Silver Pine Forest, a campsite.

"How did you find us, Lord Brave?" said a strong, bald man.

"There aren't many mercenary groups that dare to set up camp in the Silver Pine Forest. Emilia replied lightly.

"Haha, Lord Brave, it's over. The Forsaken are all soft-footed shrimp, vulnerable, and have nothing to fear. ”

“...... Are you all right?" asked Amilia.

"Of course we're good, except for our nine-member mercenary group, none of the mercenary groups dares to accept the commission of the Silver Pine Forest, this piece of land has been taken over by us! Haha, as soon as the other mercenary groups hear the name of the forsaken, they will be scared out of their urine. So we never worry about not having a commission, and we've made a lot of money lately! ”

"Oh, that's good. ”

Can this kind of life really be called "good"?

Emilia replied briefly, then fell silent. Because, seeing through Audley's forced smile.

"Lord Brave?" Audley asked tentatively.

“......”

Autumn nights are always inadvertently approaching, the dim forest is silent, and only the crackling campfire can still give people a sense of security.

Emilia didn't say a word, she sat on a large rock, and looked at the flickering campfire in front of her.

After leaving Hogg House, she did not return to Kane's house, but snuck out of the city and into the Land of the Forsaken, the Silver Pines Forest.

She's here to find someone.

Audley.

She hadn't seen Audley once since the Everfree Forest. On that occasion, she was outnumbered in the Silver Pines Forest and nearly lost her life, but it was Audley who saved her. Unfortunately, when she woke up from her coma, Audley had already left early and was nowhere to be seen.

But she finally got the useful information that Audley was in the Silver Pines Forest.

In addition to Edward, there is another person who can be pulled into the water by her, willing to fall into the abyss with her.

That person was none other than Audley.

In Edward's words, Audley is her most loyal subordinate, and as long as she says a word, even if it is a sea of swords and fire, Audley will definitely rush forward. Moreover, Audley and she belong to the same Wing of Judgment, the same victims, and they are also ambushed by the mysterious organization, the Gate of Original Sin.

It's just that her subordinate, like her, has no brains, and her IQ is almost zero. In Edward's words: idiot.

"Brave man, what's wrong with you?"

"Uh-huh, nothing......" Emilia came to her senses.

The faint light of the fire shone on her emaciated cheeks. In the flickering low light, Amilia's handsome side face was particularly pitiful.

"Lord Brave, you came to us on purpose, what's the matter?"

"Hmm. Emilia nodded.

Audrey guessed right, she did have an important business this time.

As a brave man, she actually chose to cooperate with the Demon King. This kind of absurd thing may not be agreed by everyone.

So, she needed to give Audley, her former companions, a reason. Even if they can't accept it, let them know their choice.

That's what she thinks.

It's just that she didn't know where to start for a while.

"Actually...... Brave man, you don't need to blame yourself. "Odeli broke the deadlock first.

"Huh?"

"That...... Haha, I, I'm a rough person, I don't understand any big truth. Audley stammered, "But everybody has the right to pursue happiness, right?"

“......”

Happiness?

Emilia looked at Audley with a puzzled look, and the dim environment made it impossible for her to see Audley's expression.

"Brave man, don't worry, although we hate the Demon King very much, but in the future, we will learn to accept him, well, it will be. ”

"Y-You know everything?" Emilia was taken aback.

Audley already knew about her cooperation with the Demon King, which made her a little flustered.

"That time in the Silver Pine Forest, the Demon King told me. To be honest, we were all surprised. Audley replied in the affirmative.

"I, I ......"

"Haha, it's okay Lord Brave, needless to say, we all believe in you. You are the brave man we admire, how could you betray us? Under the wings of judgment, there is no possibility of a traitor. ”

"Audrey......" Emilia seemed to realize something, "I'm sorry about the Knights of Ten. ”

"......" Audley did not speak.

Is it true that there are no traitors in the Wings of Judgment, as Audley said?

If there were no traitors, the former Ten Knights would not have become today's Nine Mercenary Regiment.

Although Audley seems to be nervous on the surface, he also has delicate moments, such as when dealing with his weapons and equipment, as well as his companions.

In this man's world, there are only three things - equipment, companions, enemies.

However, all three things are now gone from him.

His equipment, the Zephyr Guardian Armor, was smashed by the Demon King, his companions, the Ten Knights, became traitors and died one to become nine, and his enemy, the Demon King, became the companion of the Brave Lord, and he had to force himself to accept this reality.

If Emilia could hear Audley's thoughts, she would have heard such a sentence.

What the hell grandma's it!

"Do not resent him. Emilia tried to comfort the poor man, "He didn't want to betray anyone, he was also a victim." ”

He's a traitor to the Order of Ten, but he's the victim.

"You mean, the brother who betrayed us?"

"Well, the tenth knight ......," said Emilia.

"Is he a victim?" Audley looked at Emilia in disbelief.

"Yes. ”

"Haha, Lord Brave, you're right, he's a victim. Audley bent down and dragged his chin with his palm, as if trying to calm himself down with this movement, "Lord Brave, do you know, in fact, he didn't betray us at all. ”

"Huh?"

"That day, we were ambushed in the Everfree Forest, and we were trapped in the enchantment, and our legs felt like they were useless, and we couldn't move. At that time, the enemy's magicians began to release the ninth-order fire forbidden spell, and none of us could escape!"

"......," Emilia listened quietly.

The Knights of Ten suffered the same fate as her. First trapped by the enchantment, and then bombarded by high-level magic, a simple and practical ambush strategy.

At the last moment, he seemed to regret it. Do you know what he did?" asked Audley.

“......”

"He cut off his own leg!" Audley buried his head in the palm of his hand and covered his face with his big hand, "Without his leg, he can break free from the control of the barrier...... With his hands propped up, he rushed into the crowd of magicians, trying to interfere with the release of the magic. And then...... Then he really did it, the ninth-order magic failed, and we quickly escaped from the enchantment. But he ...... He...... Both legs are gone, they're gone. Brave man, do you know what that looks like?"

"It's his choice......"

"He wants to die himself, so we won't care about him!Haha, those magicians were scared out when they saw his crazy look. Brave man, you are right, you have always been right. That's right, he's a victim......"

"He didn't want to betray anyone. He has his helplessness. Emilia could only be so comforted.

"Lord Brave, you're right again!" Audley suddenly raised his head high, his mouth wide open to the sky, and a hula hula sound came out of his throat, "His wife and children are missing, not long ago. ”

"What?"

"Haha, our enemies are really vicious, even women and children are spared. ”

"W-W?"

"I guess it was during the southern expedition. He followed us to the Everfree Forest, leaving only his wife and children at home...... The enemy must have threatened him with them and forced him to lead us into a trap, so he ...... Otherwise, haha, you know. ”

Audley reached for a gesture next to his neck, stuck out his tongue, and made a throat-sealing motion.

"How could it be ......?"

"Haha, Lord Brave, don't you believe it? A few days ago, we snuck into Central City to take a look at his house. And guess what? His wife and his four-year-old daughter were gone. Haha, I don't know if they are now in the belly of a wild dog, or if they have been dug and buried. ”

“......”

"Haha, forget it, don't mention him. Brave man, let's talk about something else. Audley saw Emilia's sadness and laughed and changed the subject.

"I ......"

"Brave, it's not your style to be downcast. We're used to this kind of little thing. ”

As the light of the fire faded, Audley turned his back, picked up a few dry branches from the side and threw them into the fire, and in a short time the campfire began to burn again.

Is he really used to it?

Against the backdrop of the red campfire, Emilia seemed to see a few more glimmering traces on his face, which hung down from the corners of his eyes to his chin.

It must not have been a tear stain. Because, Audrey is the head of the ten-man knights, he doesn't care.

Oh, wrong...... It's a nine-member mercenary group.

;