Children are a symbol of hope, a continuation of life, and a being that needs to be protected.

At the bottom nest, these children are hungry, their toys are nothing but ashes and mud - but they are already the luckiest children in the bottom nest.

Surrounded by children and welcomed, Annan finds himself facing the harsh reality that the nest still exists.

The girl who served as the "king" took Annan's hand and said that the "mother" wanted to see him.

Annan came to the crater and approached the skeleton that had been sheltering the children.

Contrary to the tranquility of the last time, this time Annan noticed a hint of fluctuation:

"My strength is gone."

"Are you 'Mother'?" Annan wasted no time: "How can I help you?" ”

"You can't help me...... The world is like an ocean to me......"

"There will be a way."

Mr. Schwarro, the ancestor, the "mother" can maintain consciousness with a single bone, so maybe there is a chance to recover.

But the fluctuations of the "mother" are getting weaker and weaker, and it seems that it is just to see Annan for the last time.

"Don't come to our world ......"

The last whispers lingered in my ears, and the bones in the pit were suddenly reduced to ashes, blown away by the invisible wind, and became part of the ash layer.

Dust to dust, dust to dust.

The "king" stood firmly beside Annan, took Annan's hand and did not cry.

"Mother said you'd take care of us, right?"

"Yes, they will go back to the surface and play and go to school in the sun."

"What's that?"

"Let you become knights, professionals, merchants, and guards in the future."

"And I'm going to be king?"

"It's not that no...... But to wage war, kill many people, leave many children homeless......"

"I didn't do it properly." The girl pursed her mouth, let go of Annan's hand, and looked up at him, "My name is Cathy, what about you?" ”

"Annan."

"Annan, can I call you father?"

"Can't!"

The town sheltered a total of one hundred and sixty-four children, but there were more than two hundred of his peers about the same age as Annan outside the town's low walls.

They were either kicked out of the town because they were no longer children, or they took refuge outside the town.

News of Mother's departure spreads, and sobs fill the town.

Annan asked Cathy to take her "guards" and ask people outside the town if they would like to go back to the surface with him.

This is not a choice question on the penultimate level, and the people who live here do not want to escape from this dark underground cage all the time. And whether it was the children or the big children, Annan did not hesitate to accept them.

More than 300 slave laborers, more than 100 children, and more than 200 boys and girls, Annan opened the portal, allowing them to enter the fairytale-like portal from the ashes falling from the ashes.

As the portal closes, the deserted and empty town becomes chilling and deserted......

Luckily, there are a hundred large elements surrounding him.

Annan stretched out his hand, picked up a piece of falling ashes, and left the dark world for a while.

……

Sartoves, Diagon Alley.

The children, slave laborers, and Dinest people sent back by Annan kept the unprepared merchants busy. They vacated their houses to house the refugees who had crossed the portal.

At first, the merchants thought they would cry out for hunger, but it turned out that their eyes could not stand the brightness of the surface in the first place. It's still the coldest time of the year, and it's almost dusk.

They saw the refugees spontaneously split into three groups, one standing blankly together, one group full of children, and one group of messy.

"I am the king!" When the merchant touched the group of children, the girl shouted, "But that was before. Now my name is Cathy and I'm my father's daughter! ”

"Father?"

"It's the one who opened the portal."

"He's my master." Veronica leaned in.

Cathy crossed her waist: "Then you have to call me Miss." ”

"Yes Miss."

The merchant didn't know why Annan had a daughter after going out, but he still asked cooperatively, "Miss, did Lord Annan give me any orders?" ”

"It seems that I want you to arrange it." Cathy bit her dirty fingers.

The merchant straightened up and said, "Then bathe them first." ”

These refugees were so dirty that ten of them couldn't put together a single piece of clothing, and it would be a big disaster to bring a plague.

Boiling hot water is poured into the sink and the refugees are allowed to soak in it. As soon as they entered the water, they let out a scream and couldn't help but struggle to get up, but the nest people who knew that they were really going to start a new life insisted on burrowing back into the pool for fear of being driven back, and soon patches of dead lice floated up from the water.

After bathing, the refugees with skin diseases were sprinkled with medicinal powder and given clothes, and food was almost ready.

The merchants had been busy all night, gathering together after the refugees had fallen asleep, their faces full of exhaustion and excitement.

The King of the North has brought back so many refugees from outside...... Is it time to build a new territory?

……

"yes. After entrusting the children to me, the 'mother' dissipated......"

Annan let out a sigh, "Do you know where it came from?" ”

The old ancestor stroked Lily: "It is not the life of our world. ”

Only then did Annan understand the meaning of the phrase "This world is like an ocean to me", which further highlights the kindness of "mother".

"Is our little Annan sad?" The old ancestor had a tone of coaxing the younger generation.

"It's just a pity that I have lost the last strength of the existence of sheltering the children...... You say it's not the life of our world? ”

"It started a long time ago...... The whole Montreal mountain is a splattered fragment of that world. ”

Annan learned the truth about the imperial capital from his ancestors:

During the long and chaotic Elven calendar, a huge meteorite fell from the sky. It was supposed to land in Wilhelm, but was deflected by the Elven Grand Arcanists at the time, and it ended up in the Southern Plains, becoming Mount Montreal.

After a brief encounter, the elven archarcanists of the time sensed some kind of ominous mist on the meteorite, and it took hundreds of years to remove most of it, while the rest sank to the ground.

The entire Montreal mountain is made of solid meteorite iron, so the original Montreal gold family built a fortress here to defend against aliens.

That "mother" was a visitor from the other world who arrived with the meteorite.

"The ominous curse is gone?"

"If there is no longer harm, yes......"

No royal power would build itself on the threat of instability, and the current nest is slow to corrupt at best.

"Can't we clean it up completely?" Annan, who learned about the origin of the "rat man", asked.

"Little Annan, let's not expel darkness just because we yearn for light, we must learn to adapt to the existence of darkness." The ancestor patiently explained: "There are many good and bad things in this world, and there are no good or bad things. ”

Annan remembered as if someone had said something similar to him. Olmedo? Or Mel...... But the old ancestor was right. There is no point in worrying until you are not able to solve these problems.

(End of chapter)