Fortunately she just misunderstood. Griffith touched the tip of his nose, feeling glad from the bottom of his heart that Galadia had just misunderstood.
If she one day finds out that Sonia and I have a soul contract... ugh, I don't dare to think about it. When I get back, I will burn the files of the new girls I met. It’s a minor rudeness!
Within a minute, rapid footsteps were heard from behind the bookshelf, and Galadia came around again.
She didn't know where to put the book she was holding just now, and returned to Griffith with an indifferent expression as if nothing had happened.
"It's useless to look at local chronicles and customs. Mysterious secrets and key information will not be written in them. These books are more like a collection of folk tales than books."
"Oh, really?" Griffith turned the pages of the book awkwardly, wondering if he should find a passage and read it out.
The elf shook his head slightly and gestured with his fingers: "You need to understand the mysterious organization in Raven's place, the division of power between the Church of the Gods and the military, and the black magic and monsters you may encounter. Let me recommend a book to you."
As she spoke, she pulled Griffith's sleeve around to another library and stretched out her hand toward the upper shelf.
Griffith followed the direction of her hand and saw a "Compilation of Dark Magic Cases in the Eastern Province" placed on the top shelf of the bookshelf. He hurriedly reached out to take the book down.
"Pa~" The back of the elf's hand hit Griffith's palm. The cold and delicate touch made Griffith throb, and he almost held it.
"It's the one next to it." The girl turned her head and looked at the prospective knight, then slowly took back her right hand, "Sir Valentine's Adventure Notes in the Eastern Continent."
"Sorry," Griffith blushed and hurriedly took down the adventure notebook, "I thought..."
"That case collection is also full of urban legends," Galadia took the note calmly and shook it towards Griffith, "Sir Valentine is not only an adventurer, but also a rigorous scholar. . His records of the secret black magic and sacrificial rituals spread in the Eastern Province are detailed and accurate, and he describes the code of conduct and history of the Holy Light Church, which dominates the faith, in a neutral manner, so that you can learn something and be prepared. ."
"This is great," Griffith took the jazz adventure notes handed over by the girl, "I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable."
"You can borrow it to watch on the road," Galadia circled her hair with her fingers, "How long will you be there?"
"A one-week mission, including the journey, takes almost ten days."
"Stop trying to make a central breakthrough," the girl said softly. "Even if they send you to the front line, you have to find a way to avoid it. Learn from those bureaucrats. Don't be the first to do everything."
"I remember."
"Really remember?"
"of course."
"Okay," Galadia sighed, hesitated for a while, and then asked very seriously, "Griffith, if Erza is in danger and is surrounded by enemies, what will you do?"
"..."
what can I do? Why do I feel like this question is a trap?
Griffith stared at Galadia. Miss Elf turned her head and looked at the full bookshelf, playing with her hair without looking at him.
Okay, aren't you just gathering around to call for reinforcements and waiting for me to jump in? The rebels in Verona used this trick. I just came back from Verona. It's useless to use the same trick twice!
"Garadia." He called softly.
The elf's ears stood up. Although she tried to be cool, the long pointed ears still betrayed her deeply.
"In Verona, I rested on corpses in the mud, ate half-cooked potatoes and carrots, and had broken arrowheads stuck in the gaps in my armor. I fought and marched for more than 18 hours a day."
As he spoke, he put his hand into his pocket. After hearing the first half of the sentence, Galadia's eyes showed special concern and gentleness, and her eyes followed his movements subconsciously.
“It was a hellish place.
“But even there, there is some beauty.
"I brought you a gift."
Griffith took out a small crystal bottle. The charming rose-colored liquid rippled in the clear crystal, reflecting a clear and charming light in the soft sunlight.
Just by looking at it, people can't help but associate this little rose-colored thing with warm and cozy afternoons, comfort and tranquility, and beautiful memories.
"This is rose essential oil. It is said to be often used in prayers and baths. It has excellent moisturizing and relaxing effects. It is the best specialty of Verona!"
Galadia was shocked: "For me?"
"Of course."
"Didn't you go there to fight?"
"Don't I have five or six hours of rest every day?" Griffith grabbed the girl's wrist and stuffed the sparkling crystal vial into it. "Do you have a lot of these things? I don't understand very well. , can’t choose styles.”
"How could it be! It's nothing!" Galadia hurriedly denied, holding the small bottle of rose essential oil tightly to her chest, as if it was better than all the treasures in the world, "Who taught you this?"
"What?" Griffith didn't realize what she was asking.
"That's right, who told you to bring such a gift to a girl? You are just a soldier, how do you know this?" The elf blushed and said coyly.
Griffith shook his head:
"Once when I was marching on the battlefield, between the gray sky and the pale earth, I saw a bright red. I originally thought it was a battlefield where a battle had just broken out, but when I got closer, I realized that it was a piece of red that had just broken out. A field of roses that was lucky enough to be preserved. The gentle fragrance enveloped me, and exhaustion and depression disappeared, leaving only joy and fulfilling memories.
"At that time, I had an idea. Although war is miserable, if I can let you share the beauty I experienced at that moment, even if it means an expedition to the end of the world, I would be willing..."
A slender hand covered Griffith's mouth, blocking his thoughts.
Galadia held Griffith's shoulders and took a half step forward, stood on tiptoes, and kissed him on the cheek.
Griffith almost melted on the spot.
The gentle kiss passed away quietly. Miss Elf took two shy steps back and whispered, "Don't get me wrong. This is a blessing from our tribe. It can drive away bad luck and bring good luck. Really."
As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly wanted to escape.
Griffith caught her and carried her back by both arms.
"No, no, no!" Galadia struggled, "I'm not an adult yet!"
Griffith's hot hands were melting her.
"No, I called someone, really." Miss Elf's voice of resistance became softer and softer, so soft that almost no one could hear her. She closed her eyes as if giving up resistance.
"Give me a gift."
"Ah?" The girl opened her eyes immediately.
"Whatever I can take with me, I can take with me when I leave," Griffith said seriously, "I want to take it with me to Raven."
Galadia reacted immediately and nodded with the most serious expression: "Then, give me the insight crystal I gave you. When will you leave?"
"tomorrow morning."
"I'll see you off tomorrow morning!"
…
After watching Galadia leave, Griffith collected his thoughts and began to continue preparing for his mission. He first called Minos, the bone ring, and received a response from it.
"What's the matter?" Bone Ring asked, "Minos noticed that you have become more powerful. Do you need to prepare potions and rituals for you to advance to Sequence 7?"
"You also know this?"
"Minos observed the entity, tapped its potential, studied its lineage, adjusted its sequence, decomposed the body, absorbed its essence, and reassembled it to perfection."
"..." Griffith felt more and more that this ring was the creation of the evil god. However, there is still a place for it.
"However, Minos needs the essence of the moon spirit, fresh medulla mushrooms, and the juice of mandrake. Minos has proposed it, but has not received it yet."
"These are not easy to get," Griffith thought for a moment, "I will provide them to you as soon as possible."
"With these supplies, Minos can prepare potions and ritual information for you."
"Do you have any good ideas for extracting memory fragments from extraordinary characteristics?" Griffith then asked.
The extraordinary characteristics of the demon hunters, one-eyed monsters, spellcasters and earth dragons he retained are all precious Sequence 7 extraordinary characteristics, and they may all contain valuable information.
Minos paused for a while, seeming to be thinking about something, and then replied:
"Minos has detected that you possess four Sequence 7 extraordinary characteristic crystals of 'Demon Hunter', 'Glutton', 'Wizard', and 'Psychic'.
"There are many ways to extract memory fragments, but alien methods and residual memories may put a greater burden on your spirit, the characteristic crystals may hide dangerous information, and the remaining memories may have been shattered, distorted or tampered with.
“Rush withdrawals can drive you crazy.
“For your sanity, Minos recommends that you be cautious before trying to contact the memory fragments retained in the extraordinary characteristics after becoming a Sequence 7.
"If there are extraordinary characteristics of the caster path, and the side effects during the absorption process are small, Minos can provide the necessary magic potion formula to assist in the analysis and absorb the memory."
This ring sometimes seems quite reliable, so it's probably not deceiving me. Griffith thought for a while and continued to ask: "Also, do you know Laboratory 13 in Homemon Watts?"
"There are no relevant records in the school," Bone Ring replied, "but there are some warehouses in the small town of Baltimore. You can go there and search."
…
Griffith, who had not gained much from the ring, returned to his seat with Galadia's recommended book, and began to prepare based on the mission situation he had obtained from Count Larmore.
His target, Raven, is a port city, a province located on the east coast of the Broken Sea, and an important node in the Eastern Sea Route.
This city has a long history. There is an old city on the plain ten miles away from the port. According to the records of "Sir Valentine's Adventure Notes in the Eastern Continent", it is dilapidated and old, and wealthy people have moved to the upper city on the north bank of the Raven River.
The Holy Light is the main local belief. The Holy Light Church even installed a bishop there.
According to the information provided by the meeting, the last bishop was named Kelian. He was a local and had served as a monk, priest, and Bishop of Raven. He was dismissed six months ago and transferred to the Odessa region in the north. If Griffith's memory about Krista is correct, Bishop Kelian must know Krista, and there are even clues and files about Krista hidden in Raven's Church.
This mission gave Griffith unprecedented authority. As an officer and quasi-knight, he has full authority to access the secret documents of the local investigation bureau, city hall, and church. Of course, local officials will definitely hide something more, but Griffith still has the possibility of discovering important clues.
Raven is guarded by a garrison mage and a garrison knight. The two current ones are both graduates of Homemon Watts, namely the Sequence 7 "Wizard" Rihanna Mage and the Sequence 7 "Spell Breaker" Safirion Knight. Griffith found their information in the alumni directory. They were classmates, now thirty years old, and both were unmarried.
Intuitively, Griffith could guess that the relationship between the two of them must be very close.
After Bishop Clarian was transferred, Mage Rihanna and Knight Saffirion became the persons in charge of local mysterious events, commanding a team of 8 Extraordinaries.
According to reports, a week ago, on March 21, early residents of Raven City discovered the devoured body of a homeless man on the street.
On the same day, the local police reported that tomb robbers had appeared in Raven Cemetery, robbing tombs here and there. The local police immediately launched an investigation, but the Extraordinary took no action.
On March 22 and 23, the number of tomb robbing cases doubled. Raven officials began to suspect that this was the evil work of the black magic cultists who were fleeing near the Broken Sea. A novice monk who went to the crime scene to investigate submitted a report on the 24th. He claimed that part of the damaged tomb showed signs of collapse from the inside out. This may be a kind of black magic pollution that had not been seen locally.
In his report, the novice monk named Lansada Houston detailed the horrific scene in a civilian cemetery. He is clearly well educated and his reports are rigorous and detailed. According to his report, after the initial excavations, the number of tombs collapsing from the inside out was tripling every day.
After the Holy Light Church complied with the report according to the regulations, it reported it to Beyelan on the same day, and officially notified the garrison mages and garrison knights to launch an investigation into the black magic incident. On the 25th, Beyelan officials, Count Larmore and his friends all received the report. They had long known most of the details of the Niopolis incident and immediately began to mobilize extraordinary and extraordinary beings. From this day forward, Raven's events were officially linked to a secret evil.
Raven is a large city directly under the jurisdiction of Bayerland. The local area is defended by a powerful regular legion squadron and a complete city defense army brigade. After receiving orders from superiors, another local city defense brigade and a garrison brigade were urgently gathering and arming themselves.
On the evening of March 25, some residents of Upper Raven were attacked by man-eating monsters. The local Beyonder team annihilated the monsters, and the city hall announced that everything was under control.
By March 26, the resident mage began to report suspicious black magic incidents one after another. Although there are not a large number of monsters appearing in the area, there are many reports of suspicious people or creatures haunting the dark forest edges and sewers.
Count Larmore and the others suspected that the sudden crisis in Raven was not entirely caused by outside cultists. Some local high-ranking figures and extraordinary people were probably involved, but the extent of the involvement was unknown.
The task given to Griffith is to supervise and report on the investigation and purification work of the Paranormal Commandos, to be responsible for the coordination between local officials and Extraordinaries, and to investigate the true purpose of the cultists if possible.
Griffith could even theoretically stay out of combat. This mission assembled a paranormal commando team and at least four Beyonder squads. Coupled with the local regular army, city defense troops and artillery, Raven's defense strength was enough to challenge the demigods. .
He opened the last list of combatants in the intelligence, and Amber Roselet's name was on it. He closed the report with a snap and looked around nervously.
Well, Galadia didn't see it!
…
March 29, 1444, Second Age.
Griffith, fully clothed, prepared to leave Homemonworth and head to Baltimore Harbor to wait to board the ship. This kind of thing happened only once not long ago, and I didn't expect that I would have to travel far again so soon.
Sonia prepared two certificates for him, one was the appointment letter of the reserve assault squadron leader that was urgently produced and the other was a temporary appointment letter.
According to the appointment letter, Griffith is already an official officer. His monthly salary has been increased from 100 silver langs to 150 silver langs. Counting the 50 silver langs allowance and the 100 silver langs annuity, he now has a monthly income of 250 silver langs. !
The second document is a provisional authorization. Due to his low military rank, Sonia reminded Count Lamore that he had applied for a commission from the authorities, appointing him as a special investigator sent by Bijeran to Raven. With this certificate, he could justifiably refuse combat orders from some high-ranking officers and extraordinary beings. Not even Lordes can find fault.
Sonia is so attentive... Griffith carefully put away the documents and saluted Sonia and said goodbye.
"I'll see you off at the port!" Sonia suddenly came up with a surprising idea, "I always feel that if I have something to worry about, it would be better to go to the port with you."
No no no no no no! Griffith could already see Galadia looking at him from a distance.
"It doesn't matter. I'm ready. Sonia, you should stay here. You have classes today."
"I insist!"
No, please, don't do this.
Griffith looked around, leaned close to the girl's ear and whispered: "There have been a lot of foreign forces in Baltimore recently. I'm worried that you don't have other guards."
"Okay, okay." The hot breath and whispers in her ears made Sonia blush, and she quickly took two steps back to avoid Griffith's breath and let him leave alone.
Due to the rush of the trip, Griffith did not have time to prepare and carry new types of potions, so he could only replenish some secondary slowing potions and healing potions.
He stood on the harbor and looked around. Soon, he saw a smart figure wearing a cloak and immediately walked over.
Galadia stood in the shadow of the corner, preventing the passersby on the pier from seeing her. When she saw Griffith coming, she took out a silver pendant from her pocket with excitement:
"This is the pendant I made. I prayed to the Goddess of the Silver Moon and Starlight for blessings based on the original Insight Crystal, and He answered me! Just hold the pendant, chant His true name and pray to Him when needed. You can try some simple divination, mainly to find your way or predict bad luck."
"Really!?" Griffith was overjoyed. Divination is difficult to learn, and he can't get into it at all.
"What are you excited about? It's just a little divination. Look at your potential," the elf criticized him. "I left a blessing on the pendant. If you are confused or depressed, you can hold this pendant. I The magic power will stabilize your spirit and sanity. But you have to be close to me regularly to recharge it."
"So helpful! How close do I have to get?"
"..."
Both of them blushed at this question.
"It's better to recharge it regularly."
"Yes, understand."
Griffith took the pendant in his hand and examined it carefully. This is a small silver pendant with Insight Crystal set in a silver oval casing. The material of the shell is not silver, and a soft and delicate magical aura is flowing.
This is a pendant made of precious mithril! He flipped the small switch and found that there was a layer of crystal besides the insight crystal, sealing a strand of black hair.
Galadia blushed and took the pendant back: "I'll put it on for you."
"I'm wearing armor and I have a medal on my collar," Griffith said.
"I know."
The elf raised his slender arms, and before Griffith turned around, he put his hands around the back of his neck, fumbled to open the clasp of the pendant, and wanted to put it on him.
This feeling is like a girl taking the initiative to hug herself...
"It's not easy to wear like this. I'll turn around."
"It's okay, I'm clever!"
Griffith didn't dare to move, and looked at the elf with bated breath.
Turns out wearing a necklace from the front is a bad idea. Galadia fiddled with it for a long time but couldn't put it on properly. She bit her lip in embarrassment, stood on tiptoes, and rested her chin on his shoulder to see what was wrong with the pendant she made.
The fresh breath unique to Galadia, like autumn forest and maple leaves, came in, with a faint hint of the fragrance of roses. The two wonderful smells were combined, and Griffith didn't hesitate for a second, raising his hand and pressing it on the elf's slender waist.
The lock of the pendant made a small sound and was finally locked.
Galadia just leaned on his shoulder, trembling slightly.
Every second is more precious than a kingdom.
"When can I get another blessing? The one that drives away the troubles of bad luck and brings good luck." Griffith seized the time and asked beside his long pointed ears.
It took a lot of effort for Galadia to speak out in a low hum.
"see your performance."
