Winter in the Empire was cold, with snow starting to fall in early December and temperatures dropping considerably.

Probably because of the snow, the carriage was moving very slowly, starting from the Reox Academy, after a long time, Jiang Zhe and his party were still driving on the snow-covered road.

The warmth in the carriage was well worked, at least the children didn't feel the slightest bit of cold.

By the car window, a girl named Lavia looked out the window at the snow, looking at her expression, as if she was remembering something.

Scott too, rarely, this exemplary child of the aristocratic child did not hold a thick book to flip through, but looked out the window from time to time at the falling snowflakes, of course, this also had something to do with the long-haired girl opposite her secretly looking at him from time to time, the girl named Lerella.

"Giggle!" a chuckle came from the carriage from a girl named Lisa, who sat across from her and was making the short-haired girl giggle by saying something funny.

Jiang Zhe rolled his eyes speechlessly for Allen's trick to make the little girl laugh, held his head and looked out the window, yawning from time to time, this kind of yawning would cause a cold snort from Lavia on the other side of the window.

Anyway, the two seem to have a very unpleasant quarrel......

Jiang Zhe felt a little bored, on his left, was Allen, who was making the little girl laugh, and opposite him, was Dia, who was holding a stack of materials and reading carefully, Jiang Zhe glanced at it, it was all about illusions.

Reaching out and knocking on the car window, Jiang Zhe said helplessly, "Professor, haven't you arrived yet?"

"Soon, soon!" Professor Hodd repeated over and over again, but with less and less credibility.

It is said that Professor Hodd is sitting outside in the position of driving the carriage, although it is very cold outside, but for a professor who is proficient in fire blue magic, the cold does not pose any problem.

Probably because she was the only one in the carriage and feeling a little embarrassed talking to Alan, Lisa looked out the window and said, "The first time I saw the snow in Sasson, it felt like it was back home, right, Ivey?"

"Hmm?" Lavia, who was looking out of the window as if she was remembering, came back to her senses, her face was not very good, and she reluctantly said, "Well, yes, it's just as white...... It's beautiful!"

"Fahualia-san is from the north?" asked Allen, confused.

"Just call me Lavia," Lavia sighed softly and nodded, "yes, in the northwest ...... of the Empire."

"Artac!" Lisa said, "the northwestern territory of the Empire, a snow-shrouded principality......"

"Oh, isn't that cold?" asked Allen, surprised.

"No!" Lisa explained, shaking her head, "Altak, though there is snow everywhere, is not very cold, and it is beautiful, very beautiful...... By the way, Alan, my hometown is on the border with Artac, a little closer to Ivey...... What about you, Alan?"

"Oh, me?" Alan said with a smile, scratching his head, "My hometown is in the south, well, it's warm all year round, don't Operils ......"

"Huh?" Lisa was stunned, her little face full of doubts, "Operels, I think I've heard it somewhere, it's familiar......"

"Hmph!" Scott, who was beside Allen, snorted coldly, "How could you not be familiar with it?" the largest city in the Empire, and also the richest and most prosperous city, Operels, the legendary city blessed by the gods!"

"I, I've heard of it too," said Larella, looking at Alan incredulously with some surprise, "I heard that it's a big city that's no less than Sassen......"

"Hehe, it's okay, maybe I've been there for a long time, and I don't feel much......" Alan shrugged and said disapprovingly.

That being said, Lisa seemed intrigued, and asked again and again, "Alan Allen, what kind of city is Operiels? Hmm, is it snowing? Hmm, is it as beautiful as Sasson?"

Facing Lisa's question, Alan shook his finger and said with a smile, "It rarely snows in the south, beautiful young lady...... Speaking of pretty, I remember there seemed to be a lot of flowers in the city, and some green trees......"

"That's all you remember?" Scott shook his head and said, "According to statistics, one-third of the empire's wealth is concentrated in this city, and like the magical city of Vandow, Operiels is a city governed by merchants, and almost all of the people living in the city are rich, and they have more wealth than the nobles of Sassen, so the relationship between Sassen and Operills has never been so good......

"Huh, aren't they all imperial cities?" asked Lyrela, plucking up her courage.

I saw Scott glance at Lyrela lightly, and explained hesitantly, "In the eyes of the nobles of Sasson, Operiels is a nouveau riche, and in the eyes of the rich merchants of Operiels, the nobles of Sassen are a group of pretending poor bastards, in fact, both envy each other, the nobles envy the wealth of the rich merchants, and the rich merchants envy the status of the nobles...... In the past, merchants were not allowed to have knighthoods in the imperial regulations, but it seems that they have been relaxed in the past two years......"

"Aha, yes, that's why that old fellow of my family donated a lot of money in exchange for an earl's title!" said Alan with a grin, not thinking anything wrong with that.

"Hmph!" Scott snorted lightly when he saw this, but looking at his expression, it was not aimed at Allen, but more like it was aimed at the 'nobles' themselves.

"And what about Miss Lyrela and Sister Dia?" asked Alan.

"Huh, me?" Glancing at Scott secretly, Lerella lowered her head and said, "My hometown is very close to Lisa, my father was originally an emperor [***] official, and then he was transferred out of Sasson for some reason, as an ordinary small city lord, my father has always said that people can't cater to others for power and wealth, and they must stick to their own principles......"

"Oh, is that because he was stubborn and didn't know how to cater to the upper class, he was transferred out of Sasson? What a stupid guy!" Scott sneered lightly, which made the girl opposite look a little bad, and even Alan was very surprised, and turned his head to look at Scott in surprise.

And Lyrela's face turned even redder, and when she looked up and was about to explain, she saw that the cold boy's eyes were full of complicated emotions, and for a moment, she forgot to explain.

"It's stupid, but it'...... That's a good point!" Scott said lightly.

It may have been seeing Lavia and Lisa looking at Scott with some angry eyes, Alan coughed and quickly changed the topic, "What about Senior Sister?"

"Me?" Carefully putting the information beside her, Dia smiled and said, "Actually, there is nothing to say, my father was also an officer, and then he was wounded in the battlefield and discharged from the army, very ordinary ......"

"Oh," Alan nodded suddenly, turned his head to look at Jiang Zhe beside him, and said, "Jiang Zhe, you're the only one left! Although I've been with you with Scott for almost a year, I've never heard you talk about your hometown, so you can't use 'I can't remember' or 'I don't have anything to say' as prevarication!"

"I really can't think of it!" Glancing at Allen, Jiang Zhe said angrily, "What is there to say, I remember saying it at the beginning, when Scott and Ra ...... And the one over there also heard ......"

"What do you mean by that over there?" Lavia frowned, turned her head and said disgruntled at Jiang Zhe.

"Alright," Scott said, pushing his glasses, "I remember Soth you were talking about Ron, right?"

"Hmph!" Jiang Zhe nodded and added, "But it's actually a place further west from Ron......

"Farther west?" Scott said in surprise, "Didn't you mean Ron?"

"Didn't I say it, Ron is where I set out to come to Reox Academy, and I'm in ...... farther west than it," Jiang Zhe paused, stunned for a long time, looked at the people in the carriage who were looking at him in unison, and said, "Ahem, all in all, it should be near Ron." ”

"Do you live there?Soth?with your family?" asked Dia softly.

Feeling the inquiring eyes of everyone, Jiang Zhe smiled bitterly in his heart, thought about it, and continued to make up, "Actually, I am an orphan, so I ......"

"Orphans?" The children in the carriage were taken aback, among which Lavia was the most surprised, and looked at Jiang Zhe with a surprised expression.

"That's the case......" Jiang Zhe smiled bitterly, he was thinking about how to explain this matter clearly, at least he couldn't say, I'm not from your world, right?

Suddenly, he thought of the old man on the farm, Old Roy, and his heart moved, and he said half-truthfully, "At that time, an old couple from a farm near Ron took me in and lived there for a while......"

"Oh!" everyone suddenly realized.

"Has it always been a man?"

As soon as Jiang Zhe looked up, he saw that it was Dia who spoke, shrugged his shoulders and said, "Yes, I'm used to it......"

"Don't have family?"

"Ah, no......" As he spoke, Jiang Zhe looked at Dia's face with care and worry, and somehow felt a little familiar in his heart.

A very familiar feeling......

This faint warmth, this feeling of being cared for......

When?

When exactly did you feel it?

Past...... No way!

That's ......

No, there was no one around when I woke up......

Speaking of which, why do you want to call yourself Jiang Zhe? This name ......

And on the back of his left hand, the unknown magic array......

Hiss......

"What's wrong? Soth?" Dia, who had been looking at Jiang Zhe, noticed that something was wrong with him.

"It's nothing," through the white glove, he touched the back of his left hand with his right hand, Jiang Zhe shook his head and said, covering his forehead and said, "Maybe I'm feeling a little tired...... A little sleepy ......."

"Hey!" Jiang Zhe's words made Alan beside him feel a little funny, and said teasingly, "I said man, you've been sleeping longer and longer lately...... I said, are you possessed by Hypnos?"

"Hypnos?sleep god Hypnos?" Lisa chuckled, and the other girls were amused.

"Is this what a magician should say?" Frowning and glaring at Allen, Scott pushed his glasses and inferred, "There is no basis for this kind of thing from the gods, I think it is more credible that it should be cursed, but I didn't find any signs of a curse in Soth, maybe he was too tired, after all, Soth can't rely on meditation to increase his magic power, and he has exhausted his magic power many times, and his mental power consumption is very large, so it's not impossible to become sleepy......"

"Can't meditate?" The girls on the other side were very surprised, except for Lavia, who had known about it in the last two months of getting along, but Dia was more surprised, and said in surprise, "Isn't it......?"

Glancing at Jiang Zhe enviously, Scott saw that he didn't have the slightest intention of concealing it, so he roughly explained his talent.

"Oh my God, there's such a thing...... like Lisa and Lyreira, Dia looked very surprised, but Lavia snorted and said disdainfully, "It's still him after all! Super fast mana recovery, this is what many magicians dream of, and this guy ...... As long as he is strong-willed, he sleeps a few hours less every day and uses it to connect with magic, and his strength is far more than now...... Of course, if he is not strong enough, please wake him up? In short, he is not working hard enough!"

In response to Lavia's words, Scott and Alan glanced at each other and said with a smile, "It won't work!"

"Huh?" Lavia wondered.

"Hehe," Scott glanced at Jiang Zhe, and Alan beside him explained helplessly, "The most annoying thing about that guy is that he is woken up while sleeping, and when he doesn't get enough sleep, that guy's temper will become very bad......"

"Is there one?" Jiang Zhe felt inexplicable about this.

"Didn't you?" Exclaimed Allen with wide eyes, "I remember the way you looked at me, and I was so scared that I quickly put my shield in front of me......"

"Hey, is it so exaggerated?"

"No," Alan said with a smile, scratching his head, "but when you were first woken up, your temper was really not very good, whether it was the way you looked or the tone of your speech, it was very different from your usual one...... Well, after a while, the situation was much better...... Right, Scott?"

"Well, it's a bit of an exaggeration, but that's the way it is," Scott nodded, "Something similar, I've heard that people subconsciously attack hostile people when they sleep, even if they are approached by unfamiliar people, there will be some abnormal behavior, if it's a very vigilant person, the slightest abnormal noise will wake up, which is normal." ”

At this moment, the carriage stopped, and Professor Hodd opened the door from the outside.

With a cold wind blowing on his face, the professor smiled and said, "What are you discussing, come down, children, we have arrived!"

Glancing at the moon hanging in the night sky, Jiang Zhe said speechlessly, "Professor, this is what you call a 'nearby village'?

"Hehe," Professor Hodd explained, smiling slightly awkwardly, "that's because the snow is very heavy this year, so I moved a little slower to prevent the wheels of the carriage from slipping, and last year when I was alone, it was three hours away!"

"Three hours ......" Jiang Zhe rolled his eyes speechlessly, stepped down from the carriage, and looked at the small village in front of him.

"Be quiet, children, don't disturb the neighbors, it's late......" Professor Hodd reminded the children who got out of the car one by one.

It's a village called Rio, an ordinary imperial village.

Generally speaking, the empire distinguishes between cities, towns, and villages basically through population, and when the population of a village grows to a certain extent, it can become a town, and in the empire, the population of a town should be at least about 800 to 1,000, of course, the prosperity of the place is also a more important indicator.

According to Professor Hodd, this village is not very large, there are only more than 200 residents here, and they are all ordinary civilians, so it is just a village.

Unlike castle buildings, villages do not have castles, because the people who live here are commoners, commonly known as peasants, who are at the bottom of the empire, and they have no money or qualifications to live in castles.

However, even the village had a wall to protect the inhabitants from robbers and wild beasts, as Jiang Zhe had seen, a fence made of planks, grass and rattans, and fences.

The village was founded along a small river, and although the river is now frozen, you can still see some wooden steps made to carry water.

By the river, there was a water mill, very small, and it looked like it was only about ten yards from front to back.

Not far from the water mill, there was a windmill, and with the wind blowing from time to time, the blades on the roof of the windmill gurgled and turned, and piles of snow fell.

The houses in the village are a bit scattered, most of them are wooden frame houses, which may be due to the proximity to Sassen, and the living conditions of the common people here are still relatively good, while the general imperial villages are mostly mud houses.

The style of the house is a bit like the western-style cabins seen in the previous life, because late at night, the inhabitants of the village have returned to their quarters, and a few glimmers of light illuminate the snow outside from the windows of the houses.

Probably because it was a little different from what he imagined, Scott asked in surprise, "Did Professor Hodd live here before?"

"Ah," Professor Hodd nodded, and said softly, "isn't it a little disappointing that this is the village where I used to live?

"Uh, it's a bit ......" Scott pushed his glasses in embarrassment.

"Hehe," Professor Hodd said, admiring the child's honesty, and lowered his body and smiled, "Magicians don't all like to live in a big city, and the noise outside affects their research, how many have you seen who like to be lively? Of course, although I don't study anything, I also like this peaceful atmosphere...... Okay, bring your bags, it's getting late, and we're going to have to clean up where we're going to stay - I haven't tended to that damn house in a year, and it's probably dusty. ”

"Giggle!" the rest of the girls giggled except for Lavia.

"And where does the professor live?" said Allen, carrying the heavy duffel bag full of armor and knight's sword, pointing to a larger house, "Is that there?"

"Well, that's the chief's house—I remember," said Professor Hodder, smiling, pointing to a path that led deeper into the village, "and follow the road, where I live at the end......

"Huh, are you going to walk over there?" Alan sighed as he looked at the heavy bag in his hand.

"Okay, don't complain," Professor Hodd said with a smile, and then he noticed Jiang Zhe, who had been standing in a daze, and walked over and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Soth, it can't be because of too much disappointment, right?"

"No, Professor. Jiang Zhe shook his head, with a hint of shock and confusion in his eyes, for some reason, he felt an inexplicable familiarity and sadness in his heart.

"Since we are not disappointed, let's leave, when we get to the place, we still have to deal with a lot of things, cleaning the house, boiling water, and so on. ”

"Yes, Professor. ”

Following Professor Hold's instructions, the children walked along the village path, which they did not like to be slippery. On the way, a group of people came across the head of the village, who was taking a few young men to check on the situation in the village, such as the campfire in the village, such as strangers.

These young men all called Professor Huo De Mr. Huo De, it seems that they did not know the identity of Professor Huo De, only the old village chief added the word 'respectful' to the title, apparently, he was in the know.

After bidding farewell to the old village chief, Professor Huo De led Jiang Zhe and the others to the depths of the village, and after passing through a small wood, they finally arrived at their destination, a three-story wooden building that looked very ordinary.

This made the girls secretly relieved, but it was also thought that as a magician, and a professor at Reox Academy, he would never live in a commoner house again, right?

But with a creak, Professor Hodd pushed open the door to the house, and the dust made the girls take a few steps back.

"Haha, that's true," Professor Hodd said with a smile as he stretched out his hand to disperse the dust, "Alright, kids, this is where you're going to be for a month or so, don't expect any space folding magic in this house, and don't expect a spell to make the ceiling glow...... Go inside!Soth, help me light the fireplace, and if you want firewood, it should be piled up next to the fireplace. ”

"Yes, yes," Jiang Zhe glanced at the professor angrily, walked in, and with a "whew", a fireball ignited in front of him, and with the light of the fireball, he looked at the facilities in the room.

"Attention, don't set my house on fire!" came Professor Hodd's voice behind him.

"How is that possible!" Jiang Zhe rolled his eyes, controlled the fireball in the house, and found the direction of the fireplace, and at this time, Lavia also used magic to light the candle on the long table, and the room suddenly brightened.

"Boom!" After casually throwing a handful of firewood, Jiang Zhe lit the fireplace with a fireball, and the burning flame emitted bursts of heat.

"I say Professor......" Alan wiped the dust from the long table with his fingers, then looked at his fingers and said strangely, "It......'s a mess here," he said, looking at the messy furnishings in the room.

"Ahem," the professor said with a cough that was obviously a little embarrassed, "this is just my residence, not the professor's office in Reox, and besides, it hasn't been taken care of for a year, which is normal, not all magicians are as meticulous as you think......"

"Does the professor live alone?" Lavia said curiously, looking around.

I saw that Professor Huo De was stunned, and changed the topic and said, "Yes...... Okay, don't waste time, if you don't want to live in a dusty room, there are two empty rooms on the second floor, just give it to you girls, and the boys sleep in the attic, no opinion, right?"

"Of course not!" said the girls with a grin. On the contrary, Scott and Allen's expressions are a little weird, maybe they've never encountered this kind of thing, right?

"Loft...... Listening to Professor Huo De's words, Jiang Zhe's expression was very confused.

At this moment, a wolf howl was heard in the mountains and forests in the distance......

ps: Changed the name of the protagonist back to Jiang Zhe during the narration introduction, I think everyone also experienced the awkwardness of reading, as if a person had suddenly changed, so please don't hold on to the name.

In addition, there is an appeal to find a sub-moderator !!;