【Western Fantasy】City of Light

Ansel folded his hands in the sleeves of his robe, and walked steadily on the wide street paved with white stones.

The Midsummer Festival is an annual event in Hampton, and many out-of-towners come here for the season, and the City of Lights is more crowded than any other time of the year.The cheerful music will float to the sea with the summer breeze; the eyes peeping in the dark are more eager to move than usual.

The priest's posture is upright and dignified, and his white clothes are meticulous.The pair of green eyes vigilantly inspected both sides of the street, guarding against the invasion of dark creatures.

The sun rose slowly to the highest point in the sky, and the morning was almost over.

After patrolling the downtown area for several hours, Ansel returned to the gate of the church, where the priests in charge of the afternoon patrol were waiting.

"Master Ansel." Seeing the blond priest returning to the church, several priests who had been waiting stood up and saluted.

Ansel bowed back, a drop of sweat fell from the tip of his tall white nose, and the transparent drops reflected the quiet light in the church.

"My lord, thank you for your hard work, wipe it off quickly." A priestess stepped forward and handed Ansel a handkerchief graciously.She has a lively personality, she doesn't always adhere to the etiquette of the church, and often enthusiastically strikes up a conversation with Mrs. Ansel, who is like the flower of the kaolin.

Ansel took the handkerchief, reserved and polite: "Thank you, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth smiled sweetly, her dark brown curly hair bounced happily on her shoulders a few times.

Seeing Ansel wiping the sweat from his forehead gracefully, Elizabeth couldn't help sighing: "If we are strong enough, my lord won't have to do everything alone."

Although Ampton is rich, its city area is not the largest in the mainland. In addition, the bishop's twin brother sits in town all year round, so the church only sent ten priests to station in Ampton.

Although everyone shoulders the responsibility of a priest, the power of light of the rest is far less than that of Ansel.Ansel can alone undertake the inspection work of the whole city, while the other priests must form a team of at least six people to barely complete the task.

Seeing Ansel's hard work now, several priests showed embarrassing expressions.

A young male priest interjected: "My lord, I think there is some news that will make you happy—Master Barnett is coming back. When he comes back, the burden on our church will be greatly relieved."

"What?" Ansel stopped wiping his sweaty hands, "Yarlin is coming back?"

Alyn Barnett is the only son of the mayor, and Ansel is about the same age, and the two have a very good personal relationship.Three years ago, he was picked by the seniors of the Palace of Paladins, so he went to the capital to practice martial arts alone, and never returned to his hometown since then.Because the rules of the Knights' Hall are strict, Yarlin's letters are not many, and the contact with family and friends gradually decreases.

"Eric, you are really fast-talking." Elizabeth glanced at Eric reproachfully, and then continued, "This morning, when you were going to supervise the execution of the vampire, the mayor's servant sent a message. It is said that their young master will be able to enter the city as soon as today."

"He also brought a few paladins back to Ampton," Eric added.

"Yes." Elizabeth nodded happily, "He also brought a few paladins with him."

For a moment, everyone fell into a brief silence. The vampires entrenched in the summer palace filled the city with an atmosphere of panic. The news finally alarmed the capital, and even Master Barnett returned home.

After pondering for a moment, the blond priest nodded, and then he looked at Elizabeth with probing eyes.

The priest held the opponent's handkerchief in his slender and white hand, and the pure white cloth was slightly wet with sweat.

Seeing the iceberg-like Ansel's expression of bewilderment, the priestess smiled and said, "If you don't dislike it, please keep it."

During the conversation, it was time for the next round of inspections.Several priests bid farewell to Ansel and left the church.

After a busy morning, I finally had some free time.Ansel carefully folded the handkerchief presented by his subordinate, put it gently in his pocket, then got up and walked towards the square in the city center.

The oppressive atmosphere of the morning execution was swept away, and the elegant and wide square became a sea of ​​laughter.

Ansel shuttled among the bustling small vendors, people greeted him warmly, and the blond priest responded politely one by one.

However, there seems to be a discordant note mixed in the joyful celebration.

As the destination approached, the noisy voice became clear and harsh, as if someone was arguing and making trouble.

Ansel couldn't help speeding up his pace, and soon came to the door of a small restaurant by the square.

This small restaurant may not look like much on the outside, but the food is delicious, and the exclusive signature steak and home brewed wheat beer are hard to pass.Therefore, compared to expensive high-end restaurants, young people prefer to come here to spend their leisure time.

The owner of this store is Toby. He lost his wife in his early years and has been running the restaurant alone.A few years ago, hunters rescued an abandoned child in the wild.After the child was brought back to the city, old Toby stood up and took him home. Only then did the restaurant have a second helper, and old Toby also had a second family.

The boy was named Alai. His skin was a healthy wheat color, and his hair and pupils were as black as crow feathers. He was a typical foreigner.Alai has a simple personality, as lively and active as a young wolf.Alai helped old Toby a lot, and often followed the hunters out of town to hunt.

Of all the people in Hampton, Alai liked Monsieur Ansel of the Church best.

Because, when Alegan old Toby was adopted, his nerves were still very weak when he was young, and he often sleepwalked at night.So old Toby went to the church and asked for help.Ansel was ten years older than Alai, and he sympathized with this abandoned child very much.Therefore, the blond priest personally went out and spared no effort to exorcise and treat Alai, and the boy's sleepwalking gradually recovered.

Alai regards the blond priest as his big brother, much closer than others.Ansel felt the boy's sincere kindness, and was also very moved.After Alai's sleepwalking recovered, the priest often came to his restaurant to take care of Alai and his elderly adoptive father.

As soon as the work in the morning was over, Ansel came to the restaurant to visit Alai, but he didn't expect to bump into someone making trouble.

A few strangely dressed foreigners blocked the narrow shop door cursing, and their vulgar curses were unbearable.They scare away all the diners and the restaurant can't do business at all.

The shopkeepers next door were alarmed and came out one after another to look around, but seeing that they were tall and burly people, they didn't dare to intervene.

Ansel frowned slightly, and walked quickly to the door of the store.

The crowd of onlookers made way for him, and the foreigner had to shut up seeing the blond young man in the uniform of a priest.But they still blocked the door of the store domineeringly, preventing the priest from passing.

These people were more than a head taller than Ansel, and the muscles on their arms were daunting. The strong smell of alcohol and sweat made the priest hold his breath.

Through the gap between their figures, Ansel vaguely saw the figure of a boy.

It was Alai.

Alai is only 16 years old this year. He is slender and not as tall as the chest of a foreigner.At this moment, he was biting his lip with his small canine teeth, showing an aggrieved look on the verge of crying.

Behind his thin figure stood two girls in full costumes.

The delicate faces of the two girls were flushed, and their small fingers were twirling the corners of the soft skirts in a state of panic.

With just one glance, Ansel grasped the current situation.

Drunk men molesting girls is almost a must-have for every year's celebration.

"May I ask you to step aside?" Ansel assumed the posture of a priest, with a cold and polite expression.

"..." The foreigner muttered a few words in a language Ansel could not understand, and reluctantly moved aside.

The narrow store door was seen again, and A-Lai was like a wronged puppy finally seeing its owner.With a crying voice, he called out "My lord—" in a drawn-out tone, and then flew to the side of the blond priest.

Ansel immediately reached out to support his shoulder, and Alai leaned on his arm, raised his face and complained angrily: "These people were drunk and made trouble in my shop, and they insisted on taking Lily and Mary away. install!"

The two young girls also followed. They held the priest's sleeves tightly, and echoed a few words in a low voice and aggrieved.

In the reassuring embrace of the priest, the boy's wheat-colored skin felt cold to the touch, and he was still trembling uncontrollably, obviously he had been bullied severely.

Ansel lowered his head to appease the children, then raised his voice and said to the foreigner: "Please leave the city immediately and don't enter Ampton again, otherwise I will send you to the underground prison."

As soon as he finished speaking, the irritated foreigner widened his eyes like copper bells, and began to curse loudly in a foreign language, and danced when he got excited, without any manners or etiquette.

Today is a festival in the city, Ansel didn't want to get too entangled with them, so he just raised his hand slightly.

I saw a pure white ball of light explode in the air, and the loudest big man fell to the ground.His figure was as strong as a mountain of meat, almost smashing a hole in the ground.This person twitched all over, foam was overflowing from the corners of his mouth, and his rough beard was messed up, obviously in a state of hysteria.

There was exclamation from the crowd, this priest actually put people down with one finger, and the foreigner had no choice but to give in.They picked up their delirious companion and left the restaurant cursing.

With the support of the priest, Alai finally let out a bad breath.When the big villains left, Alai let out a heavy "hum".

Unexpectedly, a big man just walked by him, and upon hearing the sound, he pushed him roughly.

The boy leaned against Ansel's side, taking off all his defenses.At this time, he was pushed hard by someone, and he fell heavily without noticing it for a moment, and immediately gasped in pain, a cloud of mist rose from his dark pupils.

"Oh, you child."

Ansel helped Alai to his feet, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, bent down and gently wiped his tears.

The boy sobbed and let the priest move, his short black hair curled up in a mess, looking pitiful.

He raised his head, staring at the priest's beautiful and mature face in a daze.Under the angle of the backlight, the priest's eyebrows and eyes are shrouded in shadow, and the sharp facial features become faint and blurred, which relieves a lot of aggression for the ultimate beauty.

Because of the height difference, Ansel had to lower his head slightly, and a strand of blond hair fell to his smooth forehead.

That touch of pale gold, like sunlight in the dark night, gently plucked at the young man's heartstrings, making him forget the pain and fear on his body...

"Alai is like a child~" After the foreigner left, Lily and Marianne also regained their spirits, and deliberately teased Alai when they saw this.

Alai's face was a little flushed, but it was not obvious because of his dark skin.Ansel was close, heard his breathing and heartbeat a little faster, thought he was shy because of the girl's joke, couldn't help but find it funny, and his mood softened a lot.

The two girls surrounded the priest with attachment, unwilling to leave.

Although Ansel has a kind and gentle personality, never puts on airs, and never looks down on anyone, but because his beauty is too outstanding, his family background is so noble, and he usually speaks little like an inviolable ice-cold god, so everyone doesn't like it. Too dare to get close to the priest.

Seeing the priest gently wipe away Alai's tears, Marianne suddenly said, "My lord, your handkerchief is so beautiful."

Lily also noticed the unusualness of the handkerchief: "The embroidery doesn't seem to be the name of an adult."

The clean white handkerchief was gently brushed against Alai's wheat-colored face, and Marianne couldn't help but move closer and said, "The embroidery is...'Elizabeth'."

The two girls looked at each other in surprise, as if they had peeped into the priest's secret.

Alai was enjoying Ansel's gentle care, and his eyes, which were still wet from tears, narrowed comfortably.The girls' conversation suddenly caught their ears, and the boy immediately recovered from the turbulent emotions, staring at the beautiful priest in front of him with wide eyes in disbelief.

This pair of jet-black pupils is like a bright mirror, full of the priest's face.

Ansel folded the handkerchief and put it away. He was not good at words and didn't know how to explain it to the children.

Before he could open his mouth, a man who looked like a servant came hurriedly.Barnett's family crest was embroidered on his chest. When he saw the priest, he knelt down on one knee and saluted: "My lord, my master asks you to do me a favor and come to our house for a little gathering."

Ansel rolled up his robe sleeves, nodded slightly in return, and said reservedly: "The mayor wants to see me?"

The attendant straightened up and replied beamingly: "My young master is back. The master has hosted a big family banquet. You will be the first to invite me over."

"Yarlin?" The priest showed a slight smile, "Now it's Paladin Yarlin."

The young attendant's tone was very proud: "I heard that the young master was awarded the honor by Her Majesty the Queen herself, and the ceremony was presided over by Bishop Tiana."

elder sister?

Now that Yarlin saw his sister, maybe he brought her letter back by the way.

Ansel immediately said: "I'll be right there." He patted Alai on the head, "I'll go first, if someone still causes trouble, you can find me at the Barnett's house." Turning around, he ordered Girls: "Miss, please be careful and go home early at night."

Lily and Marian waved obediently at the priest. Alai didn't want him to leave very much, but he had no choice but to watch the white figure leave in a hurry.

"Alai." Lily tilted her head curiously, her cheeks were as delicate as pink roses, "What are you still looking at? The priests are all gone."

Marian covered her mouth and smiled: "Alai likes Priest Ansel the most."

Alai couldn't laugh out loud, and returned to the small restaurant with his head downcast.

The innocent and lively puppy finally found its beloved owner, and before saying a few words, the owner just stroked the dog's head and smoothed its fur, and left in a hurry...

"Ah, it's a float! The float is here!" Lily excitedly grabbed her friend's hand and ran towards the direction of the music.

Marian quickly lifted the corner of her skirt and followed: "Wait for me, Marian!"

The gorgeous parade of floats is slowly coming from the main street of the city, the spinning and flying silk skirts, the laughter of boys and girls, the refreshing aroma of wine, and the glittering and light gold and silver films... The beautiful midsummer night is like the most human The craziest dream, when night falls, people burn out countless fireworks.Continue the beauty of the day.

Gorgeous fireworks bloom in the summer sky, illuminating the city of light like a sunny day.

People looked up at the sky, the roar of fireworks was deafening, as if something was collapsing.

The author has something to say: I have been waiting for a long time