"Whether from the perspective of a friend or an agent, there is nothing to doubt, right?" Darent raised his eyebrows.
"If there is anything strange, it is that - according to her theory, since the 'mystery' can extend from the cut surface to the snow and then to the pool at the foot of the mountain, it can be seen that the influence is extremely strong."
"Well said...keep going."
"This influence can last from the time of Disk to the present day! But why didn't anyone report any abnormality near the Twin Gods Peak before?"
Darent spread his hands towards the air: "I don't believe that the villagers down the mountain are all blind, and I don't believe that we would make such a mistake."
"So there is only one possibility." Ethan added calmly, "This phenomenon called the 'Sea of Time' disappeared before we discovered and recorded it. It did not continue from that era to the present, but was cut off once and was only recently reopened."
"..."
"..."
The two were silent for a while.
Because they all thought of another case they were investigating at the same time, and the elusive young female detective.
"Ashley."
At the same time, at the makeshift campsite by the water pond, Kurumi reached out to stop his friend.
"The host has consumed her energy. She needs to rest."
"I just want to be closer!" Ashley was very dissatisfied with this defensive attitude, "I look like someone who would murder her!"
"No..." The puppet stared at her for a long time, "Well, you go in too, I'll help you keep watch outside."
Ashley's face lit up and she took a step forward.
But Walnut grabbed her right wrist at this moment, and when she looked back, he stared at her and said, "Will you always believe her?"
"?"
Ashley stared, looking confused and not quite understanding.
"Will you always believe her?" Walnut asked again.
Both times, the voice was kept very low, as if afraid of disturbing something.
Ashley had no choice but to answer her in a matching, whisper-like voice: "Of course... who else can I trust?"
"You better really believe her."
She heard Walnut say something else.
At this moment, she felt the puppet pinching her so hard that it hurt. She looked up unconsciously and found that the stiff puppet face now looked like warm skin, and turned into a girl staring at this side eagerly.
"You better really believe her."
The girl repeated it again.
“Don’t do things that you will regret in the future.”
Chapter 79: Long-lost Shyness
Hitzfeld was reading in the hut.
She heard Ashley coming outside, and with her intelligence, she could guess why the strong girl came.
Such an opportunity to go out with him to do serious things was rare for Ashley. And the reason why she had the idea of becoming a knight was to play a role at such a moment.
This value includes but is not limited to helping her fight, protecting her, keeping her on alert, or doing something else within one's ability.
And this time of adventure - if it can be called an adventure - Ashley had no value except being a spectator the whole time. If nothing unexpected happens, they will have to go back to Blackwood at dawn tomorrow. Of course, she is unwilling to give up and wants to use this last time to prove herself.
There was no point, because Kurumi was still there, and Hitzfeld didn't need her help to keep watch.
But that's how children are. Since she can understand it, she won't stop it.
As long as Ashley doesn't develop that kind of special feelings for her, appropriate intimacy can be regarded as making up for the family affection that the other party has always lacked.
But she waited for a long time and no one came. Instead, she vaguely heard someone whispering outside.
"Hutao?" She didn't need to sleep anyway, so she sat up. "What are you doing outside?"
"Oh!" Before she could finish her words, Ashley swooped in in a very indecent posture and hit her calf hard.
"Were you kicked in?" Hitzfeld raised his eyebrows and stared at her, looking outside.
Unfortunately, the curtain swayed and then closed, so she couldn't see where Walnut was.
"How did you offend her?" Hitzfeld was very curious.
Walnut... She really likes Pinocchio's personality. Although it can be seen that Walnut has always been worried, it is rare for her to be so happy all the time.
"I...I didn't offend her!" Ashley felt that she was really wronged. "She just asked me a few questions, and I answered them, and that was it!"
"Problem?" Hitzfeld was even more curious. "What's the problem?"
"That's it..." Ashley was about to answer reflexively, but she heard a heavy cough coming from outside.
"I forgot!" She changed her words immediately, "No! That's not a problem, it's a dispute... We are arguing about something..."
She broke out in a cold sweat, and her previous eagerness to prove herself was gone.
Heath...Heath looks really scary at this time!
His face was expressionless and he didn't say a word, but the look in his eyes seemed to see straight into my heart.
Is it really useful for me to hide it like this? I always feel like Heath actually knows everything...
"You and I are different." Hitzfeld changed the subject silently. She moved a little to the side to make room for Ashley to lie down. "There are less than four hours left until tomorrow morning. Take a good rest and stop talking."
Whenever Hitzfeld appeared in this state, Ashley would not dare to say a word. She would silently lie down as ordered, close her eyes but could not fall asleep.
I was physically very tired, after all, I had been climbing the mountain for most of the night.
Mentally too, going down the mountain at night is even more tiring than going up.
But she just couldn't fall asleep. As soon as she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with Hu Tao's hazy face and the two words she said to her.
"Will you always trust her?"
"You better really believe her."
“Don’t do things you’ll regret later.”
Why shouldn't I trust Heath?
What on earth are they doing???
Ashley had never experienced such sorrow before, and she was almost going crazy from worrying about herself.
She didn't know when she fell asleep. She only remembered that she could hear the morning birds singing before she lost consciousness. When she was woken up again, it was already bright outside. The warm white sunlight reflected on the snow, and there happened to be a crack that imprinted her face.
Because she didn't sleep well at night, Ashley looked groggy when she arrived at the station waiting for the bus.
Ali was not in a good mood either. His health was even worse than Ashley's. He was too excited to sleep last night. He kept yawning all the way and fell asleep as soon as he got on the train.
Only Raymond has a good chivalrous spirit. He is a veteran and knows how to get enough rest in any situation.
"I'm a little surprised."
The carriage was shaking and making rhythmic noises. Hitzfeld and Knight Raymond sat on the window seat in the corridor, flipping through a book and joking, "I thought they would reject us."
"The ban on boarding at temporary stops is for the sake of order, and I think mainly because ... they have the ability to set up as many temporary platforms as possible, but they don't have the ability to set up ticket offices at all the platforms."
Raymond had a cigarette in his mouth.
I don’t know if it was out of consideration for Hitzfeld, but he just held it in his mouth without lighting it.
"And the Flintstone Knights have privileges in this regard. Of course we can get on the train. We just need to take the note approved by the conductor to buy the ticket when we get to the destination."
“Not free?”
"That would make us lose prestige."
"It seems that you are an ascetic."
"No, I'm not a part of anything."
Raymond snorted in his chest and changed his sitting position so that he was facing her.
Hitzfeld glanced at him but didn't pay much attention, continuing to flip through the book.
"You are beautiful."
Raymond suddenly said.
Hitzfeld stopped turning the pages.
She raised her eyebrows slightly and stared at the opposite side with her exposed blue eyes.
"I mean...pretty girls like you, I rarely see them looking as...worried as you are."
Raymond added an explanation.
"You don't think people can tell you're unhappy?"
"You're meddling too much."
Hitzfeld frowned deeply.
"I just don't want a valuable person to continue to sink." Raymond shook his head, "Besides, you are Ashley's parent, so I am not meddling in your business."
Hitzfeld said nothing more, quietly packed up his books and went back to his room.
Raymond stared at her back, making sure she had no intention of coming back, then turned his head towards the window, took out a match and lit a cigarette.
It only took a few hours to get back to Blackwood City. After getting off the bus, they separated. Before leaving, Knight Raymond once again mentioned Hitzfeld's "parent" status, saying that Ashley could not go home with her. The Knight Academy would change the trial location as soon as possible, and she would be able to see her in about three weeks.
"Where are you going to change to?"
the girl asked.
"Oh, that's not convenient for you to tell me."
Hitzfeld was just asking casually. If he didn't tell her, she guessed he didn't know.
When I brought Hu Walnut home, I staggered as soon as I opened the door because of a white shadow.
"Lily——"
The drawn-out tone showed that she was really angry.
"Wang!"
The Sheldon dog sensed this from the change in tone, and it restrained itself from biting or licking the girl. It lay down obediently, sticking its butt out and wagging its tail.
"Should I say you are smart or stupid?"
Hitzfeld put his hands on his hips helplessly.
"I know you want me to light a fire for you... Go get me some wood."
After a busy period, the room became warm again.
Walnut was mopping the floor in the corridor wearing an apron, while Hitzfeld was sitting on the sofa with most of his body sunk into the cushion, staring blankly at the chandelier above his head with only his right eye.
"how did you do that……"
The Shelby dog was lying at her feet, warming himself by the fire, when he suddenly heard her mumbling.
It pricked up its ears and looked at her, making sure that she was not talking to it, then put its ears down and lay back down.
"Crash-"
There was a fluttering noise at the window.
"Ouch!"
Lily jumped up and yelled over there, throwing herself on the glass, and while yelling she reminded Hitzfeld: "Woof!"
"Go and open the door."
Hitzfeld got up lazily, thinking that there might be a reply to the previous letters.
But to be honest, she was not happy about it, instead she felt annoyed by it.
She was kind of fed up with being stuck in this.
She changed her shoes lazily, put on her hat lazily, and was even too lazy to put on a coat. She ran out directly, and when she looked down, she saw a Borean sea eagle squatting at the foot of the steps.
"? Is it you?"
