Henry walked straight towards the closed wooden door, but he stopped again about two or three meters away from it.
"?" A big question mark appeared above the head of the Luoan girl. She was obviously once again confused about what this man who called himself a sage was doing.
But then the sage turned around and headed somewhere, and Mira followed his gaze and immediately got her answer.
-That's a dangerous guy.
He wore bright full-body armor, was tall, and had flowing blond hair. To put it simply, he is the kind of elegant dream lover that a noble lady who is accustomed to hearing the legends of knights would imagine when she is a nymphomaniac.
But Mira is not one of those vassals. The weak person's nature of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages makes her instinctively wary of those who pose a threat to herself. This person now belongs to that kind of character. Even though he has a gentle smile on his face, once she sees those dark blue pupils that are not as calm as ice, the girl knows that this person is something she cannot afford to offend.
As a result, she subconsciously shrank behind Henry. This move was seen by the man opposite, which made the smile on his lips even wider.
The atmosphere was a bit tense. Two men about 1.9 meters tall stood facing each other without saying a word.
They didn't make any moves, but the momentum alone seemed to Mira on the side like two evenly matched giant beasts confronting each other - the two just stood, and the whole air was filled with tension. .
It seems that in the next second, the giant beast with gold and silver as its representative color will rush together with the black giant beast, and start a shocking battle. But after all, the sage did not reach out to touch Kramer behind him. He did not even assume any posture to prepare for battle, he just stood quietly.
"The right choice," the man opposite said in an extremely pure Avenella accent, and then he waved his hand, and a large group of elite soldiers wearing full-body plate armor and holding spears emerged from the alley behind him. .
"..." Mira shrank deeper behind Henry. She clutched the corner of the sage's clothes tightly, only showing half of her small face and looking outside.
"Forgive my rudeness and this formation, Mr. Sage, let me introduce myself first -" The blond man gave a slight chest caressing gesture to show his courtesy, but before he said his name, Henry spoke up, interrupting him.
He said in his usual slightly formal tone.
"Your name is Edward, Edward Chester Shulfaga"
"Lord of Chester City, commander of the First Royal Guards Infantry Regiment, two-time champion of the Knights Tournament, and - the first prince of Avenella." Henry said this unhurriedly, while the person opposite was When Edward revealed his real name, his reaction was very dull: "Is it the accent? Or is my hair color giving me away, because I obviously don't wear any royal or knight badges, or have you seen me before?" He seemed a little frivolous. , but Henry understood that this was just another way for this man to test his own methods.
The sage could tell from the opponent's vigilant but more defensive than offensive attitude that this person wanted something from him. He originally intended to refuse, but in connection with the current matter, Henry felt that he might as well make good use of the opponent.
"How about showing your sincerity first?" He tilted his head. It was impossible for Edward to lead nearly 50 soldiers with him from the beginning, so Henry assumed that he had watched the whole process and knew the whole thing, so he did not give any explanation. .
"Go and report to the city lord's palace." Edward turned his head and ordered one of his soldiers, who nodded and ran towards the other side with a small group of soldiers.
This matter was solved so simply and clearly, much simpler than his original plan. With a slight lack of reality, Henry glanced back at the still closed wooden door of the monastery. In any country on the continent of Rigar, the power possessed by nobles is unimaginable to ordinary people. What an ordinary person cannot do even after exhausting their whole life's efforts may be as easy as breathing for nobles.
He began to remain silent, which made Edward on the other side narrow his eyes slightly.
Mira behind Henry was a little uncomfortable with such an atmosphere. Her small body looked a little tired from the tense posture she had been maintaining. The sage reached out and touched her head to indicate relaxation.
——This person is playing psychological warfare. Edward made this judgment easily.
Facing the royal family and two dozen well-armed elite infantry guards, an ordinary person would have taken the initiative to tell whatever the other party wanted to hear out of fear or flattery, but this person was different.
He is competing for psychological quality and who can be the first to lose his composure and take the initiative to speak.
This may seem naive, but the reasons are actually very profound.
If the sage takes the initiative to ask if there is anything he needs help with, that's fine. But if the prince takes the initiative to ask for help, he owes the other party a favor.
It doesn't matter if he owes money or things. As a member of the royal family, he owes others a favor. When someone is in need one day in the future, out of dignity and honor, he must do his best to help the other person.
And this is what Edward tried his best to avoid.
"Alas..." The blond prince sighed. After all, he was the one who asked for help. 'However, the fact that the other party knows how to play this trick also proves to a certain extent that he is a genuine sage. 'The prince comforted himself in this way and began to tell.
"A week ago, our people received a report of an incident in a hunting town in a remote mountainous area."
"If reported purely literally, there is nothing noteworthy about the incident itself. Although several mercenaries died, and the mayor sternly demanded that the murderer who terrorized his son with outstanding magical talent be caught and hanged , but these are not worth mentioning.”
"What really caught our attention was the name the only surviving blue-brand mercenary gave to the murderer - Sage." Edward's eyes narrowed to only a slit. He stared at Henry closely, but he couldn't tell from this appearance. See something in an ordinary man.
"Other than that, he couldn't give any explanation as to what this title should correspond to. He couldn't even tell the other party's gender, age, or even the weapon he used."
"It's as if his memory has been wiped out except for this name."
Henry remained silent, while Edward continued speaking on his own.
"What makes our curiosity even stronger is the result of the investigation of the body by the Kingdom's investigation team."
"Everyone is killed in one blow"
"From the huge wound and the concise and efficient battle marks, it can be judged that it was caused by a weapon of huge size, larger than a two-handed sword, but it is not the Dansora battle axe, nor is it the fundamental An iron giant sword that has never been struck."
"It is a very old weapon, and only a few people who understand history can barely recognize it. Ordinary people, let alone owning it, can even recognize it - so when you first enter this city, Got our attention."
"But no matter how good the reconnaissance team we sent out, they would miss the target every time."
"..." Edward paused briefly, seemingly observing Henry's reaction.
"The title of sage is given to wise men who are nearly omniscient and are willing to use this knowledge to help others."
"Even if there are various differences in race, gender, and age, it will definitely not be the best choice for a person to sign up for a registration number after killing someone, because most people who hear it will just find it baffling."
"Mostly" Edward's half-narrowed eyes flashed with light, and Henry, who was standing opposite him, finally had some reaction at this time.
"I just have one question for you, Mr. Sage."
"Are you still human?"
The first prince of Avenella asked Henry in an unhurried tone. The language he used was the common language on the west coast of Morbigas, which can be found from the Thoradin Highlands to the Ansisibi Strait. Mira, a person who speaks this language, can understand every word he says, but when it is all put together, the meaning contained can only be understood by the two parties involved.
"...What you want to say is that you have done your homework to investigate me, right?" Henry raised his head and stared at the blond prince seriously.
"What's the matter with you looking for me?"
Edward smiled, and this time even his ice-like dark blue pupils were stained by it - he finally got the words he wanted.
"But..." But before Edward could speak, Henry interrupted him again.
"If you want to ask about how you can ensure your position in the next succession battle so that you can truly become a king, I advise you to spend less time on this, Your Highness."
"You are an excellent heir, and I think the king of Avenella also understands this. So the real problem you have to face does not come from the country." Henry reminded, and the corners of Edward's eyes trembled.
"The current king of neighboring Sivalier, if I remember correctly, is the cousin of His Highness the Prince."
"Your father seems to have been quite critical of this, and has stated in public several times his dissatisfaction with his inheritance of the throne of Sivalier." Henry held Mira's hand and turned around to leave, but at the same time he continued Said: "Avenella and Sivalier have always been peaceful and friendly. This friendship has been maintained since the founding of the country 191 years ago, thanks to the kinship relationship between the two royal families. Tottering under the untimely words of the great Ahiberon II.”
"...Are you suggesting that there may be conflicts between the two countries?" The corners of Edward's eyes twitched a little louder, and Henry nodded: "Avenella's main channel for exporting supplies crosses Sivalier. In the southern territorial province of Inznil, if relations deteriorate further and the border is closed, or even just a significant increase in tariffs, it will cause a serious blow to the entire country's economy."
"So, Your Highness, if you have time to worry about brothers who are far inferior to you, you might as well try to repair the relationship with Sivalier. Even then you may anger your father, but you will also Gaining support from businessmen and nobles.”
"People's support is everything." Henry raised a finger, and Edward looked at him, took a deep breath, and then exhaled for a long time.
He solemnly put his feet together, and then bowed greatly to the sage.
This didn't seem to matter to Mira who didn't know what was going on, but the soldiers behind them all looked at each other with surprise in their eyes.
"You have learned a lesson, Mr. Sage." Edward bowed his head and straightened up again. He waved his hands to signal the soldiers to move aside to leave a way for Henry and the two of them. Then he asked, "But how do you know that the rest of my brothers are not as good as me?" mine?"
"Sir, you can recognize me, I'm afraid it's because I often participate in jousting competitions, but most of my other brothers rarely show up in public, so how do you know, sir, that their level is not as high as mine?" The change in Edward's words shocked Henry. It was a little hard to get used to it, but he still smiled and answered for the last time before leaving.
"Have you seen any of your brothers around here?"
"Other than you, who else would notice the abnormalities in these details and choose to do it yourself and come to me?"
The sage took the white-haired girl and left without being disturbed by anyone. On the spot, the first prince with blond hair stroked his chin, and after a brief meditation, he showed a slight smile.
This time it comes from the bottom of my heart.
…
…
On the other side, the two people who were slowly walking towards their original destination, the testing site, returned to the main road after passing through the secluded slum lanes.
Mira still looked at Henry as she did at the beginning, but the meaning in her eyes was no longer the same.
"What's wrong?" the sage asked without looking back, and the big loli shook her head - or shook her little head, looking a little frustrated and irritated.
"I didn't understand a word of what you just said." She said a little gloomily, and Henry smiled slightly - the same smile as before became very irritating in the eyes of the irritable girl, Without any warning, she stood firmly on her feet, and then pulled Henry's hand hard to stop him.
"Hello!"
She shouted this, which was the only title that Mira would use on Henry except Mr. Sage - which was mostly used in sarcasm.
"I always thought you were just bragging, but what that person said, are you really a sage?" She said in a not particularly loud voice. The royal family's travel matters generally need to be kept secret, such small matters related to survival A girl with common sense knows all her treasures. But Henry knew that she hadn't finished speaking, so he waited quietly.
"I...I am very unwilling"
"Like today, I couldn't understand the words and rushed out without a clue. And after listening to you talking for so long, I couldn't figure out what you were talking about..."
"In this way, I can't see anything clearly, I can't know many important things, I can't know... my own destiny." When she said the last few words, her voice became very quiet, and almost only she could hear it.
"I can only live with the tide and rely on strong people. I'm fed up with this..."
"The power of words is great, my mother once told me before, and you proved it to me today. You only used a few words to make that person respect you so much."
"I want to be like this too. Stories say that a sage will have a disciple. I want to be your disciple. I want you to teach me that knowledge. I want you to teach me how to control my own destiny!"
She shouted from the bottom of her heart in a low voice, every word sincere and simple. Henry looked at her quietly and spoke after a while.
"But you still want me to teach you how to fight?" He said playfully, and Mira answered without hesitation: "I want both!"
"Then, what should you call me?" Henry's tone was still playful.
"..." The girl blushed and lowered her head.
"Teacher..." he said in a small voice.
"Okay." A clearly visible smile appeared on the sage's face: "Let's go, we still have things to do."
"...Mr. Sage is really the worst adult."
Mira followed.
She still hung her head angrily.
But if you look directly at those bright light blue pupils, you can see it.
It's shiny.
Shining, full of longing and expectation, and the emotion called confidence that I had for the first time.
