Shut up, brave man! I don't want to atone for my sins to you!

She still didn't want Lao Deng to go back with her to see Charles, because it was embarrassing, and more because she was afraid that Lao Deng would urge her to fall in love.

So she said:

"Forget it, I just don't believe it. It's just a master-servant contract. How could it be difficult for me?"

Then she looked at Lao Deng again and said helplessly:

"You too, why are you always thinking about me dating and getting married? Aren't I fine being alone?"

The strange thing was that Lao Deng didn't refute Laciel this time. She just smiled. That smile was so unfathomable that Laciel couldn't understand it.

But since Lao Deng was not going to help her, she decided to do her own research. In addition, she remembered that Charles might tinker with her coffin while she was away, and it would be disastrous if Charles found out that the coffin was empty.

Then Lacey said goodbye to Lao Deng:

"Then I'll be leaving first. I still have some things to deal with in the Sea of ​​Mori. I have to go back quickly."

Lao Deng didn't seem surprised, he just smiled and said "hmm".

After getting a response, Lacie turned around, took out her wand and prepared to leave.

But she seemed to remember something, turned her head, glanced at Lao Deng out of the corner of her eye, and said:

"You've already retired, so don't worry so much about the White Tower. The White Tower doesn't need you to worry about it now, right?"

Lao Deng nodded slowly and said:

"Row."

"Also, don't push me to fall in love and get married in the future. I've said it so many times that I'm fine on my own and don't need anyone to take care of me. It's you, on the other hand, who needs someone to take care of you now that you're old."

Lao Deng nodded again and answered

"I see."

She thought that this time Lacie was finally leaving, so she leaned back in the armchair, slowly closed her eyes, and prepared to continue taking a nap.

But at this moment, she heard the witch's slightly awkward voice:

"Finally... what I just said, that I won't come to see you in the future, was actually just an angry remark. Please don't take it seriously. I will come to see you again after I have dealt with the contract matter, okay?"

The corners of the Lord of the White Tower's mouth curled up a little, but this time she did not tease the witch to make her angry. Instead, she followed the witch's arrangements meekly like an obedient child.

"it is good."

Her tone is warm and her voice is soft.

[To be continued]

-

18. Thank her

Lacele returned to the Sea of ​​Forest.

The first thing she did when she came back was to see if Charles had done anything to her coffin while she was away.

Fortunately, the answer is no.

Charles was really obedient. When she said that if he moved the coffin, the pastor lady in the coffin might have an accident, Charles really believed it, so during the time she was away, Charles didn't even touch the coffin.

The coffin was still there, but at some point it had been covered by a simple shed.

The materials were trees cut down from nearby. After a simple frame was built and covered with canvas, it became a low shed that could shelter from wind and rain.

Lacele even tested the sturdiness of the shed and found that the four pillars were deeply wedged into the ground, so it would not collapse easily. Even in a storm, the coffin could be well protected.

But that coffin needed no protection at all.

That is the Mother Tree of Elfs. Building a shed to protect the coffin of the Mother Tree of Elfs is like asking her to protect the Charles.

——Although it’s not impossible, what’s the point?

Lacie couldn't help but sigh.

With such a hero, she was really worried about the future of Pangaea.

But at this moment, she suddenly heard a loud roar coming from the dense forest not far away, as if something heavy and huge had fallen to the ground. Even at a considerable distance, Lacie felt the ground beneath her feet shake.

"What's going on?"

She looked suspiciously into the depths of the forest.

Apart from Charles, she couldn't think of anyone else who could have caused such a commotion.

So she walked deeper into the forest.

It didn't take long for her to find the source of the roar.

It was a tree, a fallen tree, so thick that it took two people to hug it.

The roar just now was probably the sound of it being chopped down.

But isn't it only storms that can knock down trees? And why would the Charles cut down trees when he has nothing better to do? Isn't the shed already built?

Lacie thought about it and glanced along the tree.

And then, sure enough, there she found Charles, at the stump—

Charles without clothes.

To be exact, she was shirtless.

Perhaps he felt that wearing a shirt while chopping trees was too hot and would affect his movements, so Charles took off his shirt, revealing his lean and strong muscles.

Charles has a good figure, probably because of the title of brave man passed down from generation to generation. His movements are very powerful. When he swings the axe, the muscles in his upper body stretch, expand and contract, giving people a strong visual impact and a kind of violent and direct beauty.

However, his muscles do not appear exaggerated. Instead, they are very pleasing to the eye, without the rough feeling of excessive bodybuilding.

Lacele noticed that there were bandages wrapped around his wrists, chest and abdomen. Perhaps because the only priest in the brave team who could heal wounds had died, he had to bandage his wounds himself, so the bandages were not very beautiful, even sloppy.

happy.

It seems that some people have become completely dependent on her.

After she left, even something as simple as bandaging a wound turned out like this...

Lacele couldn't help but want to mock Charles' incompetence, but before she could open her mouth, Charles discovered her first.

"Owner!"

From a distance, he waved to Lacie.

Lacey was even happier.

Ciel seemed to have accepted his fate and lay down, allowing herself to be ridiculed. He even addressed her as "Master" instead of "Miss Witch" and seemed quite happy about it.

——I just don’t know if he can continue to be so happy when he finds out that his master is actually a dead priest.

Lacele thought as she walked towards Charles.

At this time, Charles seemed to have achieved his goal. He threw the axe she lent him on the book, and under the watchful eyes of Laciel, he easily carried the tree that had been trimmed down to only the trunk, and said hello to Laciel:

"you are back?"

Although she was already familiar with Ciel's extraordinary strength, but after witnessing him dragging such a thick tree around again after three months, Lacie couldn't help but sigh that the heroes of all generations were indeed monsters.

"Luckily I can run fast." She stared at Ciel's abdominal muscles and waist muscles, muttering to herself, "Otherwise, who can withstand this?"

As expected, the hero is still single. Lacie doesn't even dare to think about what kind of suffering his future wife will have to endure if he gets married.

No matter how fertile the field is, it probably won't be able to withstand the plowing of this alloy-armored ox - by then, not being able to get out of bed will be a small matter, and it will be considered a success if it doesn't fall apart.

But Lacier would definitely not voice these messed up thoughts. Facing Charles, she simply rebuked him righteously:

"Why aren't you wearing any clothes? You're not a manly person!"

Charles was stunned.

He subconsciously looked down at himself and realized that he had forgotten to put his clothes back on after chopping down the tree. So he hurriedly dropped the tree on his shoulder and ran to put on his clothes in a hurry.

Laceier was watching from the side, and waited until he finished putting on his clothes before asking:

"The shed has already been built, why are you cutting down trees?"

As Ciel put the tree back on his shoulders, he said a little embarrassedly:

"If it takes a long time to revive Lacie, I'll have to stay in the Sea of ​​Forests, but I don't want to bother you, so I thought I'd just build a tree house for myself so I have a place to live."

Lacey raised an eyebrow when she heard this.

She thought to herself, great, you are just being too arrogant, right? If you give it some sunshine, it will be bright and if you give it some water, it will overflow.

She acquiesced to Charles's decision to build a shed, but she did not agree to him building a tree house in the forest sea and being her neighbor.

So she narrowed her eyes and asked unreasonably:

"Who allowed you to build a tree house in the forest?"

When Charles heard this, he was dumbfounded and stood there, not knowing whether to continue dragging the tree or put it down.

"You..." he asked tentatively, "You don't agree with me building a tree house?"

Lacey nodded:

"Of course, I don't want to have an extra neighbor for no reason."

The main reason was that she was very reluctant to get up at noon or in the afternoon every day, see Charles' stupid face as soon as she went out, and hear him greet her.

Because this was the daily life she experienced when she was in the Brave Team.

So, it was fine that she had to deal with Charles every day before she faked her death, but now that she has to deal with Charles every day after she faked her death, didn’t she fake her death in vain?

So she said decisively to Charles:

"I asked you to move the pastor's coffin here, you should be satisfied, don't push it any further, the reason why I want to live in seclusion in the Sea of ​​Forests is that I don't want to have neighbors."

"Boom-"

The tree on Ciel's shoulders fell to the ground.

His expression darkened - Rachel guessed it was probably because he finally realized that the trees he had cut down to build the tree house were in vain. Of course, perhaps the bigger reason was that he suddenly realized that he was not welcome.

She could almost be said to be the master of the Sea of ​​Forest. If she didn't welcome Charles, how could Charles stay with the deceased priest?

So she guessed Ciel would find a way to get her to agree.

As she had guessed, Charles quickly asked:

"I...I can't leave Rachel, I want to stay with her forever..."

He was silent for a moment, lowered his head, lowered his eyes, and said softly:

"Rachel is actually very timid, but as long as I'm next to her, she feels much more at ease, so I think..."

"I think she'll be able to see me when she opens her eyes after she's resurrected."

"?"

As Lacie listened, her eyebrows raised.

She thought, what? Cowardly? How could I be cowardly? How dare a mere brave man who was fooled by me to the point of being at a loss be so arrogant? How dare you make such a rash judgment without knowing me at all?

She felt strange again.

It was a wonderful experience to be confessed to by name and to hear such sweet words. She knew that Charles was talking about her... but it was not her. She even felt like she had become the victim, and the yellow-haired Charles was calling her name so that she could feel a sense of participation.

outrageous.

But these are not important, she quickly made herself ignore these things, and then said:

"This is a difficult matter... I understand your desire to be with the pastor, but I don't want to have an extra neighbor for no reason. What can I do?"

As she spoke, she secretly observed Charles' expression.

Charles' face had turned bitter, his expression quite sour, but he was trying his best to endure it, trying to stay calm and convince himself to accept the reality.

Obviously he wasn't like this before.

In the past, after being fooled by her, he would always find ways to retaliate, even though there was still a layer of unbroken window paper between them at that time. The most Charles would do to retaliate against her was to turn into a glutton when she was cooking, eating and drinking like a glutton, trying to tire her to death in this way.

But now...

Sure enough, the death of someone close to him may be the only way to mature a man.

She sacrificed herself, and in return Charles became what he is today. He is more taciturn and laughs less often. Perhaps he has realized his own powerlessness. Now Charles has become much more mature and more like a man than a boy.