As a race with a short life span, humans have longed for eternal things since ancient times.
Gold has extremely high value in human society and culture, and due to its influence, gnomes and dwarves also attach great importance to it. But the elves, who have the longest lifespan among the five races, are not enthusiastic about this.
The properties of gold are unique. Even the strongest steel will oxidize and rust. Over time, no matter how famous the sword is, it will turn into rusty and damaged pieces of rusty iron. But gold is different. Gold ornaments buried in the earth 10,000 years ago will still shine as new when taken out 10,000 years later. It is a magical metal. Human beings have discovered this since ancient times. No matter what is done to gold, it will always maintain itself.
This precious metal seems to have resisted the erosion of time and is obsessed with short-lived humans. People have placed their hope that everything can be eternal, and using gold as a decoration for the Supreme has become a behavior all over the world in Rigar.
The king's great achievements were engraved on gold and on solid stone tablets. The world longed for everything to continue like this, so it began to call the royal family and dynasty, the empire and the emperor with terms such as "Long Live" and "Eternal Life".
But nothing is ever really set in stone.
A dynasty can fall in a day, and a fortress that is said to be unconquerable may have the enemy's flag planted before it reacts.
Under such a realistic situation, "hometown" has become an ambiguous concept that makes people yearn for it, but they are afraid to reach out and touch it.
Whether they are displaced due to war or due to other reasons. In the minds of wanderers, the word hometown always occupies a unique and complex position.
On the one hand, it makes people yearn for it. On the other hand, the longer a person wanders outside, the less likely he is to return to his hometown.
It’s not that I don’t want to go back.
It’s not that I don’t want to feel those beautiful things again.
There is just a deep fear that everything will be different after I return.
It was clearly the place where I grew up, and there were clearly deep memories of me everywhere, but I could no longer find the people I had laughed with, looked up at the stars, and made promises with here.
If there is no return, the memory can still maintain its beauty, have an unbreakable aura, and become a support when the soul is lonely. But if you come back and find that everything is completely different from the past, then the last bit of hope in your heart will be gone.
Such fear has been associated with human history. There are countless related stories. There is a song whose origin is unknown and has been sung in several languages. The lyrics are roughly as follows:
"A young man was lost in the forest, met elves and ate with them. He only spent one afternoon, but it was seven years later when he returned to his hometown. Both his parents had died long ago, and no one in the village knew who he was.
No one listened to his story, and they simply thought he was a drunkard sent to the edge of the village to herd sheep.
He told his story over and over again until he died. ”①
Even if your body has a place to return to, as long as you have money and can still work, you can still find a shelter from the wind and rain. But deep down in the heart, the homeland that has been completely lost has made it impossible for the soul to even rest in peace.
As a Luoan native, Mira had some understanding of this, but based on what she knew so far, she was afraid that her teacher's understanding of this would be far greater than hers.
The white-haired girl was born in Ecasta after all, and she had no personal experience with Luo An's country's subjugation. Even though she speaks Roan, Mira's true hometown and mother tongue is still in her mind, and she still prefers Avenella.
Change is sometimes hard, but sometimes it's so easy like this.
Born and raised on the west coast, the Luoans have only the vision of their homeland on the other side of the Tambo Mountains described in their elders' bedtime stories. But on Suomir's side, what the great swordsmen experienced seemed to be the same.
24 years is enough time for a generation to grow up.
These wandering swordsmen were cruelly deprived of their hometown and status and became homeless under the Queen's order. Because of the royal family's policies, the new generation of Suomir people no longer even know much about their past glory, and only regard them as disloyal bandits and desperadoes.
Traveling with Henry and Mira, the 19-year-old Galeva is a typical example.
There is nothing wrong with the approach of the Suomir royal family. The swordsmen are loyal to the queen. In this case, they must abide by the queen's request. After violating this requirement and choosing to be exiled, the kingdom would naturally not be able to retain documents and records about their glorious history.
In order to maintain the dominance of the royal family, in order to make this directive reasonable, the royal family must be right and must be righteous, so naturally these people must become villains.
The new generation of Suomir youth grew up in this educational environment. And even those middle-aged and old people who know how much the great swordsmen have contributed and sacrificed to this country have wisely chosen to avoid talking about this position.
This country has.
They are no longer welcome.
Because of the arrival of the Dragon Wing Knight, this issue was inevitably raised. Since Cuihu Town is the only way to go north, the news that the Great Sword Swordsman entered Suomir's country is almost known to everyone in the town. Under such circumstances, the Dragon Wing Knights, a force directly under the royal family, left the station where they were stationed. As the Talwar-Sutta line moved southward, it was inevitable that rumors would begin to flow.
Everyone has curiosity. Anyway, idle time is idle, and in a sense, the stakes are high. While waiting for the supplies to be collected, the three of them prepared to go and inquire about the news.
It was noon when the Dragon Wing Knights arrived, and after lunch, all kinds of exaggerated news began to spread in the town. It was almost the time when the nobles would have afternoon tea, and it was around 3 o'clock. Henry, Mira and Galeva walked from the hotel to the professional tavern.
The hotel they stayed in was relatively remote, and the owner was a Suomir. There were not many visitors overall.
There is a saying that birds of a feather flock together, and if you want to inquire about information, it is obviously better to have a tavern with a warm and hospitable atmosphere at best, or a tavern run by a loud-mouthed Lamanite, which is more suitable for the atmosphere than the sullen Suomir people who don't like to talk.
Drinking tea and eating snacks in the afternoon was originally a trend among the nobles in the north-central part of the Padrosi Empire. With the exchanges between the two countries and the tendency of the royal family to have good relations with Padrosi, this custom also became popular in Suomir. And further extended to the public.
However, only wealthy businessmen and nobles could afford tea and desserts, so although the popular name was afternoon tea, it was actually an excuse for most idle people to get drunk in broad daylight.
Idle people, drunkards, and middle-aged mercenaries who have no reputation. Although the news about these people is always filled with jealousy, they are often very well-informed.
Asking specifically for information can easily attract unnecessary attention, so you can learn a lot by choosing the right location and then sitting back and listening to these loudmouths boasting, and then filtering it yourself. Mira looked at her teacher's actions, thinking and learning, while Henry asked for some low-alcohol drinks. Galeva next to him had obviously never been to such a place. He looked very cramped and reserved, and his hands didn't know what to do. It looks good wherever you want to put it.
"Relax, if we continue like this, others will wonder if we are going to rob this tavern." The Luoan girl glanced at the surrounding scene and said this, and the young porter nodded, indeed noticing her. The fact that the whole person is too rigid. He glanced at the drunkards lying lazily on the table, and was stiffly trying to imitate, when someone behind him suddenly shouted: "So!"
"Ah——" "Clang——" The restless Galeva shook his knee in fright and hit the lower edge of the heavy wooden table. The tableware placed on it made a sound, and the young man's face was immediately covered in pain. He palely covered his knees.
Mira froze speechlessly, while Henry shook his head. Galeva was worried that his movement would attract attention, so he turned his head, but when he glanced over, he found that the entire tavern was still noisy, and no one noticed their approach - his attention was once again attracted by the loud voice. The guy attracted over.
The man was obviously a Suomir, but he was a bit short by Suomir standards, only less than 1.8 meters tall. He had a bald head and black stubble on his face. The smell of alcohol could be felt from several meters away. .
"These, uh, great swordsmen, let me tell you, they are just a bunch of idiots who cannot be famous." He burped and continued: "To be honest, they are as good as those old people who don't believe in evil. How strong, do you think the royal family will be willing to give up!"
"Yes, yes." Most people nodded in agreement, and the sage held his chin and glanced around. This man was bragging in Lamani. Although his thick accent and facial features could confirm that he was from Suomir, the table where he was sitting had less than 30% Suomir people, and all of them were from Suomir. They are all the same drunkards, and the others who seem to have relatively good self-control, some who are not drunk and still have the strength to cheer are all Lamanites.
"Besides, if these people are really strong, shouldn't they be famous all over the world?"
"Ha, I agree with everything you said. But I still want to say, Old Hairaining, you old bald man, if you have a reputation, what do you, a drunkard like you, know?" Another voice with the same thick accent sounded, called Hailaining's bald middle-aged man immediately became angry, his face and ears were bright red, "Pah!" he stepped on the table: "You, you, you, you -" Di Lian said. With a few words, the noise in other places in the tavern stopped, including the boss and the waiters, and they all looked at the man standing on the table.
"You old man, I used to be a mercenary. Let me tell you, I have never been to any place on the east coast, and I have not participated in that war. I told you, what a great swordsman, that is A bunch of rubbish, bah." He exaggeratedly spat on the floor, and sharp-eyed Henry caught a glimpse of the tavern owner's eyebrows twitching on his face, which still had a service-like smile.
"If you are really capable, then why are you being kicked away? Let me tell you, I just can't get used to those people who say they are pitiful and homeless. If you ask me, what value can the broken sword have? , I was expelled from the country for a broken sword. Didn’t I do this by myself? I deserve it!”
"Yes! I agree with this."
"Oh, what kind of war gods are they? Can the infantry defeat the cavalry? No matter how powerful your swordsman is, you will die if you are stabbed by a lance. I doubt whether such a big thing can be wielded. They That means blowing hard.”
"You're still pretending to carry it behind your back. Everyone knows it's inconvenient to pull it out after carrying it behind your back."
"I'm telling you, if there was a great swordsman here now, I think I could knock his teeth out before he drew his sword. I'm not bragging, I used to be a mercenary -" Mira and Galeva looked at Henry. The sage took the wine bottle from the waiter's hand with a calm face, and then poured wine into three ceramic cups.
"So, those trading houses have nothing to be afraid of." The news worth hearing finally arrived. Henry and Mira both quietly pretended to taste wine and pricked their ears. Galeva endured the pain and followed suit.
"Yeah, those people can't do anything in front of the Dragon Wing Knight." The person who spoke before spoke again. Helainen got down from the table, drunkenly swayed and sat on the chair, and then picked up the cup. Drink it all in one gulp.
"After all, it is an army directly under Her Majesty the Queen and the Church." One of the more luxuriously dressed Lamanites who had been catering to and flattering them suddenly said this.
"Yes, there were still some people who objected to the expulsion of the Great Sword Swordsmen. Now it seems to be a good decision. Those guys only shout about protecting the tradition of Suomir every day. Wherever their people are, we must do it. Nothing is convenient, everything has to be approved by them!" A Suomir man who was obviously dressed as a businessman answered the question at another table. He was dressed in a very Lamantic style and spoke Lamani. It is also much more standard than those drunkards, and it is obvious that they often travel between the two countries.
"Bah, you're in charge of things, you really think you're someone!" To show his disdain, Hailainen spit on the floor again, and veins appeared on the tavern owner's forehead.
"Yes, it's much better now if we switch to dragon-winged knights. They don't interfere in the local area, they only guard the borders. The world is much better than before, much better." Someone else next to him took over and the same thing happened. Said.
"Yeah - the world is much better -" Helainen repeated their words like a parrot, then suddenly his face turned green, he covered his chest and spat out on the table with a "Wow -".
"Wow, you old bastard, ugh-" The other people nearby started to curse for fear of being affected.
The bald middle-aged man who vomited on the table finally got drunk and hit his head on the thick oak table covered with his own vomit. After a while, he started snoring, and he was right there. I fell asleep in the sour vomit.
"..." The veins on the tavern owner's temples spread to his entire face, but he still maintained a smile with excellent self-control. He turned his head and motioned to the two tall Suomir bodyguards next to him to come over and take care of Hai. Lai Ning set it up, while the others at the table with the bald man just laughed and watched as the drunkard was thrown out of the back door.
"There shouldn't be anything else to ask, let's go." The money for the drinks had been paid before, leaving three glasses of light wine that had not been drunk much. Henry and Mira got up and went out with the limping Galeva. Go.
"I'm not convinced." After the outspoken young porter finally began to feel the soreness in his knees and was able to walk normally, the first words he spoke were somewhat unexpected.
"Why don't you refute them and say that about the great swordsman?" Galeva said to Henry, and the sage shrugged and said calmly: "I am not a great swordsman."
"You -" The young man was blocked by him again and couldn't say a word, while Mira next to him looked at him curiously: "That's not right." The girl from Luo'an said, "You are not hostile to the big brother. A swordsman’s?”
"I -" Galeva couldn't speak again. Language was not his strong point. He thought for a long time before he squeezed out a sentence: "You deserve it, no one will leave their homeland willingly." Yes."
"And I understand more or less about protecting Suomir's culture. When I was growing up, I saw a lot of things from Suomir that had been lamanized, whether it was food or clothing. And these pubs and stuff, they’re all—”
"How can you say this kind of thing is wrong?"
"Your position is really slipping between two extremes. Before, when you saw the teacher carrying a long weapon, you would jump out and criticize. Now it's better. I feel like you want to support those big swordsmen." Mira used Henry stared at Galeva with half-closed eyes, and the young man began to stutter again: "I-I'm not-" He tried hard to organize his words, while the Luoan girl and the sage both He smiled and shook his head, no longer embarrassing this simple-minded young man.
"We all understand what you want to say."
"Uh-" Galeva froze on the spot.
"It's hard to say who is right or wrong about this."
"If you really want to say it." Henry said to him, "It's just that I can't stand up to the times and the trend."
"What do you mean?" Galeva struggled to understand the sage's words.
"Look around." Mira reminded him.
The young innkeeper's eldest son looked around and found that compared to Polusaro, most of the houses in Green Lake Town were Suomir style. Although there were some influences in the past due to its proximity to Padrosi, the commercial buildings that are incompatible with the overall environment are obviously built recently and are without exception in the Raman style.
"Perhaps it was the Queen who issued the expulsion order and forced them to make that cruel choice."
"But judging from the words of those people and the genuine evidence of this town, it is also true that the Great Swordsmen stick to tradition and hinder development. Regardless of whether this is right or wrong, the opening up policy and Padrosi in the past 20 years have The results of imperial exchanges can be seen everywhere.”
"People will not listen to empty slogans. If they cannot give them practical benefits and a better life, then they will not follow these leaders."
"Aren't you yourself too? You told me not to come back and destroy our peace." "Ah -" Galeva froze on the spot and looked at Henry.
"Not only is it prohibited by law, but the people of this country have also abandoned them in their hearts."
"This country has indeed become a lot better since they were gone. But now that they have returned, I'm afraid they won't get much support. You can feel this from the exchanges between those people in the tavern."
"Great Swordsman."
"It's already the era."
"By hometown."
"By the people."
"Abandoned by the king, a wanderer."
"Their ideas will only bring destruction to the current stable and prosperous situation. At least in the minds of ordinary people, it has inevitably become like this."
"People want the current good life to continue and they don't want another war."
"So they are alone." Henry said, and then turned his head.
"Then, what about you?" Galeva opened his mouth and asked after listening to what he said blankly.
"..." The sage stopped, but soon started walking again.
He didn't answer the question.
But both Mira and Galeva felt that they vaguely knew the answer.
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Note: The name of this song is "Das Lied". Those who are interested can listen to it themselves.
