Ciri, with her little rat-gray hair hanging down, struggled to steer the horse and approached Dandrien.

"I'm sorry, Dandrien."

She said.

"I shouldn't have lost my temper with you just now. Because you've at least tried your best to help, but I'm still watching from behind. ”

"That girl. Their family was a subject of Sintra. They reclaim the woodland, pay their taxes on time, and live honestly, and I think I owe a debt to them. ”

"Ah, although it's funny that it's just a princess of a dead country who thinks she is responsible, before the army of the men in black invaded Sintra, I never thought that there were still people living in my country."

As she spoke, Ciri's voice choked.

Geralt, who was leading the way on a horse at the front, turned his head slightly.

And Dandrien, the ostentatiously dressed poet, patted Ciri on the shoulder in a gentle voice like an uncle who persuaded his children.

"Don't say it. I don't care, kid. ”

"Nope." Ciri shook her head with tears in her eyes.

"That girl should say thank you. I just feel that Sintra, my grandmother, and I, for not protecting her, owe her, and she shouldn't have said thank you to me. That's why this guilt makes me lose my temper with you, with the people closest to me right now. ”

"It's my fault."

Dandrion carried Ciri from her own horse to him: "Alright, don't say it, don't say it."

So Ciri's crying gradually stopped, and Geralt's face, which had been slightly twisted, also turned back to the front.

"Now it seems that you are indeed a good friend."

Rann didn't know when, but came to Dandrien's horse and spoke.

This drew a flattered greeting from the poet.

"Greetings to you, the famous [Hunter]. In Lower Julian Alfred Pancraz, my friends called me Dandrien. ”

This kind of pompous performance can be very annoying to others, but Dandrion always has the ability to make people not hate this kind of performance.

"Do you have to be so formal? I thought we weren't fleeing, but at some nobleman's banquet. ”

Ged grunted and grumbled in the back.

"Of course, if you like that, I'm not averse to such exchanges."

Lan said with a smile, and at the same time as he galloped in sync with the horses, his upper body made the standard court etiquette.

Dandrion swore he would never see such a standard and elegant salute in his life.

"Your manners are impressive."

Although it can run as fast as a horse, it is very impressive in itself.

"In this chaotic and collapsed world, I can still see the politeness and manners that represent order, and to be honest, it gives me a little comfort in my heart."

"Ha, I think it's Lane's physique and his sword that make you feel safe, Dandrien."

Geralt, when he was with Dandrien, seemed to be able to say a few more words of cynicism.

Combined with his rather smelly dead face, at least Lan En's mood improved a little tonight.

"Okay, then we're all acquainted. But I still have a question."

Rann said to them.

"Where are you going with so many horses? Why? ”

If you want to eat it, then you can last for a long time by unpacking the edible meat from the two horses.

Geralt and the others gathered twenty horses before they walked away, while cleaning up the traces they had left behind.

"If you want to flee, I don't recommend bringing so many livestock, the goal is too big."

Lan En said calmly.

But before Geralt, who was leading the way, could answer him, Dandrion explained.

"We're on the run, but Lanne. This is difficult, and a few people can't escape. ”

The poet had a wry smile on his face as if he had eaten a yellow lotus.

"To put it simply, we joined a refugee group. We have survived by supporting each other, and we will continue to rely on the strength of our team to survive for some time to come. ”

Things in the world are always so contradictory.

Generally, in the face of catastrophes, people's hearts are broken, moral and legal standards collapse, and human beings become threats to each other.

It stands to reason that we should reduce our involvement with others, be alone, and be self-reliant.

But there is no doubt about it. This is just the imagination of a stupid man.

Human beings are social creatures, and long-term ininteraction in a high-pressure environment is a violation of nature and can even lead to suicide.

And there is no doubt about it: there is power in numbers.

There is only a limit to what one person can do, so the ability to face risks is also weak. As soon as there are more people, many things that cannot be done are not called things, and the ability to survive is greatly improved.

The war was like a whirlpool that tore everything apart, with the army of Nilfgaard, the remnants of the army of Sintra, the bandits who took advantage of the opportunity to rob, and the armies of other countries waiting for the borders.

These intricate forces cut Sintra's territory into small pieces.

Whoever wants to go from one 'small piece' to the next 'small piece' will not be able to do so without the consciousness of peeling off the skin.

Acting alone, people who can cross two or three 'small blocks' are basically the same as dying, even if they are alive, and this is an extremely lucky situation.

And the further they get to the edge of Sintra, the more vigilant and cruel the Nilfgaard and other armies become.

It's almost almost slaughtered to the ground.

Lan En was able to come in from the outside so easily, one of the reasons why his alchemy leather bag could carry supplies, and he didn't have to worry about supplies along the way.

The second is that his physical fitness is obviously beyond that of normal human beings, and he can walk places that cannot be called 'roads' under normal circumstances.

But if he brought even one more ordinary person, Lan En would have to re-plan his route, and there was a high probability that he would have to meet with these chaotic armed forces.

"But if it's a refugee group. Your goals are also going to be big, right? It will attract the attention of the people of Nilfgaard. ”

Lan En was keenly aware of the contradictions.

If you want to live, you have to pull people to cooperate. If there are more people in Korah, they will be noticed by the people of Nilfgaard.

"We don't have time to think so far."

Dandrion shook his head.

"First of all, you have to make sure that you survive today, right?"

It's a simple statement, but it makes a lot of sense.

In a place where even survival to tomorrow depends on luck, thinking about the 'future' and the 'possibility' is nothing more than a brain-draining act.

"One last question: since it is a refugee group, there should always be a leader in charge."

"This man's name is Hacksol." Geralt scrambled ahead of Dandrion and said, as if to emphasize it specifically to Lane.

"He turned out to be the court chief of Sintra, and his son was a knight of Sintra. Sounds normal, right? ”

"But I always felt that he didn't look at Ciri normally, so even though we came out to look for supplies, we didn't leave Ciri in the camp."

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(End of chapter)