When the group left the "Warm Dream" hotel, the morning sun had just risen above the horizon. The sun crossed the vast plains, penetrated the thin morning mist, and coated the front with brilliant gold. The autumn wind moved downwards along the fields, making the scenery about to ripen.
The ears of rice gently lower their heads, but I wonder if the people who raise them still have enough time to enjoy the joy of a good harvest.
An took a few deep breaths to let the moist air pass through her nose, dispelling the remaining sleepiness in her mind. Then with the help of the young knight, she boarded the Piana, which she called 'Red Bean', which had been with her for more than ten days.
Erma. She adjusted her sitting posture, checked her luggage again - the most important thing of course was her diary - and then fastened her satchel securely.
"We're going to take the first step!" Elio immediately got on his horse and waved to the Belon people who were chewing breakfast, "Hey, don't be ambushed by anyone again, you big stupid bear!"
Belle mumbled something vaguely. Ann didn't hear it at all, and it probably wasn't an important word. She lightly kicked the horse's belly and used the reins to bring it to the young knight.
Elio cast an encouraging look at her. The girl nodded, leaned down slightly, then tightened her legs and made the horse start to trot.
In order to find the traces of the "robbers" as soon as possible, An and Elio decided to ride out first, and Bell led his "men" to catch up later. One of the remnants of the group of soldiers was a hunter and claimed to have been a hunter.
Even if it rains, there is still a way to follow their footsteps.
The two of them moved along the wide but deserted road as fast as possible - more precisely, as fast as An could control. The young knight easily controlled the horse and kept about two meters away from the girl's side.
position, walking side by side with her.
The compacted commercial road is flat and solid, and yesterday's drizzle did not make it muddy. It extends eastward in a straight line, and not far to the north is the Tatar River, the largest tributary of the Bresen River, and the link between the Oron Empire and
The border of Phil Federation. An raised his head from the horseback from time to time and compared the surrounding terrain with the map in his memory to confirm the current location of the two of them.
For An, this journey was a big test.
It is true that the bad horses the two of them rode could not run very fast, but staying on the bumpy horseback for a long time was also very exhausting. The young knight was always paying attention to her condition and asked her to take a break every hour.
Let the horse regain its energy by the way.
Maybe it would be better not to rest, An secretly murmured in his heart. The refreshing feeling of the wind blowing on his cheeks, the euphoria of watching the scenery passing by quickly - everything turned into physical fatigue and fatigue after stopping.
Soreness. And she knew that when she woke up tomorrow, these bad feelings would escalate to another level.
Elio once persuaded her to join Bell and others, but An insisted on doing so. Her physique did not allow her to fight like a young knight, at least in terms of analyzing clues and formulating plans, she hoped that she could be effective. And that needed to be enough
, real and detailed clues that were investigated and confirmed by her own eyes.
As for whether it also contained the thoughts of some girls, An couldn't tell yet. But it didn't matter, she told herself, they still had a lot of time.
The sun gradually turned to the south, and three or four hours had passed since they left the hotel. The two of them had never walked on the road in front of them. Fortunately, judging from the map in her hand, the next fork in the road was hundreds of miles away, which was enough.
They catch up with those who left three days ago.
There are two roads heading east from the hotel. The one to the south leads to the Roland Federation, which is the road the two of them came from. If a team of more than 20 people crosses them, it will probably attract Elio's attention.
An asked the young man before, and as expected, she got a negative answer.
In this way, the most likely possibility is that those people are heading to the Theocracy of Saint Leon further east along the route they are currently chasing. That does not seem to be a wise choice - in recent days, the Theocracy has been very hostile to the Oren Empire.
The hostility is obvious. Even if you surrender as a remnant soldier, it is difficult to get much preferential treatment. Or are 'those people' planning to use Elena as a bargaining chip in exchange for certain promises from the Theocracy...?
An unconsciously closed her eyes and tried to catch a glimmer of light in her thoughts. As a result, her hands holding the reins used more strength - 'Hongdou' suddenly turned in a direction, shocking the girl into a cold sweat.
.She quickly hugged the horse's neck to prevent her from falling down.
"Be careful, Ann!" Elliot reined in his horse quickly and approached with some worry, "It's almost time for lunch! Don't be too pushy, everyone has something they're not good at, just like... I always memorize
The rules of chivalry are the same!"
What kind of metaphors are these? The girl couldn't help but laugh. But An understood that Elio's concern was sincere, and what he said was right. Her riding skills and physical strength were both weaknesses. Forcibly ignoring this would only endanger herself.
Cause trouble to others.
She comforted the horse and carefully slid off its back to the ground - at least she could no longer rely on the help of the young knight for this matter, An thought with satisfaction.
…
On the first day, they didn't stop completely until the sunset began to sink into the horizon. Elio set up a pot to cook as usual - he picked up a large handful of mushrooms from the nearby forest, and An was responsible for identifying the edible varieties.
.Two horses were tied next to a young oak tree, lowering their heads to gnaw on the grass blades that had just begun to turn yellow.
The sky quickly turned from fiery red to ink-like blue, and then stars of silver light floated on it. Everything was quiet around, except for the crackling sound of the campfire. An gently sipped the warm soup and chewed it.
This soft pancake allows the warmth to dispel the fatigue inside and outside the body.
The young knight ate faster than her. He put down the bowl, stood up and fed two handfuls of beans to the horse, whistling and sitting back beside her. "What are you thinking about? Go to bed early, there is still a lot of road to cover tomorrow!"
An turned her head and met the young man's serious expression. "Speaking of which, Elio, what is your wish?"
"Hey, why...are you asking this all of a sudden?" The young man was stunned for a moment, and then he thought seriously, "Maybe...uh...you haven't thought about it yet, okay?"
She shook her head in a funny way and turned over a page in the book full of words in her hand. "You are a descendant of the knights, and you will one day inherit the family's responsibilities. But before that, if you have any wishes, I will try my best to help you."
You're done."
"What are you talking about? It sounds so serious..." Elio muttered in a low voice, and then his eyes suddenly flashed, "In this case, my wish is-I will go wherever Miss An goes!"
An was stunned for a moment, not knowing whether to laugh or feeling a little moved, but the corners of her mouth raised involuntarily. She turned around, with her back to the jumping bonfire, and the charcoal pencil lightly traced the trajectory on the paper.
"Since I said so, it wouldn't be a bad idea to help you realize your wish."
Then she closed the book without letting the boy see this sentence.