The heavy rain fell all night and it didn't stop until the next morning. ￡∝

As the thick cumulonimbus clouds gradually dissipated, the sun began to pass through the clouds and shone on the woods.

"It's clear."

Hopres lifted the tent and nodded with satisfaction. But when he thought of the road conditions after the rain, he frowned again.

"Wooah..."

But Little Red Riding Hood didn't think so much. She squeezed her head out of the hunter, squinted her eyes and took a deep breath. As the refreshing and slightly bitter smell of the forest after the rain filled her breath, a simple smile soon filled her face.

"……marvelous!"

"Yeah."

"Hey, it's clear? Are the teacher unhappy?"

"If it didn't rain from the beginning, maybe it would."

“The requirements are so high.”

Hoplece tied his shoelaces tightly and began to clean up the tent. At the same time, Little Red Riding Hood also raised the fire and began to roast the remaining chicken last night.

She cut the bread with a knife and then clamped the grouse barbecue into it. So, just as Hopres had packed up his tent and tied them to the horse's back, two full-scale barbecue sandwiches were ready and handed to him by Little Red Riding Hood.

"Give."

"Oh, thank you."

Hopres opened his mouth and bit the bread. He said in a vague voice while confirming the iron buckle on his luggage.

"If nothing unexpected happens, we will be able to arrive in White Rock City before noon."

"Does the teacher go there to do business?"

"One thing is mainly to see a friend."

"Hey~ friend?"

Little Red Riding Hood's tone was full of distrust.

But this is a matter of course, because in Hopres’ life so far, few people can be called friends.

"Of course. Even if I am, there are still one or two things like friends."

Hopres smiled and turned around, patting Little Red Riding Hood's head.

"But Master, you have never told me?"

"Yeah?"

"certainly."

"That's because you haven't asked."

The hunter patted Little Red Riding Hood's head and smiled.

"Let's go."

"Okay OK."

The two men rode on their horses and continued to walk north. They walked through the muddy forest path and took the remaining journey. They soon left the small forest and came to the plains to the north.

The castle called "White Stone" stands here, protecting the nearby farmhouse under the rule of the king.

Yes.

Although it is just a small country, White Rock City is indeed a capital. In its not-tall city wall, there is a real royal palace. Although it is a little shabby, there is a real king living.

——Even if he is just a fool.

"The ambition is great but the talent is distracted, and the plan is easy but the decision is not made."

“Eh?”

The reason for saying this is very simple.

Because the king who ruled this city, this plain, and even this country was really disappointing.

Snoer III, he neither had the ambition of His Majesty for the first lifetime nor the resoluteness of His Majesty for the second lifetime. Although he had always been committed to reviving the kingdom, his character of looking forward to the front and forefront made him mediocre.

He wanted to reform, but he was always hesitant. As a result, he was not only hated by the nobles, but also hated by the people.

Everyone thought he was a liar who was full of nonsense, and the prestige of the Snor royal family was no longer in his hands. Even the most loyal royal nobles were no longer willing to follow him. They turned to his daughter to obey the orders of the "Snow White".

So things got worse.

After the ruling class was completely divided into the ‘Princess Sect’ and ‘Aristocratic Sect’, Snow White’s living environment began to become sinister.

They first forced the king to accept a political marriage. Then they tried to let Snow White marry far away - but unfortunately the incident did not go smoothly: as the king's only offspring, even if the king did nothing, she still tried to stay in the country herself.

Replacing the king, she became the representative of the "reform" in this country, and became a thorn in the eyes of the nobles and a thorn in the flesh.

To be honest, Hopres thinks nothing is more ironic than this.

But what does it have to do with him?

Hopres decided long ago that he should not be a hero or a sage. He just wanted to go home, and he would never see any trouble on the road to this result.

"Go to find my friend first, and then leave."

“Continue to go north?”

"right."

Hopres said while taking Little Red Riding Hood through the streets and alleys. Because White Rock City was not very big, they soon arrived at the destination of the trip - the 'friend's house' mentioned by Hopres.

It was a small shop that was strange no matter how you look at it: it was built in a remote dead end, with no crowds nearby. Although from the terrain, it was a noisy area dozens of meters away from here, but it was clearly so close that the air here was filled with a strange tranquility.

“…”

It is difficult to describe the feeling of Little Red Riding Hood, and it is difficult to describe the appearance of that store.

It looked dirty and broken, and the windows were gray. The only sign was not hung with iron bars, but was nailed to the same worn wooden door.

"Uh...it looks so broken?"

In the end, Little Red Riding Hood could only use the word "break" to summarize - although the small village she lived in before was already quite unbearable compared to White Rock City, it had a crushing advantage compared to the place in front of her.

"Not right at all."

Hopres nodded in agreement and then began knocking on the door.

"Dorothy, are you at home?"

"Here~"

The door opened was a little girl in a blue skirt. She looked only ten years old, with long blonde hair hanging to her waist and tied it into a ponytail with a white ribbon.

Her face was full of smiles, and although her white skin was covered with a little dust, she looked very cute.

"It's Hope~"

When she saw the hunter, she greeted her with great vitality. She waved her small palms a few times in the air, and she was very childish.

"Teacher, is this your friend?"

Little Red Riding Hood turned around to look at the hunter, and the expression on his face felt like "you criminal".

"Well, that's it."

The hunter shrugged uneasyly and deliberately ignored Little Red Riding Hood's gaze. On the other hand, Dorothy didn't care about the interaction here either. She just shook her hand with a smile and continued to ask.

"Do you want to come in for a cup of tea? Just made it!"

"Yeah, I'm disturbing."

The hunter nodded and followed Dorothy into the house. However, unlike his expected situation, there were other people in the house.

She was a gorgeously dressed girl who looked very identifiable. She was probably older than Little Red Riding Hood, about sixteen or seventeen years old.

She watched the hunter walk into the room and frowned slightly, but then she stood up and asked Dorothy with a normal expression.

"Who is this?"

"My friend~ Just call Hope-and Hope, this one is Bai Xue."

“…”
Chapter completed!