The Shadow of the Crown of Snow [Western Fantasy]

"need my help?"

Joshua was regretting that he had carried too many weapons at one time to save trouble, he turned his head gratefully, and felt embarrassed again when he saw Garcia's half-smiley expression.

If it were another person, he would be happy to let the other party help him share the burden, but for Garcia, whom Selene clearly expressed "distrust", Joshua felt that it was better to keep some distance.

"No, thank you, I can do it by myself." Joshua shook his head and refused his help. He was just about to take a step forward, but he was staggered by the weight in his hand and nearly fell to the ground .

"Don't be brave." Garcia took more than half of the weapons in his hand without any explanation, "You can come a little bit."

Joshua was a low self-esteem person since he was a child.

He felt that being born in the royal family had already spent all the good luck in his life, so the rest of his life was full of mediocrity and upheaval.But if a person is mediocre, he might as well be born into any ordinary family. On the contrary, he can live a happier life, at least happier than Joshua—Joshua has always thought so.

The predecessor of the Nagrand Empire, Kor, has Hussein as a proud child.Before he discovered Hussein's ambition and danger, he felt that he was the best candidate to inherit his throne in the future. In comparison, Joshua, who was free and timid and had no outstanding talents, seemed so worthless. carry.

Cole didn't want to favor one of them too much, but under the premise of the gap in ability, favoritism is inevitable. Under the shadow of his brother, Joshua didn't get much attention, and he didn't cause any trouble for himself In this way, he grew up peacefully until he was ten years old.

As early as ten years old, he saw his future life trajectory: to be a prince honestly, to assist his elder brother after he ascended the throne, or to simply ignore political affairs and live a leisurely and prosperous life of his own.

If there were no sudden changes at the age of ten, his prediction of his life would be very accurate.

When Cole brought him to the border with the Kingdom of Nord, Joshua still refused to believe that his beloved father really wanted to hand himself over like this. Behind him was the motherland full of sunshine, which he loved so much. In Nagrand, his father did not allow him to back down, insisting on pushing him into the cold abyss in front of him.

In the imagination of the Nagrand people, the image of the Northlanders is always very simple: heavy clothes, rough characters, weapons that are carried around all day, with degradation and discrimination, Cole may take pains to teach Hussein Because "don't underestimate the Northlanders", but I will not teach Joshua this.

Joshua was pushed in front of Roy with despair. He gradually realized that the situation was not that bad. The identity of the proton was embarrassing, but the second prince who was ignored was almost embarrassing.Naturally, he won't get much attention and appreciation in the Nord royal family. The days are the same as before, but Selene is a little friendlier than Hussein. With the child's sensitivity, Joshua can occasionally feel it from his brother. Hostility, but as long as Joshua emphasizes that he has no interest in inheriting the throne, the elder brother will probably turn back to the kind and smiling elder brother.

This is Joshua's life so far. He is an ordinary person, but he is always pushed into a place that is not suitable for ordinary people to live in. So he can only do nothing every day, constantly unwilling to accept his mediocrity and admitting his mediocrity.

Joshua's only family member, Hussein, probably almost forgot his existence, and Selene and Roy, who should be his enemies, treated him—very nice to him.

So he was pushed from mediocrity to contradiction.Joshua, who has always been indecisive, did not make his own choice after all. He followed Selene not because he wanted to understand it, but because he might die with Hussein, and the possibility of death with Selene was greater smaller.

Not long ago, he was hiding in a safe and comfortable house in the city of Westman, Talis Alliance. Every night before going to bed, he anxiously speculated about the battle between Selene Hekat and the half-orcs, while feeling cowardly. , while telling yourself your reasons for not participating in this fight.

It is indeed the case.

"I am because of Selene. If there is no Selene, do you think I will go to the battlefield and work hard for these crap things." Hecate once answered Joshua's question in this way, "Of course, once I participate, there will be nothing. There is a way to get away, for the dead comrades, for those innocent sacrifices, and later... also for the Northland, for Nord."

There is no country to protect, no people to protect, so it is not a bad idea to live like Joshua, after all, everyone wants to live.

"Okay, don't be too aggressive in the future, and don't compare yourself with the people from the Northland." Garcia pointed to the soldiers of the Guards Legion who walked by with a lot of weapons, "You are different from them." .”

In terms of physical strength alone, the Northlanders were born with an innate advantage. If it wasn't for a whim, Joshua would not try to approach the Northlanders in this regard.Although he can't be called thin and weak, he can't be called strong at all.

It's just that he was surprised that Garcia had that kind of strength. The Talisians never gave others the impression that they were good at physical labor.

"Mr. Garcia." Selene's voice suddenly sounded behind him, and Joshua turned around and smiled at her with some embarrassment, but Selene didn't seem to care whether he was close to Garcia or not. The polite and blunt tone continued, "Mr. Garcia, are you free now? I have something to talk to you about."

"So... Hecate woke up?"

"Yes, although I haven't fully regained consciousness. I think we can speak clearly before setting off for the next city tomorrow, so that the victory will be more assured." Speaking of Hecate, Selene's tone eased a lot , "Isn't it?"

"I agree." Garcia patted the dust on his hands, "Please find a suitable place for conversation."

"It's already ready."

The "place" that Selene prepared was a corner near the edge of the jungle. No one would come here. Selene sent away the guards who were in charge of sentry at night, and arranged a simple magic spell to prevent the sound from spreading. Then he sat down on the ground and lit a fire.

"I thought you would create a decent place." Garcia seemed to be trying to make the atmosphere less tense, and sat down opposite Selene jokingly.

"Let's get down to business, Mr. Garcia. To be honest, I didn't discover this, it was Phoebe... Let me give up these diplomatic rhetoric and use a more straightforward statement." Selene said softly, "Phoebe discovered that, You are a man who has been dead for a long time. To be precise, Garcia is the man who has been dead for a long time, and the man who is listening to me now just took his body while his bones were still cold. Phoebe and me Is this finding correct?"

"Correct." Garcia raised his head and stared at her, then slowly shifted his gaze to other places, "Since you think I'm a suspicious person, you still dare to talk to me here alone?"

"If you want me to be scared, you have to not only act suspiciously, but also act stronger. So, the next question, why did you come here? Is it just because the Tallis Alliance assigned the original Garcia to come here?" To carry out this task, so you have to come?"

"No. I got into the body of a Tallis officer who had just died because I wanted to be sent on this mission, pretended to be a medical miracle, and offered to be a quarrelsome Parliament, among other things. I was able to successfully obtain this position when people were evading me."

"The third question. Since you want to carry out the mission so much, what is your purpose?"

"approaching you."

Selene paused for a long time.

"Then, the last question. Who were you... exactly?"

"I thought you could guess it." The Talisman laughed, as if talking about a very light and trifling matter. He poked the flames with a long wooden stick, and he didn't speak for a long time.

It wasn't until Selene felt that she was about to lose patience that Garcia, under the dim light of the fire, lowered his head, looked at the land under his feet, and slowly read a passage in a tone that Selene was extremely familiar with.

"In the past, the Northland was guarded by three goddesses. Selene, Hecate, and Phoebe. They didn't distinguish between their own superiority and inferiority, nor did they distinguish who should take care of what. They just sat around the campfire and discussed how to let Is this wasteland showing life?"

Sometimes the fighting methods of the northerners can't explain anything, and the foreign soul inhabiting this body can't explain anything either.

Selene only gave an analysis from a rational point of view. In fact, there are too many things in the world that are beyond the scope of Selene's logic to understand and control.

But there are also many things in the world that can be determined without rational analysis.

"……Father?"

Like a bedtime story a father reads to his daughter.

"Are you surprised? Selene." Garcia—or Roy stood up from the fire, put away the smile on his face and the deliberate body posture, "My performance should be considered a success, after all You didn't even recognize me..."

"It's a failure." Selene nodded sincerely at Roy, "Not very flattering."

"My main purpose is to prevent you from recognizing me." Roy shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, I've been suffocating for the past few years. Can you go and bring me a bottle of mead?"

Selene was delighted to find that Roy hadn't changed at all.