Since the little boy Mike leaked the news that the "carriage merchant arrived early", the village chief's concealment did not play any role.

After the last rays of light in the sky disappeared into the embrace of the mountains, the witch officially met with "Mr. Yoi" at the welcome party held in the village.

Both of them were guests of the mountain village, one had been staying for almost a year, and the other had just arrived, wearing an invisible mask on his face, showing a mouthful of white teeth when he spoke, smiling to melt the wariness of those around him because of his appearance.

"Alas......" The white-haired old village chief sighed, hoping that these two "capable people" would not fight because of disagreement.

According to the respective accounts of Mr. Terumi and the witch, neither of them is from the same country......

We can only hope that there is no hostile relationship between the motherland of the two people, otherwise, even if they are already travelers who have left their homeland, it is easy to have contradictions because of this.

It would be better to end up unhappily, the village chief thought helplessly.

He looked around, past the singing and dancing villagers, and finally landed on the snow-white beast lying on the back of the emu.

The old man's eyes gradually became sharper, but this expression only existed for a very short moment, and soon returned to his usual demeanor.

He looked at the other big birds roaming the square, and saw that many children in the village were already around them, arguing noisily about their origins and names.

Suddenly, he felt someone pull the hem of his shirt.

The old village chief immediately lowered his head, and the figure of the child suddenly jumped into his field of vision.

He recognized him as Mike, the widow's son of the village.

At this time, the child looked at a loss, as if he had failed to run away after doing a prank.

The village chief subconsciously looked around, but found no sign of the other children in the village, all of whom must have been attracted by the emus brought by the merchant...... It seems that he has to buy those birds.

Once the people in the village decide on something, it is not reasonable to make them change their minds, they are all very stubborn.

However, if it wasn't for the other children who instigated and coerced him to come over and "tease" him, why did he show such a timid appearance?

"Grandpa the village chief—"

Finally, when the little boy mustered up the courage and was willing to raise his head to meet his gaze, the first sentence blurted out by the other party seemed to give him a slap in the face:

"I—I told the witch about the 'Rui Beast'! She—she believed me! ”

"She assured me," the little boy was excited, "that the beast exists!" There really are guardian beasts in our village that can give you luck! ”

"It's possible that she's just here, uh, perfunctory to you?" The old village chief forgot for a moment the tone and speed of speech that should be maintained, "You know, sometimes adults choose to go along with you, it doesn't mean that they really agree with you." ”

"Is this what an old man like you should say?"

Mike looked unconvinced, stepped forward and gently pushed the old man, as if he saw him as a peer who could play with each other.

"I believe in the witch-sama, and my mother wants me to trust her." The boy put his hands behind his back, leaned down slightly, and whispered, "She promised me that she would take me to find the 'Rui Beast' another day." ”

"Now," he raised his eyes slightly, and the old man's bitter face was reflected in his eyes, "You say, can we really find the Rui Beast?" ”

"Sincerity is spirit?" The old man's answer was like a perfunctory boy.

"Hush." The boy pursed his lips and looked away, feeling that the village chief's response had ruined his good mood since visiting the witch.

But after a while, he spoke again:

"You say, when you find the beast, will he answer my prayers?"

"Could it be that he doesn't understand what we're talking about?" The boy seemed to be very good at asking for trouble, "He's not human, if he could understand my prayers, he should have shown up a long time ago." ”

"The guardian beast has made a pact with the person he wants to protect." The village chief couldn't bear the little boy's heart, so he comforted him and said, "The power of the contract allows them to communicate with each other, and even their hearts." ”

"Shhhh......h ”

"The village chief's grandfather really knows a lot of things!" The boy raised his hands in a flash, his excitement palpable.

Unexpectedly, his arm inadvertently hit the big bird leaning over, causing the other party to make an unpleasant warning sound.

"Let's go play with the other kids." Next year is also very young, but Mike showed maturity that did not fit his appearance at this time, "I don't have time to tease you." ”

In a trance, he saw a white shadow emerge from the back of the big bird's long neck, but in an instant it disappeared into its thick feathers.

"Oh! Oh! - "The dark mourning bird hovered overhead, making one piercing and mournful cry after another.

Not to be outdone, the great birds of the land below straightened up, jumped, or responded with a clear call, or raised their feet to kick up the dust and stones on the ground, making a noise and distracting people from paying attention to the birds overhead.

And when no one noticed, Fang Nuo quietly climbed off the emu and slipped away to the next place he was more interested in.

……

Those who possessed the power found a seat at the edge of the square at night, watching the villagers enjoying themselves around the burning bonfire.

The long winter will eventually pass, and a good new year will come to their village in the near future, fulfilling their old expectations and giving them new dreams.

Mr. Yoi looked at everything around him with a scrutinizing gaze, one hand on his cheek, his fingers still free, scraping across his face that had been pierced by burn scars.

Sitting in the shadows, unobservable by ordinary people, he took off the disguise of friendliness.

"I know you." He doesn't squint, and his face doesn't change, and if someone passes by, he will only think that he is talking to himself, rather than communicating with another person sitting nearby.

"The witch of the mountain village, the famous monster hunter of the Xuancai Mountains...... Even in my distant homeland, your reputation is like thunder, and no one knows it, and no one knows it. ”

"Do you really have the word 'xiao' in your name?" The witch made an equally sharp temptation against his claim.

The two looked at each other in the dark, then fell silent at the same time.

After a long time, Mr. Xiao launched a new round of speeches:

"Witch of the Mountain Village, you once passed a message to the outside world about the 'Dark Forest Spiritual Power Disorder', and hoped that those who were able could lend a hand."

"So," he made his purpose clear, "I'm coming." ”

"That was almost a year ago." The witch replied.

"The news is coming too slowly." Mr. Night sneered, his hand slid down his cheek and rested casually on the armrest of his chair, "What do you think if I say that I am here on behalf of the Holy Cross?" ”

The witch glanced at him and found that he couldn't see his expression clearly against the background of the black rumbling.

"Ahh She perked up a little, "Interesting topic." ”

"What do I think?" She raised her forehead to ponder the other party's question, "The Holy Cross has always hated the orcs, and what they are doing is, in a sense, the same as before I made a name for myself. ”

"However, I have given up and laid flat." She leaned back in her chair, "It took me a year to seal all the demon beasts that could be sealed, but they still appeared one after another. ”

"I'm tired." She closed her eyes, "People always have to accomplish something meaningful in the world, however, it turns out that 'hunting monsters' is not the thing I want to accomplish. ”

"You said you came on behalf of that organization?" Her eyes were still closed, the corners of her mouth were slightly raised, and there was a hint of contempt in her tone, and she said with a little helplessness, "Then go and do what is in line with the impression of the Holy Cross in people's minds." ”

"Oh, yes." "In this village, instead of mentioning to the villagers the 'Holy Cross,' which you are proud of," she added slowly, "it would be better for them to understand it better by using the abbreviation 'Church.'" ”

"I remember...... she was finally willing to let the dim light around her enter her eyes, "The Holy Cross was originally a church organization that believed in the 'God' of 'human supremacy', right? ”

"Its missionary activities in Adriel were attacked by the royal family, and even after the war 11 years ago, it failed to make it into the upper echelons of Adriel."

"It's 'real.'" Mr. Yoi's face was gloomy (though he couldn't see it in the dark) and he said, "We believe in 'truth.'" ”

"What you've been doing has nothing to do with your beliefs." The witch knew that the taunt was in place, and her tone gradually became serious.

"Before the advent of human beings, there were beasts who dedicated themselves to the concept of 'truth', turning them into their executors, symbols and carriers in the world, and what they did must be 'true' and what they say must be 'truth'."

"Are you really going around crusading against the Orcs to please your faith?" Perhaps thinking that the surroundings were too dark, the witch suddenly stood up and walked towards the "carriage merchant" who was sitting not far away.

Without paying attention, she felt like she had kicked something soft on her stomach.

"Ahh The previous tension was gone, and the witch subconsciously raised her hand to pull the hood, looked down, and found a white ball of hair curled up at her feet.

"Six-six......" she squinted as she watched the other man slowly spread out in the darkness and staggered away from them, "don't suddenly appear at the feet of a human when it's dark." ”

"You'll be hurt by mistake." She clasped her arms with one hand, pressed the other hand against her face, and said with a hint of concern in her tone.

"It's your pet?" On the side, the merchant, who could barely see the silhouette of the small beast in the night, asked aloud.

"It's good, isn't it?" The witch asked rhetorically with a filter.

"Hehe......" Mr. Xiao recalled that during the day, the little beast rode on the back of his goods, made a big fuss in the backyard of the village chief's mansion, and was soothed by a volley of spiritual power, "that power at that time ...... Sure enough, you did it, the witch of the mountain village. ”

"You're not going to take the monster ...... People who will leave hidden dangers by their side. "You have learned the lesson of doing this, so you will never do it again," he judged. ”

"Once ......"

The witch just sneered at his statement and did not make any other positive reply.