I, the final BOSS of the beta test server!

After hearing Susan's words, the gray-haired girl did not show any disappointment on her pretty face.

She just nodded obediently and bowed to Susan again: "Then, thank you for troubling Sister Susan."

After saying this, the gray-haired girl turned and left.

Looking at Gray's receding back, Susan felt even more regretful.

If it were another organization, at another time point, becoming a reserve force would mean not taking the risk of performing dangerous missions, but instead taking a sinecure at the headquarters.

This seems to be a pretty good treatment, suitable for slacking off.

However, this is not true among today's shore guards.

Not carrying out missions and not holding positions also means not being able to cultivate the organization's extraordinary resources, and it also means losing the opportunity to continuously improve oneself through combat and experience...

In such a chaotic world——

As a member of the shore guards, he does not have the power to control his own destiny, but instead lies down and escapes, which is no different from waiting to die.

Once an emergency occurs...whether you are in the reserve force or otherwise, you must go to the front line of the battlefield.

By then, these reserve personnel whose training has been abandoned will become cannon fodder on the battlefield, and will be abandoned by the organization's strategy.

Judging from the excellent performance Gray showed in various knowledge and skills tests, she clearly understood what it meant to be a reserve.

However, the gray-haired girl still did not show any dissatisfaction.

It seems that she really has some inexplicable obsession with joining the Shore Guardians.

As Susan was thinking this, she suddenly saw the gray-haired girl who had gone far away suddenly turn back.

"Sister Susan, have you found any results on the matter I asked you to inquire about?"

The gray-haired girl's pleasant voice was filled with a rare hint of anxiety.

"Oh, that one."

Susan seemed to remember something and took out an old badge.

It was different from the brand new silver-white wing emblems worn on Susan and Gray's chests.

This winged emblem looked older, covered in scratches and black marks that appeared to be from burns... This was the mark left by time.

But this broken old wing emblem has obviously been well maintained and wiped frequently, and there is not even a trace of dust on it.

Gray took the old winged emblem, carefully wrapped it in a white handkerchief, and put it close to her body.

"I checked the serial number on this old-style wing badge for you...it is indeed from our organization."

"Last, a shore guard who has been in the organization for quite some time but doesn't seem to have established a very glorious record."

"He seems to be on long-term missions away from home, returning to headquarters only sporadically. No one knows where he is now."

"As for the other person you mentioned, Hiltina."

Susan shook her head slightly. "After she and Last carried out a mission together, there was no record of her returning to headquarters."

"I think she must have died in that mission."

"I'm not high up in the organization, so I don't have direct access to their files... This is all information I've heard from other colleagues, and I'm not sure if it's reliable."

"how come……"

Gray subconsciously covered her mouth, her eyes widening in disbelief.

She didn't know what happened at the end of Frozen Water Town several years ago.

When Gray woke up again in the ruins of the town, everything was over. Both Hiltina and Last had disappeared.

but--

Since the activated pollutant was defeated, she believed that brother Rast and sister Hiltina had survived in the end, but perhaps because they were too seriously injured, they had to evacuate early.

Gray has always believed this.

Or rather, she was only willing to believe so.

At this moment, the cold reality finally brought Grey back to reality.

"Sister Hiltina..."

Although they didn't have much contact time, Gray was quite impressed by the heroic older sister.

But, that awe-inspiring Sister Hiltina, who looked like a knight straight out of a storybook—

So, he has already been sacrificed?

Gray's emerald green eyes did not waver at all when she heard that the organization had given up on her training.

At this moment, a sense of loss emerged, which was extremely rare.

but.

Fortunately, brother Rast seems to be still alive.

I don't know why, when such a thought arose.

Gray found that at this moment, she felt a sense of inexplicable relief in her heart.

However, before Gray had time to think about the source of this inexplicable relief in her heart.

She saw Susan in front of her looking at her with a complicated look.

"Little Grey."

"This concludes the training for this batch of new shore guards."

"Most of the new shore guards will be assigned tasks starting tomorrow and go their separate ways."

"So we organized a graduation dinner and invited the parents of the new shore defenders. You..."

"Sorry, Sister Susan, I won't go this time."

Gray lowered her head and shook it slightly.

When she looked up again, there was no trace of gloom on her pretty white face.

Gray put on a polite smile and said, "I'm an orphan, I don't have any parents, so I won't spoil the fun of my classmates and uncles and aunts."

"you……"

Susan subconsciously opened her mouth, wanting to keep him.

But the slender and petite girl in front of him had already disappeared at the end of the training ground, leaving only her long gray hair swaying in the wind and her gradually becoming invisible back.

……

It was already evening when Gray left the training ground for the new shore defenders and arrived on the streets outside the city.

Darkness gradually enveloped the earth, and the last rays of light dyed a corner of the sky blood-red.

On both sides of the street, the windows of every household were lit up with warm orange light.

At this time of sunset, most of the city residents have already returned home, and are enjoying dinner happily with their families in the warmth of the stove and oil lamps.

My classmates who are having their farewell dinner should be feeling the same way at this moment.

Perhaps because they are close to the water, most of the newcomers who pass the assessment and join the shore watchers are from the surrounding towns within the protection range of the watchtower.

And the families in the city are proud that their children can become members of the shore guards.

Gray, who had traveled across half the continent and wandered from a distant place, was a rare case.

As you can imagine, it would be a farewell dinner where everyone would enjoy drinking to their heart's content and not stop drinking until they were drunk.

The young shore guards who are about to embark on their journey are full of yearning and expectation to establish their own merits.

Their parents regard their children as their greatest pride, but at the same time they feel conflicted and reluctant to let them go.

and so--

In such a glorious and honorable occasion, there is no room for an alien like me.

Gray walked on the city streets in the evening, the cold wind blowing on her cheeks, biting her bones.

There were lights shining through every window beside him, heat waves were coming from the fireplace, and he could faintly hear laughter floating from it.

However, it seemed as if there was a whole world between him and her.

This is the home of classmates, but not Gray's home.

The home of the gray-haired girl...

It had disappeared in the endless blood mist many years ago.

In fact, today is also an important day for me.

However, the last person who knew about that day had already been buried in the weathered ruins along with her home.

But just when Gray was staring at the lights on the street, she was a little distracted.

"Well, you don't look like a witch who can control fate at all... Instead, you look like a little match girl."

A hand that was not thick but had distinct joints fell on her head.

Then, he mercilessly ruffled her long gray hair.

"Come on, I'll treat you to dinner."

"besides……"

The voice ringing in my ears is so familiar.

The voice gradually overlapped with the one in Gray's memory, and was exactly the same.

"Long time no see, little Grey."

Chapter 98 Happy Birthday, Gray (Two in One)

Thick smoke rose from the black chimney.

Steam was bubbling out of the copper pot, and fresh vegetables were tumbling up and down in the boiling water.

Gray sat obediently in her chair, looking at the thing in the middle of the dining table that Rust called "hot pot", and was a little confused for a moment.

However, looking at the boy in front of him who had already begun to eat heartily——

Gray followed Luster's example and carefully picked up the pair of bamboo sticks called chopsticks.

Then, he picked up the dish from the copper pot, dipped it in the oil dish as usual, and then put it into his mouth.

The next moment, Gray's emerald green eyes widened unconsciously.

This cooking method, which she had never seen before, produced a very amazing delicacy.

Brother Rast, you are such a mysterious man.

As a wanderer, Gray herself has traveled across the continent over the years.

She has visited most of the countries and towns that still exist in human history and witnessed a wide variety of customs and cultures.

However, Gray had never seen this cooking method called hot pot.

She originally thought that when she grew up...

After joining the shore watcher organization and becoming a shore watcher like his brother Rast.

Maybe I can catch up with my brother Last.

However, it now seems that the mystery surrounding Brother Rast has not diminished as he grew up, but has become even thicker.

Thinking of this, Gray couldn't help but use the action of picking up food with chopsticks as a cover, and secretly raised her head to glance at the person in front of her.

Across the table, the black-haired, black-eyed boy seemed to have finished his meal and was lazily leaning on the table.

His profile was bathed in the light of the fire, its features clear and deep.

It slowly overlapped with Gray's memory of the end of Frozen Water Town, the figure that disappeared in the black flames.

It's been seven years.

Seven years is enough time for a young and naive child to grow up.

It is also enough to make the unforgettable memories of the past weather and distort over time into an appearance that is difficult to see clearly.

However, Brother Rast's appearance has not changed at all.