Fortunately, she just misunderstood. Griffith touched the tip of his nose and was glad from the bottom of his heart that Galadia just misunderstood.

If one day she finds out that Sonia and I have made a soul contract... Ugh, I don’t dare to think about it. I will burn the documents of the new girl I met when I get back. It would be a minor discourtesy!

Within a minute, rapid footsteps were heard from behind the bookshelf, and Galadia actually circled back.

She put the book she was holding somewhere somewhere, and returned to Griffith with a nonchalant look on her face, as if nothing had happened.

“It’s useless for you to read local chronicles and customs. Mysterious secrets and key information will not be written in them. These books are more like a collection of folk tales than books.”

“Oh, really?” Griffith turned over the pages of the book awkwardly, wondering if he should find a passage and read it out.

The elf shook his head slightly and gestured with his fingers: "You need to understand the mysterious organization in Raven's place, the division of power between the Church of the Gods and the military, and the black magic and monsters you may encounter. Let me recommend a book to you."

As she spoke, she pulled Griffith's sleeve around to another library and stretched out her hand toward the upper shelf.

 Griffith followed the direction of her hand and saw a "Compilation of Black Magic Cases of the Eastern Province" placed on the top shelf of the bookshelf. He hurriedly reached out his hand to take the book down.

 "Pa~" The back of the elf's hand hit Griffith's palm. The cold and delicate touch made Griffith throb, and he almost shook it.

"It's the one next to it." The girl turned her head and looked at the knight, then slowly took back her right hand, "Sir Valentine's Adventure Notes in the Eastern Continent."

"Sorry," Griffith blushed and hurriedly took down the adventure notebook, "I thought..."

"That case compilation is also full of urban legends," Galadia took the note calmly and shook it towards Griffith, "Sir Valentine is not only an adventurer, but also a rigorous scholar.

. His records of the secret black magic and sacrificial rituals spread in the Eastern Province are detailed and accurate, and he describes the code of conduct and history of the Holy Light Church, which dominates the faith, in a neutral manner, so that you can learn something and be prepared.

.”

“This is great,” Griffith took the jazz adventure notes handed over by the girl, “I didn’t expect you to be so knowledgeable.”

"You can borrow it to read on the road," Galadia circled her hair with her fingers, "How long will you be there?"

 “A one-week mission, including the journey, takes almost ten days.”

"Stop trying to break through the central government," the girl said softly. "Even if they send you to the front line, you have to find a way to avoid it. Learn from those bureaucrats. Don't be the first to do everything."

 “I remember.”

 “Really remember?”

 “Of course.”

"Okay," Galadia sighed, hesitated for a while, and then asked very seriously, "Griffith, if Erza is in danger and is surrounded by enemies, what will you do?"

　　　…”

 What can I do? Why do I feel like this problem is a trap?

 Griffith stared at Galadia. The elf lady turned her head and looked at the full bookshelf, playing with the ends of her hair without looking at him.

Well, why don't you just surround the point to raise reinforcements and wait for me to jump in? The rebels in Verona used this trick. I just came back from Verona, so using the same trick twice is useless!

 "Galadia." He called softly.

 The elf's ears stood up. Although she tried to be aloof, the long pointed ears still betrayed her deeply.

“In Verona, I rested on corpses in muddy water, ate half-cooked potatoes and carrots, with broken arrowheads stuck in the gaps in my armor, and fought and marched for more than 18 hours a day.”

As he spoke, he put his hand into his pocket. After hearing the first half of the sentence, Galadia's eyes showed special concern and tenderness, and her eyes followed his movements subconsciously.

“It was a hellish place.

“But even there, there is some beauty.

 “I brought you a gift.”

 Griffith took out a small crystal bottle. The charming rose-colored liquid rippled in the clear crystal, reflecting a clear and charming light in the soft sunlight.

 Just by looking at it, one can’t help but associate this rose-colored little thing with the warm and cozy afternoon, comfort and tranquility, and beautiful memories.

“This is rose essential oil, which is said to be often used in prayers and baths. It has excellent moisturizing and relaxing effects. It is the best specialty of Verona!”

Galadia was shocked: "For me?"

 “Of course.”

 “Didn’t you go there to fight?”

"Don't I have five or six hours of rest every day?" Griffith grabbed the girl's wrist and stuffed the sparkling crystal vial into it. "Do you have a lot of these things? I don't understand very well.

, can’t choose the style.”

"How could it be possible? It's nothing!" Galadia hurriedly denied, holding the small bottle of rose essential oil tightly to her chest, as if it was worth all the treasures in the world, "Who taught you this?"

"What?" Griffith didn't realize what she was asking.

“Who told you to bring this kind of gift to a girl? You are a soldier, how do you understand this?” The elf blushed and said coyly.

 Griffith shook his head:

"One time when I was marching on the battlefield, between the gray sky and the pale earth, I saw a bright red. I originally thought it was a battlefield where a battle had just broken out, but when I got closer, I found that it was from the flames of war.

A field of roses that was fortunately preserved. Its gentle fragrance enveloped me, leaving no trace of fatigue and depression, leaving only joy and fulfilling memories.

"At that time, I had an idea. Although the war was miserable, if I could let you share the beauty I experienced at that moment, even if it meant an expedition to the end of the world, I would be willing..." :(/

Slender hands covered Griffith's mouth, blocking his thoughts.

Galadia held Griffith's shoulders and took a half step forward, stood on tiptoes, and kissed him on the cheek.

Griffith almost melted on the spot.

The gentle kiss passed away quietly. Miss Elf took two steps back shyly and whispered: "Don't get me wrong. This is a blessing from our tribe. It can drive away bad luck and bring good luck. Really."

As soon as she finished speaking, she wanted to run away.

Griffith caught her, grabbed her arms and carried her back.

"No, no, no!" Galadia struggled, "I'm not an adult yet!"

Griffith's hot hands were about to melt her.

"No, I'm calling someone, really." Miss Elf's voice of resistance became softer and softer, so soft that almost no one could hear her. She closed her eyes as if giving up resistance.

 “Give me a gift.”

 “Ah?” The girl opened her eyes immediately.

"Whatever I can take with me, I can take with me when I leave," Griffith said seriously, "I want to take it with me to Raven."

Galadia reacted immediately and nodded with the most serious expression: "Then, give me the insight crystal I gave you. When will you leave?"

 “Tomorrow morning.”

 “I’ll see you off tomorrow morning!”

 …

After watching Galadia leave, Griffith collected his thoughts and continued to prepare for his mission. He first called Minos, the bone ring, and received a response from it.

"What's the matter?" Bone Ring asked, "Minos noticed that you have become more powerful. Do you need to prepare potions and rituals for you to advance to Sequence 7?"

 “You also know these?”

“Minos observed the entity, explored its potential, studied its lineage, adjusted its sequence, decomposed the body, absorbed its essence, and reassembled it to perfection.”

“…” Griffith felt more and more that this ring was a creation of the evil god. However, there is still a place for it to be used.

“However, Minos needs the essence of the moon spirit, fresh pith mushrooms, and the juice of the mandrake. Minos has proposed it, but has not yet obtained it.”

"These are not easy to get," Griffith thought for a moment, "I will provide them to you as soon as possible."

“With these supplies, Minos can prepare potions and ritual information for you.”

“Do you have any good ideas for extracting memory fragments from extraordinary characteristics?” Griffith then asked.

 The extraordinary characteristics of the demon hunters, one-eyed monsters, spellcasters and earth dragons he retained are all precious Sequence 7 extraordinary characteristics, and they may all contain valuable information.

Minos paused for a while, seeming to be thinking about something, and then replied:

“Minos has detected that you hold four Sequence 7 extraordinary characteristic crystals of ‘Demon Hunter’, ‘Glutton’, ‘Wizard’, and ‘Psychic’.

“There are many ways to extract memory fragments, but through alien methods, the remaining memories may put a greater burden on your spirit, the characteristic crystals may hide dangerous information, and the remaining memories may have been shattered, distorted or tampered with.

  “Withdrawal hastily can drive you crazy.

“For the sake of your sanity, Minos recommends that you be cautious before trying to contact the memory fragments retained in the extraordinary characteristics after becoming a Sequence 7.

“If there are extraordinary characteristics of the caster path, and the side effects during the absorption process are small, Minos can provide the necessary magic potion formula to assist in the analysis and absorption of memories.”

This ring sometimes seems quite reliable, so it's probably not fooling me. Griffith thought for a moment and continued to ask: "Also, do you know about Laboratory 13 in Homemonworth?"

“There are no relevant records in the school,” Bone Ring replied, “but there are some warehouses in the town of Baltimore, you can go there and search.”

 …

 Griffith, who had not gained much from the ring, returned to his seat with Galadia's recommended books, and began to prepare based on the mission situation he had obtained from Count Larmore.

His target Raven is a port city, a province located on the east coast of the Broken Sea, and an important node in the Eastern Sea Route.

This city has a long history. There is an old city on the plain ten miles away from the port. According to the records of "Sir Valentine's Adventures in the Eastern Continent", the place is dilapidated and old, and the wealthy people have moved to the north bank of the Raven River.

Living in the upper city area.
To be continued...