I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

He handed her the bag during the day.

"Consider this the first gift I'm giving you as a friend."

"Or are you saying you don't consider me a friend?"

"I am naturally willing to be your friend."

Taking the bag, Kal'tsit continued:

"But you don't actually need to buy it. I know a bit about the clothing industry, and I can use Olympus to create such clothing."

"However... thank you."

"No need for thanks or anything like that."

Bai Zhou looked at Kal'tsit with a smile.

"Since you've already said it, can we do it now?"

"..."

After a moment of silence, Kal'tsit chose to change the subject.

"Your Majesty, shall we rest in this town?"

"What do you think, Kal'tsit?"

"If you want, we'll rest. If you intend to continue, we'll leave."

"We agreed that I wouldn't interfere with your choices."

"..."

After much deliberation, Kal'tsit decided to continue.

"As expected."

He didn't say anything during the day either.

Having bought plenty of fresh water and dry food, the two set off again.

"Ok?"

As he left the village, Bai Zhou paused for a moment.

What's wrong?

Kal'tsit keenly observed what daylight looked like.

"The bell tolls... the second bell tolls."

During the day, he stood up and looked in the direction he had come from, but could only see the mountains of Syracuse.

"That guy... has he found a second apostle?"

Bai Zhou always remembered that doctor with black wings.

"This is a long story."

He took two apples out of the bag, gave one to Kal'tsit, took a bite of the apple, and slowly began to tell the story of the doctor.

Are there really such selfless and kind people in the world?

During the day, he discarded the fruit pit and asked Kal'tsit for her opinion.

"Why don't you think he's also seeking peace of mind?"

Kal'tsit also remembered the "peace of mind" that Bai Tian had told her during the day.

If that's the case, why not view the doctor's actions as something that puts your mind at ease?

"He has grander ambitions; one or two people are simply not in his eyes. Just as a gardener who plants flowers doesn't care how many ants are in his garden."

"He loves people, yet he doesn't love people. Saving people is his standard for doing things, not something he has to do. Naturally, he doesn't really care whether he feels at ease because he saves people."

He shook his head during the day, putting the matter of being a doctor out of his mind.

"Alright, that doctor or whatever, there's nothing to worry about. I probably won't run into him again... probably."

“Mr. Kal'tsit”.

He looked at Kal'tsit, who was holding an apple.

Do you have any interesting stories?

"A story..."

There are too many stories; what kind does he want to hear?

Kelsey stroked the bright red apple, lost in thought.

Hmm, I've got it.

Since he told such a kind story, she should also tell a kind story.

■

"Long, long ago, in a warm and lush forest lived three happy birds."

The birds don't have names, but the animals in the forest call them "big birds," "tall birds," and "little birds."

Many animals live in this forest, but they never quarrel or fight over anything. They all live happily and freely together.

The birds hope that the forest will always be harmonious and peaceful, and that more animals will come to play in the forest.

On a sunny afternoon, a stranger visited this peaceful forest.

He was a traveler, a pioneer, and a prophet.

But apart from that, he is nothing.

The stranger wanted to enter the forest, but the birds thought he was suspicious and refused to let him in.

After being repeatedly turned away, the stranger grew angry and gave up hope of entering the forest. But before leaving, he threw down a sentence to the birds:

"Soon, disaster will befall this forest. It will be tainted by evil and sin, filled with bloody and terrifying battles, until a horrific monster devours everything! The sun, moon, and stars will never shine upon you again, and the forest will never regain its former harmony!"

Upon hearing this prophecy, the birds were plunged into deep distress.

If, as the strangers say, the forest is full of fighting and death, and terrifying monsters have appeared, what should we do?

After a long discussion, the birds decided to become the guardians of the forest.

They love this forest, they want to protect the animals in the forest, and they want the forest to maintain its peaceful daily life forever.

"A large bird with many eyes watches over the forest, searching for intruders."

The big bird's eyes can see very, very far away, and even things that we cannot see.

But some people say, "What if the monster appears at night when we're all asleep?"

The bird was very worried after hearing this, so it burned off all its feathers and made a lamp that would never go out.

Now, the animals in the forest are under the watchful eye of the great bird day and night. It wanders through the forest with an ever-burning lantern, warning those terrible monsters to stay away from the depths of the forest.

Thanks to this giant bird, the number of monster attacks has decreased significantly. And each time it "rescues" an animal from the Black Forest, a chilling eye appears on the bird's body. Those eyes, varying in size yet incredibly dense, proclaim its pride and glory in its actions.

But the great bird still felt sorry for the animals that died in the monster's mouth.

"In order to maintain the peace of the forest, the tallbird made this scale to judge the sins of the animals."

Its scales can weigh any evil with absolute impartiality.

But some might ask, "What if the scales don't tip to either side?"

Tallbird was very worried after hearing this, so it tipped the scales to one side, so that a result could be obtained no matter who was judged.

Once, the tallbird's eyes shone like stars in the night sky, as if they could see through everything. But to protect the forest, it gave its eyes to the great bird. Now, only endless emptiness remains in its eyes.

Bandages were wrapped around the head of the person who had lost an eye; the fragile bandages fluttered in the wind, as if they might break at any moment.

In the past, it had a set of dazzling feathers, but due to a long period of lack of sunlight, these feathers have completely lost their former luster.

Now, all that remains is that unbalanced scale. Even so, the judgment bird's ruling has never ceased, and never will...

"The little bird decided to use its beak to punish the animals that had made mistakes."

But someone said, "Your beak is too small, no one will feel the pain!" The bird was very worried after hearing this, so it tore open its beak and turned it into a gaping maw that could devour any animal.

The birds protected the forest, watched over the animals, and did their best to drive the monsters out of the forest.

But terrifying rumors began to circulate outside the forest:

"Whoever enters that forest will meet a tragic end!"

"No one is free there; the big bird is always watching the animals in the forest!"

"Takator's scales are not fair at all!"

"The bird's punishment is terrible!"

The rumors grew increasingly alarming, and from then on, no animal wanted to go to the forest to play anymore.

The birds were angry when they heard the news. We work so hard to protect the forest, why do they have to spread such rumors!

Fewer and fewer animals came to play in the forest, and the birds became even stricter in managing the forest's inhabitants. But the animals could no longer tolerate this overprotection, and they began to vent their discontent, leading to fights everywhere in the forest.

The birds tried even harder to restore peace to the forest...

"Sigh... This forest is too vast; the three of us alone cannot protect it!"

"But besides us, there's no one else who can protect the forest!"

"If we combine our strengths, we might become even more powerful!"

When the eyes of the great bird that can see hundreds of miles away, the ability of the tall bird to judge any sin, and the enormous mouth of the small bird that can devour all animals were combined, disaster struck this forest.

Darkness enveloped the forest, obscuring the light from the sun, moon, and stars.

Upon seeing the newborn, powerful, yet terrifying bird, the animals cried out in horror, plunging the entire forest into chaos.

Amidst the cacophony of cries and terrified screams, someone shouted:

"It's that monster! There's a terrifying monster in the dark forest!"

Monster? Where? The three birds—now one—looked around searching for the monster, but found nothing.

The bird began to wander through the forest, searching for traces of the monster.