dedicated to violets

Twilight falls, night falls.

Viri ate a piece of bread for dinner, washed up a bit, then closed his eyes and curled up on the narrow bed, falling asleep to the roar of the train.

In the middle of the night when the passengers were dreaming, the piercing siren rang suddenly, and countless birds were frightened and flew up from the mountains and forests on both sides of the railway track.

The snowy owl trembled violently. Viri opened his eyes, got up quickly, walked to the door quickly, and pushed aside the hanging curtain, trying to see what was going on outside the door.

boom--

There was another loud bang, and the train shook violently.Willie lost his balance and almost fell to the ground.He quickly grasped the handrail beside him before barely standing still, losing all his poise.

The snowy owl was not so lucky. It had been lounging on the cushion, its sharp claws spread out indecently.As soon as the train swayed, it was thrown mercilessly to the ground.

There was a figure flickering outside the door, varying in height, and the sound of messy footsteps caused the carriage to vibrate.

"It's a robber," Willie turned back, picked up the snowy owl, threw it back on the cushion, and whispered, "You've hidden it."

As pets, snowy owls are also extremely rare, so it is hard to guarantee that these robbers will try to resell the snowy owls to make money.

The snowy owl swallowed, fluttered its wings and crawled into the gap under the bed, curled up obediently,

Willie sat back, counting silently.

When he counted to twenty, the muffled footsteps of the robbers became clear—

"Hand over your valuables, and those who are disobedient will be knifed!" The corridor left by the carriage is not considered spacious, and it becomes even more cramped when the tall robbers walk over.

It was pitch black outside the window, and there was neither moon nor stars in the night sky. Trying to open your eyes wide, you could only see the outline of the canopy of the forest, hidden in the quiet night, like a sleeping beast.

This carriage is basically filled with little nobles who have no strength to restrain their chickens. Viri raised his hands and walked out of the compartment.Masked robbers tied his wrists and filed in, ransacking the compartments one by one.

The robber behind Willie opened the suitcase roughly, and found that there were only a few books and a change of clothes inside, and slammed the suitcase to the ground.

Viri took a deep breath, his face was calm, and his chest was full of anger.

He endured it.

At the end of the carriage, a man in a cloak stood quietly.The cloak was dark, with no decorations on it, and it dragged to the ground.

This man was not tall, even a head lower than the robbers in the same company.Viri turned his head slightly, only to think that this person looked familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere.It's not the familiarity of meeting once, but the familiarity of being with him for a long time - he has seen this person more than once, no, or many times.

His social scope is not wide, it is nothing more than the academy and the palace, these two places.

The palace is heavily guarded, and even the title of attendant is a knight - they are regarded as aristocratic class, so there is no need to come out to do low-level jobs like robbers.

What's more, in the palace, he almost only had contact with the prince, at most the servants around the prince, but those servants were all slender, and there would never be such a short person.

It could only be someone from the college, Wei Li frowned slightly, trying to find a student or teacher whose figure matched him from his memory.

At this time, a robber came out of his room cursing.

"Poor guy, he doesn't even have a gold coin, only a broken box, what kind of aristocratic and rich person does it contain?" the robber scolded.

Immediately afterwards, there was an earth-shattering sound in the room. The violin case was smashed to the ground, and the amber violin fell violently, and the strings trembled and wailed.

Fortunately, the piano case and the violin itself are of good quality and have not been broken.

Viri turned his head and took a look, his face became extremely ugly in an instant, just in time for the robbers to catch him.

"Little boy is not happy." The robber reached out and grabbed Viri's collar, his rough and broad fingers set off Vili's delicate skin and tender flesh more and more.

He was wearing well-tailored clothes, his beautiful and smooth black hair was tied neatly behind his head, his face was young and handsome, and his blue eyes were like amorous lake water.At first glance, it looks like a noble young master who is out on a trip.

The robbers hated the nobles and the rich the most in their lives, and the resistance and disgust in Willie's eyes made the robbers feel even more uncomfortable.

He sneered and narrowed his eyes: "What? Still despise me? Tell you, even if I spit on the ground now, you young master have to lick it clean for me obediently."

As he spoke, he rolled his lips and was about to spit on Viri's handsome face.

Viri quickly turned his head to avoid it, he closed his eyes, and the suppressed anger surged up again.If he hadn't been concerned about the group of delicate and frail little nobles next to him, he would have wished he could take a sword and chop this group of desperadoes into pieces.

Snowy Owl heard the movement outside and did not get Willy's consent, so she could only hide under the bed and shiver, not daring to act rashly.

The saliva didn't reach Viri's face, the robber was furious, and he reached out to snap his head away: "Damn, how dare you hide—"

The man in the cloak at the end of the carriage stopped the robber's movements: "That's enough, just leave after taking the things, don't cause trouble."

His voice was deep and hoarse, it sounded like iron scraping on paper, and he spoke very slowly.

The cloaked man turned his head, and Willy tried to see his face clearly, but found that the man was wearing a mask, only showing a pair of eyes.

This man-

Willy still recognized his identity.

students he had taught.

That was 15 years ago, when the first post-war students graduated from the academy, sending him bouquets of tulips in turn.

Not long after he became a swordsmanship teacher, he devoted himself to this group of students and taught them all he had learned, hoping that they could continue to serve the empire in the future.

He still remembered that there was a special student among them, who was short in stature, not very familiar with magic, and had a common name——John, even a civilian orphan.There are basically no requirements for the post-war college to enroll students, and John, who is ordinary and talented, has a good time to enter Imperial College.

As long as he enrolls earlier or later, he will be blocked from the school gate.

Willie was very impressed with him. John was a hardworking and good student who got up before dawn and practiced swordsmanship in the field after the other students fell asleep.

His affinity for magic is not enough, so he only learns some basic ones - small spells such as fireball, ice arrow, etc., as a supplement to swordsmanship, which can achieve unexpected effects in battle.

He also remembered that John would occasionally get lazy and skip practice.

Wei Li treated him like a child, so he didn't scold him very much, he just chanted a few more words.Fortunately, John is very obedient and works hard most of the time.

Viri appreciated it very much, and helped correct John's deficiencies in swordsmanship many times.Also because of his rough life experience, Willy's care for him even goes beyond studying, for example, occasionally taking him to the outskirts of the city to play.

Fifteen years ago, this group of students went their separate ways after graduation.Some joined the army, and some became members of the Wizards' Guild.He knew the whereabouts of the vast majority of students, and only a few were missing, and John was one of them.

Everyone has their own goals, and since the students graduate, the future life teachers can't intervene.For a while after John cut off contact with him, Willie was also lost.

As time went by, and he taught more and more students, Willy also stored John's past in the depths of his memory.

Unexpectedly, the reunion after more than ten years would be on a train.

One is a robbed passenger and the other is a robber.

This play is like a comedy of absurdity staged in the Royal Theater.

The outstanding student of the dignified Imperial College will become a robber that everyone despises 15 years after graduation.This ridiculous scene suppressed Viri's anger.

The group of robbers seemed to be faintly headed by John. Shortly after he spoke, the train stopped slowly.The sound of sirens broke the silence of the field and resounded through the night sky.They took the looted jewelry, gold coins and other belongings, swaggered away from the car door, and disappeared into the deep night.

Seeing the robbers disappearing into the forest in the night, the little nobles who survived the robbery fell to the ground and cried loudly. They have always been pampered and have never suffered such insults.

With his hands tied, he stood aside like a prisoner, and all the gold coins and treasures he carried were looted.The greedy bandits even tore off the jewelry on the women's ears and the necklace around their necks and took them away.

There were piercing cries and shouts, and in the corridor, fat and thin were crowded together, all crying and howling like ghosts and wolves, like a group of flies buzzing around his ears, and Wei Li frowned and was very annoyed.

His face sank like water, and with a little force with his hands, the rope broke.

It's not that he is incapable of fighting back, these robbers are all outlaws, no matter how powerful he is, he is alone, resisting rashly, there is no guarantee that no passengers will be injured or killed.Compared with losing your life, it is more cost-effective to only lose some property.

He turned and went back to his room, bent down and picked up his violin.

The snowy owl came out cautiously from under the bed, flew to Willy's shoulder and stood up: "Are they gone?"

"Let's go." Willie frowned tightly.

After the violin was repaired by the principal, the body of the violin became extremely tough, and the strings made of mithril could even transmit magic power.Being thrown on the ground couldn't do it any harm at all, and Willy was still angry that he was insulted like this, and he would definitely retaliate.

As for his suitcase, it has been taken away by the robbers, leaving only a few books.

Not only that, but the cover and pages also left deep mud footprints.

Willie picked up the book and put it on the table.He took a deep breath, and his usually gentle blue eyes turned a deep blue due to anger, like the ocean before a storm, calm and dangerous.

The snowy owl rubbed against his cheek, trying to calm down Viri with its soft feathers: "Then what are you going to do?"

Willie said calmly: "I will make them pay the price."

These robbers were all mercenaries. His eyes were venomous, his memory was extraordinary, and he could recognize people with just one of his facial features.He has firmly remembered the characteristics of those robbers just now.

When it is dawn, you can reach Fast.

It is the city of mercenaries and the headquarters of the mercenary guild.

Since these robbers have stolen so much money, they will definitely go to Fast to pawn it and convert it into gold coins.It is prosperous and disorderly, and everything is respected by the strong. Although it is located in the territory of the empire, it is outside the control of the empire.

The order of Fast is determined by the mercenary guild.

……

The frightened train driver still restarted the train. After the sun rose, the vast forest gradually disappeared, and a magnificent city appeared on the horizon.The morning sun shrouded the city like a veil, the snow-capped mountains in the distance were as dazzling as diamonds, and the green at the end could be vaguely seen on both sides of the field.

——That is the forest of mist.

The nobles cried all night, weeping exhaustedly, and now they are resting and sleeping in their own rooms.With his back straight, Viri sat upright on the sofa, staring intently at the mercenary city on the horizon.

When the red sun rose into the sky, the train finally arrived at the station.

Willie picked up the piano case, walked through the corridor full of snores, and got out of the car.

Fast's train station is built in the center of the city, and the towering spire is in line with the style of the Holy See.This is not a place where the nobles can stay. The train stops here only to replace the energy source. The only person who gets off the train is Viri.

It was 20 years ago that Veri last came to Fast.

Over the past 20 years, little has changed in the city.

Viri found the mercenary guild familiarly. Twelve tall stone pillars stood at the end of the marble stairs, supporting a magnificent dome.Even in the early morning, the indoor lights were still wide open, shining like daytime, countless mercenaries came in and out, and people were crowded.

Snowy Owl huddled into a ball, not daring to collide with these menacing mercenaries.

As the headquarters of the Mercenary Guild, the architectural scale of the Fast Mercenary Guild is naturally not comparable to other guilds.The wealth gathered in the war 20 years ago alone was enough for them to build five or six headquarters of this size.

"What are you going to do next?" Snowy Owl asked curiously.

"You don't need to do anything, just wait here." Viri replied softly.

The mercenary guild provided pawn service, and Viri didn't need to accept or return the mission. He avoided the crowd and came to a corner of the hall.The snowy owl raised its neck and flapped its wings, trying to see what happened inside.

"Do you want to be caught and stewed?" Viri pressed its head, "Be honest, the people here are not simple, if you are caught, I will not save you."

With a low wall as the dividing line, the hall is divided into two distinct sides.There was a huge crowd of people on one side, and dozens of people in charge at the reception were busy with their feet not touching the ground, turning around like a spinning top.The employees on the other side were yawning in idleness, and almost fell asleep with their arms on their pillows.

Viri, who suddenly appeared, rescued these sleepy employees.

The employee stood up enthusiastically, and said with a smile on his face, "Can you show me your mercenary badge, please?"

"Sorry, I don't have a badge," Verry said.

This half of the reception desk only accepts experienced mercenaries.The level of mercenaries is based on badges, which are divided into four levels: gold, silver, copper, and iron, and qualifications and abilities are used as measurement standards.To put it more generally, it is based on strength and the number and quality of tasks completed.

Completing one S-level mission is of course more valuable than completing a hundred E-level missions.

The quests issued by the mercenary guild have been scrolling on the walls of the hall, and only a small amount of money is required to release the quests, and the quest rewards are also provided by the issuers themselves.As for accepting tasks, there is no requirement, the same task can be accepted by multiple people, but only one person can be rewarded, and there is no penalty for failure.

Of course, the guild will also warn those eager mercenaries to do what they can, otherwise they will bear the consequences.The guild will not be responsible for mission failures or casualties.

After hearing Veritan's candid answer, the employees did not neglect, and still maintained a good attitude: "Do you have anything to prove your identity?"

"Sean Lucas." Willy spit out a name slowly, "Your mercenary guild leader, find him, he can prove my identity."

The employees looked at each other in blank dismay, obviously uncertain about the way of the handsome man in front of them.

Viri tapped the table with the back of his finger, and said calmly: "Just look for him, I know he has been staying in the guild. I will bear all the consequences, and send a message to him for me—"His old friend Wei Li Haydn to Fast.'”

After some deliberation, the employees still decided to trust Veri.

The attitude of this handsome black-haired man is too relaxed and determined. The Mercenary Guild Headquarters has always been proud of its good service attitude.Now that he has said so, it's okay to go to the president once, it's just an extra errand.As for whether the president will come or not, that has nothing to do with them.

So the employee said cautiously: "Then your Excellency, you will bear all the consequences, right?"

"Yes." Willie nodded.

"Alright sir, please wait a moment." After the staff received an affirmative answer, they decisively sent someone with a message to find the guild president.