Hopeland has been quite quiet recently. The events that happened in the Helis and Nissos families some time ago have gradually died down, and life seems to have returned to normal.

A careful observer would have noticed that Young Master Fenton of the Nisos family had recently visited the Tisiphone household several times. Although the two families were related by marriage, the frequency of these visits was significantly higher than usual. The Nisos family had recently lost many orders, and their only fleet had been dispatched to a distant land, reportedly to import some rare brewing ingredient to break the deadlock and rebuild their reputation.

That night, at the 'Flower Beach' cold drink shop.

Although it was already night, there were still some guests under the bright yellow lights. Perhaps some of them just liked the atmosphere of a candlelight dinner.

You can see two or three couples sitting facing each other, whispering softly. Under the dim candlelight, each other's faces seem to become more beautiful. They say sweet words, and laughter can be heard from time to time.

Loran Hill pushed open the door and walked to the bar. She was wearing a black hooded robe, with two strands of long golden hair sticking out from between the hoods. Her face was hidden in the shadow of the hood, revealing only her fair and delicate chin.

Lan Lier, who was sitting in the store, saw this and waved to her to come over.

After spending the past few days together, the two of them became quite familiar with each other, and Loran Hill walked over with a little curiosity.

"Lacey, you are finally here. I thought you were not going." Lan Li'er said a little exaggeratedly.

"No, since we agreed, I will come. I should be on time now."

"It's on time, but the road is not so sure. If the carriages are blocked, we will have to run over."

"Okay, let's stop talking and set off now." After saying that, Lanlier pulled Loran Hill out of the store, then turned two corners and came to an alley.

There was a black carriage parked in the alley. It looked nicely decorated, with rubber wheels and shock absorbers on the bottom.

Then Lanlier pulled the girl onto the carriage. The coachman, who had been waiting for a long time, did not ask any more questions and immediately ordered the horses to move and the wheels to turn.

In the carriage, Lanlier looked at Loran Hill opposite and asked curiously.

"Lacey, did you accept the teacher's invitation? She asked me to wait for you tonight and go to the theater with you."

"Not yet, but I want to try it first." Loran Hill is still curious about this world and wants to try many things. Isn't that interesting?

"Oh~ I was so disappointed. I thought I could perform on the same stage with you in the future." Lan Lier said in a pretended annoyed manner, supporting her cheeks with her hands and pouting slightly.

"Did Lanlier enjoy the performance?"

"I like it very much. Besides alchemy, my favorite thing is to stand on the stage wearing bright clothes, listening to the cheers of the audience, watching them go crazy for me, watching them fall for me, watching them scream and cheer for me."

Lan Lier pointed her index finger at her eyebrows, closed her right eye slightly, looked at Lacey with her left eye, then turned her wrist and pointed her index finger in front of her face, drawing a 90° arc in the air. A small golden star flew out from her fingertips, bloomed in the air, and then dissipated.

"Dangdang~ The big star Lan Lier is here."

Looking at this funny scene, Lacey couldn't help but smile.

The two chatted for a while, and then Lacey familiarized herself with the script and music again. Before she knew it, the carriage had arrived at the back door of the theater.

"Aina and the others should have arrived early, we have to hurry." Lan Lier led the way for Lacey.

There were many people moving backstage in the hallway. Some were carrying props, some were wearing strange clothes, and some actors had their faces painted with dye, each looking unique. The two finally walked into a dressing room where many girls were sitting. Many were applying makeup in front of the mirror, while others were helping their companions adjust their hair and check their costumes.

"Lan Lier, you're finally here. I thought you were going to be late."

"No, I went to pick up a new companion. She will sing the backing songs for us today."

"Ah... Is this lady going to participate in the performance today? I often see her in the store these days, but unfortunately I don't know her name."

"She's really talented. The last time I heard her singing on the second floor, I thought she was some famous singer."

"I heard from Teacher Filia that she might be the lead singer at the next festival."

"Really? I heard that only the continent's famous singers are allowed to perform at every festival."

"Is it true? Because I think her singing is even more beautiful than that of Flores who came to Hopeland before."

"I think so too. I left dance practice late that time and was almost in tears when I heard this in the dressing room alone."

"I didn't expect Lika to cry. You always thought you had a talent for singing."

"I can't help it. The gap is too big to be jealous. If Teacher Filia said that this is the level of the Blue Songstress, then I would believe it."

......

"Okay, if you have time to chat, you might as well help me fix the iris on my head. It's so troublesome." A girl in a white dress was struggling with a complicated headdress, and finally couldn't help but speak up about her companions' gossip.

"It's because you are the heroine today. You have so many clothes and decorations." The two girls chattered and helped the girl in the white dress to adjust her headdress.

Lanlier took Lacey into a quiet little dressing room next door.

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A day ago, in the country of the west wind, the wind stopped in the wilderness.

As the core area of ​​the kingdom and the origin of the west wind, this land is very rich.

Under the mirror-like blue sky, the green grass ripples in the breeze, spreading to the distant horizon.

Suddenly, a horse hoof stepped on the green grass, and a faint flash of lightning appeared on it. After the horse hoof was lifted up, a burnt yellow mark appeared on the green grass.

A group of knights in bright armor came from the west. Their white and sharp lances pointed to the sky like neatly arranged poles, and their silver shields were decorated with patterns of interlaced lightning and swords.

There were not many knights in this group, only about 700 of them, all wearing bright silver armor, riding black warhorses with dark blue manes with flashes of lightning.

They galloped across the land at such a speed that even the occasional rabbit on the grassland would emerge from its burrow, but before they could dodge, they would whiz by and disappear, leaving only the scorched hoof prints behind.

It only takes one day to cross a distance of one thousand kilometers, and its sound is like thunder and its momentum is like lightning.