The Witch and the Doll Swear

"Now, Miss Alice."

—Miss Tina, what's the problem?

"What exactly do I need to accurately hit the target with magic..."

Walking on the streets of Sura, the girl stared blankly at the sky.

Even in the winter when everything is silent, the sky is never lonely. Between the snow-white clouds and the winter sun that only brings a little warmth, a snow pigeon that is not afraid of the cold wind is flying aimlessly.

Sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, like riding the waves of the sky.

It cooed happily, just when Tina thought it would land on a street stall selling polenta and roasted sweet potatoes, and then shouted to expel it, it turned around smartly without any regrets Flying in the direction of the Holly River.

Well, it's like the Arcane Missile in Tina's hand.

After the magic practice in the morning, Tina had nothing else to do, so in the spare time before lunch, she and Alice came to Sura to visit this palace composed of white walls, red tiles and the aroma of wine. small town.

These days the girl has only practiced this kind of magic, but until now, her hit rate is still hovering between 20% and 30%.

"Miss Alice, otherwise, let me change another training object. Those vines are twisting and turning, and they can't hit at all..."

There are people coming and going on the street. It is approaching the end of the year, no matter where it is, it is very lively. On the street, Alice is held in Tina's arms, motionless. Amidst the footsteps and noise, as long as the voice is slightly lowered, people will only feel The girl holding the doll is talking to herself.

——Among monsters, plant species are one of the least flexible. After all, they are rooted in the earth anyway, and their range of activities and abilities are limited.

But Alice couldn't say a word. There may be a fundamental difference between a doll with moving lips and a doll that can talk, but they are equally eye-catching on the street.

"Woooo..."

Although the tone was very gentle, these words sounded like confirming his own incompetence over and over again.

Frustration and a little blow from Miss Doll's tenderness made her pouted.

——Well, not only do I have no talent for magic, I can't even use ready-made magic well.

"... Generally speaking, you should go to fight slimes at this time, right..."

"Miss Tingna, do you still remember those adventurers who asked Lily to rescue them in Salt Sand City?"

"...Remember, I also used a year as the price to pay..."

Tina shrank her neck.

After she finished speaking, she was a little dazed.

A year...?

Before you know it, this year is running out.

That seemed to be a very, very long ago memory, but she remembered that slimes are not harmless little water balls, although in normal state even if a child turns them into a ball of water vapor with weapons enchanted with flames, these Elemental monsters will not respond, but once they wake up from their dull and cute state, the speeding water flow can cut a person's body as easily as cutting paper.

Many great adventurers drowned in slimes before starting their own legendary journeys.

Tingna couldn't help thinking about what tasks the association would give those rookies who had just registered when she was in the Adventurers Association of Salt Sand City.

She thought and thought, it seems that during the short time she worked there, there was no registration of a beginner adventurer, and no such task was sent?

But there should be.

Thinking of the year she paid for, and the memories of less than a year ago gradually became clear, Tingna thought and thought, and finally dug out a sentence from a corner of her memory.

It seems that I read the work manual of the association before going to work. When new adventurers register and apply for tasks, the first task that must be assigned to them is... um... to be a guard at the salt field by the sea to prevent some kind Seabirds with high-purity salt blocks fly into the salt ponds and throw bird droppings in it...

In comparison, my first training was to throw arcane missiles at monsters that could overthrow the ecology of an area and start over. It seemed to be more like an adventurer... Although Tina never wanted to be an adventurer.

——The characteristic of arcane missiles is to point to where to hit, so what Miss Tingna has to learn now is to point accurately. There will be a certain deviation between the position seen by the eyes and the position pointed by the hand. As a living creature It won't stay still, so some pre-judgment is needed.

--good……

——If you still can’t hit, you can try to get closer. The golden magic tree’s melee combat ability is also very strong. However, unless it is an existence that can pose a huge threat to them, even if they are knocked down, they will not kill it. Kill it immediately, but temporarily control it as a living fertilizer...

—… I'd better practice my head.

Alice patiently explained to Tina the knowledge of the Arcane Missile and the Golden Demon Tree.

Nodding, the girl who was walking aimlessly saw a small wine shop on the side of the street.

Although the sparrow is small, it has all the internal organs. Both the town and the shops in the town give people such a feeling. Just like this small hotel, although it occupies a small area, it has all the necessary things. And the stairs that lead down to the floor—that's probably the wine cellar?

Even, the owner specially decorated the counter as a classic bar counter, and behind the bar counter is an entire wall. Although there are only 3 chairs, after the customers sit down, they can see the dazzling array of products.

The Holly Valley is the valley of wine. For the people here, if there is no water, they can still drink wine. If there is no wine, they can only jump into the Holly River.

"Hey, I'm meeting you for the first time, do you want to taste the fine wine in the valley this year? There's some good brandy here."

In a small shop, the distance between the bar and the entrance is not far. The owner greets Tingna, but what comes out of his mouth is not the wine of Mosula Winery.

After thinking about it, Ting Na hugged Ai Li and walked in.

After a while, Ting Na, whose face was a little red, came out of the hotel, thoughtful.

"There's really no wine from Marsula..."

In the small shop, you can’t see a bottle of Masura wine. The bottles occupying a large area of ​​the wine cabinet and the wine list on the bar are all covered with the coat of arms of Edwards and brandy. It was the name of the winery that Tina had never heard of.

The owner sighed when Tina asked why there was no Mozzarella wine.

"Miss, haven't you heard of the disaster of the golden magic tree in autumn?"

"Huh? Uh, uh."

Because Ting Na did not attend the banquet held by Liliana, apart from the people in the winery, not many people knew that Ting Na was the lord's secretary.

So the owner of the hotel treated her as a guest who came to the valley for the first time and explained to her.

The problem still lies in the disaster of the golden magic tree in autumn.

Although Liliana refuted the rumors about the curse with the help of the Church and the Wizards Association, it has to be said that Masula Winery was really unlucky. Their wine cellar was drilled open by the golden magic tree, and all the wine was soaked in it. In that foul-smelling mud.

There was no way to hide it. During that time, the whole winery was filled with stench, and it could be smelled in the town. "

No matter what the people in the winery say, they rescued all the wine barrels immediately. If the wine is not stained with that smell, no one is willing to spend money if they smell the smell on the wooden barrels. At least no one is willing to buy those wines at the original price. .

As soon as the news spread, the merchants who placed orders with the winery demanded high compensation, and some of the most persecuted people were unwilling to allow even one day of grace. There was no other way, and the winery had to sell almost all the old wine at a low price. Reluctantly paid back the money, but because of this, their wine cellar was almost empty.

"And now it's popular in the whole kingdom to drink foreign wine, and merchants also want to do business... hiccup."

Xiaoxiao hiccupped, and Tina was talking to herself.

The hotel not only provides a whole bottle of wine, but also like a bar, you can order a single glass of wine.

Ting Na spent more than 20 silver coins to taste a few glasses of famous brandy. Unfortunately, although she drank a lot of various wines in Miss Witch's tower, besides thinking it was delicious, she couldn't say no. Find out why.

"The form of the winery is really dangerous, but this kind of thing happened again at this time..."

——Miss Tina is really worried about everything.

"Because I'm Miss Liliana's secretary, although I know I can't help you if I worry about it..."

Tina patted her cheek with one hand and walked towards the restaurant on the street.

Thinking about the current state of the winery is worrying.

Now the winery has been split into two factions headed by Mary Hejeste, who are preparing for the wine tasting round the clock.

On the surface, there is still harmony and no conflict. The young people will pick up the barrels without a second thought when the old people need help, and the old people will also give wisdom and experience to the young people when they encounter difficulties, but there is a certain sense of division. Even Tina could smell it.

Let alone Mary, since that day, she almost got angry when she saw Miss Liliana...

[I thought you would no longer be despicable. 】

Every time she thinks about what happened two days ago, Tina feels a stomach ache.

—Ah, Miss Tina, ahead.

There is nothing worse than the feeling of knowing that something is bad but being unable to help. Even good wine can't resolve this kind of worry. It's stuffed in her mind, so that the girl didn't even hear Alice's reminder.

"Wow!"

"ah!"

As a result, he collided with a small figure.

Ting Na staggered and barely fell, but the figure that collided with her was not so lucky. He was making faces at someone on the street, and was bumped into by a girl who forced him to be much taller. His body tilted and he almost fell down.

However, the hit figure was agile enough. He quickly supported the ground with his hands so that he didn't fall to the ground, and then stood up quickly, with the sound of glass clinking in his big pocket.

Only then did Tingna react from her own thinking, looking at the boy she had accidentally bumped into.

"Are you OK?"

She woke up from the wine, but the boy ignored her.

This little boy with blond hair who was wearing a leather armor covered with metal sheets nervously flipped through his big left pocket, then flipped through his right pocket, and after confirming that everything inside was safe, he went With a puffy face, he raised his head.

"Hey, don't you look at the road when you walk? Do you grow so tall to hold eggs?"

He put his waist down, maybe he thought it was more imposing, but Tina didn't know whether it was because of what the boy said or because of his posture because of the snickers from around.

"Top egg...?"

Before Tina could realize what it meant, a woman in an apron came out and grabbed the boy by the ear, and the boy's angry expression collapsed. The little face immediately showed a look of begging for mercy.

"Pain, pain! Mom, take it easy, take it easy!"

"I don't remember ever teaching you such impolite words, and after bumping into someone, don't you say sorry first?"

"It hurts, hurts, hurts!"

"If it hurts, remember it! Especially don't play with those dangerous wine bottles, go home and do your arithmetic homework!"

After educating her son, the woman bowed her head apologetically to Ting Na, apologizing for him bumping into Ting Na.

"No, it's okay, I have to apologize, because I was thinking about something and didn't pay attention to the road."

"Okay, this sister has apologized to you too, Krezer, what should I say now."

"It doesn't matter--"

The boy stuck out his tongue a little at Tina, which caused his mother to give him an extra thump on the head.

After exchanging pleasantries with the boy's mother, Tina walked into a nearby restaurant. Behind her, the conversation between the boy and his mother continued.

"Let go of me, mother, I don't want to study boring mathematics and poetry, and I don't want to be an accountant, I want to be a knight like Uncle Khpolevka!"

"Okay, hurry up and do the math problems. If you can't even do the four calculations well, neither an accountant nor a knight can do it."

"A knight needs only a brave heart!"

When Tingna sat on the chair and took the menu from the waiter to order, she also heard the boy let out a contrived cry of pain, probably because he didn't want to do his homework anyway, and was beaten by his mother in the end.

Tina even had a little nostalgia, because when she was a child, she would not face those dizzying arithmetic problems, and her mother did the same.

She would also lock Tina in her room, and wait for the girl to obediently finish all her study tasks before she would bring out a hot dinner and milk, making the young Tina's mouth full of greasy food.

When it comes to being strict in studies, mothers all over the mainland seem to be the same

"Then, for today's lunch, let's try the river valley's famous wine-fried steak."

Neither Alice nor Tingna took this little episode to heart, but no one thought that when they had lunch and rest, they would return to the vineyard for afternoon training.

Beside the vineyard that was occupied by the golden magic tree, they saw the boy again.

………………………………………………………………………………………

"Miss Tina, that child."

When Alice reminded Tina that there was another person beside the fence outside the orchard, the girl was avoiding the winding golden poisonous weeds in a panic.

"Eh?!"

A vine slammed into the magic shield fiercely, and the lines on the jade ring blurred a lot immediately.

Tingna quickly backed away, because she was distracted by the little puppet and couldn't escape the attack. She didn't turn her head to look in the direction Alice pointed until she backed away far enough.

Although Tina hadn't realized what happened yet, when she saw the boy named Kleiser slipping through the fence and tiptoeing into the orchard, the girl's expression suddenly changed.

Before Liliana came to the river valley, because the remaining golden magic tree had no time and energy to crusade, this orchard had been listed as a forbidden area by Marsula Winery.

They erected a wooden fence and wrote no entry on the boards, but the boy ignored it. He slipped in through the gaps in the fence and walked around the rows of grape trellises like a flexible bird. rabbit.

"Wow!"

Then, he cried out in surprise at the sight in front of him.

The sound attracted the attention of the Golden Demon Tree. In terms of confirming the target through the sound, these eyeless vines are very similar to some snakes in this point. They judged that the sound was too far away from them. Another dangerous existence that is fighting is only temporarily away.

Out of the fighting instinct, the four-petaled flower buds opened, and at noon when Tina and Alice went to lunch and rest, the acid that was re-secreted turned into a shower of liquid bombs and poured down violently on the boy's position.

"Danger!!"

Tina yelled at him, but the boy just lit the torch he held in his right hand and took a wine bottle from his fanny pack with his left.

The golden venom, the girl's warning, he seemed to ignore all of this, and quickly passed through the area covered by the venom bullets, and none of the liquid bullets with simple and slow trajectory hit him.

That was the other direction. Tina had already started running towards that direction, but it was too late. If the boy continued to run, he would rush into the golden vine's attack range before Tina's magic shield could bring him into the protective range. Those toothy buds would tear him apart.

But the boy stopped, and he also saw Tina, but he obviously didn't stop because of Tina who loudly warned him.

"I am Sura's future knight! Evil monster, let me bring you the sanction of the holy fire!!"

Shouting the battle cry of the knight who didn't know where he learned it, he raised the wine bottle in his hand, lit the cloth strip on the bottle mouth with a torch, and followed.

"Eat my righteous holy fire attack!"

Krazer rounded his arms and threw the cheap-looking wine bottle out.

The eleven or twelve-year-old boy's arms are not strong, and the position he is standing is still some distance away from the vines surrounded by him. The wine bottle fell on the ground not far from a vine, and with the sound of bursting, a piece of flame was scattered on the ground. on the dirt.

Obviously this is not an accurate shooting point, but the splashed flames still covered one or two vines that were rooted nearby. It was a mixture of spirits and oil. Alice told Tina immediately that the liquid was bursting. Large flakes fell, with flames, and the golden poisonous weeds made a crackling sound under the roasting of the flames, like the crunching and screaming of the tops of the vines on the snake's head.

"yeah!"

The other vines avoided the flames and began to spit poison to put out the fire. After a while, the flames disappeared, and a burnt stench filled the air.

But even so, the boy raised his hands like a triumphant soldier and shouted excitedly.

After shouting, he reached out from his pocket and took out another wine bottle that was plugged with a cloth strip, lit it with a torch, and threw it out again.

Fear of flames is the instinct of most plants. The second flame bottle also achieved results, but the boy managed not to throw the third one. This time, Tinna finally rushed to Krezer's side, before he lit the dangerous toy. Before that, he reached out and snatched the torch and wine bottle from his hand.

"Ah, give it back to me!"

The boy reflexively wanted to reach out to grab his weapon back, but the height difference between him and Tina, which took years to make up, prevented him from returning.

This is really frustrating, the young knight was disarmed by such a strange, tall woman when he was out for the first time, he blurted out in desperation.

"You egg-throwing woman, give me back my sword!"

"..."

Tina decided that she must figure out the meaning of this name when she returned to the winery. She raised her arm, and Alice quietly extinguished the flame on the torch. Seeing this scene, the boy's expression completely collapsed.

"Do you know what you did! Those monsters haven't been destroyed yet, but you extinguished the knight's sword!"

He was anxious to jump.

But even if he jumped up, he couldn't take the torch from Tingna's hand, so he could only put his hands on his hips angrily, and looked at Tingna with dissatisfaction.

"It's forbidden to enter here, don't you know? It's very dangerous here."

"That's why we need to kill those monsters quickly! They're not dead yet!"

——The chicken talks to the duck.

Ting Na couldn't help holding her forehead. Of course, she could see that the vines were not dead. Although most plant-type monsters were afraid of flames, the Golden Demon Tree was only "fearful".

This is a dangerous monster that can turn barren volcanoes into vibrant forests. When necessary, its roots can even be immersed in magma, absorb heat from the original hot soup, and spit out a hyperthermal liquid bomb that is much more deadly than venom .

While she was talking to the boy, the vines had extinguished the nearby fires with their golden venom, and although they were charred black, they obviously did not do much damage.

"Ah, they've come to their senses! It's you, the egg-throwing woman. Uncle Khpolevka, who taught me how to do this, said that as long as you keep throwing and throwing, you can destroy them!"

the third time.

Seeing that the flame he threw was extinguished, the boy screamed. He looked at Tina with dissatisfaction and reproach, but Tina ignored it.

The veins on Ting Na's forehead were throbbing, this nasty boy... he would call "egg-like" and "egg-like" unscrupulously when his mother wasn't around, what does that mean?

——What should I do, Miss Alice, I can't practice protecting this child at the same time...

——Today's training needs to be adjusted.

She suppressed her anger and talked to Alice through the black pearls on her ears, and the puppet lady sitting on the girl's shoulders also had a difficult time.

—Send the boy to his mother first.

In short, practice is impossible.

Tina sighed, put the matches and wine bottle into the space storage ring, and grabbed the boy's hand.

"You are Krezer, right? I still remember where I bumped into you. I want to send you home first, follow me."

"!!"

Hearing this sentence, the boy was stunned for a moment, and then showed a "bad" expression.

Maybe he didn't expect that Tingna would still remember it. As soon as he shook off Tingna's hand, he ran out of the orchard.

But how could Tina let him escape? After the fire was extinguished, the golden demon tree had started to release those strong corrosive acids again, and it might be dead if it left the range of the magic shield.

So she took a quick stride, and used the key to self-defense that she learned in the academy to stir up the boy, and then grabbed the back collar of his leather armor while he was screaming and about to fall, this time, he completely I can't run away.

"let me go!"

Although the boy kept struggling, it was all in vain. No matter in terms of age and physique, Ting Na had the upper hand, and the girl was not really powerless.

On the contrary, the boy seemed to be lacking in exercise, and after struggling for a few minutes, he stopped panting.

Of course, it is also possible that Alice moved her fingers quietly, giving his eyes a close contact with the light, but it didn't matter, Tina took the hand of the boy who kept rubbing his eyes and walked towards the winery .

On the way, the boy also tried to escape, but after Tina sternly scolded him, he became obedient and only muttered a bunch of obscenities that Tina thought Tina couldn't hear.

——Miss Tina's expression and voice just now were a little scary.

No one else was seen on the road between the vineyards, sitting on Tina's shoulders, the little doll resting its chin.

She hadn't seen Tina react like this in a while.

——Because I am very angry...

Tingna looked at the town in the distance, and looked back at the muttering boy who could only follow behind her. In the orchard in the distance, the messy monsters that had eroded the orchard and the land stopped, and they walked on the small slope. Swaying in the cold wind.

She sighed.

——I don't like these guys who die because of ignorance, bravado, and inexplicable sense of mission. This kind of people are too easy to distinguish, and they are brave and foolish, but I didn't expect that there are such people besides adventurers guy.

Life is the most precious thing.

Giving up your life is unforgivable.

Thinking about it carefully, it seemed that she had just used these two sentences as a motto before. Tingna herself was not very clear about where this kind of unreasonable anger came from.

She knows that people's memory is an unreliable book, and many things she thinks are true are actually just her own opinions after self-beautification and interpretation.

But she just didn't want to see it and couldn't tolerate such a thing.

——Well, there are many kinds of people in the world.

Realizing that the girl was getting angry, Alice touched Tina's cheek and calmed down. .

She leaned against Tina's face and looked up at the falling light.

So, how to adjust today's practice?

………………………………………………………………………………………

When he was about to enter Sura, the boy spoke to Tina in a friendly voice for the first time.

"Hey, sister Gao Gao."

Don't say "egg-topping" anymore, the voice is almost begging.

The boy begged Tina not to tell his mother what he had done. It seems that this boy who dared to charge at the monster with a Molotov cocktail mixed with spirits and oil was still afraid of his mother like his peers. Tina couldn't bear it. Hold on to a smile.

Then, when he came to the lunch street and asked whose kid it was, he told everyone who wondered what the kid had done about his "heroic" act.

Sula is a small town. Although it has only been established for two or three years, the neighbors all know each other. Tingna's way of making the whole street is fried.

The children of Kreiser's age surrounded him with expressions of admiration and asked if the monsters that made a mess of the river valley in autumn were still so scary. The women and the old people chanted prayers and thanked Tina for protecting him. this boy.

As for the men, some muscular men praised him for his bravery, others lost his arms and legs, and those on crutches called him an idiot, but almost every man who understood the situation gave him a thump on the head , warning him not to do such a stupid thing again.

Only then did Tina know what kind of disaster those golden magic trees had brought to this river valley.

It wasn't limited to the fertile land of the winery, almost overnight, the vines of the golden magic tree also attacked the towns in the valley, and many people died in the abominable group of golden snakes in their deep sleep.

According to the statistics of the Olympian Kingdom, from the outbreak of the golden magic tree in the month of heat to the end of the month of maple fruits, the total population of the valley has decreased by a full quarter, and hundreds of thousands of disabled people have died. The small village that spontaneously formed by looking after the nearby orchards was completely wiped out. When the monster hunting team arrived, the houses and bones were already soaked in the mud and rotting in the stench.

Almost everyone lost something, and after more than two months, at the end of the year, the atmosphere of grief gradually dissipated from the valley, allowing the place to regain its former vitality.

After all, the dead are gone, and the living must continue to live if they do not intend to follow.

Only the devilish golden color has become a scar engraved in everyone's mind, so Masura Winery will be regarded as cursed because of the golden magic tree that has been killed repeatedly.

Even now, there are people who wake up from nightmares and cry all night because of what they lost.

However, Krezer, that damn child, actually took the initiative to provoke those terrifying monsters?

Knowing this, Tingna looked at Krezer more like she was looking at a fool.

Poor Krezer, like a returning general, was surrounded and brought to the front of his home, but what greeted him here was not a celebration banquet and praise. His mother, who had heard the news, carried a feather duster , apparently been waiting here for a while.

After seeing her son, the young mother who knew about it from the neighbor pressed him on her lap without saying a word, took off the crude leather armor and trousers inlaid with metal, and stared blankly at the boy. Butt is a pump.

She was sobbing and cursing, crying while cursing, until Krezer howled and cried miserably, she stopped under the persuasion of several old people, came to grab Ting Na's hand, and saved her stupid My son couldn't help but thank you.

This made Tina a little overwhelmed.

After thanking again and again, she declined the hospitality of women and neighbors, and took Alice back to the winery.

Afterwards, that boy will have to face the neighbors in the neighborhood who will take turns preaching and so on, so it has nothing to do with her.

The girl's goal has been achieved, and the best way to stop a man from doing stupid things is to tell everyone who cares about him that he intends to do stupid things.

Tina believed that for some time after that, the boy would never have the chance to leave town again.

At night, after having dinner in the castle hall, Liliana hadn't come back yet. When Tina and Alice were about to go back to the bedroom, a man with flaming red curly hair came in shaking from the door of the dining room.

Mary, who appeared a handful of times in the past two days, also saw her, and walked towards Tina, followed by several young people.

"Have you continued practicing magic in that orchard today?"

How should I put it, the girl's tone was not very friendly.

"Ah, ah ha ha..."

Tina laughed dryly twice.

Of course, no one, no matter how broad-minded, would be able to laugh at the way he made a mess of that orchard.

It was supposed to be the most fertile orchard in the winery, and the fruit growers carefully cultivated the grapes of the right age to make the best wine, but first the golden magic tree appeared there, and after he started practicing magic there, the unharvested Grapes and vines have totally suffered.

When I get rid of all the vines of the golden magic tree, it should become a barren wasteland.

It will take another spring to replant the grapes there, and it will take several years to wait until they can be harvested to make high-quality wine.

Even if Tina cleared away the remnants of the golden magic tree for them for free, it would be hard to make people happy, and there was nothing they could do.

This is an order from Liliana, the little girl who came here to pull them back from the brink of bankruptcy, is the real owner of the winery river land.

"Miss Mary, what can I do for you?"

This topic is not going well, Tingna looks away in embarrassment, stirring the mulled grape juice in the glass as dessert.

"It's about Krezer. I heard that the kid went to the orchard where you practiced magic?"

"Does Miss Mary know the child?"

"His father was my playmate when I was a child, and now he is also a winemaker who advances and retreats with me."

Sitting in front of Tingna, the red-haired girl looked at the doll on the table holding a bowl about the size of her body and drinking warm grape juice, and gave a slight greeting.

Then she answered Tina's question, rubbing her eyes surrounded by dark circles.

Although the relationship with Liliana has dropped to a freezing point because Miss Witch obtained the selection theme of the judging session through illegal means, Mary's attitude towards Tina and Alice is still normal.

"Is that so...huh?"

Tina blinked.

The winemakers who worked with Mary, that is to say, are the young people in the winery who are only twenty-one or twelve years old at most, Tina thought.

But Krezer looks like he's over ten years old? Also, his mother looks very young...

"... Well, Miss Mary, may I ask a question? In Orlyn Bean, the legal age for marriage is..."

"20 males and 16 females, I know what you're thinking, Miss Tina."

Mary shook her head.

"But you have to know that although the Holly River Valley is the largest wine-producing region in the Kingdom, there is almost no big city here. It is considered the countryside in the entire Kingdom. In the countryside, some laws are not cared much about."

"Aristocrats get married at an earlier age. Basically, boys can get married as soon as they are 14 years old, and girls as long as they are ten years old, many nobles can't wait to marry them. After all, for nobles , marriage is more of a business or political means.”

Alice put down her big wrist and burped a little. She looked at the red-haired girl, wiped the corners of her mouth with a tissue, and then floated onto Tina's shoulder.

"Did Miss Mary come to Miss Tina about that child?"

"That's right, Fine... that is, Krazer's father was very angry after knowing what Krazer had done. He asked me for leave and wanted to go back and teach that stupid kid who didn't know what danger was-this is His exact words. I guessed from the image of the person he described that it was you who saved the child, so I came here to ask."

Although Tina didn't leave her name in Sula, the girl holding a nun doll and taller than many men is still very obvious. The father didn't pay attention because he was angry, and Mary knew it when he heard it. , This is the tall lady secretary next to their lord.

"Give yourself a half-hour vacation by the way."

Rubbing her tired forehead, Mary sat down on the chair.

Looking around the cafeteria, the workers are also exhausted.

The workload these days has been very heavy, whether they are workers or brewers, whether they are maintaining their daily work or researching fast brewing, they are exhausted every day.

"If you want to relax, you can only take advantage of it now. Starting tomorrow, more magic plants and materials will be sent to the winery, so there is no time to rest."

"Are you having trouble brewing?"

"It's the first time trying a quick brew that has never been brewed before, so it's normal to have difficulties."

"That's right..."

"Tell me about Krezer, how did that little guy end up in that orchard."

Mary didn't seem to want to talk about this topic. She waved her hand and asked about the boy again.

"If you want to say why..."

Tina reached out and touched Alice's little head, thought for a while, and told Mary some of the words he said after meeting Krezer in the afternoon.

Including after bumping into him on the streets of Sura, but also in the orchard.

After finishing speaking, Tingna thought for a while and added something.

"I think that child is imitating knight novels, crusades against monsters, and making meritorious deeds. He also mentioned a knight named Khpolevka, although I have never heard of any knight who would teach children how to make Molotov cocktails ..."

"The little guy wants to become a knight? To become a knight requires more than ten years of study and training. You need a horse, a decent armor, a sword, a spear and a shield. The most important thing is to have someone who is willing to canonize him." noble……"

Mary furrowed her fiery eyebrows, and those fiery red eyes suddenly dimmed.

For a moment, as if thinking of something, a trace of sadness flashed in her eyes, and Ting Na saw it. But in an instant, the sadness was buried in the flames of sadness.

The rowdy young people who had followed Mary and sat at nearby tables were also silent.

In this corner of the restaurant, the sound stopped abruptly.

Originally they ordered a thick soup with meat, fried fish and white bread, and held up warm water to talk to each other in order to wash away the fatigue of work, but they were also silent.

After a while, a young man whose name Tina could not remember sighed.

"Not all knights have to be canonized like that. As long as you have made enough meritorious service, you can skip the tedious study and be canonized as a knight. That is the custom in Uncle Khpolevka's hometown. If I remember correctly, Uncle Say that often."

"Krezer probably didn't understand what that meant. He just thought that as long as he wiped out the golden magic tree, he could become a knight. When he came to the winery to look for his father, I heard him say a few times. times, but I didn't expect him to really dare to put it into action... like Uncle Khpolevka."

Another young man put down the wine glass filled with water, and he put down the bread that was almost at his mouth.

Their voices were very soft, as soft as Mary's sighs, like soliloquies speaking to themselves. Without Sylph's blessing, Tina might have missed it.

But Tina heard it anyway.

"Now, Miss Marie, Khpolevka is..."

Just as the red-haired girl stood up, Tina stared into her fiery eyes and asked this question.

Mary was taken aback, the corners of her mouth twitched, and after a while, she sat down again.

"...Southern women have really good ears."

"I'm just special..."

"Hmph... well, it's not something you can't say, it's just..."

She hesitated a little.

"...don't tell that kid, okay?"

"Huh? Uh, uh."

Tina hugged Alice tightly.

A kind of not-so-good intuition popped up, just need to hear the tone that seemed to be mourning, a kind of sadness seemed to pervade the restaurant where people came and went.

Those who know are silent, while those who don't know are still scooping the thick soup and chewing the bread with meat. The world seems to be divided into two, close at hand, but unable to touch.

The little puppet was obediently held by Ting Na, she must have felt something, folded her hands in front of her chest, slightly lowered her head.

"Khpolevka, that guy..."

Before Mary could say anything about the Khpolevka knight, there were fierce footsteps in the corridor, and several men appeared in front of the cafeteria door, panting and sweating profusely.

"Miss Mary!! No, it's not good!!"

They ran so fast that after shouting this sentence, the two leading men almost held their breath and coughed violently while holding the cafeteria door.

Mary, who was interrupted, looked a little unhappy, her red eyes immediately became sharp, and she said a word without looking back.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the brew?"

After she finished speaking, Mary looked over there. She was taken aback, and Ting Na, who looked at the cafeteria door earlier than her, looked at the other young man who was running out of breath behind the two men.

The girl felt that the outline of that face was somewhat similar to the boy she met today.

What happened?

Thinking this way, Tina waited with Mary for the explanations from these men.

"Krezer, that bastard of my family, he took a group of boys to that vineyard!"

But the words that came out of the young man's mouth made everyone stunned.

"……ha?"

The sluggishness in the restaurant lasted for a moment, followed by a burst of commotion.

All eyes were on the girl. That vineyard—there is only one piece of land that would be called that in what is now Marsula, and the people who have the deepest relationship with this land are here now.

As for the man himself, Tina herself.

When she heard those words, the girl's mind went blank.

What started with a chance collision in the street did not seem to be over yet.

There was an explosion in the restaurant of the Marsula Winery. Many people didn't know what Krezer did this afternoon, but they also panicked after the men's narration.

After Tina left, the criticism session against the boys didn't last very long, and the adults quickly returned to their own tasks.

Krazer was locked in the room by his mother.

Everyone felt that, in this way, the boy should calm down a bit, but at night, Krazer's mother and her husband decided to explain to their son what true bravery is, and they opened the door in the boy's bedroom. The door and the open window are blowing cold air. On the table are the boy's dishes after dinner, his favorite slingshot, and the trash can is full of paper balls.

And the boy disappeared.

Krazer's father realized something was wrong, he grabbed the ball of paper in the trash can and unfolded it, and then fell into a daze because of what was written on it.

It was written by Krezer showing off his bravery to other boys. These words seemed to arouse the boys’ knight dreams. They clamored for Krezer to take them to hunt down monsters. Krezer agreed, and they made a plan. A plan to build great feats in the night...

Krazer's parents immediately left home to ask the neighbors about their son's whereabouts. People who knew about it were stunned. They opened their children's room and found that they were also missing. These parents gathered and asked each other before they found out that Many boys on this street said with one voice that they should go to bed early.

And these children were not in the room. Obviously, they went to the dangerous orchard with Krezer.

Realizing this, they all panicked and rushed to the winery for help, but.

"These brats!!"

Even Mary was dumbfounded after listening to it. After she was stunned for a while, she was so angry that her teeth were chattering because of the completely wrong actions of these adults in a panic.

"But what's the use of coming to the winery for help?! You should inform the church as soon as possible and ask the bishop to send templar knights to save those children, or the Magician Association! Only they have the ability to resist those poisonous weeds in this town. ..."

As she spoke, she looked at Ting Na again.

"Or, our lord's secretary, do you want to save those children alone? Without waiting for the lord to come back?"

Tina, who stood up with the doll in her arms, paused. Mary's words brought people's attention back to her, which forced her to stop when she was about to stand up and leave.

There is power in looking, especially now that Tina is not just representing herself.

"Now Miss Liliana, paladins or magicians can't count on it!"

She glanced at the men and women who were gradually blocking the door of the cafeteria. They were all parents of children. The road from Sula was not long or short, and they ran as fast as they could in this cold winter night. Panting, more uncontrollable worry than tiredness.

Liliana has not returned yet.

What she has to do is not only to negotiate with those merchants and pay compensation for the inability to complete the order because of the Marsula winery.

According to what Liliana said, she still needs to win new orders, investigate whether these merchants are really attacking in one breath, as Mary said, the Edwards family is behind the scenes, and she also needs to contact the nobles of all sizes in the territory. Relationships, this series of business and social activities will last until late at night, even if she gets the news now, it will be too late.

These panicked parents did not immediately notify the most capable armed group on the First Territory, who could rush to rescue those children as soon as possible.

Just Tina, and Alice.

Fortunately, there is still Alice, the power of the little puppet will not be much lower than that of Liliana, the only problem now is to get there as soon as possible!

So Tina used a more decisive tone.

"Those children have been away for a long time, if you don't hurry up!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she walked towards the door of the restaurant without hesitation. She originally planned to help.

"That's right, you have to hurry up and save them!"

"Hurry up and tell Mr. Jeste to call all the young men over, we have to help Miss Tina!"

No amount of words could compare to the forceful footsteps of the girl at this moment. The men in the restaurant shouted one after another, but Mary patted the table vigorously.

"Are you well-trained mercenaries!?"

With just one sentence, the red-haired female teacher stopped everyone in their tracks.

"Are you adventurers qualified by the association?"

"Can you use the magic to protect yourself? Miss Tingna is going to save those children, you go there, maybe she will use the precious spell slots on you before saving the children, and Miss Tingna , How many spell slots do you have left?"

"Eh? Anyway, it's enough."

"Is it enough to practice for a day... But even so, you don't have the energy to take care of a dozen children, come ten strong men, come with Miss Tina and me, but don't go near the orchard! Wait for Miss Tina or me Come back when you are called!"

After hearing Tingna's words, Mary's expression showed a bit of shock, but she immediately put aside the fleeting expression, pointed out ten strong men vigorously, and made arrangements.

"Miss Mary is coming too?"

Alice looked at the girl who had taken off her apron and tilted her head.

"I said that I also learned magic. Although I failed to learn it in the end, in order to repay my father's kindness in raising me and make him proud of me, I still worked hard to learn some magic. Don't worry, I'm sure I can protect myself, Miss Tingna doesn't know those children, there must be someone who recognizes them."

The red-haired girl spoke and waved her finger with the space storage ring.

"The details are on the way. Now go to the stables and let them prepare the horses. There is no time to delay. We will ride the horses first, and you will follow!"

She looked at Mary and the men standing beside her like a general commanding soldiers to march.

"let's go!"

"oh!!!"

The men responded loudly, and ran after the two girls.

Soon, a steed galloped out from the gate of the winery castle, and then ten men ran out behind it—in order to repay the compensation that some merchants demanded to be paid immediately before Liliana came here, the wine This horse is the only one left in the village, and even Liliana's carriage was bought by the witch later.

The sound of horseshoes tore through the silence of the night, and they galloped towards the distant vineyard.

Five or six minutes later, Mary took the rein of the horse, and Tina jumped off with Alice in her arms.

"【Little elf with wings of light, gather a faint light in your hands! Whether it is the night that Saigon falls, or the earth that cannot be illuminated by Diana and the stars, you are everywhere, for me Light up the road and guide the direction of the road ahead!"

On horseback, Mary began to chant, and when the interpretation broke, a bright ball of light illuminated the surroundings brighter than a torch.

"[Magic Light]!"

She got off her horse, and then started another magic chant, which was also lengthy, and even mixed with some interpretations of the [Original Text]. Even Ting Na could tell that it was something that people who barely mastered magic would have. An interpretation that absolutely failed in the academy's practical skills assessment.

However, this is also the magic used by relying on his own strength, not relying on the alchemy props given by Liliana like himself...

"Miss Tina?"

"Well, it's nothing, let's go there quickly, I hope it's not too late..."

"Ahh."

A shimmering barrier lit up around Mary, and the second magic was [Magic Shield], a magic that anyone who is a magician would definitely learn. After using these two magics, Mary's complexion was not very good. It seems that a lot of mana has been consumed.

"Miss Mary..."

"let's go."

Shaking her head, the red-haired girl quickly crossed the fence. Ting Na hurriedly rubbed Bai Yu's ring, set up her defensive shield and followed behind.

"Miss Tina, there is something I want to tell you."

At this time, Alice suddenly spoke.

"Since Lily has been away all day and has been active all day, Alice doesn't have much magic power anymore, and Alice can't guarantee what she can do."

"Well……"

Ting Na was taken aback, then made a bitter face.

Just thinking that if Alice was here, there would be no problem dealing with some golden magic trees, so I came here without hesitation, but Alice couldn't move by herself.

Too bad, how did she forget about this?

When the magic power obtained from Liliana runs out, Alice will turn into a normal doll.

"Don't worry too much, Alice still has a lot of magic power left, and she can still protect Miss Tina and Miss Mary."

"...No, if possible, Miss Alice, please use these magical powers to protect those children and yourself, and Miss Mary, I..."

Tina swallowed the next words.

——I am no longer a weakling who cannot even protect myself.

"……Um."

Alice nodded slowly, and approached the top of the hill in the orchard.

Soon they caught up with Mary who was walking ahead, but here, in this orchard, what greeted them was a disgusting smell.

The girl remembered this smell. In the morning, after the boy threw out the Molotov cocktail, the vines spewed out golden venom and extinguished the flames. This was the smell that drifted away.

"...No." With this smell, Krezer and the others should have been here, but they couldn't see the boys anywhere.

Between the orchards, on both sides of the road, the lights cannot illuminate this place, but the darkness is not an obstacle to Tina, and everything in the night world is clearly visible.

Only the vines on the top of the hill and the grape trellises that haven't completely collapsed are twisting in the night wind.

Mary's horse was already running fast, very fast, but even so... couldn't catch up with death?

"Miss Tina..."

"...No, it's not Miss Alice's fault, if I..."

——If only I could let that child know how dangerous this is.

It feels cold all the way to the depths of the bone marrow, not the coldness of winter in the Northland, but more, more...

Ah, what kind of scene seems to appear in front of my eyes, what is it? People's memory is an unreliable old notebook, the past and the reasons they think are never necessarily true... So what is it?

A crying woman, an angry man, a submissive self, a power of attorney in the man's hand.

... power of attorney?

It seemed to be a power of attorney from the Adventurer's Association, and the ashen-faced man lying on the hospital bed.

Who is that? The glowing ball of light following Mary was so bright that the girl couldn't see clearly.

"Krazer! Doma, Fallon! Charlie!"

When she saw the quiet hill, Tina's heart sank, but now, Mary's call was not answered, which seemed to be the verdict that they were really late.

How to go back and face the parents of those children?

Mary called the boys by name, but no one answered.

The bad smell blown by the wind is dissipating, the moonlight is dim tonight, looking through the rows of grape trellises left to the top of the hill, the golden vines are swaying with the cold wind.

Although the monsters are based on the sound of the enemy, as long as they don't get too close, it's fine. Tingna's practice in the past two days has destroyed many vines, making their territory even narrower.

"...Miss Tina, do you still remember the man you asked me about, Khpolevka?"

"……Um."

After a moment of silence, Mary grabbed her wrist.

Hold on tight.

"That is an adventurer, a self-proclaimed down-and-out knight, who likes to drink and always comes directly to the winery to buy wine. He is a frequent visitor to the winery. During the disaster of the Golden Demon Tree, he was very active in Sula and saved many people. The rank of the adventurer has been raised, and my father also awarded him a medal on behalf of the First family."

"That person, already..."

"Ah, that's right, after the disaster of the golden magic tree was over, he said that he had got enough money and glory and should go back to his hometown, and he only needed to do one more task before leaving. As a result, in the last task, he died gone."

Tina was silent.

The knight was dead, and now the lives of a dozen boys who imitated the knight and tried to build up his exploits were gone.

She didn't know what to do now, but felt a deep powerlessness that seemed to take her spine away.

"Miss Liliana..."

He called out the witch's name, but the witch didn't respond.

Only Alice on her shoulders comforted her softly by stroking her head.

"Don't worry, maybe it's not time to despair yet."

"Let's go, at least take their bodies... what did you say?"

Mary was stunned for a moment, watching with an expression of disbelief that under the magic light technique, the skin leaking from the nun's clothes looked like a glowing doll.

"Alice said, maybe it's not the time of despair yet. Miss Tina, do you still remember what Alice said in the morning? If there is no threat to them, the golden magic tree will not kill them immediately, but will kill them." Use it as live fertilizer..."

Saying that, the little puppet folded its hands together, and a warm light shone brightly with its small body as the core.

Immediately afterwards.

All over the vineyard, bright beams of light suddenly lit up.

Among the raised mounds, in the shadow of the trellises, on the other side of the hill, behind the rocks.

One, two, three, four... A total of twelve beams of light lit up from all around.

Mary couldn't believe her eyes, she realized what counted the beams of light, and then.

The red-haired girl shouted excitedly.

"Twelve... yes, including Krezer, there are twelve children in total, these are—"

"Sure enough, the Golden Demon Tree has been hit like this, but it won't waste a little bit of nutrition. Don't worry, they are still alive, but Miss Tingna and Miss Mary probably can't save them one by one...Everyone There is a golden magic tree guarding the child... Well, this time, let's use this one, Miss Tingna."

The soft voice made Ting Na calm down from the excitement.

She turned her head to look at the doll, but Alice in a nun's attire had already floated in front of her, holding her face with her small hands.

"That...Miss Alice?"

Tingna felt that this pose was a bit familiar, so she didn't understand what the little puppet was trying to do.

"Kiss Alice."

Alice's words told her what she was going to do.

Then, the soft lips of the little doll were printed on the girl's lips that were a little wrinkled due to dryness and cold.

Soft, warm, and sweet, like two halves of a delicious pudding.

It's not the first time I kissed Alice, but maybe it was enveloped by the warm light, the little doll wearing a nun's costume is really too sacred, Tina closed her eyes, but her mind was full of cuteness. Fascinated figure.

"Wait, what are you doing—"

Mary froze.

She didn't understand why Tina and Alice, people and dolls kissed suddenly, and they were in such a relationship? People and puppets?

Although I heard that women in the south are very open, this kind of relationship is too shocking, right? [1]

Chaotic thoughts swirled in Mary's mind, but immediately, she showed a dull look.

On the back of the little nun, a pair of wings of light spread out, like a corner of Saigon, like the mercy of an angel.

The twin wings of light suddenly stretched out to be incomparably huge, bigger than Mary, Bitina, and the long grape trellises. Tentacles of light spread out from the wings of light, and these brilliant touches of light fell on every beam of light. He picked up the place, dug the soil, moved the rocks, illuminated the shadows, gently picked up the children, and brought them back to the puppet.

Those golden vines didn't know what happened, they twisted, roared and screamed silently, trying to get back these precious fertilizers, but they couldn't touch the shining light, and the little venom they spit out in a panic, couldn't help it. Hindered by the feathers on the tentacles.

It's a magic trick.

Mary understood what the kissing girl and the puppet were doing. She shouted excitedly, and the men in the distance seemed to have already felt that they knelt down on the ground and prayed to the gods after seeing this sacred and glorious scene. .

"Come on, it's almost there!"

The red-haired girl was so excited that she almost jumped up, these voices reached Tingna's ears, she rolled her eyes unconsciously.

It was easy to say, but she felt like she was about to pass out!

Symptoms of a large loss of magic power, extreme mental exhaustion, the magic driven by Alice... No, it should be said to be a magic spell. Most of it was driven by Alice with her remaining magic power, and Tina still had the illusion that she was almost being sucked dry.

——Miss Tina, it's fine, if this continues, Alice will absorb all of Miss Tina's magic power.

—But those children are not all.

Tina managed to open her eyes. Some children had already been sent back in light rolls, but there were still some who were too far away.

— not so much.

——For the rest, Alice can ask Miss Mary to provide magic power.

In the black pearl in the ear, the voice of the little puppet is already very weak.

Ah, that's right...

Why, it was not until Alice in the orchard that she brought up the fact that her magic power might not be enough. Is this the reason?

Although Alice's own magic power is not so abundant, but Tina and Mary, and even those men, are all sources of magic power that can be absorbed, right?

Tina immediately understood Alice's plan, but.

—Miss Tina?

However, the girl did not end this deep kiss.

She hugged Alice tightly, and poured more and more magic power into Alice's body.

The difference in physique made it look like a one-sided and tough indoctrination[2] , Alice's eyes widened, she didn't understand why the girl desperately squeezed out the only magic power in her body and gave it to her, those golden eyes watched She took a while uh, a while.

—Really, Miss Tina.

As if she understood something, she squeezed Tina's cheek with a little force with her fingers.

——Miss Tina, you are really greedy.

- No, I just...

Tingna justified vaguely, at this moment.

Her eyes went dark.

Tentacles of light wrapped around the last boy and disappeared about a meter away from them. The twelfth boy fell from a height of half a meter to the dirt and landed on his buttocks.

"Oh oh oh oh--"

It's Krazer.

The boy stood up staggeringly with his legs intertwined, he didn't know if he was scared or what happened.

"Oh oh what! Run!"

Mary rushed up, grabbed him and ran back.

Those tentacles only lasted for a few minutes before they began to fade. Several children fell to the ground before being sent to Tina and Alice. Mary put all these children under the protection of her magic shield Get off, and bring it to Tina.

Compared with others, this is really a lucky kid.

After checking, Mary found that the other children may have been hit by vines to some extent. The one who was injured the most had broken his left hand and both legs. It hurt his legs, probably when he just fell down and hit it.

"Go!"

But Mary has no time to comfort him now. The men have already arrived. They picked up the children who were still in a coma and ran towards the winery without saying a word. One person carried two of them, and they exited the orchard area in a short while.

The measures taken by those golden vines in the face of long-distance enemies are indeed mindless spraying of venom. This attack will not pose a threat to the magic shield at all, but we still have to be careful not to let it flow on the children.

This place is not suitable for long stay, leave as soon as possible! After kicking the troublemaker Krazer hard in the ass and driving him out of the orchard, Mary came to Tina and Alice.

Ting Na, who was sitting on the ground, couldn't get up anymore. She covered her head and groaned in pain.

Alice couldn't float in the air anymore, and the little doll seemed to have run out of magic power, and fell into Tina's arms, motionless.

"Can I still go?"

"Big, probably..."

"Get up, are you all right?"

"It's not very good, it looks like it's about to fall asleep... I can hardly see clearly."

Mary's heart skipped a beat. She reached out to touch Tina's forehead, only to find it was as cold as ice.

"Don't sleep! Although I don't know what the magic you and Miss Alice are using, but you are very weak now, and it would be terrible to lose consciousness in this cold weather, even if it is only a short distance back to the winery."

For no reason, she thought of all kinds of situations when the snow mountain was in danger. The red-haired girl quickly reached out and let Ting Na stand up, leaning unsteadily on Mary's shoulder.

"Uh-huh……"

"Ma asked the men to send the seriously injured children back, we have to walk back, don't sleep, say something, stay awake!"

"Goo...Alice...how's it going..."

"Oh, hold her. Miss Alice can't seem to move, and she hasn't spoken yet."

"Uh... um..."

Every step was as heavy as lead. After knowing Alice's situation, Ting Na seemed to be relieved, and her eyelids drooped quickly.

"Do not sleep!"

Mary jumped anxiously, and shouted loudly in her ear, which made the girl seem to wake up a bit, she grunted a few times, and opened her lips with difficulty...

"Top eggs..."

"……What?"

"What does the woman holding the egg mean..."

Mary was stunned.

Then, she grinned, suppressing the smile that still rose at this time.

"That's a bedtime story that every kid in Holly Valley has heard. If you want to hear it, don't sleep through it!"

"Uh-huh……"

"A long time ago, a long time ago..."

Mary supported Tina, took a deep breath of cold air, and walked quickly towards the castle.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

A long time ago, a circus came to the river valley. Their members were a short man, an old man with rosacea, a pair of twins who couldn't tell the difference between the elder brother and the younger brother, and a very tall woman. .

Because circuses rarely come here, the residents are very curious. They ask, what kind of acrobatics do you know?

"I'm going to drop the ball."

As the short man spoke, he picked up many balls and threw them. The balls were flying between his hands, but none fell. And there were more and more, ten, twenty, thirty, and people shouted loudly. He applauded and gave him many copper coins.

"I can breathe fire."

As the rosaceous old man spoke, he took a sip of wine from the can, which was common wine in the river valley. He put his hands in front of him and spit out, and a fire dragon spurted out from his mouth. He drank water and oil again, The colors of the fire he sprayed were also different, and people gave him a lot of copper coins.

"We know how to walk a tightrope!"

As the pair spoke, they tied steel wires that were thinner than hair on the eaves. They laughed and jumped on top, walking and dancing on the steel wires, as if they were suspended in the sky. This is the most powerful, so people are generous. He gave the twins several silver coins.

In the end, only the woman who was much taller than the man was left, but the woman said that she was just a handyman and could not do any acrobatics, but people shouted for her to perform one.

"Then I'll perform an egg-topping act."

As she spoke, the tall woman took out an egg and put it on her head, but the egg couldn't be placed stably and fell down all of a sudden. Paji.

The woman took out another egg, but it was not good anyway. People laughed and left.

"...So, using the word "top of eggs" to describe a tall woman..."

In the bathroom, after listening to this story, Tina's whole body was soft in the bathtub, and she didn't want to move at all.

Severe magic loss syndrome, no matter how much she thought about it, Tina never imagined that she would encounter this disease that she thought she would never have a fate with.

Strictly speaking, this is not a disease, it is just a symptom caused by a large loss of magic power in a short period of time. Common symptoms include headache, confusion, drop in body temperature, difficulty in movement, and even coma. However, although the symptoms are serious...

But usually it's just a matter of taking a nap or replenishing your magic power.

From this point of view, Mary's response was very correct. As soon as she returned to the castle, she threw Tina into the hot water in the bathroom, and then asked the kitchen to cook a slightly spicy broth, adding spices, hot soup and warmth. With the help of others, after a while, Tina slowly recovered.

Of course, the most important thing was the bottle of magic potion that Liliana poured into Tina.

Not long after Mary and Tina returned to the castle, Liliana also came back. Alice still informed Miss Witch of the incident and asked her to rush back as quickly as possible. She also brought back several doctors. Now In the castle's infirmary, the injured boys were being bandaged and treated.

She herself was in the hall of the castle, dealing with the aftermath of this incident with the children's parents.

The worst outcome was avoided because the children were still alive, but these little guys with broken hands and feet really made the parents heartbroken. However, as the culprit, Kreiser was only slightly injured. Even Tina wanted to get this next How will the child be criticized?

I don’t know how this matter will end in the end...

Forget it, don’t think about it.

Tina also buried her chin under the water, puffing out bubbles.

The bathroom door opened at this time, and a head of bright red long hair swayed in, with a slightly unpleasant expression on his face.

"You feel better?"

"It's much better now, although my head still hurts a little... How are the children?"

Sitting up from a semi-lying position, Tina nodded.

"You can't die. Although a few may leave some sequelae, in general, it will not particularly affect your life. Our generous lord has covered all the treatment costs, and also said that the winery is partly responsible for this matter... "

Mary shook her head, clearly dissatisfied with this statement.

But in front of Tina, she did not show any more dissatisfaction.

Liliana's handling skills are not particularly clever, but it is enough for these people.

The medical expenses of a dozen children totaling 3 or 4 gold coins are only a small sum for the current winery, but it is a heartbreaking expense for every family. In addition, Liliana promised to strengthen the Ping Guoyuan’s vigilance will prevent such a thing from happening again.

She also wrote a letter of recommendation, asking Kreize's parents to hand it over to a knight in the territory, saying that this would allow that knight to accept Kreese as a knight's apprentice - of course there would still be punishment, and the boy would be very unhappy next. He didn't have to do his arithmetic homework for a long time. He had to take care of his friends who followed him to defeat monsters because of his instigation, but almost all of them turned into fertilizer.

No one objected to the little lord's verdict. They thanked her for her generosity, kissed her high heels and went to the infirmary.

"Now our little lord is contacting a newspaper on Shetis, intending to sell this as an extra issue... Tsk, I really know how to do business."

This matter ended in this way, the winery did not lose anything, but got gratitude, maybe after the newspaper was printed, some people would question why Masura Winery did not completely wipe out those golden magic trees after obtaining sufficient funds, but Mary Trust that girl to give a good reason.

"Well, the kids are fine."

"Ah, yes, it's still thanks to you."

"Eh?"

"I didn't do anything to help. If it wasn't for you and Miss Alice, this matter would be really big. You are the hero of the winery."

"A hero or something..."

"I only know how to make wine. For my father...for the glory of Masura, all I can do is to make good wine. If Miss Tingna hadn't stood up bravely, a dozen children would have gone to Masura Winery. If she dies in the orchard...the winery really can't withstand this kind of shock." Tina was a little shy, and Mary's unsparing praise made her face flush with shyness.

But as she spoke, an ambiguous expression suddenly appeared on her face.

"Speaking of which, you and Miss Alice..."

"——!"

"...Miss Tina."

A flat voice came from the room.

The expression of the red-haired girl collapsed, and she was eager to ask Tina something just now—especially about the kiss under the brilliant light wings. girl wrapped up in a bath towel.

Gradient white blond hair fell on smooth shoulders. Liliana, who had changed her clothes, carried Alice, who was only wearing a cross necklace, into the bathroom. When she passed by the red-haired girl, she closed the bathroom that had been open all the time. opened the frosted glass door, and glanced at Mary calmly.

"...Miss Mary, in order to maintain the temperature in the bathroom, please don't leave the bathroom door open all the time."

"snort."

Mary's voice suddenly became cold, and she stared at Liliana as she put Alice next to the bathtub and walked towards the brass shower.

"In short, don't worry about those children. Our lord has already dealt with the matter, so take a good rest."

After finishing speaking, she turned around, opened the bathroom door again, left without hesitation, and closed it forcefully, shutting the sound of Dudu's footsteps out of the glass.

"The relationship between Miss Mary and Miss Liliana..."

"It's better not to have too many unrealistic fantasies, Miss Tina."

Tina and the little doll sitting by the bathtub coveted each other, and they all looked at the witch standing by the shower, letting the hot water pour from the top of her head, letting her beautiful hair stick to her snow-white skin.

"...?"

Those black eyes glanced at them, seeming to be a little puzzled.

"But Lily doesn't care about Miss Mary at all."

"Yes……"

Tina and Alice sighed in unison, looked at each other, and then smiled at each other in unison.

"By the way, Miss Tina, when Lily and Alice came in, what were Miss Tina and Miss Mary talking about?"

Tina's heart skipped a beat,

Alice, who suddenly asked Tina this question, held her chin and looked like she mentioned it casually. However, Tina and Alice have been together day and night for a year, and the girl still noticed some small movements of the little doll, such as Slightly narrowed eyes, rippling toes on the water surface...

Although the character and personality are ever-changing, there are still some constants, but.

"... Nothing, nothing."

The same place is full of bad intentions.

"Really?"

"Um."

"...That means, what?"

Because she didn't deliberately lower her voice, Liliana also turned her head and asked a little curiously.

"Well, Lily, today, Miss Tina..."

"Wow wow!!"

Quicker than thinking, the girl hugged Alice fiercely, and covered the little doll's smiling mouth.

"...?"

Liliana looked even more puzzled.

"No, that, this, I, that... I..."

The girl holding Alice looked at those sly golden eyes, hesitated for a long time, and finally could only blushed, without any confidence, and muttered with a flushed face.

"It's not like that, lah..."

………………………………………………………………………………………

Postscript of a certain day:

"Miss Tingna, Miss Tingna... fell asleep, lost a lot of magic power today, are you still too tired?"

"...Alice."

"Lily, what's the matter? She seems to be very concerned."

"...After taking a bath, Miss Tingna blushed when she saw you. What happened?"

"Secret, if Lily knows, Miss Tina will be too pitiful, so Alice won't tell."

"……Yeah?"

"As expected of Lily, she gave up so decisively. Speaking of which, does Lili feel it? Miss Tingna occasionally stares at the calendar with a little restlessness recently."

"……Um."

"It's this time of year too, what should I do? Now because of Alice, Miss Tina is in a more difficult situation."

"...No matter what choice she has, I support it, but..."

"but?"

"……nothing."

"It's rare to see Lily who is not frank."

"... asleep."

"...Well, good night, Lily, and Miss Tina, sleep well...you still have time."

"……Good night."

"Good night."