The news of the magician's execution brought an air of joy to Monroe, who had been dull for a long time.
Oscar Monroe Jr., the son of Grand Duke Monroe, was acquitted in the afternoon of that day, and the magnanimous Duchess also publicly stated that she would not make any fuss about those residents who had misunderstandings. Her original text is as follows:
"As residents of Monroe, my husband's people, it is human nature to lose your balance and make wrong choices when you have been disturbed by such crazy murderers for a long time."
"And the murderer named 'Magician' has been hiding there as a guard in my Duke's palace. I am also very sad that he failed to truly discover the fact that he caused the death of many innocent civilians."
"So on this festive occasion, you might as well put aside all your past grudges, burn all your unhappiness and celebrate to your heart's content."
"at the same time……"
"I would like to thank Sir Vega Dandelik, who serves as the Monroe Security Post, no, is now the leader of the Monroe Branch of the Special Investigation Group of the Crant Royal Guards."
"Thank you for clearing my son's suspicion, executing the real culprit, and making outstanding contributions to restoring peace to my husband's territory."
…
"Crack--!"
"..." The thank-you letter written in beautiful cursive calligraphy and the exquisite fruit wine that came with it were smashed to the ground angrily by the Sheriff. He could not suppress the grief and anger in his heart and was shaking with anger, but he could not even curse. There is no way to tell.
"Shasha..." Clerk Franco silently took out a broom and began to clean up the glass fragments on the floor. Henry, Mira and Ferry, who happened to come to the security post, walked in silently.
A day has passed, and the atmosphere of celebration in the city has diluted the previous dullness. The death of the magician has given the residents of Monroe, who have been suppressing all kinds of dissatisfaction, an excuse to have a wanton carnival. This is why it has evolved into To this extent - in fact, the fact that a murderer was executed alone is not important to this extent.
Various incidents occurred in a row for a year. First, a large number of people died, and then mercenaries came to disturb the public order. The residents of Monroe, who were restless and upset but had nowhere to vent, found the police after the news spread. An outlet for catharsis.
So it got out of hand.
"Uncle Vega..." Ferry looked worriedly at the Sheriff who had bandages and boards on his feet. His legs and feet, which were already suffering from old injuries, had further deteriorated after running desperately, and now he could no longer even walk slowly without the help of crutches.
"Ferri...are you two here too?" Vega nodded to Henry and Mira, who responded with the same action, and he then looked at Ferri. With his messy gray hair, stubble, and dark circles under his eyes caused by a sleepless night, the Sheriff looked quite haggard. He lowered his head, looked away from the young mercenary's eyes and spoke in a low tone.
"I'm sorry... Ferri, I couldn't... catch the real culprit who killed your mother." The haggard Vega apologized so that the young mercenary almost shed tears, and he bit himself tightly. The fingers of his lower lip held the armed sword given to him by Vega without saying a word.
"That's not your fault, Uncle Vega."
"That's not your fault." Ferry said with a crying voice. Henry next to him patted his shoulder, and Mira came over and took the boy's hand.
"I... in the end, I probably can't do anything except hurt the people I care about and cause trouble to others." As if recalling something again, Vega sighed and said this.
Franco cleaned up the debris on the floor, then sat back in front of the chair and started writing. The clerk's expression was as calm as ever, only the knuckles holding the pen were so hard that they almost turned white - what he was describing was the end of the "Magician Murder Case".
"Let's go eat first." Henry patted Ferry on the shoulder, and the three of them turned their heads. The young mercenary, whose nose was red from crying, turned back to look at the Sheriff reluctantly. But the other person just sat there dejectedly and said nothing.
They were supposed to be the heroes who had solved the incident, sitting at the forefront of the storm and being admired by thousands of people at the security post. However, the air they encountered was so cold that it could condense water vapor, which was incompatible with the festive atmosphere in the city.
Ferry followed Henry and Mira to a restaurant in the city, but as soon as they were about to sit down, they realized that everyone was staring at them.
"That big sword, look at that big sword." "Oh, this mercenary is the one who killed the magician!" "Is this guy from the north?" The smiling Monroe residents looked at the three of them. People kept saying all kinds of words of appreciation, and even the owner of the restaurant came over with a smile on his face and offered to give "Monroe's Heroes" a certain discount.
"You... idiots who don't understand the situation..." The brighter the smiles of the residents became, the more angry Feli felt inside. He murmured these words in a low voice, clenched his fists, and wanted to stand up and vent his anger. negative emotions. But the sudden warm feeling from his left and right sides was like a pair of soft palms holding him in his palms.
Feli was stunned for a moment by this gentle feeling that he had experienced only on rare occasions since his mother passed away.
"It's okay." Speaking softly, Mira held his hand again, and Henry on the side also patted his shoulder.
"Let's go." The sage said. Then the three of them stood up together.
"Hey! Lord Hero, why is this? Don't you think the food here is not delicious? No, I can give you a little more discount! Thirty Danno! You can eat as much as you want for just thirty Danno - "The restaurant owner raised three fingers behind them, and the three of them walked outside without looking back.
They first returned to the hotel and took out tableware and cooking utensils from their luggage. Then when passing by the market, Henry paid for some fresh ingredients, and then the three of them carried these things all the way to the outskirts of Beicheng District.
There is an open space inside the rainforest that hunters often use to rest. This can be clearly judged from the surrounding weeds that have been worn away by many years of activity. The creek in the forest not far away made a pure sound of water. It was not difficult to understand why they chose this place as the location of the camp.
"You won't be disturbed here." The sage nodded with satisfaction, while Mira on the side took Fei Li's hand: "Let's get ready together!" the white-haired Luoan girl said, and The young mercenary was stunned for a moment, and finally nodded.
"Um!"
People often awkwardly reject the kindness of others because of their own inner struggles. This is especially true for children who have experienced pain, betrayal, abandonment, and indifference. Just like hedgehogs who instinctively erect their spikes against wolves and rabbits, in order to protect their already riddled hearts, they isolate themselves from the outside world, step by step in a vicious cycle, and finally become completely alone.
Because of youth. do not know what to do. Confused, scared, and entangled, looking forward to having someone by your side, but worried that once you accept others and open up to them, you will be hurt again. So towards the people who are close to you. He makes things difficult in every possible way, and always chooses to turn around and run away when something happens.
But there are always some people who are different.
It's ironic that people in the same situation are licking each other's wounds, but Ferri saw something gleaming in Mira's body. There was something about the girl that attracted him, like the light of a distant lighthouse seen by a ship in a storm. Unconsciously, it only took two or three days. He accepted the other person's existence.
What the boy needs at this time is not earth-shattering revenge or heroic declarations such as "I will defeat them." What he wanted to feel might just be the warmth of home, or just the ordinary daily contact between partners.
Everything will be fine, we are all here.
The sound of "cracking" firewood was burning, and in the quiet forest glade there were only the sages who skillfully handled the ingredients and the young girls who were doing it. As the smoke curled up from the kitchen, the unpleasant emotions dispersed in the wind. After enjoying hot and delicious food in the refreshing countryside, Ferry let out a long breath after eating and drinking.
"Thank you." He said calmly and sincerely, changing his impulsive appearance before. "Here." After putting the tableware into the iron pot and placing it next to it, Henry threw over two wooden one-handed long swords.
"Uh..." The two young men were stunned for a moment, and the sage spoke to Ferry in calm words.
"When you don't know what to do, you just need to keep your eyes straight ahead. As a man, there is nothing wrong with whether you are entangled or frustrated, crying, screaming, hysterical and crazy to vent."
"But..." Mira had never seen such a side of Henry before, and Ferry looked at Henry blankly.
"If you have the time to do such a thing, you might as well try to become stronger."
"In order not to experience this feeling of powerlessness again."
"Abandon all confusion and weakness, empty your mind, and just run forward desperately in order to no longer experience this feeling of sadness and indignation."
"If you are determined enough, maybe-"
"Just maybe—" Henry shrugged.
"You can change everything one day."
"..." Wuyan's hot blood began to boil in his veins. Ferry stood up. He clenched his fists and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably due to the secretion of adrenaline. He didn't know what he was doing. To be honest, Ferry only understood a rough outline of Henry's words, but it still made him so excited that he couldn't help himself.
Although Mira and Henry have known each other for longer, there are some things that only men who are both idiots can understand each other.
The white-haired Luoan girl sat on the tree stump and stared blankly at the two people. She could only feel some of the atmosphere in Henry's words, while Ferry seemed to be a changed person because of the sage's words. He held the wooden sword in one hand tightly, and then turned around She looked at Mira.
"Please give me more advice!" the young lower-level mercenary shouted. The girl was stunned for a moment, and then a slight smile appeared on her face.
"yes!"
"Click, click!" The sound of wood banging echoed in the forest glade on the outskirts of the northern suburbs of Monroe. From time to time, there were also a few young boys' cries of pain and brief instructions from a steady male voice. The sun sets, the moon rises, and the stars hang at night. Time passes day by day. On this day when the festive atmosphere in Monroe City finally slowly dissipates after a week, a group of travelers who are very different from the past visitors arrive from a place not far away. .
"Tap, step, step, step, step." The dark brown war horse stepped on the heavy hoofs, and the tight skin on the strong body showed a clean luster under the noon sun.
"Earl, we're in front." Full body plate armor is a common cavalry style, but the most typical thick shoulder armor has a detailed multi-layered structure compared to the mass-produced monolithic style.
"Yeah." The convex grooves on the surface of the plate armor used to defend against arrows make the entire set of armor look more beautiful. Coupled with the finely polished brass inlaid at the joints, in terms of workmanship alone, what these people have on them is The plate armor he wears is already valuable.
"Hissing—" "Uh—" Two of Monroe's elite soldiers in the direction of the North City Gate were stunned for a moment. The shining plate armor on these knights who looked at each other and determined that they were not on the same level as themselves made them all look envious - but then the two gatekeepers noticed the round armpits on their left shoulders. Hanging golden ribbon.
"The king, the royal guards." The two frightened elite soldiers immediately moved out of the way, and one of them turned around and ran towards the Duke's Mansion.
A group of less than ten people but surprisingly powerful, a group of ten people rode war horses and marched directly from the avenue to the security post. The residents curiously poked their heads out to watch these brightly dressed nobles. Henry and his three men, who had just finished sparring and came to the security post to check on Vega, bumped into each other.
"..." The leading knight looked down at the sage. The tall Henry was very conspicuous in many places, but what the other party focused on was the big sword behind him.
"Pacha." The heavily armed knight turned over and dismounted. He took off his helmet, revealing short blond hair. A height of over 1.8 meters is considered quite good in the south, but after dismounting, he still had to look up to our sage.
"Are you the mercenary?" The knight nodded to him, and Henry responded with the same action: "I am Ferdinand Hermann. Count Hermann, the commander of Crant's Royal Guards."
"Henry Meyer, mercenary." The sage introduced himself simply and clearly. Count Herman nodded, then turned his head and looked inside the security post.
"...Sir Danderic, Sir Danderic! Danderic——Sir!!" He increased his voice, and Vega, who was lying on the table, gave a "swish" sound as if he had woken up. Raising his head, he reached out and pushed away a lot of earthen wine bottles on the table. Many of them fell directly to the ground. Fortunately, they were not broken directly because of their thickness. The Sheriff rubbed his eyes before straightening unsteadily.
"Uh... you are..." Vega half-closed his eyes because of the bright light at the door and the dazzling plate armor. After staring for a while, he said slowly: "Sir Hermann... Oh, he is the earl now. It's been a long time... I haven't seen you." "Plop -" He lay back on the table again and began to fall asleep. .
"..." Count Herman frowned and sighed for a while.
"Although I have heard about it, I didn't expect that he would collapse like this."
"Regarding the murderer 'Magician', we received a report from Clerk Franco. Xilin also has doubts about this matter - no, it would be better to say that they have been suspicious for a long time. , but it was only recently that the royal family decided to take action."
"I know you think the slain 'Magician' was just a scapegoat, to be honest. Anyone with a brain would think so, but we need more than that to hold the Duke of Monroe accountable. thing……"
"You have also seen Sir Dan Derrick's appearance. Apart from him, there are only two people who have the most direct contact. Therefore, in the name of the Grand Master of the Crant Royal Guard Knights, I hereby implore you to Accept our employment." Count Hermann said this. This was a good deal for mercenaries, but Henry did not agree immediately.
"You two? Where's Ferri?" Mira behind him obviously noticed the other party's keywords, she asked bluntly, while the earl looked down at the boy and the girl. Then he shook his head.
"It's not that I look down on people, but for this kind of problem, blue-card mercenaries are just barely qualified. If you're a green-card mercenary, forget it."
As he said this, Mira felt the movement beside her and turned around. The young mercenary gritted his teeth and ran away quickly without looking back.
"Ferri! Hey, Ferri!" (To be continued.)
