"Western Territory, isn't the situation there unstable? What are you going to do?" Galadia suddenly became nervous, "Is there any danger?"
Griffith succeeded and successfully diverted the elf's attention. While he was copying the report, he started talking about two things:
"The veterans who were suppressed on January 22 were all from the Western Region, and they have been sent back to their places of origin."
"Well, I saw the newspaper. The number of bandits and rebels there increased sharply last winter. They were attacking remote noble territories near the mountains." Galadia looked solemn. "Even only some of these veterans joined the bandits. With the rebels, a war will be inevitable."
Griffith nodded:
"Obviously the Senate could have anticipated this. After resolute suppression, they immediately repatriated the survivors and left the crisis to the Western Region to handle.
"There are many rebels hiding in the mountains there. I have fought with these veterans. If they join the ranks of the rebellion, it is difficult to say whether the local nobles in the West can resist..."
Before he finished speaking, the elf grabbed his arm and said anxiously and concernedly: "You can't go, security warfare is the most dangerous. The enemy does not wear uniforms. You don't know who you can trust, or even the farmhouse where you live." Is the food safe to eat?
"You can't go. If you have an order, just tell me and Sonia, and we will find a way to prevent you from going!"
Griffith patted the girl's hand and shook it gently:
“You misunderstood, I will not be sent to fight law and order.
"The aristocratic conservative forces in the West are very strong. They are nominally loyal to the Grand Duke of Verona, but in fact they are only loyal to their mines, farms and plantations. Beyeland has worked hard for hundreds of years, but it only controls the old town, The two ports of Varna and a handful of nearby towns.”
Griffith should have withdrawn his hand, but the delicate and warm touch on the back of Galadia's hand made him unable to resist. After giving it a gentle squeeze, he was ready to put his hand this way and that.
Miss Elf withdrew her hand and tilted her head to look at him.
Griffith continued to explain: "This is a rare opportunity. Beyeland is eager to use this crisis to destroy the Western Territory and let the local nobles perish together with the distant knights and the dream of the manor.
“We will not be sent until the rebels have shattered the traditions of the Western Territory and destroyed the order that has been passed down to this day.
"At that time, not only me, but also Sonia, the heads or heirs of the major Beyelan families, regular legions and assault cavalry will all invade in the name of supporting the Western Territory and protecting the king's vassals, and will invade the Western Territory nobles and rebels. The army can take down as much as they can, and then occupy the territories of the eliminated nobles.
"There is no war in the entire kingdom now. The lords of the Western Region have weakened themselves because of their greed, and the scavenging vultures are watching."
Galadia was lost in thought, and after a while she asked: "Is this what you think, or who told you?"
"What I thought," Griffith said, patting the book next to him, "is that similar things happened in history, but on a small scale, and the truth was covered up by stories of knights and heroes.
"This time it happened in front of me. I rushed into the queue of veterans and even knocked down one with the back of a knife, killing two children. If I no longer have my own thoughts, I would be so sorry for the tragedy of that day."
The elf girl's face changed into various strange expressions.
She looked at Griffith and seemed to be looking back at some past scene.
"You've grown up, Griffith.
“You’re more mature than when we first met.
"No, you can't say that. I felt there was something different about you the first time we met. At that time, I thought it was just that the army had trained you better. But today I can confirm that those words just now were not something that a soldier in the army could think of. , you do make a difference.”
Griffith laughed. The girl's heartfelt exclamation was taken as a compliment by him, and it was particularly pleasant to hear in his ears. He chuckled twice: "Books enrich my mind, just like a whetstone sharpens a sword."
"But do you still want to go there?" Galadia thought for a while, "Even if you are not going to fight, it is still very dangerous!"
Griffith nodded and said: "I will be sent to the territory directly controlled by the kingdom to conduct intelligence collection, city defense force training and review, submit several reports, and make some preliminary preparations for future invasions for the Earl's Palace and the Senate. .
"This is a relatively easy and decent job in the mission system. The local people will attach great importance to my arrival. It is relatively safe and I can gain merit points."
"Okay," the elf shook his head regretfully, "just tell me if you need anything."
Just waiting for your words!
Griffiths regained his energy, moved to a position only a few centimeters away and whispered: "Today is February 14th!"
Miss Elf's face suddenly turned red and she looked around not knowing what to do.
"Last time, well, just that day, I saw you spoiled a piece of chocolate!"
"..."
The girl looked stunned.
In front of her, Griffith showed an ecstatic expression: "The failure is for me, right?"
…
Time flies into March.
On March 12, everyone was eating breakfast as usual and worrying about the day's classes. Several brownies pushed the cart into the hall and handed out stacks of reports to everyone.
Based on these reports, each college was divided into several groups and planned a travel itinerary based on different target locations. Everyone will be leaving in the near future for spring camping.
According to this Hometown Watts spring camping plan, Minerva College will take a week-long trip to the Verona region where the situation is unstable in the near future. Except for Galadia, who will stay in Homemonworth to receive her promotion and will not participate in this trip.
It's not like other colleges, they go to normal places. However, the travel arrangements of Minerva College were simply crazy, and the students who couldn't understand it suddenly became commotion.
Griffith observed the reactions of everyone at the long table and found that the highest-ranking aristocratic heirs all had helpless expressions in addition to worries and tension on their faces.
"Sonia, why is this happening?" Griffith asked in a low voice.
"Well, this~" The girl's fingers tapped lightly on the itinerary plan, "We heard about it a few days ago, and we told our family how dangerous it is and whether we can cancel the spring camping. But, I don't know Why, this plan was finalized.”
"Maybe it's okay. Our journey focused on the plain area near the old town, which is relatively peaceful." Fiona threw the itinerary aside and took out a map. "The academy is divided into four groups and goes to different areas. Each group is led by a Sequence 6 professor. Our group took a boat to visit the noble manors and castles along the way, and then returned by water."
Isius also nodded:
“If something unexpected happens, we can quickly evacuate to the old town through convenient waterways.
"My idea is that all parties in Beyelan have reached an agreement that a large-scale war in the Western Territory is imminent, and they must conduct a staff trip before a full-scale war breaks out to collect intelligence for the next operation. This time we can I got in touch with the main lords in the eastern part of the Western Territory and learned a lot about the local human geography."
Griffith observed him calmly. Sonia prepared many batches of information about the Crozier family, but Griffith only read part of it.
Isius's family no longer has a say in Bijalan.
Although the Crozier family he belongs to has a long history and a distinguished reputation, all the outstanding talents of the previous generation perished in the war. Young Isius did not enter the political and military circles. He had no real power except for his title and had no role in decision-making on major events. Voice and influence. So far, no suspicious clues have been found.
Sonia sighed and said to the two boys sitting not far away:
"Mr. Berthier, M. Dedeus, we are in the same team."
The two people whose names were mentioned nodded politely. They are the heirs of two big families, and they also have their own Shutoral. They are relatively eye-catching and powerful factions among the first-year students, and they have their own small circle.
Berthier, the calm and knowledgeable one of the two, came up with the idea after a moment of thought:
“Now that the matter is settled, there’s no point in getting hung up on it.
“Whether the school and senior officials think it doesn’t matter, or they want us kittens to play with mice, we must be prepared to fight.
"We have five Shutorals in our group. We need them to be fully armed, apply for the use of the family's sacred artifacts and sealed artifacts, and then recruit some local city defense troops to follow us.
"We ourselves must be prepared for battle. Although the family and the big shots above have not said it clearly, I can smell the smell of conspiracy."
Everyone present nodded, and Fiona started writing a letter home on the spot.
While everyone was thinking, Sonia opened a new letter. She was stunned for a while, and then said to everyone in frustration:
“There are no five Shutorals left, only four, at least halfway through.
"Griffith, you are scheduled to go to the Port of Varna at the same time to conduct a short-term intelligence analysis mission to participate in reviewing the combat readiness and inventory conditions there."
Such a coincidence? Griffith immediately began to think about various possibilities and reasons.
Sonia handed over the letter and the task: "This order comes from the Reserve Army Headquarters and is copied to the Earl's Palace. Dad already knows about it. The task initially looks okay. If you still have time after finishing this task, you can Come meet us by water and pay attention to safety."
"Okay." Griffith took the order and read it. I found that it only mentioned the arrival time and general situation, but there was no mission details, difficulty or reward information.
Galadia was even more nervous than him. She put a newly purchased crystal close to her forehead, as if performing divination. Soon, she whispered with a solemn face:
"Griffith, my divination was not very successful, and I have a bad premonition!"
On the surface, this is a simple intelligence and inspection mission. Although the specific work must be received on site, it looks very comfortable. Griffith thought about the location in that area carefully and said to the girl:
"Varna, it is close to Lord Salorian's territory. If there is any danger, someone will take care of me."
Salorian is as big a figure in the mysterious world as the principal. I can ask him for advice in advance. However, the suspicion of Velonos has not been cleared, and the possibility of conspiracy cannot be ruled out.
Griffith mused. He even thought about Pepper Ranch and the call of the ancient gods, and wondered whether this mission would be related.
The elf girl didn't know what he was thinking and asked worriedly:
"What about your spring staff trip points? How can you do it without Sonia? Why did the Earl's Palace agree to this mission?"
Griffith said that this was nothing: "This task can be used as practical course credits. Sonia and the others' travel will also be mainly water travel. They will be taken care of by the professor, as well as Lana, Murat, Nona and Kulala." If we travel together, we don’t have to worry too much about our safety, that’s what the Earl’s Mansion said in the letter.”
"Okay, you have to be careful," Galadia's eyes were very uneasy, "Do you have any mission information for me to see?"
"No, I was only informed to report to Varna Port in full force." Griffiths looked at the letter repeatedly. The letter only contained the time, address and ship ticket. The mission was issued by the Reserve Army Command.
"Speaking of which, how was your promotion trial?" Griffith asked.
"It's okay," Galadia waved her hand, "The prophecy has already given guidance, just let nature take its course."
…
March 16th.
After several days of preparation, spring camping in Homemonworth begins.
Minerva's various groups followed the established route and took a boat from the private port of Homonworth to the Verona region for inspection and travel.
In the past few days, the rebels have become more and more powerful. They have entered the plains and begun to harass the territories of more nobles. The Grand Duke of Verona has begun to mobilize the lords under his command and reorganize some of the local regular legionaries who can still be counted on.
Several pages in the newspaper were filled with confident statements from Western officials. The majestic knights of Verona will use their time-tested courage and honor to crush "those rogues", the king, the Senate and the Arcane Council. Just cheer for them.
The Archduke of Verona also pointed out that unfounded speculations and negative comments about the situation in the West are an insult to the noble lords and knights. The resulting avalanche of securities and bond prices is purely an unreasonable disaster. Those sitting in Beyeland's office Speculators and commentators are ignorant trash.
The big shot further attacked the short-selling mechanism in financial markets and strongly despised it.
The king and the Senate fully supported the Grand Duke's opinion, and expressed their best wishes and unconditional trust to the Western Territory. They neither mobilized the legions nor took any measures to punish those nonsense newspapers.
Griffith smiled and threw the newspaper into the trash.
He boarded a merchant ship in the town of Baltimore outside Homemonworth and headed alone to his destination, Varna.
Galadia stood aside and watched him check his bags and weapons for the last time.
"Has the armor been inspected?"
"I have a piece of mail armor, and I also bought a set of leather armor from the school." Griffith picked up a set of thick leather armor and knocked on it. "It's rare to see you caring so much about my armor!"
"Have you brought your weapons?" Galadia did not answer his words, but came over to check the sword and feather sword on his belt.
"No problem. I brought a lot of spare hatchets and daggers, as well as a short gun."
The elegant elf lady lifted up the breastplate, helped him put it on the outside of the mail, fastened the buckles and tightened the straps. The two of them cooperated tacitly and quietly. Although they were separated by cold mail, the touches from time to time gave him a feeling of warmth and nostalgia in his heart.
This feeling is really strange.
For the first time in Griffith's life, there was a feeling in his heart that he didn't want to carry out the mission and wanted to stay.
"Bring these bows and arrows with you," Galadia handed him a backpack. "It's not enchanted equipment, but it's well-made. Don't worry about wear and tear. You have to pay attention to safety when you're on your own mission.
"If you encounter something strange like Neopolis, you must stay far away and don't get involved in the mysterious world and the conspiracy of the evil god."
The girl's tone was calm, but she talked about a lot of irrelevant things.
Although he had doubts about whether he could escape from the clutches of the evil god if he really encountered it, Griffith still asked cautiously: "Did your inspiration or divination discover any bad omens?"
"No," Galadia shook her head, "It's not that no bad omens were found, but that there were no clear divination results at all, and there was too little identifiable information."
On the sailboat not far away, the sailors were already greeting the guests to get on board, and the time to set sail was coming.
"Understood, I will be careful," Griffith nodded to her, "Then I'll set off."
"Have you brought anything to eat?" Galadia quickly added, "The food on this kind of ship will definitely not taste good."
"I've brought it, enough to eat in Varna!" Griffith will not neglect this kind of thing, "And I brought the failed chocolate material, the one you broke into pieces."
"Have you eaten it? How does it taste?" The elf covered his face.
"Not yet, but it smells good."
Griffith patted his backpack and walked up the ladder to the ship.
"Wait a minute." Galadia caught up from behind and took out a small bag she carried with her. "Here, here you go. You can dispose of it on the way."
Griffith's keen sense of smell immediately caught the familiar smell. He opened the packet and found another chocolate bar.
This sweet treat is made up of three irregular circles, somewhat like the head of a teddy bear. There seemed to be something painted on the front of the chocolate, but it had dissolved into an unrecognizable mass during the making process.
"That's so polite!" Griffith exclaimed, "I don't think this is a failure."
Miss Elf blushed and glanced at the indescribably ugly chocolate bar, and stammered:
"This is, well, an experimental product that I named 'Mother of Success'. I wish you all the best in your mission."
