The Witch and the Doll Swear

The bright red flowers are like blood flowing on the earth.

On the field where the last trace of dark green grass leaves is also covered with withered yellow winter clothes, the clusters of blooming flowers are like the firelight in the dark night, brilliant and eye-catching.

"What kind of flower is this? It's so beautiful..."

In the early morning of this day, Liliana, Tingna and Alice came here while riding the astral unicorn along a shallow stream westward.

This is the twenty-first day in the grassland, and the season has entered the tail of autumn.

Every morning, the grassland will be filled with white mist, crystal frost will condense on the top of the grass blades, and those annoying bugs will disappear.

For Tingna, who is wearing a thick windbreaker, there is a more legitimate reason to spend more time hugging Liliana, who is still naked but never seems to feel cold, to keep warm. It is a blessing not to be infested by annoying poisonous insects when you sleep and sleep.

The bad thing is that the winter in this grassland is colder than that in Yansha City. Even though the girl is fully armed, wearing a thick windbreaker and two sweaters inside, the dry and cold wind blows, and the whole body is still shivering with cold. Every time this happens, she will start to envy those animal skins and a sweater There are no nomads who do not reject the cold wind.

"...Red amaryllis flower has a beautiful name in the Eastern Kingdom, Manjusawa, a relatively rare alchemy raw material."

Through the fading frost and fog, the dark pupils saw the flowers that were as gorgeous as flames under the bright sun.

They bloom on both sides of the stream. The morning wind blew away the thick white mist, and the sun filled the fields. Only then did the girl realize that this was not a single thing at all, but a sea of ​​gorgeous flowers.

"What a nice view……"

The girl couldn't help but exclaim.

During this period of time, Miss Witch, who was getting used to spending more than half of her time nestling in Tina's arms every day, answered Tina lightly, letting the unicorn of the astral world stop at the edge of the flower bushes.

"...Stay here for a few days, it's rare to see so many wild amaryllis flowers, and the color is also very good, just take some time to collect them all."

Liliana said calmly.

After speaking, she handed Tina a scroll of the magic tent, motioning her to let go.

Like this, I suddenly met a nomad and stopped, suddenly encountered a monster and camped, suddenly came to a beautiful place and stopped, even if it was less than two kilometers away from the previous camp... Although such things happen from time to time during the journey , Tingna still couldn't help showing a wry smile.

No wonder Miss Liliana's itinerary across the grassland has been booked for more than a month. This type of travel is really inefficient...

Immediately afterwards, she was stunned by Liliana's calm "all".

"Huh? All of them?"

Nod, nod.

Without noticing that she said "something beyond common sense" again, under the girl's dull eyes, Liliana jumped off the back of the astral unicorn and came to the front of the gorgeous sea of ​​flowers.

Because of this expansive scarlet, Miss Witch looks even smaller. She walked into the sea of ​​flowers, and her bare feet didn't step on any flowers. She walked into the sea of ​​flowers, and then lay down, lying in this bright red flower field, her long platinum hair spread out, and she closed her eyes.

And Tina hadn't recovered from the shock yet.

"It's a lie, there are so many, when will it be picked..."

The girl looked at the fiery red flowers spreading on both sides of the stream. Although it is not impossible to see the edge at a glance, this sea of ​​flowers in manjusawa is as vast as the description of "flower sea". Can you pick all of them?

In other words, is travel over for the time being?

"Actually, two days is enough, right?"

Alice lay on the girl's shoulder, and poked Tinna's cheek with her pointed ears. Tinna held the little doll into her arms and pinched her ears. The quiet and mischievous little fairy continued happily talking.

"Manjusawa——Alice likes this name better. It is a perennial magic plant. In such a large sea of ​​flowers, the nutrients that can be absorbed in the land have basically been monopolized by individuals with mature roots. It is difficult for new seeds to thrive. Yes, which mother would like to see her children unable to survive because they are deprived of nutrients? So, as long as you communicate with them and make an agreement to sprinkle their seeds in other places, they will be happy to pick off the flowers by themselves of."

——After all, the blooming flowers will eventually wither.

Liliana, who was lying on the soil, did not overwhelm even a single manjusawa.

The sea of ​​flowers is swaying, salad, salad.

Liliana was silent, Sarah, Sarah.

"So, Miss Liliana is now..."

"Yes, talking."

Ting Na suddenly couldn't find Liliana. In this piece of manjusawa, the conspicuous white skin seems hazy now, as if Miss Witch has merged with this sea of ​​flowers.

"They agreed to Lily's request. They said that although there are no pests here and the weather is relatively smooth, this stream has always been a drinking place for the nearby wolves. When hunting collectively, the wolves also like to take their young Wolves hide among them, and those active little guys will often destroy them. It doesn’t matter if the plants are already deeply rooted. It takes a little time, and the flowers and stems that have been bitten off will always grow back, but the young shoots that are already malnourished We can't stand such a torment. However, because of the gathering of wolves, herbivores will not come to eat them, so I hope Lily and the wolves will live in harmony... Well, that's what they said, and they also said that recently Humans hunted wolves nearby, and put a lot of traps among them, let Lily be careful."

"Do plants have such a rich language..."

"Plants don't have words, but everything has a soul, and the communication between souls is the specialty of the witch, oh, okay."

Liliana stood up from the sea of ​​flowers.

However, she didn't come towards Tina and Alice. Miss Witch looked around for a week and walked in a certain direction.

After a while, she came back, and with her was a... dirty wolf cub in her arms?

"Miss Liliana, this is..."

"...A young wolf caught in a trap in the sea of ​​flowers, Alice."

Liliana said calmly and looked at Alice.

The little puppet flew to the side of the wolf cub in a hurry, with a serious expression on her face, she walked around the unconscious wolf cub twice, and made a judgment.

"Ah, ok ok... um...the left front leg is broken, this is not a trap for killing prey, Lily, did the Manzhushahuas tell you how long this little wolf was trapped in the trap?"

"... For three or four days, it seems that I have been chewing the manjusawa around for a living to ingest water, so there is also a certain degree of manjusawa poisoning."

Using magic to raise a piece of soil, [turn mud into stone] to make a solid rock platform, Miss Witch glanced at Ting Na, the girl quickly tore open the scroll, the magic gathered the elements and the magic power sealed in the scroll, and built on the platform Set up a white tent.

"...you have a fever, your throat is inflamed and swollen, and you have a very serious cold. Like this, you probably can't make a sound. No wonder the wolves didn't come to save you. Poor little guy, he's already dying. Lily, Alice Need to boil some water."

"……Um."

Miss Witch put the wolf pup in the tent, took out some charcoal from the space storage, piled up a small bonfire, lit it with magic, and then, [Shape with clay], [Turn mud into stone], a The small stone pot and the big basin are ready.

Next, Alice set up the stone support in the same way. Alice put the stone pot on the fire, and then made a few planks out of nowhere and clamped them on the wolf cub's front legs. Liliana sang Another magic was cast, which directly attracted clean water flow from the water elemental plane...

"Well, is there anything I can do to help?"

This is already a common scene. After entering the grassland, whether it is lighting a fire, fetching water, camping, or even cooking, Tina does not need to intervene at all. The convenient magic allows Liliana and Alice to complete all tasks quickly. Prepare, although Tingna once felt that she had done nothing, and suggested to help...

As a result, it slows down efficiency.

Miss Doll, who was getting some herbal medicine from Liliana, turned her head when she heard Tina's words.

"Didn't Ms. Tingna have some psychological shadows towards wolves? Is it okay?"

The first time this ordinary girl was on the verge of death was when she was chased by a group of black wolves. If Alice and Liliana hadn't appeared in time, she would undoubtedly become a dead bone in the grassland.

This incident seemed to have caused a lot of psychological shadow on her. During the chat on the trip, Tingna mentioned that since then, even the sight of a dog would make her terrified.

"It's not that there are no problems, it's just..."

Seeing that Liliana and Alice are busy, and she has nothing to do by herself, it really makes the girl a little... feel embarrassed.

Moreover, how should I put it, although Tingna's favorability for creatures like wolves has dropped below the negative value, it is not to the point where she was bitten by a snake once.

Rather, seeing this little wolf cub covered in dirt, its nose twitching slightly, and the way it wailed in pain from time to time, Tina felt...it was very pitiful.

—Yes, very pitiful.

"...So, I also want to help Alice and Miss Liliana."

Maybe it was a stupid choice to show mercy to the beast, but Tina nodded resolutely. Alice, who was holding a handful of herbs, looked at Tina like this, and thought for a while.

"Miss Tingna, do you have any experience in bathing pets?"

"Bathe your pet..."

Tina has never kept pets, but she has a lot of experience in bathing pets with the litter of wild cats that lived on the roof of the apartment. Besides, bathing canines is much easier than cats, so The girl nodded and agreed without saying a word.

— Think of it as bathing a comatose dog.

Tina thought so.

However, ten minutes later.

Teenage girls face a big problem.

After Alice and Liliana fed it herbs and put a wooden splint on its fractured left leg, maybe it was because of the pain, maybe it was the immediate effect of the herbs, in short, this young gray wolf woke up.

When it just woke up, it seemed to feel the kindness of Miss Witch and Alice, and asked them to feed it medicine to heal the injury on its front leg. The pointed wolf ears also collapsed softly, looking Very relaxing.

But as Tina approached, the pup's tail stood up.

Because the throat was inflamed and he couldn't shout, he grinned at the girl, and the green wolf eyes stared at Tingna ferociously, even ignoring the injury on his left front leg, he just arched his body like that and made a biting posture .

"...That, that...Miss Alice..."

Tina didn't come any closer.

Originally, she was muttering, "It's just a puppy, it's just a puppy" while approaching, but the hostility emanating from the wolf cub reminded her instantly of the hills outside Yansha City, where she turned herself A pack of black wolves that are forced to inaccessible areas bit by bit, ready to bite off their own necks at any time.

"Well, be good, be good, Tina is different from the person who set a trap to hurt you, she has no malicious intentions, she just wants to brush your hair and warm your body, be good, don't Show your teeth, huh?"

The little puppet comforted the young gray wolf, but even the words of the goblin only made the wolf cub lie down again.

Tina could feel the young and injured gray wolf staring at her throat, just like those ferocious hunters.

"... Goo..."

Fear arises spontaneously.

"...It seems to be, it can't be."

Tina couldn't help but took two steps back.

It wasn't until this time that the wolf cub withdrew its bared teeth and lay down quietly.

"That's right... This child was caught by a human trap. His left leg was broken off and he was brought to this flower field to be used as bait to lure other wolves. He must be very sensitive to the smell of humans."

Wolves are united monsters, and it is natural for them to rescue captured cubs. Hunters use this habit to set traps and not kill wolf cubs that are relatively easy to deal with. Instead, it is used as bait, and then hunts down one by one the other wolves that follow the cries of the cubs.

"...an ancient hunting technique, but it works."

Of course, there are also counterproductive cases, such as attracting too many wolves at one time and then being killed, but there are not many such cases, so this hunting method has been passed down from generation to generation in nomadic tribes.

"Ahaha, it seems that there is no other way..."

After trying several times, the girl smiled wryly and put on the windbreaker again.

As long as she approached, the wolf pup would immediately become vigilant, so it seemed that it would be impossible to bathe it.

"...Well, Miss Tina, let's take a shower."

Liliana nodded expressionlessly, and then sparks appeared from her fingers, burning the remaining medicinal residues of the herbs in the stone pot to ashes.

"...Miss Tingna, can you help us dispose of these medicinal residues?"

"...Well, leave it to me."

Looking at Liliana, who was so frustrated that she couldn't do anything to take care of herself, Tingna and the little puppet couldn't laugh or cry.

Although it doesn't appear often, Tingna really hopes that Liliana can learn from Alice's smooth wrist.

...However, although it is a bit deliberate, I should accept this concern gratefully. Even if it is unnecessary, it is better than doing nothing.

After receiving the warm stone pot, the girl left the tent.

Disposing of the ashes of the medicinal residues was actually just scattering the ashes. Soon, Tingna returned to the tent with the stone pot in her arms.

As soon as she entered the tent, she froze.

"...Well, Miss Liliana, shall we eat wolf meat pot today..."

The girl looked at Miss Witch who was adding carbon to the bonfire with a delicate expression.

"...This is the witch's medicated bath."

Miss Witch said a term Tina had never heard of without changing her face.

The stone basin in the tent that was originally intended to be used to bathe the wolf cubs was gone. On the fire was a two-size larger stone jar, with some magical runes drawn in ink on it. Tina could recognize the [Stable] ], [Equilibrium] and [Continuation] seem to be used to prevent overheating. The jar is filled with water and medicinal materials, and the boiled ones turn a light brown.

"ha……?"

The young gray wolf was immersed in it, with its small head sticking out of the water, and the thick mane on its neck was sticking wetly to its body. Generally speaking, canine animals have relatively few expressions, but Tina could tell from the face of the wolf cub. I was at a loss when I saw it.

The little puppet was laughing and rolling all over the floor. It was not known whether it was because of the young wolf's confusion or because of Tingna.

"Medicated bath is..."

In short, in order to understand why Liliana and Alice put the little wolf into the pot to cook after she went out for a while, Tina decided to break the casserole and ask the bottom line.

"...Bathe it with herbs and treat the injury at the same time. Soak until tomorrow, and a fracture of this level should be cured."

"No, even if the effect is so good..."

"Oh my, Lily's explanation is too simple. It is true that Miss Tingna may not be able to understand the complicated principles, but at least I need to explain the origin."

"……Yeah?"

Liliana tilted her head, looked at Ting Na who was still in a daze, and thought for a moment.

"...Well, the history of the witch's medicinal bath can be traced back to the first witch, Lilith..."

"Stop, let Alice explain to Miss Tina."

"……OK."

Nod, nod.

Miss Witch turned around, took out a few fruits from the space storage ring, cut them into small pieces with the wind blade and sprinkled them into the jar.

The wolf cub whimpered a little, and it seemed that the herbal medicine that Alice had brewed for it had begun to take effect, and it was already able to make a sound.

"...It's okay, we won't eat you, this is treatment, do you feel the warmth of your left leg?"

"Aww..."

The pup's ears drooped.

"...Well, be good, be good."

At the same time, the little puppet was also introducing the medicinal bath to Tingna.

Essentially, this is no different from drinking potions. In order to heal pain and disease, what kind of potion needs to be drunk, the raw material of that potion is soaked in the medicine bath. For trauma, since the ingredients of the potion can be directly absorbed by the most needed part through magic, the effect is much better than drinking potion.

"But...it always feels weird..."

"Well, that child also thinks it's weird, but as Lily said, medicinal baths are indeed very effective, so its little head can't turn around, because in its cognition, being soaked in hot water Cooking is the human behavior towards food."

After the little puppet finished speaking, it couldn't help laughing again, which made Miss Witch look over in confusion.

Today's lunch and dinner were all dried meat, and because it was hard, Liliana cooked it in another stone pot, which made the young gray wolf maintain that subtle and indescribable expression all day long.

The next day, early morning.

"...God is above..."

As soon as she walked out of the tent, the girl froze before she finished stretching herself.

The fiery crimson sea of ​​flowers disappeared. The original sea of ​​flowers that stretched for more than ten meters was as warm as the warm magma flowing on the earth. Manjusawa fell from the slender stems and spread on the mud floor. A beautiful and colorful velvet blanket.

Overnight, youth fades away.

The bare stalks swayed in the wind, but they could no longer make a rustling sound.

——As long as you communicate with them, make an agreement to sprinkle their seeds in other places, and they will be happy to pick off the flowers by themselves

Only now did the girl understand this sentence.

"...you have kept your promise."

Miss Witch came out of the tent and spoke calmly.

"...Then, I will realize mine too."

The little gray wolf followed her, just like Miss Witch said, after being "cooked" for a day and a night, the fracture seemed to be almost healed, although she was still limping when walking, but she had already healed. It can walk on all fours, and after being dried by magic, it is rubbing against Liliana's calf vigorously.

However, if Ting Na approached, it would still prick up its ears vigilantly and stare at her with those red eyes.

……Um?

"Miss Liliana, Gray Wolf's eyes have turned red..."

Ting Na clearly remembered that the little wolf's eyes were still green yesterday.

Standing on the edge of the fallen flower field, Liliana, who was turning over the pages of the book, lowered her head because of Tingna's words, but the little gray wolf raised his head, whined twice, and rubbed her leg again.

It must be very comfortable to be rubbed against by that thick, soft mane.

Tina thought with a little envy.

"...It's normal, don't worry."

Blinking her eyes, Liliana finished speaking and turned her head again.

Just at this time.

The ear-piercing scream cut through the morning mist.

The sharp whistle sounded so close that Tina instinctively covered her ears.

Also at this time.

"—Oh, oh, it's so dangerous, so dangerous~~~~"

Alice's chuckle sounded when the screeching stopped abruptly.

In the hands of the little puppet, it can still be seen that it is a long and slender bone, the front end is sharpened, and barbs are chiseled out, and a feather is deeply embedded in the back.

— a primitive bow and arrow.

"Is this the meeting ceremony of your tribe? That's really shabby, Mr. Hunter."

Alice, standing in front of the little gray wolf, snapped off the bone arrow and looked somewhere in the scattered flowers.

"Don't hide, come out."

It was at this time that Ting Na let go of her hands covering her ears, belatedly.

"Eh?"

With a sound.

A moment later, in the thick petals of the sea of ​​flowers, a person stood up.

The leather armor wrapped the burly body, and tied pieces of bones as defense reinforcements. Under the leather armor, the yellowed woolen coat was soaked in blood. This is a burly man. full of scars.

The biggest scar was on his left arm, where it seemed as if a piece of flesh had been torn off, leaving a deep dent on his strong arm.

He was holding a bone bow in his hand, and he didn't approach it, which revealed his identity - a hunter.

Ting Na immediately thought that after Liliana rescued the little gray wolf from the sea of ​​flowers yesterday, she said that a hunter was hunting wolves nearby, and the little gray wolf was his bait for hunting wolves.

"Give me that wolf."

The man's accent was so strong that Tina couldn't understand what he was saying at all.

The hunter was not stunned like other nomads when he saw the little doll suddenly appearing, the naked Liliana, and Tinna wearing clothes she had never seen before. Looking at them intently, another bone arrow had already hit the bowstring.

"What if Alice doesn't give it?"

Alice stood beside Liliana, reaching out to stroke the mane on the little wolf's neck. When the hunter appeared, the little gray wolf immediately bared its teeth. Since its throat hadn't fully recovered, its roar was low, but there was a ferocious killing intent in that growl.

If it wasn't for the appeasement of the little puppet, "Be good, be good", maybe it would have pounced on it.

"These despicable beasts killed my sister. I want to kill them one by one until they disappear on the grassland." "For revenge, you should kill only one."

"It's none of your business, traveler, get out of here."

"...It seems that I don't want to communicate."

Miss Witch turned the pages of the book, her tone was leisurely as if the matter had nothing to do with her, and the little doll also spread her hands, "That's right."

"Wait, why has the aura become so menacing! Miss Alice, what did this hunter say—"

Only Ting Na, who didn't understand the development of the situation at all, stood aside, stomping her feet anxiously because of the increasingly tense atmosphere.

"To put it simply, the hunter's sister was killed by a wolf. He captured the little wolf for revenge and vowed to kill all the wolves on the grassland. Now he wants us to hand over the little wolf to him. Saying it's none of our business...well, that's it."

After Alice finished speaking, she sighed, and she looked at the hunter without knowing whether it was ridicule or pity.

"But it's the same for this little wolf. The hunter killed its parents when it was captured. Now, it is furious and wants to bite the hunter's throat."

No, that's sarcasm.

The expression of the little puppet is much easier to understand than Miss Witch. She looked at the hunter, as if she was watching a fool doing something irreversible, and the hand that was comforting the little wolf also let go. .

"People who are dazzled by hatred bring more hatred to themselves, and the accumulation of hatred will eventually bring disaster... Well, forget it, as he said, this has nothing to do with Alice, Lily and Miss Tina It doesn't matter, just let them solve the matter of those who have taken away their relatives and those who have been taken away."

As soon as the little puppet's hand was released, those bright red eyes were like a young wolf that was about to burn, and it immediately arched its body like a taut bow, shaking its mane, and was about to rush towards the mane that was already fully drawn. man.

"--Wait a moment!"

But before it could actually charge, Tina caught it.

"Wait a minute! I agree that it's just the two of them... no... one man and one wolf - in short, it's something that can be resolved between them, but it's a fight, the so-called solution is to see who kills who Bar!"

The action driven by this momentary fever made even Tingna frighten herself incoherently. The wolf cub growled in her arms and struggled to break free, but the girl reluctantly hugged her and turned to Liliana and Alice. shouted.

"But this wolf is still so young, and it has just recovered, how can it win the fight? If you just let it pass like this, it will be like death... Wow!"

But even the wolf cub who has just recovered from a serious illness, the power of the monster is still much better than Tinna who is slack in training. Before Tina could finish her sentence, the wolf cub broke free from the girl's weak arms with a low growl, turning into a streak of gray the sharp arrow, the girl's outstretched hand only caught a handful of fluff on its tail.

"Alice, Miss Liliana!"

On the prairie, the howling of wolf cubs sounded.

Stepping on the bright manjusawa, it rushed towards the man with the bow.

Straight gallop.

The distance between the man and the wolf shortened rapidly, but the man didn't shoot the full bone arrow immediately, the face of the wooden patch seemed to be on fire, and it roared ferociously.

When the distance was shortened to less than ten meters, the young wolf suddenly accelerated to the left, and when the hunter turned his bow, he suddenly turned right.

The physical quality of monsters surpasses that of human beings, which is enough to support them at this speed to make such a sharp turn that almost ignores inertia. The body that is not much bigger than a small dog leaps high, pulling the distance to five in an instant. Within meters.

"brute!!"

And the hunter, amidst the girl's exclamation, let go of the bowstring.

However, the arrow failed to shoot, or the hunter didn't intend to shoot the arrow in the first place!

He laughed almost maniacally, and let go of the bowstring. The string didn't touch the end of the arrow, he clamped the end of the bone arrow with the gap between his fingers, and turned the arrow into a melee weapon the moment the bowstring was released, facing towards the already leaping arrow. It stabbed at the young wolf, towards its open mouth, even the veins on its arms popped up, as if it wanted to pierce the wolf's head!

All this happened in an instant.

The battle between the spear and the shield may be protracted, but the battle between the mace and the arrow is too short, and even Tina's exclamation has not disappeared for a second.

Sparks fluttered from the thick mane on the wolf cub's neck.

At such a short distance, the hunter certainly couldn't fail to see the dots of flames, because the distance was so close that even if he saw the specks of flames, he would have nowhere to escape.

The wolf cub turned its head sideways in the air, and flames gushed out from its mouth, covering the hunter's upper body, and then slammed into the hunter's body fiercely. With the man's inhuman screams, he waved it indiscriminately.

"Aww——!!!"

At this moment, the young wolf hit the hunter hard, and there were more sparks in the mane.

“…[Douglas’s Isolation Position]”

At this time, the witch lady suddenly stretched out her hand, and the rainbow-colored magic light isolated the man and the wolf cub who were leaning backward in a sphere of force field.

"Miss Liliana...?"

"...it would be bad if the flowers of Manzhushahua take up the smell of the scorched corpses."

She seemed to have no interest in what happened in a short period of time. After finishing speaking calmly, Miss Witch turned the pages of the book and used another magic.

The bright red flowers scattered on the soil floated due to the magical light of rainbow color, like bright butterflies flying and hovering.

Finally, it fell into the ring that looked like a fragment of the starry sky on Miss Witch's finger.

The hunter's screams also stopped, and among the flying flowers there was only the howl of the young wolf.

It was like a triumphant song of revenge, echoing constantly in the cold wind of the grassland.

After all the Manzhusawa were put into the space storage ring by Miss Witch, she lifted the magic, and the charred corpse with its upper body completely carbonized, which was once a "human", fell into the Manzhusawa.

"Monsters are the embodiment of the laws of nature [survival] and [the weak eat the strong]. Miss Tina, did you know that orcs will fall into a violent state when they are about to die? That actually comes from the blood of monsters in their bodies. "

The young gray wolf came over with a slight limp. It came to Alice first. The little doll bent down and stroked its head and neck. The young wolf stuck out its tongue and licked the fingers of the little doll. , its eyes have turned completely fiery red.

"...In a state of near-death, monsters will desperately evolve in order to survive. Although this is overdraft, they will become stronger and more powerful. Sometimes, they will also evolve some special abilities, and even Become some mutant or subspecies, just like this child, when he was seriously ill and dying yesterday, his body was still struggling to survive."

"The result is that it changed from an ordinary prairie gray wolf to a flame-maned wolf."

Alice stroked the thick mane on the young wolf's neck, and some sparks floated out.

"Ouch..."

The young wolf barked twice, which seemed to be a farewell and a thank you. Alice did not translate the roar for the girl who was still a little dazed. She waved her hand in response.

The little gray wolf... no, the flame-maned wolf came to Liliana's feet again, rubbed its neck against the soft skin of Miss Witch, and Miss Witch touched its head. Just like a little doll, there was nothing. Didn't say.

Finally, it walked up to Tina and stared at the girl with its fiery red eyes.

"Ouch——"

It barked softly and walked towards the other side of the stream.

Soon, the gray body disappeared into the autumn grass that was taller than it.

"...Then let's set off."

Liliana, who had dispelled the magic tent, pulled up the astral unicorn lying on the grass beside the tent, huddled in boredom. Alice floated to Tina's left shoulder and pinched the girl's cheek.

This is just a small episode in the journey.

"Next year's manjushuahua will also be in bloom."

There is one less wolf cub here and one more person.

The flowers of Manzhushahua have fallen, but they will still bloom, maybe even more beautifully.

The stream still flows.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Two days later, Liliana, Tina and Alice met a group of The migrating nomads, driving a small group of cattle and sheep, looked gloomy.

"Travelers, have you seen a sea of ​​red flowers in the east?"

Seeing three people riding astral unicorns coming from the east, they greeted the girls and asked them if they had met a hunter.

That was the best hunter in their tribe. On the night of hunting, the loss was very heavy. The sister of the man who was also a hunter was killed by a wolf, so he vowed revenge and left the tribe. hunting in the wilderness.

After he left, the tribe suffered several more wolf attacks.

This is very abnormal, because the risk of attacking human tribes is far greater than hunting on the grassland. Unless they can't find food, the wolves will not take the initiative to trouble the human tribes outside of hunting nights.

But these wolves seemed to harbor some deep hatred. They did not rob cattle or sheep. They just killed everyone they could see. The hunter's daughter was also bitten to death by wolves. She was the last woman in their tribe. , still pregnant with a child, and just yesterday they buried her in the nomad way.

"Now, we have no women."

Tribes without women cannot survive on the grassland, so they can only migrate to find other tribes and exchange cattle and sheep for women. If they cannot exchange for women, then the tribe can only be annexed or disappear.

But even so, there is still a spark of hatred in the gloomy expressions of the nomads.

——We will definitely take revenge.

they said.

The nomads also invited Liliana and Tina to be guests, with undisguised eagerness in their eyes.

The girls were obviously not interested in this invitation. When the bows and arrows were pointed at them, Miss Witch used magic to turn those primitive weapons into soft piles.

"Devil. The devil's daughter!"

This made the nomads shout in horror, "This is the power of the devil", and immediately ran away.

"Hey, Miss Liliana, don't those wolves..."

The girl fell into deep thought as she watched them flee in a hurry towards the north of the grassland.

"...Monsters are much smarter than humans imagined, and they have as many incredible abilities as they want."

Miss Witch shook her head.

"...The chain of hatred, if no one takes the initiative to cut it off, it will only end if one party is completely wiped out."

"If the gods of the nomads really exist, it's best to show up and send the little wolf back to the wolf pack as soon as possible? But even so, this tribe that has become so weak will only become a meal for other wolf packs. "

"I don't understand, Miss Liliana, Alice, what is this? Is it self-inflicted?"

The nomads didn't even have time to take away the sheep and other belongings. Although Alice said that these nomads would come back after they left, but...

"...on hunting nights wolves, more powerful than ever, attack human tribes for more food than they hunt, and humans kill wolves in order to protect themselves, and neither is wrong. But the rationally right thing to do After mixing with sensibility, hatred sprouts, and the result of all this can only be said to be the bitter fruit of hatred in the end."

Liliana answered the girl's confusion calmly.

——If there is no emotion involved, there will be no hatred, but once the flame of hatred is ignited, it will only burn more and more intensely.

After Miss Witch finished speaking, she motioned for the unicorn to move forward.

"..."

Ting Na couldn't say anything, she let out a long sigh, and silently drew a triangle on her chest.

evening.

The girl who was camping heard the howling of wolves in the northern sky.

…………………………………………………………………………………

Postscript of a certain day:

"Hey, Miss Liliana, if we didn't care what they were called and protected those people until they found other tribes, wouldn't they have died?"

"...Even if you need to face their constant temptation or threat of rape?"

"Or was it forced to stay by other tribes when they met, and finally beat them out? The news that she was said to be the daughter of the devil spread throughout the grasslands, and she was wanted and hunted down by nomads all over the grasslands? Although that tribe seems to have no grassland carrier pigeons. But there’s no guarantee that other tribes won’t either?”

"...Sure enough, let's forget it."