In the evening, Roy returned to the mill to take out the still hot kebab and put it at the door of the warehouse, knocked on the door, and then entered the living room.
At the dinner table, Roy and Henke and his wife mentioned about Vivien, and their descriptions were basically the same as Tross.
He tried again and again, why didn't he send his daughter to Kadel's house.
Toya is young, her physical disability belongs to a vulnerable group, and the Cadell House might accept this student. But the two couples just couldn't afford the tuition fee, and decided that Toya's brain was not smart, and it wasn't that material.
Roy has a deeper understanding of the bottom line of the two couples, so he won't say more.
After hastily eating dinner, he accidentally found a visitor before returning to his room.
The oil lamp hanging on the wall showed a petite figure, standing at the door with his back to him, hunched slightly, shoulders high and short, carefully wiping blueberries, and then carefully placing them on the bucket outside the door. .
After doing all this, she breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to return to the warehouse, but as soon as she turned around, she saw the figure behind her.
She froze on the spot, her small round face, the happy smile instantly solidified, and then she lowered her head at a loss, and the whole person began to shiver.
But this time she didn't run away.
"Toya, don't be afraid, I have no ill intentions..." Roy smiled as gently as possible, keeping a distance of ten minutes away from her instead of walking over recklessly. "I just want to say thank you. The fruit you sent these days is very fresh and tastes good."
"You..." The girl was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly took a deep breath, as if she had made great determination, and said falteringly, "Aren't you afraid of me?"
The voice was as crisp as an oriole bird, with a little girl's innocence, as well as the overflowing nervousness.
"Why do you ask that?" Roy deliberately stared into her eyes, "I don't think you are any different from other girls..."
Toya was suffocating, and her heart seemed to stop beating. No one had ever said such a thing to her, not even her dearest father, had never said the words she was most looking forward to.
As if sand had rubbed into his eyes, a sourness poured out.
Roy continued, "Those bastards with low morals only know how to run around, make trouble, play tricks, and make fun of others. And you've started tending livestock and poultry, gardening and fields, and you've supported yourself with your hands."
"You're amazing," Roy said with a familiar smile, "I feel the need to formally introduce myself. My name is Roy, and I'm about the same age as you. I'm the son of a farmer in Lower Posada. I just came to Edsbo. Not long. Toya, you have accepted my present these days and made it back, so we are friends."
"Friends?" Toya felt that the word was out of reach... When she was very young, she had a few friends, but since her health problems, the ugly hump became more and more obvious, and those friends gradually alienated her , even avoiding her like a snake, she could barely remember the appearance of those few friends, and now all the vicious expressions of others mocking, cursing, and sarcasm were in her mind.
She dared not hope to make a friend.
The firelight illuminated her bewildered face, and Toya entered a state of emptiness, but her tense body slackened unknowingly, and she was no longer full of alertness.
"Why don't we chat somewhere else? Don't be nervous, it's just some everyday topics, like... what did you eat for lunch?"
Roy's eyes searched around, the moon rose in the sky, and next to the open space where he sweated every night, the water surface of the pond was rippled by the night wind, and the silver yarn of the moonlight swayed softly, becoming hazy.
…
Roy noticed that the girl was sitting by the pond not far to his left, and he was relieved, thinking that the other party would run away directly, because he had never touched such a sensitive girl before, he was very worried that he would touch the other party's Wound.
But it finally took the first step.
The girl was obviously extremely uncomfortable with this kind of scene. She lowered her head, and her fingers began to twist into a cramped ball again. She didn't dare to look at the boy next to her, nor did she dare to look at her own reflection in the pond, as if it were some kind of monster.
"Toya, relax... so, have you ever seen a magic show?"
"No... What does magic mean?" The girl asked the question carefully.
"It's almost like a trick. You know a trick, right? I'll just show you one right now, look carefully!" Roy made the girl startle with a commanding tone, and instinctively looked at him obediently.
"Don't blink..."
Roy stretched out his right hand, showed the empty back and palm surface to each other, and then began to turn his wrist, one, two, three circles...
Toya meditated a few times in her heart, then opened her mouth slightly and her black eyes widened. A delicate card suddenly appeared in Roy's empty palm - the face of the card was a woman with red hair and a red dress. Generally flirtatious and beautiful, there is a mysterious temperament lingering around him.
Roy held the card in his right hand and continued to turn. After a few laps, the card disappeared without warning.
"Roy... How did you do it?" The girl's attention was completely attracted to the past, it was just an extremely lame trick, but she had never left Edsberg since the day she was born, and she had no chance to see any Trick, "Where did you hide the card?"
"The principle doesn't work. Guess where I hid the card?" Toya really propped her chin when she heard the words, letting her long brown hair fall to the surface of the pond, she thought seriously.
At this moment, she forgot her inferiority complex and anxiety.
But Roy suddenly strode to a place beside her for a day (0.3 meters), interrupting her contemplation.
The girl froze, cold sweat emerging from her forehead and pale cheeks, her heart beating fast, but not because of shyness or other reasons, but pure nervousness and fear.
The long-term abuse made her feel that anyone close to her would torture her, beat her or curse her.
"Sorry... I scared you." Roy spread his hands and took two steps back with apologetic eyes, until the girl's breathing returned to normal and "come back to life" again.
"I just wanted to come over and find the card."
He pointed to the girl's white apron,
"Toya, believe it or not, the card is lying quietly in your pocket now."
The girl hesitantly touched her pocket, and then on the palm of her palm, which was covered with calluses and frostbite, there was an extra card, the one that appeared in Roy's hand.
It's a pity that she can't read or recognize the woman's name, but she can look at the lifelike woman on the card... She can see her slender figure and beautiful appearance, and there is a faint envy and longing in her eyes.
"Isn't it interesting?" Roy said, "This card is for you."
"Why?" Toya was puzzled. The herbs and food that the other party gave her in the past few days had already flattered her, "I can't accept it, it's too precious."
"This is just an ordinary Gwent card," Roy said truthfully. "Most tavern shopkeepers can buy it. If you feel bad about it, just send me some fruit tomorrow."
Toya held the cards, her face full of reluctance, for a long time, "then... well," she put the cards into her pocket. "Who is the woman pictured on the card?"
"Sabina Greiwigig, a sorceress in the capital of Kaldwin, Ad Kale."
"Sorceress?"
"Trust me, you'll understand this later. Now, let's talk about something else," Roy sat down beside her. This time, the girl didn't have the strong rejection she had before, maybe it was to relax, She followed Roy gently, shaking her feet gently.
There were two more passengers in the "Moon Boat" on the water.
"What do you usually do at the mill?"
"In addition to what you said, feeding the pigs, cleaning, weeding the crops in the fields..."
"Hey, you are so young, you shouldn't have to bear so much..." In fact, a girl in her teens is either married or has to help with farming at home, but it's not as painful as her.
"Any hobbies? Painting, singing, dancing, Gwent?"
"I don't know how to play Gwent, maybe... sing? But I don't dare, Oona will scold me for singing like a rooster crowing,
Others will laugh at me too. "
"Don't listen to their nonsense, your voice is very suitable for singing..." Roy praised sincerely, "If you go to another big city, maybe you can become an opera singer. It's too late now, when I have a chance, I have Would it be an honor to hear your voice?"
…
The two talked about daily life. Most of the time, he was talking and asking, while Toya listened quietly, occasionally interjecting, and the answer was short and slow, but Roy still found some useful information from it.
Her hunchback was not born, but a mild symptom suddenly appeared eight years ago and then worsened year by year. Her mother was overwhelmed by this and died five years ago, and then came the mean fat woman, stepmother Oona.
Toya's life has since fallen into endless manual labor, and her father has gradually alienated her.
…
Roy felt panic, helplessness, and confusion from her answer.
And Toya could feel that there was no disappointment and dislike of her father, hatred of her stepmother, discrimination and contempt of children and surrounding residents in the other party's eyes. But full of patience and understanding.
She sensed a long-lost word...respect.
For the first time since her mother's death, Toya has the desire to speak. But not today, the moon has risen higher and time has slipped by an hour.
"Roy, are you really... willing to be friends with me?" She patted her skirt and stood up. The bright moonlight was so close, she could see the bulge of her back and her shoulders, one high and one low.
"You are wrong," Roy smiled heartily, "We are already friends."
"Then can I still chat with you tomorrow?"
"Of course, you are welcome to come to me anytime, as soon as I get back to the mill."
The girl let out a long sigh of relief and limped toward the shabby warehouse.
Roy watched her back go.
Toya
Gender: Female
Age: 13 years and 10 months
Status: civilian
Health: 30↓ (magic erosion)
Magic value: 120↑ (magic erosion)
Strength: 3
Agility: 4
Constitution: 3↓
Perception: 6
Will: 6
Charisma: 4
Spirit: 12↑
Skill:
Dharma source (passive curing): Self-awakening, chaotic energy is a sensitive person of magic power, favored by the elements of earth, fire, water, and air, and the body spontaneously absorbs magic power all the time.
After professional and systematic training, they can manipulate magic power, release magic, and achieve challenges that are difficult for ordinary people to complete.
…
Roy remembered a passage from Letho when he taught himself meditation: When the sensitive are awakened, if they are not sent to the Warlock Academy in time to receive warlock training and domesticate the power of the elements, they will go crazy because of the loss of control of magic, and their reason will collapse. Or fall into a more tragic end, the body tortured into an ugly deformity by magic.
Apparently the miller's daughter, Toya, was one of the less fortunate. God gave her an inimitable magical talent, but did not teach her how to restrain this power. The deformity of the girl's body is undoubtedly caused by the out-of-control magic power rampaging through the body. If left alone, her lifespan is much shorter than ordinary people.
Roy was indeed out of sympathy at first, but now he has more ideas. He can't become a warlock, but it does not prevent him from befriending a future sorceress, which is a long-term investment.
Without making a few spellcaster friends, what qualifications do you have to call yourself a witcher.
But the situation is more complicated, he has to plan well and take it step by step.