"Yes, I don't want to let go."
No one here knew a real stranger, so he wouldn't lie. Mrs. Miles smiled and shook her head:
"But isn't this loyalty? Even if you're not loyal to love, at least you're loyal to each of them. If you're both satisfied with the status quo, why do you care about this? If you really feel guilty, spend the rest of your life making up for it."
"You still think so?"
Miss Higgins muttered, and Mrs. Miles said one last word before continuing with the second recollection:
"When you held hands, when you hugged and kissed, remember that moment. You can't be without second thoughts, but at least, at that moment, whether you were sincere and whether you were willing to give everything to protect that girl, you know better than anyone else."
Xia De took a deep breath, and Mrs. Miles told the second memory:
"That was the day we confirmed our relationship... It wasn't too long after we first met. After we met that day, he would occasionally write to me, and I would write back. Later, we met many times, at the birthday of the daughter of a nearby lord, when young people went to the mountains to pick pine cones, when he came to our village to deliver letters for his father, when the sheriff of a nearby town came to the village for inspection, when the Witch Queen's Chocobo got lost... Many, many times, until that autumn, that night..."
The black fog dissipated again, but this time what appeared above his head was an extremely clear river of stars, and three full moons hung in the sky. Although the autumn evening breeze was a little cold, it still made Xia De, who was just warming himself by the campfire, feel quite comfortable.
This seemed to be a wheat field outside the village, and not far away was a village with only a few lights in the dark night. The boy and the girl sat together on the piles of grain, looking up at the stars.
“How romantic.”
Miss Higgins whispered:
"I grew up in the city. Most of my memories of the nights when I was a kid were of me being forced by my witch aunt to recite potion ingredient lists in her basement, or attending witch preparatory night school to prepare for awakening as a witch. There was no fresh air from the countryside there. There was only the stench of steam ether furnaces, the harsh friction of the sliding blackboard, the monotonous voice of the old-fashioned teaching golem, and the cheap and disgusting smell of the girl at the next table."
Her descriptions were so vivid that Shade could almost imagine the life she was talking about.
Shade had never observed the real life scenes of people in the Fifth Age, the Witch Age, but the corner of the era described by Miss Higgins was enough for him to think about life in this era.
In memory, the young boy and girl on the grain pile certainly couldn't hear the witch's voice. They didn't speak all the time, just held hands and looked up at the stars together, until the girl carefully leaned her head on the boy's shoulder, and the boy blushed and reached into his pocket, and then took out a small silver brooch.
The girl gave him her handkerchief in return, and the two smiled and leaned against each other to continue looking at the stars in the night sky. They didn't say a word from beginning to end, but it seemed as if they had said everything.
The memories ended, and Mrs. Miles, immersed in the past, stared blankly at the notebook in her hand. Miss Higgins was still sighing quietly that she did not have such an experience when she was young.
The stranger once again thought about his life in this world.
The relationship with Luvia was confirmed after the incident of the Dark Chosen One. The two chatted at the Carina Manor at night, revealing their thoughts and feelings to each other, and finally hugged and kissed under the sea of stars.
The relationship between Dorothy and Resia was established after the death of the chosen one last year. With the help of Grace and Helen, Shad found a way to let the princess and the writer meet. That night, Resia deliberately hid and left clues for Shad and Dorothy to find, and finally found her at home... ... It was raining that night, and the high heels and silver crown on the windowsill were still fresh in Shad's memory.
As for the confirmation of the relationship with Carina, that was this year. The five tests of the witch symbolized her childhood longing and expectation for Shade. Shade completed the task perfectly, and under the guidance of Tifa, saw the most precious treasure in the entire manor.
That is nostalgic as well.
As for confirming his relationship with Yin Luna... ...the development of their relationship seems to have been very stable, and there have been no memorable moments yet.
"These memories will become treasures on the road of life."
Mrs. Miles' voice rang out, and she looked at Shade, as if she knew what Shade was thinking:
"Young people, you must remember the moment you met and the moment you exchanged your feelings. When you are hesitant, when you are facing a major choice in life, when you doubt whether you are loyal, try to recall these memories. These memories can make you look back and see your own path clearly."
"I understand, thank you, Mrs. Miles."
Xia De responded softly, and did not let the old woman continue:
"I'm leaving again. Can we tell the rest of the story next time?"
"OK."
"See you next time, both of you."
He walked quickly and decisively, turned around and walked towards the black fog, and disappeared after a few steps.
Miss Higgins sighed softly:
“I didn’t expect that the thing that hit me the hardest was actually your story.”
Mrs. Myers smiled kindly and looked down at the memories she had written down.
But at this moment, there was a sound of breaking air in the thick fog, and then a black dagger flashing with strange light flew out rapidly from the fog and stabbed straight into Miss Higgins' heart.
The young witch didn't even turn her head, she just waved her hand, and a pale blue shield made of countless hexahedrons blocked her. But the dagger actually passed through the shield without any hindrance, but fortunately the witch's long red hair swung like a whip, hitting the dagger and making it deviate from its original direction.
The dagger flew back into the mist. Miss Higgins sighed and looked around alertly. Amid the crackling sound of the bonfire, there was a sudden explosion on the left. The witch turned around subconsciously and saw Andor Ade, a boy with black lines all over his body, holding the black relic dagger, rushing out from her right side.
He was so fast that Miss Higgins didn't even have time to react before the dagger hit her in the back. But the dagger didn't penetrate her at all, but made a sound of metal colliding with stone.
The boy immediately tried to retreat into the fog again, but two black chains flew out from the left and right, tied his left and right hands, and hung him in the air.
"I knew it would be like this. This journey is going to be a lot of trouble."
The dagger was shot down by Miss Higgins, who looked helpless. She looked at the boy who had returned after disappearing with dissatisfaction:
"I didn't summon a meteorite to destroy your country. I understand that you want to gain the power of revenge, but why do you want revenge on me? Do I know you?"
Shade, who had just pretended to leave, also came out of the fog at this time. The elderly Mrs. Miles sighed and looked at the diary, ignoring the scene, while Shade said:
"Ms. Higgins, I think he is in the same time as you. There is no possibility that he is from the future and came here for revenge. I think the story about a meteorite destroying a country is a lie, right? What exactly destroyed your country?"
"It's still the damn witch!"
The boy's mind was obviously not normal, and the black lines on his body looked very strange even to Shade. He seemed to have come into contact with some more bizarre demonic or even evil power. Otherwise, as a man in the Fifth Era, there was absolutely no way he could become a transcendent:
"The witch destroyed my country! It was all the witch's fault! We dug her private mines just to survive, and she killed everyone! With just a snap of her fingers, everyone was dead, my father, my mother, my brothers and sisters, my hounds, my maids, my slaves, and those subjects who were respectful to me, all gone, all gone!"
He screamed hysterically. The shock of the failed assassination made his already abnormal mind completely insane.
Shade could now understand why the boy had been so quiet and trembling every time he came into contact with Miss Higgins. He probably kept his hatred and anger in his heart and dared not let anyone see it. Unfortunately, in front of Shade and Miss Higgins, who had experienced so much, his disguise was not enough.
"Wait, what does this have to do with me? I didn't do this!"
The young red-haired witch's voice was louder than the hung boy's, which was understandable because she really was innocent.
The boy struggled to break free of Shad's chains, but even with the strength he gained in the camp, he was no match for Shad:
"But you are a witch, and I will kill all witches. Since they can't come back, I will kill all of you witches. I want you all to die, all of you!"
Realizing that he couldn't break free, he widened his eyes and said to Shade:
"Why are you helping these women? Aren't you a man? If you have the power, why don't you kill all the witches?"
Xia De frowned and looked at him:
"Is there a connection between my power and my need to kill the witch?"
"It is because of these women that men cannot gain power and cannot freely choose beautiful girls. We should have kept them all under..."
Kacha~
Miss Higgins pinched the boy's head and rotated it 360 degrees on his neck. Although the head returned to its original position, the life was gone.
She took a deep breath:
"I know that the witch who destroyed his country was wrong, but why is he taking his anger out on everyone like this?"
"I won't judge. This has nothing to do with me."
Shade retracted the chain and let the body fall back to the ground.