lamanites, the Suomirs always gave the impression of doing their jobs quietly. And every time the three of them met with the store manager, he just greeted him normally and politely, although he would pay more attention to this strange combination, but it was only at the level that ordinary people would have.

Before this evening on the third day, none of the three, including Henry, thought that the old store manager would hide so many stories.

Should it be said that there is no book without coincidence? Anyway, things are just in the midst of coincidence, and there seems to be some inevitability.

One of the coincidences was that they stayed in town longer than expected, because the convoy carrying goods for the grocer owner was delayed because of the road or some other reason. The group wanted to change their minds and leave, but the grocery store owner promised to arrive tomorrow and verbally compensated, so it was decided to wait.

The second coincidence is that the rumors that began to spread in the town began to spread during this time period.

It's too much luxury to be idle, just live in a hotel, and simply spend no income without income, but when you go to the local mercenary union in the town, you can't find any suitable tasks. In the past ten years, Suomir has been a little too peaceful, and there are not even many bandit suppression tasks in the Padrossi Empire that require mercenaries to contribute, and it is no wonder that Cuihu Town, as the last supply station in the north, has hardly seen many professional mercenaries other than hunting mercenaries.

It is said that it is a prosperous age, but it is not necessarily true. On the whole, however, there has been no major war for more than 20 years, and there is no doubt that there has been peace to the point of paralysis for more than a decade.

But it is precisely because of this situation that the great sword swordsman who returned to his hometown has caused endless discussions.

In bad weather, you may not even notice that the boat is sinking on the rough sea, but if you throw stones on the calm lake, the ripples will be clearly visible.

The Great Swordsmen have become a topic that the townspeople of Cuihu Town always talk about after dinner, especially after the arrival of the Dragon Wing Knight in the town. Whether the royal family is going to take action against these people, whether war is coming, all kinds of rumors are circulating in the streets and alleys.

And just like any other event, there are always some people who don't think it's a big deal to see the excitement, and they don't know whether they are idle or really profitable, and they start to add all kinds of personal opinions and distortions to the original news, and spread it further.

In just one day, all kinds of news were out of control like wildfire. I don't know what the source is, but the statement that the Great Sword Swordsmen returned to the country to bring bloody rain seems to have been "confirmed". Some even swore that they had heard the captain of the Dragonwing Knight warning the caravan right in the inn.

Although people with a little common sense should understand that similar news cannot be exposed casually, and even if they do want to talk, they will definitely discuss it in a more private place. But humans are creatures that are always like this, and they tend to choose between truth and what they like.

The Great Swordsman's move north caused the merchants to move their assets south to escape the coming war. And because they occupied most of the hotel, Henry, Mira, and Caleva found the little hotel in the corner. And because the merchants bought most of the local supplies, they had to wait locally for the supplies to be replenished. Then, during this period, the arrival of the Dragonwing Knight further sparked various discussions.

It is an incomparable coincidence, but it is inevitable to think about it carefully. In such a complicated situation, after dinner on the evening of the third day, perhaps idle, perhaps with ulterior motives, the old shopkeeper suddenly walked to the round table where the three of them were with a candle and sat down.

"Look at you, you're all interested in what's going on in town lately. He wiped off the tricorn hat from his head, revealing his sparse white hair, and as soon as he opened his mouth, the three of them understood that their actions could not escape the old store manager's eyes. Henry and Mira both frowned, while Galeva was a little confused by the other's words and put on a dumbfounded face.

"Hehe, don't worry, I don't have any malicious intentions, just an ordinary old man. As he spoke, his eyes, which were cloudy with age, began to look a little sharper as they reflected the light of the candle.

Mira instinctively sensed something, and just for a moment, she felt some kind of unique aura in this old man's body.

It felt very similar to that of a sage, like the occasional glimmer of cold light from a greatsword tucked in its sheath, like the sun reflected between the marches of shining armor under a long burqa, low-key, forbearing, but not to be taken lightly.

“...... Are you misunderstanding something? Henry opened his mouth and said in his usual calm tone.

"Hehe, is there a misunderstanding. Maybe. He looked directly into the sage's gray-blue eyes with emerald green eyes, but he felt as if he was looking at the ocean and couldn't see anything, and finally just shook his head: "Just take it as wishful thinking on my part." ”

"It's okay to be idle, do you want to hear about these recent things, not those drunks boasting, but relatively correct history. ”

"If I don't want to hear it, I'll say it. The old shopkeeper said with a smile, Mira rolled her eyes, and Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Think of it as an old, old foolish person, talking to himself on a whim. ”

He put it this way: "I didn't expect anything, I just said something about the country to the three travelers who passed by." ”

"As for what they're going to do, whether they turn around and forget about it, that's not something I can do. ”

"Say it. Henry shook his head, looking a little helpless.

"Huh. The old shopkeeper smiled a little happily, and he pinched his wool tricorne, looked at Henry, then at Mira and Caleva, and finally returned to the sage, and after looking at him deeply, he began to speak in a calm tone.

"This is a story that, unlike the official version. He said: "In this world, there is no story that can record a complete history, and no one can record a complete history. ”

No matter how confident you are in your objectivity, the recordr's record of a certain period of history will inevitably be distorted and changed because of his or her origin, experience, position, and even the wishes of those in power at the moment. ”

"This is true by extension of the saying that 'history is written by the victors'. He looked at the three, and Henry and Mira looked unmoved, while Caleva nodded repeatedly.

"The current royal Sexiyutu of the empire, after ascending to the throne in the midst of a power struggle, has erased almost all the remnants of the previous dynasty. After generations of blood and education, especially after the popularization of books in the modern printing industry, almost no modern young Lamanites would doubt the legitimacy of royal power. The old shopkeeper said, his words seemed to hint at something, but he didn't go deeper, but continued.

"The 'history' that people believe to be 'properly recorded' is often just a 'story' that has been rigorously shaped according to the interests of those in power. ”

"So what I'm talking about is just a story from my point of view. ”

"In the official version of Suomir's history, the Great Swordsmen. He paused, then stared at Henry and said word by word, "It's the villain." ”

"......." The sage looked unmoved, and the old shopkeeper shook his head, sighed quietly, and then continued: "The actual story is a little more complicated than this simple conclusion. ”

"The origins of everything can be traced back to kingdoms and empires, entangled in a history of bloody struggle. ”

"Back to Heinzsworm Meteor Lake, that. He looked into Henry's gray-blue eyes again, but the sage didn't just look at him: "The place where all legends originate." ”

The manager is clearly a storyteller and fluent in Lamani, and both Mila and Kaleva are attracted to him.

"Kramer's history is not particularly long. ”

In fact, it occupies only about one-tenth of the more than 2,000-year-old history of the Suomir Kingdom. ”

"There were many more legends before it. ”

"The territory of the Land of a Thousand Lakes has been shaped by many things, among which the largest lake in Aurora and the largest lake on the east coast, the miracle of the eternal night, the Heinzswerm meteorite lake, was created by meteors falling from the sky many, many years ago, before the Lamanite civilization, before the Morbigas civilization, before the age of humans and even elves. ”

"The meteor that burned its shell away from the atmosphere was all that remained of the pure core meteorite, which remained around the lake after hitting the ground. In the years when iron could not be efficiently extracted from mineral resources, these easily accessible bare iron ores became the key to the rise of the Suomir nation. ”

"In the days when other East Coast nations were still using bronze and brass for weaponry in classical times, the Suomirs, who possessed high-quality iron ore, made iron tools that could be sharpened to a lighter and sharper level. To this day, the Heinzswerm region remains one of the best producers of high-quality weapons and armor on the East Coast. The old man's tone began to change here, and the three of them could clearly hear his longing.

"When you think about it, it is not surprising that Kramer will be born here if it needs to be forged to a length of one meter four or five meters, and it is light and thin, but still maintains high strength. ”

As he spoke, the picture unfolded vividly before the eyes of Mira and Caleva in that deep, magnetic voice.

"The hunting banner fluttering. ”

"The lily of the valley, the national flower of Suomir, is etched into the blade of the great sword by acid. ”

"Outnumbered, outnumbered by a brutal 100 to 1 ratio to Padrosi's legions, they never retreated. ”

"Them. The old man said, "It was the pride of this country. ”

"The Great Swordsman of Suomir, with his own blood and the monuments forged by Kramer, has resisted the invaders from the south again and again. ”

"But they still lost. His tone began to change sharply from here, as if he recalled a more touching place, and he paused for a moment before continuing: "It was no one else who defeated them, it was the country itself that he guarded. ”

"It's sad. He looked at the sage again, but the latter remained unmoved, and the old shopkeeper hung his head, and by the light of the fire Mira keenly noticed a hint of disappointment in his expression.

"It's sad, but it's inevitable. ”

"The foundation of the great swordsmen is out of touch with the times. ”

"This lovely mercenary lady may not know. The old man smiled at Mira and said, "In Suomir, the word 'Suomi' means kingdom, but it is not the concept of dynasty and government as most people think. ”

"Suomi's concept does not involve political power, but the people and the mountains and rivers. The oath made by the Great Swordsmen was not to protect any royal power or nobility. ”

"It's the country of Suomir itself. ”

"These are the mountains and rivers that nourish them, these lakes, these beautiful lands and the industrious people on them. ”

—in other words. Henry suddenly interrupted the old shopkeeper's wistful speech: "They do not obey the royal family of Suomir, nor the general church of the Jetina sect, but have a certain degree of privilege to be free from these two, similar to the existence of a third power. ”

"Sounds like a thorn in the side of religion and kingship. The sage said this, and the old shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, sighed, and then nodded.

"Yes, that's right. The old man continued.

"Kramer should be the sword of the people, the sword of Suomi, born from the shores of this Heinzwöm meteor lake. In the darkest years, Suomir was guarded, and with the bright starlight opened a way for the continuation of the nation. This reminded Galeva of the story his mother had told, and he and Mira both set their eyes on the sage, and the old shopkeeper noticed the detail, while Henry remained silent.

"Nominally loyal to the royal family, loyal to the Holy See, but this sword is waved for the people. What it should protect is not only the territory, but also the national soul of the Suomir people. ”

"Kramer is the national totem of Suomir. He said, "It's like a stubborn reef on the seashore, let the waves beat and not move." ”

"Territory, no matter how many times it is lost, can be regained. But if the hearts of the people were eroded by the Lamanite culture, they would identify with the Padrosi Empire as their suzerain. So even though the territory still belongs to Suomir, and even though it is still inhabited by the northern faces, their food, clothing, shelter and transportation have been Ramanized, and their mouths and exchanges are all in Laman, is this still Suomir?" said the old man, his tone a little excited, and Kaleva nodded repeatedly, obviously agreeing with this.

"But they lost. Hyung revisited the fact in an extremely flat tone.

"......" The old store manager clenched his thin fists.

"Suomir, defeated. The sage looked up, and there was silence in his gray-blue eyes.

"Yes, defeated. His radiant appearance darkened for a moment, and the old man continued: "They were able to grit their teeth and hold out on to the worst of battlefields, but they lost to peace and prosperity. ”

"The commercial reforms of the Paderossi Empire, the combination of the power of the nobility and the merchants, the commercial prosperity of the port of Parnilla. In the last century, the empire has rapidly amassed wealth, which has tickled the hearts of Suomir's royal family and nobles, as well as the gentry. ”

"Everything is connected. In their eyes, the great swordsmen who want to keep their own culture and keep the traditions of Suomir's people are old stubborns who don't conform to the trend and refuse progress!" The old shopkeeper's tone became agitated again, and he reached out and pounded the table, startling the listening Galeva.

"That's ridiculous......"

"But it's true. Henry was still staring at him, and it was clear that according to Miss Luoan's understanding, this matter was inextricably linked to him, but when the sage said it, it seemed as if he was out of the way.

"Yes. Reluctantly, the old man could only agree with Henry's statement once again.

"The concept does not fit in with today's world, and even the sword has become an antique of the old times"

"Kramer, the glorious greatsword, impressed by the wooden shields and soft-chain armor that faced the Imperial knights and infantry two hundred years ago, and could be effectively slashed with great skill and strength, but now it is gradually becoming useless in the face of today's highly developed full-body plate armor. ”

"Business prosperes, wealth accumulates. Under the premise of abundant funds, the Empire was able to make its armaments improve again and again, and all this progress made the greatsword, an otherwise effective weapon, begin to seem backward. ”

"Even more so in the new millennium, in recent decades Padrosi's Imperial cavalry has grown in size and training. As Suomir's top combat power, the great swordsmen could only fight against the light infantry in the end, and in the face of the Imperial knights who were all wearing heavy plate armor, they could not achieve effective results even if they tried their best. ”

"The old hound's teeth are dull, and his legs and feet can't run fast. ”

"When I was your age. The old man said to Kaleva: "They have had several conflicts with the empire before, and they have tried their best, but they have only barely managed to reach a draw. ”

"Kramer. He hung his head and said lonely.

"I can no longer hold the land of Suomir, and I can no longer hold the hearts of Suomir. ”

"The royal nobles, after several deflated cases, were very inclined to learn from the cavalry of the Padrosi Empire. ”

"But the Great Swordsmen did everything they could to obstruct this in order not to lose their position. Their time-honored traditional position was initially supported by the people, but as time went on, commerce flourished on the part of the empire, and the Great Swordsmen kept a tight control over commerce and other interactions with the Lamanites on the grounds of preserving Suomir's traditional culture. ”

"Commerce and construction were banned, leaving the whole country to remain self-sufficient and avoid being poisoned by the Raman poison. This led to the misery of many local people, and because of the increasing sophistication of the weapons and equipment of their opponents, they began to collect various taxes in order to maintain the higher and higher war expenditures. ”

"It was a very dangerous situation to exist in the kingdom in a transcendent position, independent of the religious power and the power of the royal family and the aristocracy, and they began to extend their hand to the people, playing the role of tax collectors and forcibly collecting 'charities' under various pretexts. ”

The old store manager recalled, and said in a weak and regretful tone like a burned candle: "The last spark that ignited everything was a project called 'Firewood Tax'. ”

"Suomir is a vast and sparsely populated land with huge forests, and the people have been using the forests for their own use since ancient times. However, due to economic difficulties, 37 years ago, the Great Swordsmen issued a decree on the firewood tax, stating in the name of the royal family that the entire forest in Suomir belonged to the king. Ordinary people are not allowed to cut down trees without permission, and firewood for cooking must be paid regularly to go into the forest to collect it. ”

"This deprived them of their last support. ”

"So after the current Queen Suomir ascended the throne, and then the momentum of the change of dynasty, they were also expelled......" After listening to this long narrative, Mira looked a little melancholy, and she opened her mouth to say this, and the old shopkeeper nodded slowly.

The Queen, who was only 15 years old when she gave the order, did not understand this, and even thought that she could let go of the weapon of Kramer and walk into peace and prosperity together. ”

"She doesn't understand people's hearts, and she doesn't understand the beliefs that these people have held on to since ancient times. ”

"On the one hand, they wanted to preserve Suomir's own native culture and avoid assimilation by the Lamanites. On the other hand, they want the country to progress and prosper, so they need to open up and normalize relations with the empire in order to exchange and learn. Both sides felt they were doing the right thing, which ultimately led to this outcome. ”

"The royal family and the nobility expelled the Great Swordsman under the influence of interests, and as a result, the policy of openness did make the country prosperous. But we are beginning to lose our traditional Suomir culture, and evidence of being invaded by the Lamani culture is everywhere. ”

And this kind of simple and brutal eviction does not really solve the problem. ”

"More than twenty years have only delayed the outbreak of contradictions, and those who agree with the position of the Great Swordsman and are still hostile to the Lamanites still exist in this country. This time they're back, and things won't be easy. ”

"Suomir, too stubborn, too tenacious. The old shopkeeper shook his head and sighed and said, "Without anyone's guidance and reconciliation, they will only come to the end on one road." He said, but his eyes were on the sage.

"I don't know what you're expecting, I'm just a mercenary. Henry shrugged.

"Huh. The old store manager smiled again: "As a mercenary, you know a little bit about things." ”

"You are not just an old man everywhere. The sage glanced at him.

"I can only say. The old man shook his head: "I can't get rid of all this to the current situation." ”

"Have you ever heard of the fact that the pen hurts more than the sword?" he made a writing gesture and continued: "Rhetoric that spreads according to human intentions, deliberately exaggerates shortcomings and evil deeds, and stirs up the anger of the people." Although you can use a sitting position, you can't help yourself by saying that you can justify yourself. ”

"But what drove them to a dead end was the article I wrote, and that's a fact. ”

"So you used to be the clerk of the royal family. Henry's eyes narrowed halfway, and the old shopkeeper shook his head again: "Now it's just a little ruined innkeeper who is not patronized." ”

"Hey, I'm just talking to myself, and I'm telling you this, maybe I'm just afraid that this old bone will suddenly come to an end one day, and no one will remember the truth, but just treat them as pure villains. ”

"What's the difference between me and them, it's all old antiques from the old days. ”

"I just hope someone can stop it. He said.

"Even if it's a fairy tale. ”

"Even if it's just an old legend. ”

"Before it gets to the worst. ”

"Let me believe it again. ”

He looked at Henry wistfully, and the sage looked away.