"It's hard to explain. Three people were worshiping a statue. I'm sure all 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 tune into sheet music, so I will give them to you as a gift. If the three people living in the Fifth Era knew that their songs could be reproduced in the next era, they would probably be very happy."
The witch showed a slight smile:
"This is a great gift... Do you often play this kind of game with Karina?"
"What?"
Xia De looked up at her, and the witch shook her head belatedly:
"Nothing, I just want to know why a power-hungry witch like Karina would fall for you. It's really good..."
Shad had already chosen lunch for the two of them, orange-flavored Draerion toast and stuffed chicken patties, and was putting them in a pot and heating them over the campfire.
The witch watched the smoke drifting toward 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?"
Shad asked with a smile, deciding to show off in front of Dorothy or Leicia when he got home tonight.
The witch waved the book in her hand:
"How about the three songs you just sang? Among the three songs, only the bard's song is suitable for men's voices. The other two are sung by women, right?"
"Yes, please. It will be so nice to hear them again."
He made a gesture of invitation, and after making sure the pot was stable, he sat down, sitting next to the witch. Miss Benannis was inexplicably embarrassed, but she quickly adjusted her expression:
"There's still plenty of time. Which song do you want to listen to first? The church hymn? Or the unicorn country ballad?"
"The last one was the ballad sung by the witch of the twelfth level I mentioned. However, she used a power I couldn't understand to grow a small tree to accompany her."
As Shad described, Miss Benanis smiled and asked:
"Without accompaniment, my voice can't compare to the witch of the Fifth Epoch?"
Holding the book in his left hand, he pressed his right hand against his chest and tried to pronounce the words, then motioned to Shad to listen carefully. In the snowy forest, amid the crackling of the bonfire, Miss Benanis's singing began.
Strictly speaking, although it is the same tune and lyrics, Miss Blachette of the previous century and Miss Benaness of this century sing in two completely different styles. Miss Benaness even adds inflections in some subtle places when singing, or lowers or raises the pitch to suit her own singing habits.
This small change makes the song about "the witch riding a unicorn" even more beautiful. The song echoes in the empty creek forest. Squirrels hibernating in tree holes, horses resting under trees, rabbits emerging from snow caves, pure white animals foraging in the woods, and Shade beside the campfire all quietly listen to the moving ballad.
When the song ended, Shade was busy cleaning the bonfire with a poker, so he didn't applaud, but he still said very seriously:
"Very good. Very good."
Miss Benanis nodded slightly, a satisfied smile on her face. She lowered her head to try the second song, but suddenly she and Shade heard footsteps coming from the woods behind her.
Something was walking on the thick snow, coming out of the Innas Forest in the southern part of the Stream. After careful listening, I realized that the footsteps were not human, but then I realized that they were heavy four-hoofed animals.
"Are there wild boars near the creeks in the local winter?"
Shade asked, standing up with the poker and looking behind the witch, guessing that the wild animals were attracted by the smell of food. But after a closer look, the four-hoofed animals approaching from a distance did not look like wild boars, but rather like white dwarf horses:
"Are there any wild horses around?"
"This is a mountainous area, not a plain. Where do the wild horses come from?"
Miss Benanis also stood up and looked behind her. Then they both saw a four-legged beast emitting pure white light coming from the snow in the forest. It had a golden horn on its head and curled white wings around it. The winter noon light shone obliquely on the beast through the treetops and canopy. For a moment, Shade thought he had entered a fairy tale kingdom again:
"Huh? I haven't even eaten the mushrooms yet and I'm already hallucinating?"
It's not an illusion, it must be attracted by the food and singing.
"She" whispered in Shade's ear. Shade was stunned for a moment and looked at Miss Benannis. Unicorns absolutely cannot appear in the heart of human civilization. If such a dangerous creature really flew to the Randall River Valley and the Five Gods Church did not find it, then this parish would probably be in big trouble.
But no matter what, this is a genuine unicorn. Miss Benanis, who was stunned, did not react until Shade walked up to her. She subconsciously took two steps forward, but she did not expect that the pure white little beast that seemed to have walked out of a fairy tale world would stop immediately, and fear appeared in its beautiful blue eyes.
Xia De guessed that the other party was an underage unicorn, as an adult unicorn could not be so short.
Even the Great Witch had no experience with such creatures. At this time, she was not just worried about scaring the other party away. If the unicorn went crazy, who could guarantee that she could subdue it without getting hurt
"Miss Benanis, it may have been attracted to you."
So Xia De said softly, and then carefully retreated to the side of the campfire to prevent himself, an "impure" man, from scaring the white little beast.
"This is 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 small animal at the edge of the clearing in the forest. The latter paced hesitantly, looking like he wanted to get closer but was a little afraid.
Miss Benanis continued to move forward. Because she had her back to Shade, Shade could not see the expectant expression on her face. The lace-up ladies' boots stepped on the snow, making a strange rustling sound. The pure white little beast finally ran back into the forest before Miss Benanis approached, without looking back, which made the witch very disappointed.
But before the two could catch up, the little beast came back, but appeared from another direction. This time, Shade was sure that it was attracted by the smell of food, because its blue eyes were staring at the pot on the campfire.
Miss Benanis was eager to move forward, but was afraid of scaring the other person away again. So Shade opened the pot, letting the aroma of the heated food waft out.
"Ms. Benannis, please come back first."
He called the witch back, and the two sat down again and started eating. As expected, the small beasts at the edge of the woods watched them eat, hesitated for a moment, and finally took the initiative to walk into the open space in the woods.
It walked and stopped, and finally came to the campfire. 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 used the prepared plate to divide a small portion of her food and handed it to the unicorn. This time she really succeeded. The alert young unicorn carefully tasted the pie, then lowered his head and began to eat.
The blonde witch smiled, and she wanted to take the opportunity to touch the other's hair, but the unicorn dodged her. But Miss Benanis didn't care:
"We were talking about unicorns on the way here, but we didn't expect to see one right away. Where did it come from?"
"Although I'm not sure of its origin, I'm afraid it was attracted here not only because of the food, but also because of your song. But, what should we do now?"
Shade pointed at the little white animal that was eating with its head down.
"I want to raise it. Should I abandon it here? It looks like an underage unicorn. It will be easy to win its favor."
The witch said as a matter of course, with a very bright smile on her face. But Shade felt that there must be a reason why this little beast appeared in Randall Valley City. Instead of 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 was just thinking about it. Miss Benannis would never agree to it. 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 Benanis had expected. Instead, it stood up and barked, then walked into the forest alone.
This made the witch feel disappointed for a moment, but Shade soon discovered that the other party did not go far away, but seemed to be waiting for them.
So, after the two of them simply packed up the camp, they mounted their horses and chased after them. When the unicorn saw them coming, it also started galloping in the snow.
This kind of pursuit was a great test of Shad's riding skills. The environment in the snowy Tahiti was more complicated than the country road just now, and he had to ensure that he kept chasing the unicorn. Fortunately, the hoof prints left on the snow could guide the direction very well, and Miss Benanis also saw that Shad 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 the Eldron Creek, across the frozen streams in the mountains, and stopped at the junction of the southeastern part of the Eldron Creek and the Innis Forest at around 1:30 in the afternoon.
Further ahead is the real primeval forest, which only experienced local hunters would 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 Benanis also dismounted to check the situation. In front of them was a sparse stream forest. The sunlight fell on the snow and reflected a dazzling light. The cold wind blew and made the bare treetops make noises.
At least it seemed that everything was normal where the unicorn led them.