The little slippery head sat blankly on a wooden box, watching in a trance as the white-bladed guards around him were busy with treatment, changing clothes, discussing, and making the final preparations before leaving. Ｅ┡Ω 『．

Each of them was respectful to herself, and even in the most busy times, they did not forget to clear a special place for her to rest, and ensure that she had water and food.

She was sleepy.

But the fear and nervousness that invaded her brain all the time were like alarm bells, waking her up from the brink of falling asleep.

It made her feel like she was living in a half-dream.

But there's nothing wrong with that, isn't it??

Isn't everything you've experienced from last night to now a nightmare?

But ...... for yourself

The little slippery head sniffled and touched his little face that had been wiped clean.

She sat alone on the wooden box, watching people come and go.

Although the clothes she had just added were warm, she felt that she had never been so cold as she was now.

Confused and lonely.

There is nothing to rely on.

Right now.

"Here you are. ”

A low sigh came.

Little Slippery turned his head and unexpectedly saw a bitter-looking Tails coming over.

I saw that the second prince of the stars was unceremoniously and sat down in the open space beside her.

"Tails," Little Slippery Head was a little surprised, but also a little delighted, "why are you ......?"

Tails was in a trance, and he scooped up a loaf of bread from the plate in the little slippery man's hand, ignoring the glaring look of a member of the White-Bladed Guard in the distance.

"The food for the Stars over there is poor—the priests are from the Northlands too," Tails casually took a bite into the fluffy bread - the bread offered to the temple was indeed different, and he sunk half of his face in it, snorted, and said vaguely, "I'll rub yours." ”

Little Slippery looked at him stunned.

Tails gritted his teeth with all his might, pulling his face out of the bread.

The second prince did not look up, he just chewed vigorously and stared down at the half of the loaf of bread in his hand.

Confused eyes.

Xiao Slippery looked at him with this appearance, blinked his eyes, and seemed to have forgotten a lot of his troubles for a while.

"You didn't stay with them," Tails swallowed a mouthful of bread without feeling, feeling the feeling of his stomach slowly being filled, and pouted at Nicollet and Myrkon, who were discussing something in the distance, "They're not good to you?"

Xiao Slide raised his head and looked at the two people in the distance hesitantly.

"No, they respect me very much," the girl shook her head, and almost shook her glasses off, so frightened that she hurriedly reached out and pressed the bridge of her nose, and said aggrievedly, "That's why I feel scared." ”

The embarrassed girl bit her lip: "You know, they were all there, they all knew ......"

"It doesn't matter anymore. Tails' words rang out suddenly.

Little Slippery glanced at the prince in surprise.

I saw Tails holding the bread in his hand, staring straight ahead, but his eyes were not focused.

Only chew occasionally in your mouth.

"No matter what happened in the Hall of Heroes," Tails narrowed his eyes and said bitterly, "Until now, does it matter?"

He shook his head indifferently: "After we escape this nightmare, none of this matters anymore. ”

Tails thought in a trance.

Only one thing.

We can escape from the nightmare, but the nightmare will not let us go.

"Tails," the little slippery head pressed his hands to his sides, leaning forward worriedly, "you, are you okay?"

Tails came back to his senses and glanced at her.

"No," Tails lowered his head and sighed deeply, "I'm bad." ”

The little slippery head timidly smashed his mouth, looked at Tails, and blinked helplessly.

"Little slippery head. ”

Tails stared blankly at the wooden box beneath the girl, staring blankly at her tiny feet dangling in the air.

"Do you know," said the prince, distractedly, "though not of my own pleasure, but I have come on a mission. ”

The little slippery head looked at him in a daze, not knowing how to react.

"But I failed. He concluded dryly.

His voice was full of hesitation and pain.

The little slippery head just nodded instinctively.

Tails burst out laughing.

"And we're going to run away now, leaving a mess behind," he laughed in a bleak and lonely voice, and his little slippery head was sad to hear, "and then ran away in dismay." ”

Tails listlessly put the bread he had nibbled on and put it back on his plate, leaning back, his back resting on the wooden crate where the little slippery head was sitting.

He stared silently at the dimly lit ceiling, and vaguely recognized the mural on it—a white sphere in front of which three vague figures had been born.

This is a place for the gods.

Tails thought distractedly.

According to the Priestess of Home, the goddess of the moon probably won't care, and she won't care about these mortal disputes.

It would be nice if we could be like them, indifferent to everything.

Tails smiled wryly, then his expression softened again.

Little Slippery looked at him quietly, not saying a word.

Like a docile kitten.

"You know what," Tails continued to look at the ceiling, his eyes wandering and his voice ethereal, as if a veil had been separated, "Exeter is likely to use my name of assassinating the king to march south—more than one Grand Duke." ”

The little slider nodded gently:

"Hmm. ”

Tails's eyes were foggy for a while, as if the figures of Araka and Sonia appeared, and the figures of the Angry Guards fell one by one: "The Broken Dragon Fortress may be lost, and the northern territory may also be lost, we can't stop them." ”

"Hmm. ”

"Many people will die," Tails seemed to see so many people die, in abandoned houses, in manors, in the streets, in the birch groves, in front of the fortress, in Longxiao City—which made him feel even more tired and tired, "from war, from famine, from chaos, from the chaos of a world that has no order or reason." ”

"Hmm. ”

"Also, because of the incompetence and failure of the Legation - and the Heir, the Bright Star Royal Family will probably face the worst accusations and blows in history, and the nobles are looking forward to this opportunity. The prince said lightly, as if it were a trivial matter.

"Hmm. ”

"And Rumba, Rumba will get everything he wants, whatever that is. Tails rested his head on his arm and said dumbfoundedly, "He's the one who wins, and he's built on our defeat—you know, and I used to make a lot of nonsense in his tent, mocking him for being vile and shameless, and cold-blooded." ”

"Hmm. ”

Tails sneered meaninglessly.

"Little slippery," his voice grew deeper and deeper, "I've failed—and there's nothing I can do about it." ”

"Hmm. ”

"I always thought I could do it," Tails smiled wryly, remembering Gilbert's earnest instruction in Mindis Hall, "I'm not very smart, but I'm not too stupid, and I have the help of Putira ......."

"Hmm. ”

Tails suddenly felt a sour in his heart.

"But I can't," said the prince bitterly, as if his tongue had a thousand weights, "it's too hard. ”

The little slippery head jumped down from the wooden box, sat down next to him, and nodded slightly: "Hmm." ”

Tails closed his eyes fiercely and let out a long breath.

Infinite depression and resentment welled up in my heart.

"It's not just rumba, it's not just King Nunn......"

"The self-righteous secret department always wants to take everything into his hands......"

"The so-called father who is arbitrary and arbitrary never cares about the wishes and feelings of others......"

"They catch me off guard every time," Tails rubbed his eyebrows, as if to spit out all the frustration of the month, "I really want to do something......

"Hmm. ”

"Of course, they probably blame me for being clever and ruining their plans," Tails sneered and mocked, "Of course, if it weren't for me, they would probably be celebrating their victory in a corner somewhere." ”

"Hmm. ”

Tails sighed.

"And I have neither the right nor the position to accuse them," said the prince lonely, "just like you, I am nothing at all." ”

“...... Hmmm"

"Stop saying 'um' again. ”

"Hmm. ”

"Well, it looks like you're really wandering. ”

"Hmm-huh?"

Slippery raised her head as if she had woken up.

I saw Tails leaning against the wooden box and turning his head, with a helpless smile in his eyes, looking at the frightened girl fixedly.

Xiao Slippery lowered his head embarrassedly and stretched out his hands to cover his face: "That, I'm just ......"

Tails exhaled through his nose and smiled.

"Forget it. ”

He shook his head helplessly: "Well, thank you for your considerate 'comfort', and thank you for patiently listening to me pour bitter water here......"

But at this moment, Tails suddenly felt his shoulders sink.

He turned his head in surprise and saw the little slippery head leaning next to him, spreading his small arms, one forward and the other, tightly hugging his neck.

Tails stared blankly at the little slippery head that was close at hand, at her cleansed white face—except for the large eyes in a pair of thick-rimmed glasses.

"What are you doing?" he asked, stunned.

Little Slippery's chest was pressed tightly against Tails's shoulder, and her expression was sincere and serious: "Comfort you." ”

"Comfort?" Tails, who was puzzled, was slightly stunned, and suddenly felt unable to cry or laugh.

"That's what my mother did a long, long time ago," Little Slippery put her head on Tails' neck with her arms a little harder, and her expression was particularly stubborn and serious: "When I was sick or hungry, my mother would hold me—I didn't want to, so she held me from the side, from dark until dawn." ”

Tyles, who was surrounded by her, narrowed his eyes: "Do you remember your mother?"

Little Slippery's chin pressed against Tails' shoulder: "Hmm, but I don't remember exactly. ”

Tails looked at her serious expression and subconsciously asked, "What happened to her?"

Xiao Slippery's body trembled slightly.

Her expression darkened.

"She sold me," said the little slippery head in despair, "she was very poor, and she went to work very early every day, and came home with very little food until very late." ”

"She can't help but sell me," the little girl said silently, with a rare stubbornness on her face, "otherwise she won't be able to live." ”

Tails sighed.

Nicolais, in the distance, saw the scene: two children snuggled up to each other.

The Starfall frowned and strode out.

But his shoulder was clasped by a hand.

"They're just kids. Mielke, with an indifferent expression, pressed Nicola's shoulder and shook his head slightly.

Nicollet gave his old colleague a deep look, but said nothing.

"So, that's how you comfort me?" Tails smiled lightly.

"I have a suggestion that when you grow up, you'd better break this habit – you can't just be comforted by people. ”

Xiao Slippery nodded and said innocently, "Oh." ”

"Alright, let me go," Tails said with a smile, patting his little slippery hand, "before Nicollet rushed over with a knife." ”

Only then did the little slippery head let go of the little prince.

"That...... Don't worry about failure. She seemed uneasy about her comforting effect, and still murmured:

"A momentary victory or defeat, but the waves are fleeting, and a century-old chess game is the foundation of eternity. ”

Tails raised his eyebrows and chewed on the sentence: "This is ...... Who's saying that?"

Little Slippery Tou's eyes lit up, and he seemed to be excited to find a topic that interested Tails: "Your king. ”

Tails frowned, "Ours?"

"Hmm. ”

"More than a hundred years ago, the 'virtuous king', Min Dith Bright Star III," Xiao Slippery nodded, as if once again entering the state of reading with her eyes shining: "He ascended to the throne after the nightmarish and bloody reign of the 'Red King', ruled the country with high political skill, and survived the Fourth Great 6 War safely. ”

Tails' heart moved.

Mindice III.

"I remember, Mindith III will reign later than Midil IV," Tails realized, "but in the currency of the stars, Mindis's head is engraved on a silver coin, which is worth a higher than the value of the copper Midil coin. ”

Wait a minute.

Hyun-kun?

This name......

Both King Nunn and Chaman Rumba spoke of him in unison, and there was a lot of exclamation in their words.

On the way to the Northlands, Putile also mentioned that Mindish III was the leader of the alliance between the sea and the Night, thus changing the shape of the Great 6 War in one fell swoop.

"A century-old chess game is the foundation of eternity?" Tails muttered.

Tails jerked his head.

"Tell me about Medis III," the little prince's serious expression seemed to frighten the little slippery head: "What did he do?

"After Grand Duke Solon, the collection of books in the library has increased very little, but," said the little slippery head timidly, "although the stars call him 'virtuous king' in China, but ......"

"Among the famous Three Kings of the Stars, the Northlanders most admired the 'Oath Keeper' Midil IV who came to the aid of the North alone, followed by the King of Rejuvenation who opened up the territory, but did not look down on the 'virtuous king' who did not have much achievements in war, and even the Northlanders' "A Brief Description of Political Affairs in the 5oo-6oo Years of the End of the Calendar" also said that he was the king of weakness who compromised with the commoners. ”

Tails' heart shook slightly.

The King of Weakness?

He reacted, his eyes sharpened.

"Go on. Tails said solemnly.

(End of chapter)