In the afternoon of the sparkling manor, in the auditorium garden on the top floor of the villa, the light comes from the row of narrow arched windows several meters high on one side, covering the deep red carpet, the gorgeous relief pillars, and the white gauze swaying melodiously in the wind.

curtain,

Different from the tranquility and tranquility in the evening, the afternoon in the garden...

The sun is shining brightly.

The angle of light, the flow of air, and the angle of shadow movement in the afternoon that are most suitable for sitting on the balcony. What many people don’t know is that the entire villa was actually built just for one person to have the most perfect view of the flowers.

Garden of the sea.

Without the obstruction of tall buildings, the wind in the manor in the northern suburbs of the capital was freer. On the balcony, which happened to be covered by the shade of the courtyard, at this moment, the figure in the dark blue dress looked at the young man who had finally returned safely, and finally felt relieved.

"Welcome back safely, Fangran."

And listening to her say such words, facing the comfort and gentleness that really belonged to the elders at this moment, Fangran was a little overwhelmed and felt apologetic. Part of him felt sorry for his reckless behavior this time, and even more.

It was when he faced Shui Linlang before...

"that..."

"It's okay, you don't have to worry about it."

But before he even opened his mouth, Shui Linlang smiled slightly, indicating that he didn't need to apologize for the previous meeting, and then looked at the young man in front of him who had just recovered from a serious injury in the hospital bed, as if looking at a child who had run away from home and finally returned.

Likewise, there was a touch of distressed tenderness in his eyes.

"Compared to that, how does it feel to be on a long journey alone in a foreign country?"

The moment I heard her ask this question, I was slightly in a trance. Starting from forcibly expelling my uneasiness and nervously boarding the flight, I traveled to Northern Europe, Norway, Oslo... enemies of unknown origin and sailing on icebreakers, trekking in the desolate Arctic, let Fangran

He lowered his eyes and smiled with a sigh.

"To be honest, it's more tiring than I thought."

Shui Linlang stared at him, at this young man who was extremely attached to his daily life, but personally forced himself to get on the plane to the North Pole. When he saw him scratching his head, he raised his head with a smile and looked at the sea of ​​flowers outside the balcony.

, but the sight is unfocused, as if looking at the ice sheet in the far north of the world.

"When I really trekked through the seemingly endless ice field by myself, I realized that I was more restless and hesitant than I thought. Every minute and every second, I was thinking about whether there was enough food and the energy of the life-sustaining armor.

Do I need to replenish it? Thinking about how far I still need to go and how much magic energy I still have..."

Withdrawing his unfocused gaze, Fangran looked at Shui Linlang and smiled bitterly, not knowing what expression to show:

"I kept imagining in my mind what kind of ability I should use when facing Zero Cavalry, and imagining various situations. In the end, I even began to wonder if there was really any action by Night Palace ahead.

, could it be that all this is just my conjecture, and when I get there I find that no one is actually there."

Thinking back to those ten hours of wandering in the North Pole, perhaps only by sitting at the courtyard table like this normally, or perhaps only in the face of Shui Linlang, who knew everything and was an elder, could he confide in himself so unreservedly.

All the uneasiness at that time.

"but...."

Falling into the ice sea, tears melted into the sea water, the moment I felt boundless powerlessness and despair, the world suddenly turned upside down, and I returned to Italy a hundred years ago. I recalled the beautiful period of getting along with that young girl.

incredible time,

Fangran lowered his eyes to look at his smiling reflection in the black tea in front of him, and rubbed the pattern on the side of the tea cup with his hands.

"feel good."

"In my divination, in addition to the night-walking angel in the scene a hundred years ago, you also saw the Queen of the Nightless Palace of that era?"

Although he had predicted a certain scene in it, but actually knowing that Fangran had entered a scene that went back a hundred years was beyond Shui Linlang's expectation.

"Um..."

Speaking of the figure that seemed to be covered with a layer of light, Fangran looked quiet and nodded.

"How did it feel to meet that queen?"

"It feels... not like the perfect and selfless saint in religion as I guessed, but more like a real 'person'. It makes people amazed that a person can stand at such a height and have...

That great and enviable personality.”

Hearing Shui Linlang ask about his feelings, Fangran let go of the teacup and recalled all the experiences he had with the figure he met.

Whether it was the scene or the reality, the meaning of the name 'Varline' gave him an incomparable shock.

"Almost a hundred years ago, when I was a little girl who had just awakened my abilities, the queen once came to the nightclub to meet my teacher about the war."

teacher...?

Could it be that ‘sir’ from Midnight?

Listening to Shui Linlang recounting the memories she knew, recalling the 'sir' she heard from Le Guien, and recalling the figure sealed by thousands of light locks in the narrow room, Fangran was slightly startled.

"She left a very strong impression on me. Maybe I have been influenced by her from that time on. That queen always has the charm to influence the people around her..."

Smiling softly and talking about her childhood memories, Shui Linlang looked at the young man in front of her who was different from before and smiled slightly:

"Is not it?"

The memories in the narrow space on the battlefield, the tenderness in the profound wisdom displayed by the queen, and the power of questioning the will in the bright torrent of the icy night, made Fangran can only admit with a smile, that is really...

He has seen glory that makes him respect and admire more than the great men in the textbooks.

"Do you remember what I told you the first time you came here?"

Shui Linlang smiled, looking at the changed Fangran after returning from the journey with her glassy eyes.

"Those words about the Origin One and learning to grow... I remember Grandma Shui when you asked me why I participated in the night battle..."

Recalling the first time he followed Ye Sheng to this garden, Fang Ran scratched his cheek softly and lost his mind. That long night that had so much happened was hard for him to forget.

"Originals are randomly involved in the system. Compared with normal participants who have no awakening scene, you will always be more confused about why you want to be exposed to night battles. Facing a huge and extraordinary world, you can't find it.

Your own reasons for moving forward,”

Thinking of the young man standing in the shadow of the evening that night, Shui Linlang chuckled softly, then raised his eyes and stared at Fang Ran at this moment,

"But now I see in you the answer you found,"

Her voice was gentle, but she was also somewhat distressed and pleased with this smart child who knew how to make his own choices:

"You have grown up, Fangran."

Perhaps it was a blessing or perhaps a comfort. Hearing Shui Linlang's words, Fangran fell silent slightly.

Then he smiled with a slight sense of helplessness.

He looked at the bright and beautiful sea of ​​flowers outside the balcony with calm eyes, letting the gentle breeze in the afternoon gently blow the ends of his hair, and spoke softly in a quiet and lost voice:

"I just understood that night. I just want to stand where I am, and I can't protect everything I value. If I want to be someone's strength, I must first stand by her side..."

On that overly happy bonfire night, everything I cherished was perfect around me. Only when I saw the last light of the power bank extinguished did I understand this truth.

A slight wry smile appeared on his face as he looked at Shui Linlang in front of him.

"Perhaps I should have understood this truth since the last time you told me to take on the responsibility of protecting my senior sister. But at that time, I was just like the first time I pushed the door open and left. I didn't want to meet you again.

If there is any danger, I just ask Ling to help me, but I never thought about it."

Recalling the exquisite figure who was aloof from the moment they met, making people unable to worry about her, Fangran looked at the black tea in the cup and sighed quietly with her eyes.

"What if Ling is in danger..."

I have never thought about what I would do if the figure who is my origin and salvation encounters danger...

But she is the one who does not completely belong to her daily world.

Perhaps no one else would be able to make Fangran make such a change.

Except Ling.

"so...."

Speaking of this, Fangran seemed to have shaken off all the previous quiet and depressed expressions. Fangran sighed deeply and regained his usual energy. He spread his hands and smiled at Shui Linlang:

"At least I want to move forward a little bit. I don't want to stand still, knowing nothing and being unable to retain anything."

Even if I think about the joyous daily life of the last month now, I feel peaceful and peaceful, extremely beautiful, without any pressure or burden. I wake up lazily from the morning sunshine from the things that need to be prepared, and I am incredibly happy.

But perhaps it is just to protect this beauty that there is no sadness and everyone is around,

Only then do you need to make a decision to move forward.

Growth is about losing what you have never lost to gain what you have never gained.

In order to protect this carefree beauty, he chose to lose the stability and ordinaryness that he had never lost.

Have you grown up?

He has grown up.

There is no question of whether it is worth it or not, only whether you are willing or not.

There is still a little bit of reluctance...

After saying this with a slight smile, he found that Shui Linlang had been watching him calmly and tenderly. At this time, Fangran felt a little embarrassed and ashamed and moved his eyes away to pick up the black tea, coughing twice and saying with a serious look:

"But...but it's still impossible for me to save the world. I can't do such a great thing yet..."
To be continued...