Whispering Verse

His trembling hands reached into his pockets to look for toys in his coat, but even though he was wrapped in three layers of thick cotton clothes, the bone-chilling cold was still unbearable.

Only then did Shade understand that this coldness was a characteristic of this special place called the "Valley of Death." Otherwise, with his current physical condition, it would be impossible for him to be unable to bear the cold.

[If you hadn't increased your cold resistance by drinking the blood brew of "Ice Crystal Butterfly" at God's cocktail party, the current situation would probably be even worse. 】

"She" also reminded in her ear.

Now was not a good time to stand in the snow and discuss matters, even though the snow in the valley in front of them was almost completely flat, showing no signs of human activity. But in the cave ruins on the curved cliffs on both sides of the valley directly in front, the light of the bonfire can be faintly seen. At the same time, it seems to be the entrance to the entire library ruins.

Generally speaking, although [Father of the Infinite Tree] likes to throw Shade some distance away from the real incident location, it is not too far away from the real incident location every time. Now that he saw the fire, Shade knew where his destination was.

"It's so cold."

I sighed in my heart while walking forward with difficulty in the snow. After just two steps, I felt myself tripping on something hard under the snow.

After hesitating for a second, he inserted his hand into the snow and pulled the heavy, cold thing out of the snow. . What he saw was a completely stiff and frozen corpse. It was a male corpse, wearing a robe, with dark skin, and his eyes staring upward.

"oh!"

Shade quickly threw the body away, no longer curious about what was under the snow.

The ruins of the main entrance of the library have long been lost. The library, which was carved into the cliff, only has dark holes left, like abandoned beehives, standing quietly in the snow.

There was a dead silence in the deep building, while a crackling bonfire was lit on the flat stone floor inside the main entrance, surrounded by crooked and abandoned gray stone bookshelves, as well as relics left by adventurers of past generations. Even the huge rectangular entrance door frame looks a little skewed. The former glory of this place can only be seen through the faded murals on the walls and the traces of the remaining ether lamps on the ceiling.

Beside the warm campfire were three witches who looked young.

The witch with yellow hair was wearing a brown robe, holding her legs with both hands, looking at the fire in front of her absently. Her ears were a little pointed, and because of the movement of hugging her legs, the robe that seemed to have been burned at the edges was pulled upward, revealing a pair of black lace-up women's long cloth boots. She sat facing the heavy snow outside the door.

Behind her was a girl with a thick red tail and red hair. She was wearing a white shirt and a thin plaid skirt that did not match the season. She knelt and sat on the right side of the yellow-haired witch. Only the fur vest on her shoulders could be regarded as clothing to keep out the cold. She leaned forward close to the bonfire, seeming to be tending the fire, but also seeming to be observing something through the flames.

The third witch, who has long golden hair hanging behind her but looks like it has not been washed for a long time, is sitting on the left side of the yellow-haired witch. She looked the sloppiest, also wearing a brown robe and a pair of round-framed glasses on her face. She sat on a pile of old books, and at the same time, there was a pile of old books as high as her body sitting next to her, protecting her from the wind and snow blowing from the door.

Because the wind and snow kept blowing in from outside the huge old door of the library, traces of unmelted snow and wet marks could be seen on the pile of old books.

None of the three witches spoke, only the sound of the howling wind outside the door continued to echo. They didn't seem to be in good condition, and their numb expressions showed that they had probably been staying here for a long time.

Suddenly, the red-haired girl tending the fire twitched her ears, then turned her head sharply to look out the door:

"Teacher, there is the sound of walking!"

The yellow-haired witch with pointed ears facing the door and the blond witch sitting among the books also looked up at the door. In the almost pure white world, behind the goose-feather-like snow curtain, a black figure was walking hard step by step.

"oh?"

The witch wearing round glasses squinted her eyes with the help of the special glasses and was the first to see the figure walking in the snow:

"Why does he look like a man?"

The figure was getting closer and closer. Although it looked a little funny occasionally tripping over things under the snow, he was undoubtedly walking here.

"Teacher, I didn't feel the man approaching."

The red-haired girl with a tail said to the yellow-haired witch. The latter stared blankly at the wind and snow outside the door, and then stood up holding on to the ground. The hem of his robe covered the pair of black lace-up boots.

At this time, the three of them saw the man approaching, raising his arms to cover his face to block the cold snowflakes from hitting his head.

"he is."

The yellow-haired witch walked around the fire towards the crooked and deformed door.

"Bryony, is this an acquaintance of yours?"

The witch with round glasses asked curiously:

"How can you meet an acquaintance in such a ghost place? Fiona, when did your teacher know a man?"

The red-haired girl shook her head slightly, and then the two of them stood up and followed the yellow-haired witch with pointed ears to the door.

The huge door frame with no door panel could be found seemed to be a dividing line. None of the three people stepped out, but watched the man in bulky clothes approach step by step.

A surprised expression gradually appeared on the yellow-haired witch's face, and then the expression turned into a gentle smile. Shade, who was approaching, also noticed the three ladies standing at the door.

Even if the pendant that can detect witches cannot be brought to this era, he can still determine that these three are witches.

"Am I dazzled? Why does that young red-haired girl have a big tail behind her?"

His eyes looked at them from under his arms, looking at the faces of the three of them one by one. Then he paused, looked across the heavy snow in the sky, and looked at the 23-44-year-old lady with yellow hair standing in the front. .

Both of them were stunned, and then Shade quickened his pace and walked forward. Under the surprised eyes of the blond witch with round glasses and the red-haired witch with a tail, he finally arrived at the door.

The yellow-haired witch stretched out her hand, took Shade's slightly cold right hand, and pulled him into the door from outside the defense and warning ceremony they had arranged.

It was as if a layer of water film had been broken through. It was obvious that the two spaces were connected to each other, but the inside of the door frame was unusually dry and warm. Even the crackling sound of the bonfire made Shade feel comfortable inside.

He stamped his feet violently to shake off the cold snow stuck to the bottom of his boots. At the same time, he patted his hair and shoulders to prevent the melted snowflakes from getting wet on his clothes.

Only then did I have time to raise my head and say hello:

"Hello ladies."

Regardless of whether the other party understood or not, he said hello to the strange red-haired girl with a tail and the blond lady wearing round glasses, and then, with some nostalgia, he looked at the witch with long yellow hair and pointed ears. .

The pointed ears are a symbol of the elves' bloodline, and the thin threads on the robes are sewn with patterns like vines and branches, which are the unique decorations of elves. These are the elves' knowledge that informed Shade.

And there was only one witch with elven blood that he knew in the past:

"Long time no see, Miss Bryony O'Lanold."

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Moon Witch said the same, she seemed to understand the Drarian language, and there was an indescribable mood in her golden eyes.

This lady with one-eighth elven blood looks the same as she did 22 years ago. Her red lips were slightly opened, and her voice was hoarse as she read out the name:

".Shad Suellen Hamilton."