Atlas Battle Song

Two little boys were sitting next to each other on the bank of the river, fishing together.

It didn't take long before Little Trand couldn't sit still, his legs were dangling restlessly, he was treading water lightly with his toes, and he deliberately rubbed against his partner's calves from time to time.

"Hey~ Master Egg, let's go play something else, shall we?"

"good."

Young Egg ignored him, staring intently at the river.

"Talk to me." Little Trande hummed, putting his head on his partner's shoulder, like a cat disturbing its master's work. "What's the point of fishing? You don't eat fish. Let's go, let's dig out bird eggs in the forest, shall we?"

"Why dig out the eggs? Don't birds need a complete family?" The young master pushed the clingy pet lion away.

"That makes sense, then we can make another trap for catching birds, and bake them with the eggs later, so that the bird family can reunite in my stomach. Just wait, I'll find some branches, and I'll make it right away!" Xiao Xiao Trander got excited and jumped up energetically.

"Are you a wild lion? You obviously fed lobsters to Trand at noon, why did you go out hunting and looking for something to eat in the afternoon?"

"It's a wild lion!"

That sounded very dignified, and Little Trand was delighted.

"Oh, then you are free, go wild little furball." Little Egg still wanted to fish.

"Suppose you were fishing alone in the forest, and suddenly you met a wild beast, and the wild beast pounced on you—and took your fishing rod away! Aww——!" Little Trander was so excited that he threw himself on little Egg. .The two little boys rolled to the ground.

Little Egg was startled, and the fishing rod fell into the water.He got a little angry, grabbed his partner's arm and started wrestling. "Then suppose I'm a hunter who comes to the forest to fish, and my usual hobby is catching wild lions for sterilization!"

"What, no!"

"Catch a Trand lion and send it to be neutered!"

Egg was happy, and wrestled and rolled on the grass with Trand.The two boys were yelling, laughing and fighting, and the white shirts were covered with grass seeds and dirt.Intense games are more fun than fishing, and the boys play with passion, always trying to outdo each other.Trander was so strong, he yelled several times to win, but was tickled by Egg and exposed his flaws.The friends were playing, and when they got tired they jumped up from the grass and started the race.

The young master ran fast, and was as light as a deer in the forest.Not reconciled, Trande chased after him vigorously, and the two boys ran all the way to the top of the mountain.

"Yeah, I forgot the fishing rod!"

"No more," Egg shook his head, and held Trand's hand, "I'll take you to see something good."

Two boys came to a clearing in the forest.There is a moss-covered round stone tablet, the writing on it has been weathered.This is the tombstone, the abode of the nameless dead and spirits.

"The knights will swear before the tombstone, and the elves will testify." Little Egg picked a few wild flowers and placed them in front of the unnamed tombstone.

"Are you going to swear to me?"

"Do not."

"What, I thought Master Egg was going to swear something important here~" Trander put the wild flower on his mouth, looking foolish, "Then guess, will I have something to say? Want to swear to you?"

"Let's go, that interesting thing is still ahead."

"Wait, are you leaving now? I want to say..." Little Trander felt a little nervous.In fact, he didn't have much to say, but when he thought about it carefully, there seemed to be some strange feeling of depression in his heart.

The words never came out.

The two boys walked hand in hand into the depths of the forest.They climbed over the mountains and saw a blue chapel and a mansion at the foot of the mountain from afar.

"Is that yours too?" Trand asked.

The young master nodded, the short braids trembled on the boy's shoulders, and the emerald silver hair buttons trembled, making Trander's heart itch.

"Well, that's the old house, where my father was born, and no one lives there now. That village is also my family's territory."

"You haven't brought me here before."

"I haven't been here much," Egg looked at the blue chapel, "there are portraits of the ancestors of the Gorgon family enshrined there, and our family's cemetery is also nearby."

"Portraits, chapels, family cemeteries..." Trand pouted, he could imagine what Master Egg would look like after he became the Earl with his eyes closed.All the grown-ups said Egg was a good boy, a model for noble boys, an ideal heir.As the earl's son, the young Master Egg is not only polite, but also has superb swordsmanship, far surpassing other older children. He is very hopeful that he will make outstanding achievements in the imperial court and the Royal Knights...just like his ancestors Similarly, one day, Yi Ge will become the emperor's confidant and the one who will be honored in front of the generals.

Trander suddenly remembered that the swordsmanship teacher said before: Yi Ge is almost old, and he should leave the territory soon, and go to the "Jade Court" in the imperial capital to study with other noble boys, and the crown prince will also be there.

In the bottom of Trander's heart, the indescribable discomfort became more and more prominent, and he suddenly realized that he was feeling uneasy about the future.There is no doubt that Master Egg will become a noble lord earl... What about himself?

When they grow up, what kind of identity will he stand by Master Yi Ge's side?

"Let's go, I'll take you to that good place." The young master took Trende's hand and led him down a stone step on the edge of the cliff.The stone steps are so carefully and secretly built that they are hardly visible from the outside.Every time you walk, there will be a stone sculpture of a three-headed snake, which shows the taste and financial resources of the owner.

Little Trander suddenly realized: "You want to take me to your ancestral grave?"

"Yes, very interesting."

"You call the grave 'a fun place'...?"

"I like it very much. I used to come here to play. I also brought Trander to visit today." Little Egg said.

Trand didn't know how to answer for a moment.

The Sibyls are a nation that values ​​ancestors and funerals. Little Trande heard from her sisters before that the imperial nobles would spend a lot of money to build mausoleums and use magic to freeze the remains of their ancestors.Trand has been in the empire for so long, and he has never seen a real noble tomb.But the nanny specifically told him that even with Master Yi Ge's permission, he can't get close to the tomb of the Gorgon family. This is absolutely disrespectful.

"I still prefer to go to the woods to dig out bird eggs, haha..."

Little Egg explained to his friend patiently: "You're going to die anyway, so get familiar with the environment in advance."

"No, I won't bury you in your ancestral grave after I die, why do you need to be familiar with the environment!"

"Eh?" The young master showed a confused expression, "Is it not possible? Doesn't Trand want to be buried with me in the future?"

"..."

Facing this naive and cruel question, little Trander was a little dizzy, he pressed little Egg's shoulders, and rarely preached seriously: "Listen, Master Egg—we are children, and children don't need to think about these things. For things, just think about how to live happily in front of you, and worry about those things when you grow up."

Little Egg tilted his head, as if he was persuaded by his friends, but also as if he was dizzy.

"That's right, it's still too difficult to get the little lion to think about this kind of thing. It's okay to leave it to me."

"Don't treat me like a brat!"

"Three of my older brothers are buried here, and so is one younger sister." Little Egg walked on, looking back at Trander from time to time, and said, "My mother asked me to choose the location of the cemetery before. I too died young and was buried there."

"Hey! Don't say such unlucky words!" Trander was anxious.There was so much information in this remark that he didn't even know he should be surprised at that point.

"Ah, the silly lion is in a hurry~" Little Egg smiled and made a grimace.

"I didn't know you had other brothers and sisters, except Miss Ishtar... So they all passed away, I'm very sad... But why did the countess ask you to choose the cemetery? This is too strange, isn't it? You are still a child, why would you make such a choice."

"What's the matter? Isn't it common for children to die early? Horse riding, wind cold, small wounds... and pure blood Sybil children are easy to die." Egg shrugged indifferently, "As for Ish Tal, you don't have to worry about her. Her mother is an ordinary Sibyl and healthy."

"But……"

"And my mother also told me that she has no objection to bringing back my father's illegitimate daughter. After all, she is not in good health and cannot give birth to a new heir. If I fail, I can let my younger sister inherit the family business."

"It's too much, the countess shouldn't have said these things to you! The adults have to make the children feel safe!" Trander became angrier as he heard this, and blamed the countess for her indifferent education.

"Hahaha, it sounds like Tland is more suitable to be a mother." The young master stopped, turned around and hugged Tland.

"Humph."

"Good lion, good lion."

The two children hugged and regained their happiness.Little Trande took the opportunity to act like a baby, like a kitten who doesn't want to go for a walk, unwilling to see the ancestral grave of Yi Ge's family.Little Egg dragged and tugged, but there was still nothing he could do. In the end, he could only follow Trent's wish, and the two turned back the same way.

They found a nest of newborn hedgehogs under a big elm tree.The two boys were both surprised and delighted. The hedgehog hole was so narrow that the boys could only lie on the ground, head to head, face to face, and look inside closely next to each other.

When the sun went down again, they went back to the river to pick up the coats and fishing rods that were still there, and picked a lot of wild flowers to take home.

Little Tland was observing the young master all the way, unable to move his eyes away.When Egg was a little happy, he told a rough joke that made the young master frown; and when Egg was calm, he couldn't help trying to make the young master happy.The two boys tested each other and had a lot of fun.

When I got home, the nanny saw that the young master was completely covered in dirt, his braids were covered with hay seeds, and he looked like a farmer's child.As usual, she spanked Little Trand before dragging the two boys to the shower.

After washing, supper, and fragrant white lace pajamas, it's time for the children to go to bed.

"Tomorrow there will be a market in the east village, let's go there to play." Little Egg hugged the lion puppet and held Little Trander's hand.

"Okay..." Little Trande was so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes, "Recently, the young master plays every day, and doesn't care about his homework..."

"While father is not at home, if he comes back, I'm afraid..." Little Egg didn't continue.The boy smiled and kissed his little friend on the cheek.

"Good night, little lion."

"Good night, master, when I become a big lion... I will eat you up, huh..."

The moon was quiet and the children fell asleep with the dolls.

Little Trand felt at ease.Even in deep sleep, he could feel that beside him was a warm flame, something he loved...not cold floors, rags, leaky walls, or nightmares and tears.

Like the ending of all picture book stories, the friends are together and the stars are in the sky.

Early the next morning, after getting up, Little Trander went to work as usual, and together with the maids and sisters, prepared the outfits, hair accessories, saber and other things that Master Egg would need for today.Although Trander was loved by the young master, the butler was not polite to him, for fear that this wild boy would be spoiled and forget his identity.

After finishing the work arranged by the housekeeper, Little Trand returned to the bedroom, and the young master had already woken up.

"Let's go to the market today, right?" Trander hummed a little song while helping Master Egg change his clothes.

"..."

"What's the matter?" Trander noticed that the young master was sullen, probably because the butler said something when he was not around.

"Sorry, Trander..." Egg hugged the puppet lion and lowered his head, "I can't play with Trander today."

"What's the matter, have you encountered something difficult?"

"Father is coming back, and there will be a dance at home in two days, and people from several other families will also come."

"Isn't it just a ball? You should be very familiar with it. Why do you look so bitter and bitter?" Trander began to comb the young master's hair.

"This time is different."

"Isn't that how your aristocrats socialize?"

Egg shook his head: "Don't you understand yet? I am the heir of Earl Gorgon. The adults think I need a fiancée, so they hold the ball."

Trand choked.

"Fiancee? Ha... It's too early, aren't you only 11 years old? What kind of fiancée do you want if you don't even have hair?"

"Didn't Trand always say that he would marry four wives in the future?"

"Then I didn't really go on a blind date!" Just as he said the words, Little Trander realized that the tone was too strong, as if he was angry.He hurriedly added: "Hahaha, that's right, you nobles get married like this, and it's a business that was arranged early."

"..."

Seeing that the young master didn't speak, Trander regretted again. He must have said something wrong again.He wanted to say something to ease the embarrassing atmosphere, but he blurted out: "You don't want to get married, we won't marry a wife in the future, okay?"

Hell, what nonsense is this!Little Trand could hardly understand what was wrong with his own head.

Little Egg looked at him in surprise: "But... I will become the head of the family in the future, and I must give birth to an heir. Mom said that marriage is not a special thing. Why is Trand angry?"

"Why am I angry? I'm not angry at all!"

"Are you worried about the future? It doesn't matter, even if I get married in the future, you will still be my most important friend. We can still be together every day. I only see my wife once in a few weeks, just like Mom and Dad .”

"I don't want it! That's pointless! You can't be my friend and have a wife at the same time!"

Little Trande jumped on the bed, knowing that he was talking nonsense, but his tone was pretending to be righteous.He was so embarrassed that he tried desperately to find a way out for himself.

"why?"

But the young master became more serious.

"Because it's immoral. A real man can't do this. To prove that you are my most important friend, I can never get married for the rest of my life, and I can also swear that I will die in the same year, the same month, and the same day as you in the future," Little Trande said, with his whole face Feeling hotter and hotter, he realized something might be wrong.

The boy urgently thought of an excuse to save his life, and was about to say...

"Hey, does Trander like me?" Little Egg suddenly asked.

Little Trand was stunned.

The boy froze in place, as if a lightning bolt had struck him unexpectedly, turning him into a statue.A puzzle that has been bothering me for a long time has been punctured and awakened.And he didn't want to admit it.

"ah……"

The young master waited patiently, as if this was not an important problem.

"Who likes you? I don't want to sleep with you at all! I don't want to when I grow up! I can't get hard on you!"

"Varied……"

This exasperated nonsense shocked Egg too.The two looked at each other, unable to say a word for a long time.

"Trander, calm down, actually..."

When little Egg came back to his senses, he found that the little lion had already run away.The window of the balcony was open, and the puppet lion that little Trander sewed by himself was sitting on the chair.