Whispering Verse

"It's hard to explain. Three people were worshiping a statue. I'm sure that these three songs have been lost."

Shade shrugged:

"In the investigation report submitted to the academy, I will only record the lyrics. I don't know how to write the tunes into musical scores, so I gave them to you as a gift. If those three people living in the fifth era knew their songs , I should be happy if it can be reproduced in the next era.”

A slight smile appeared on the witch's face:

"This is a nice gift. Do you often play this kind of game with Carina?"

"What?"

Shade looked up at her, and the witch shook her head in hindsight:

"It's nothing, I just have a rough idea of ​​why a power-hungry witch like Carina would like you. It's really good."

Shade had already chosen lunch for the two of them, orange de la Lyon toast and stuffed chicken patties, and was putting them in a pot and placing them on the campfire to heat.

The witch watched the green smoke drifting towards the forest, and then suggested:

"There's still some time before lunch, do you want to hear me sing?"

"Of course, what do you want to sing?"

Shade asked with a smile, deciding to show off in front of Dorothy or Lesia after going home tonight.

The witch waved the book in her hand:

"How about the three songs you just hummed? Among the three songs, only the bard's song is suitable for a man's voice. The other two are sung by women, right?"

"Yes, please. It'll be nice to hear them again."

He made a gesture of invitation, and after making sure the pot was stable, he also sat down, sitting next to the witch. Miss Benenice felt a little embarrassed for no reason, but she quickly adjusted her expression:

"There's still a lot of time, which one do you want to listen to first? The church hymn? Or that unicorn country ballad?"

"The last one, that was the song sung by the witch of the twelfth level that I said. However, she used power that I couldn't understand at the time to plant a small tree to accompany her."

As Shade described, Miss Benanis asked with a smile:

"Without accompaniment, wouldn't my voice be as good as the witch from the fifth era?"

Holding the book in his left hand, he pressed his right hand on his chest to try to pronounce it, and then motioned to Shade to pay attention. In the forest of falling snow and the crackle of the bonfire, Miss Benenice's song rang out.

Strictly speaking, although they have the same melody and lyrics, Miss Bretchett of the previous century and Miss Benanith of this century sang in two completely different styles. Even when Miss Benanis sings, she will add transpositions in some subtle places, or lower or raise the pitch to suit her own singing habits.

This small change makes the song about "a witch riding a unicorn" more beautiful than the original. The song echoed in the empty creek forest. The hibernating squirrels in the tree holes, the horses resting under the trees, the rabbits emerging from the snow holes, the pure white beasts foraging in the forest, and Shade by the campfire were all quiet. Listened to the moving songs.

When the song ended, Shade was busy using pokers to put away the bonfire, so he didn't applaud, but he still said very seriously:

"Very good, very good."

Miss Benanis nodded slightly reservedly, with a satisfied smile on her lips. She lowered her head and wanted to choose the second song and try it, but suddenly she and Shade heard footsteps coming from the forest behind her.

Something stepped on the thick snow and walked out of the Innes Forest in the southern part of the creek. After carefully distinguishing the footsteps that did not sound like humans, I realized that they were heavy, four-hoofed animals.

"In the local winter, are there wild boars near the creek?"

Shade asked, standing up with a poker and looking behind the witch, guessing that the wild animals were attracted by the smell of the food. But if you look carefully, the four-hoofed animal approaching in the distance does not look like a wild boar, but like a white pony:

“Are there wild horses around here?”

"This is a mountainous area, not a plain. Where did the wild horses come from?"

After hearing this, Miss Benanis also stood up and looked behind, and then both of them saw a four-hoofed beast with pure white light coming from the snow in the forest. On the head is a golden horn, and around the body are curled white wings. The light at noon in winter slanted on the little beast through the forest tops and tree crowns. For a moment, Shade thought he had entered some fairy tale kingdom again:

"Huh? I haven't even eaten mushrooms yet, and I'm hallucinating?"

[It’s not a hallucination, I should have been attracted by the food and singing. 】

"She" whispered in Shade's ear. Shade was stunned for a moment and looked at Miss Benanis. It is absolutely impossible for unicorns to appear in the hinterland of human civilization. If such a dangerous creature really flew to the Randall River Valley and the Five Gods Church did not discover it, then this diocese would probably be in big trouble.

But no matter what, this is a real unicorn. The stunned Miss Benanis didn't react until Shade came to her side, and subconsciously took two steps forward. Unexpectedly, the pure white beast that seemed to have walked out of a fairy tale world stopped immediately. Standing down, Lan Yingying's beautiful eyes showed a look of fear.

Shade guessed that the other party was an underage unicorn, and an adult unicorn could not be so short.

Even the great witch has no experience in contact with such creatures. At this time, it is not just as simple as worrying about scaring the opponent away. If the unicorn goes crazy, there is no guarantee that anyone can subdue it without being injured.

"Miss Benanis, it may be attracted to you."

So Shade said softly, and then carefully retreated to the side of the bonfire to prevent himself, an "impure" man, from scaring the white beast.

"That's not right. Although there are many beautiful rumors about the city of Randall Valley, I have never heard of the legend of unicorns here."

As Miss Benanis spoke, she carefully approached the little beast at the edge of the forest clearing. The latter was pacing in place hesitantly, looking like he wanted to get closer but was a little scared.

Miss Benenice continued to move forward, because her back was to Shade, so Shade could not see the expectant expression on her face. Lace-up women's boots stepped on the snow, making a strange rustling sound. The pure white beast finally ran back into the forest without looking back before Ms. Benanis approached. This made the witch very of disappointment.

But before the two could catch up, the little beast came back again, but appeared from another direction. This time Shade was sure that it was indeed attracted by the aroma of food, because its blue eyes were staring straight at the pot on the campfire.

Miss Benenice was eager to move forward, but she was afraid of frightening the other person away again. So Shade opened the pot and let the aroma of the heated food waft out.

"Miss Benanis, come back first."

He called the witch back, and the two sat down again and started eating. Sure enough, the little beast on the edge of the forest watched them eating, hesitated for a moment, and finally walked into the clearing in the forest.

It walked and walked, and finally came to the bonfire. The jumping flames made the unicorn's white hair reflect a pleasant light, and the warm flames also greatly reduced its vigilance.

Shade gave the witch a look, and the latter took a small portion of his food and handed it to the unicorn on the plate he had prepared. This time she succeeded. The vigilant young unicorn tasted the pie carefully, then lowered his head and started eating.

A smile appeared on the blonde witch's face. She wanted to take the opportunity to reach out and touch the other person's hair, but the unicorn dodged it. But Miss Benenice doesn't care either:

"We were talking about unicorns on the way here, but we didn't expect to see them right away. Where did it come from?"

"Although I'm not sure where it came from, I'm afraid it was attracted not only by the food, but also by your songs. But, what should we do now?"

Shade pointed at the little white beast that was lowering its head to eat.

"If I want to raise it, do I have to abandon it here? It looks like this is an underage unicorn, and it can easily gain favor."

The witch said matter-of-factly, with a bright smile on her face. But Shade felt that there must be a corresponding reason for this little beast to appear in Randall Valley City. Rather than letting the witch raise it, it would be better to hand it over to the church and let the church help it find its way home.

Of course, Shade just thought about it. Miss Benanis would never agree. She had probably made up her mind to become a witch riding a unicorn.

After lunch, the unicorn did not want to stay with the two of them as Miss Benenice expected. Instead, it stood up and barked, and then walked into the forest alone.

This moment made the witch feel disappointed, but Shade soon discovered that the other party had not gone far, but seemed to be waiting for them.

So, after the two simply cleaned up the camp, they mounted their horses and chased after them. Seeing them coming, the unicorn also started galloping in the snow.

This kind of pursuit is a great test of riding skills for Shade. The environment in Tahiti in the snow is more complicated than the country road just now, and he must ensure that he keeps chasing the unicorn. But fortunately, the hoof prints left on the snow can guide the direction very well, and Miss Benanis also saw that Shade was not used to this kind of pursuit, so she took the initiative to block the wind for him in front.

So, the unicorn led them through the southern part of Eldron Creek and across the frozen mountain streams in the mountains. At about 1:30 in the afternoon, they stopped at the southeastern part of Eldron Creek and Innas. Where the forest meets.

Further ahead is the real virgin forest, which only experienced local hunters can enter, and the terrain is not suitable for riding. Fortunately, the unicorn stopped on its own initiative and paced back and forth on the snow. Shade and Miss Bernanise also dismounted to check the situation. In front of them was the sparse creek forest. The sun reflected some dazzling light on the snow, and the cold wind blew through, making the bare treetops make a sound.

At least it looked like everything was fine where the unicorn led them.