messenger from the wasteland

Chapter 19 Bedtime stories should be told in a gentle voice
Deep in the mountains of the Far East, Mantern, the country of mountains, was established here.

The mountains here are continuous, and the ridges are connected to the clouds on the zenith. People live on the mountains and are in the clouds.So much so that the people of Mantern call themselves Zenith residents. They think that they are the people who are at the highest point of the earth and the people closest to the sky. They are the common heirs of the earth and the sky.

They stand on the highest point of the entire continent, overlooking all the people and countries on the continent.

With such pride, Mantern is born arrogant. They are proud of their own blood and disdain to associate with outsiders. The country is also locked deep in the mountains, and few outsiders can enter.

On the top of a towering mountain peak, Mantern's kingdom castle is built here. The castle is above the clouds. Standing on the high place of the castle and looking out, you can see the boundless clouds under your feet, just like standing on the clouds. Stand with the sky.

In the opposite palace in the castle, an old king sat on a throne.

The sun, moon and starry sky are engraved on the back of the throne. This is the banner of the Manteans. They are confident that they can stand shoulder to shoulder with the shining sun, stars and moon.

The old king seemed to be in his twilight years, his hair and beard were as pale as the snow covered on the mountains, and his face was like a weathered mountain, with deep scratches left by the years.His thick lips are like a closed rock, silent, but if he speaks, it represents the will of the mountain.

There are three people standing under the throne, a huge warrior, a scholar with a spectacles, and a middle-aged man.

These three represent Mantern's central pillars, the mightiest of the mountain warriors, the wisest of the scholars, and the prince.

At this time, they were called together by the king to discuss a matter.

From the roar of the lion in the middle of the continent and the fall of the eagle of the plains.

Reinhardt went to war, and within a few months Plann was destroyed.

"You guys, what do you think?"

Sitting on the throne, the old King Mantern said slowly.

"Although there is no follow-up news yet, the Queen's ambition of Reinhardt will definitely not stop there."

Under the throne, the scholar adjusted his monocular glasses, and a reflection flashed on the lens.

What he meant was obvious. In its current form, Reinhardt would one day attack Mantern, and the lion would one day challenge the mountain.

"So what if it doesn't stop?" Beside the scholar, the tall mountain warrior sneered and shook his arm.

"If they dare to come, let them experience the power of our Zenith."

"Warrior Captain Loveman, I admire your bravery, but don't forget that there are also several strong men who can be compared with you in Reinhardt."

The scholar glanced at the mountain warrior who was twice his height, and said with a frown.

"Even if two of them live in the country all year round, but even if only the other two come, plus Reinhardt's strength, we will have no advantage on the frontal battlefield."

That's why he doesn't like talking to fighters, these guys have nothing but muscles in their heads.

On the throne, the king raised his downcast eyes.

"Is the bachelor talking about Sword Saint Roland and the new undead black knight?"

The scholar looked at the king, lowered his head with a serious expression, and answered with a bow.

"Yes."

Neither of these two men can be taken lightly.

Originally, among the six saints in the mainland, Reinhardt possessed three, which made them stronger than other countries in the mainland, but there was still room for balance when all the countries were united.

And now the sudden appearance of this dark knight has broken the delicate balance on the continent for many years.

There was a brief silence in the palace, even the strongest mountain warrior dared not say that he could face two saints alone.

"Father." The prince, who had not spoken since the beginning, broke the silence of the palace.

He walked forward slowly, with some determination on his face, saluted and said.

"Since we have no advantage on the frontal battlefield, maybe we can use other methods to stop Reinhardt's atrocities."

······
In January of the new year, the first snow fell on Reinhardt.

Snow covered the royal city of Reinhardt, the streets and houses were all white, and the shoulders and eyes of people walking on the street were covered with thin frost.

Before the arrival of spring, the snow-white world also has such a different kind of beauty.

Hillman got an illness, not a serious illness, just a small cold, and the court doctor said that he would recover after a few days of rest.

In the past, if Hillman got sick, one or two servants would be allowed to enter the upper floor of the castle to take care of Hillman.But this time, it was Chu who was in charge of taking care of Hillman.

···
The night air was a bit cold, so Chu took the dinner brought by the waiter and walked into Hillman's bedroom.

Hillman was lying on the bed, his face was pale, and even his lips had no color.

Speaking of it, I am afraid that not many people believe that the most powerful ruler on the continent, the Lionheart Reinhardt has been weak and sick since he was a child, and he will be bedridden every winter because of the cold weather.

Hillman was resting on the bed, frowning slightly, eyes closed, and he didn't know if he had fallen asleep.

Chu walked slowly to the bed and said softly.

"Your Majesty, dinner is here, do you want to eat?"

Hearing Chu's voice, Hillman slightly opened his eyes.

She looked at Chu, her slightly frowning brows slowly relaxed, and she smiled weakly.

"I happen to be a little hungry, help me up."

Chu put the dinner plate on the head of the bed, helped Hillman up from the bed, and then seriously stretched out a hand to put on Hillman's forehead.

She had asked the court doctor how Hillman's condition could be considered to have improved. The doctor used a relatively simple statement. When the temperature on his forehead dropped, it meant that he had begun to improve.

Chu's inadvertent action made Hillman startled for a moment, but she didn't stop Chu, smiled lightly, and let Chu's palm rest on her forehead.

Perhaps it was because Chu's hand was very cold, and when it was placed on her slightly hot forehead, the cool feeling made her very comfortable.

After a while, Chu put down his palm, picked up the dinner on the plate and began to take care of Hillman's meal.

Because of his illness, Hillman only had a bowl of light wheat porridge for dinner.

Chu scooped up some with a spoon and brought it to Hillman's mouth.

"Your Majesty, please use it."

"En." Hillman opened his mouth, and ate the warm wheat porridge in the spoon.

The cooked soft wheat porridge has a hint of sweetness, and the unique aroma fills the lips and teeth.

The warmth began to spread throughout the body, allowing the weak body to recover bit by bit.

After eating the porridge, Hillman felt much better. She lay on the bed and turned her head to look out the window.

The snow outside the window has not stopped yet, and through the fog on the window, one can see the snowflakes flying outside under the dark night sky.

A few snowflakes fell on the window, tapped on the window, and accumulated on the window edge, making this snowy night even more hazy.

Hillman closed her eyes halfway, the hazy snowy night reminded her of many things from a long time ago.

"early."

she called softly.

"Your Majesty, do you have any other orders?"

Chu sat by the bed, arranging the tableware.

"Can you tell stories?"

Because he recalled some past events, Hillman curled his lips slightly, and said in a low voice with a little nostalgia in his eyes.

"Tell me one."

The first movement paused.

Telling a story, this request made her a little embarrassed. She didn't know any stories, and she had never told a story for anyone, but she couldn't refuse the summoner's request.

After thinking for a long time, she accidentally saw the snow outside the window for the first time. In her memory, it seemed that there was indeed a person who told her a story, a story about snow.

It's hard to imagine, it was in the wasteland of the apostles.

"Once upon a time, there was an elf named Snow in the world."

Chu Chu is actually not suitable for bedtime stories, her voice is hoarse and dry, if it is heard by children, I am afraid they will not be able to fall asleep at all.

Fortunately, the person listening to her story at this time was not a child.

There were no other voices in the room, only Chu's calm voice slowly told the story.

"Snow is very cold, it only comes every winter, and when it comes, it will cover the whole world.

People are afraid of its cold, so every year when it comes, people will hide in the house, light the stove to drive it away, and want it to leave quickly.

until one day.

A little girl was attracted by the white snowflakes. In the deep winter when the snow came, she walked out of the house, opened her hands, and wanted to hug the snow towards the sky.

Xue ignored her and left in a hurry under the drive of the people.

But since then, the girl has come every day, every year, day after day, year after year.She stood in the snow and opened her arms to the sky.

Finally, Xue saw her and flew down from the sky. It stood in front of the girl and asked.

I bring the cold to the world, why do you want to hug me?

The girl answered with a smile.

You bring beauty to the world, why don't I want to hug you?
Xue hesitated in front of the girl, and stood there for a long time.

Finally, at the end, it opened its arms and embraced the girl.

On that day, the snow was no longer cold, but it was also on that day that it melted into the world and into the arms of the girl. "

···
After Chu finished the story, the snow outside became lighter.

The story is simple and a little childish.

But the person who told this story to the first-time listener met an orc on the first day they first arrived in the Apostle Wasteland.

In that place where there is no humanity at all, it survived with Chu in the cracks, and the two experienced many things together.

In the end, it told the story to Chu Ting, and Chu killed himself.

Because in the wilderness of the apostles, only one person can survive.

Was it sad at the beginning? I didn't know at the beginning. At that time, she already didn't understand what being sad was.

After hearing the story, Hillman held the cool hand that had been placed by the bed for the first time, and closed his eyes.

Why she held Chu's hand, she didn't know, maybe it was because of this, it could make her fall asleep with peace of mind.

······
Once upon a time, there was a sickly princess in Reinhardt Castle. She would fall ill every winter, and every time, the illness would make it difficult for her to sleep.

So, every winter, her mother would sit by her bed, tell her a story, hold her hand, and accompany her to sleep peacefully.

Those were her cherished memories, even though they were gone.

Hillman lay on the bed and fell asleep, and the gentle voice seemed to resound in her ears, telling her those gentle stories.

(End of this chapter)