A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"..." Bray's expression was a little blank.

"Don't you feel anything?" Mira tilted her head in slight confusion.

"How does it feel?"

"The feeling of wanting to laugh," she asked with particular seriousness.

“It just popped into my head.” After hesitating for a few seconds, Bray finally nodded.

He felt he needed to give Mira face, and whatever Mira wanted to express, he would just go along with it.

After hearing Bray's words, Mira nodded to herself, feeling that she had made progress.

“It’s quite unusual for you to be here,” Mira said, glancing at Bray before finally speaking seriously.

"Aren't you afraid your wife will think you're cheating?" she added after thinking for a moment.

“I have no desire to cheat,” Bray said expressionlessly, his dead fish eyes not even blinking, not at all like he was lying.

“If you weren’t already married, I might think you were gay.” Mira shook her head helplessly.

She took the lantern hanging on the tree branch in her hand and then nimbly jumped down from the branch.

The fluorescent light followed Mira's figure as she fell.

The scattered fluorescent lights, after falling to the ground, resembled water droplets falling on a stone, splitting into countless tiny dots.

Mira fell so fast, but at the moment she touched the ground, she was as light as a leaf.

“Let’s go this way, it’s too dark here.” Although Mira herself was used to the dark “Wandering Tomb”, she still wanted to chat in a better place.

In any case, Mira will have to wait an unknown amount of time to find someone to chat with.

It has been quite some time since Bray last entered the "Wandering Tomb".

Actually, it's not that long, probably just over a year. For long-time gravediggers, a year really flies by.

If it were the old Mira, she would have thought a year was too short.

Lately, however, she has been feeling that time is passing very slowly, and she often wishes that someone would come in and have a good chat with her.

This is a really bad change.

The eerie, menacing trees all around suddenly disappeared after a few steps.

Instead, there was a large open space with countless points of light flying in the air.

The trees along the edge of the open space were illuminated by soft light, the source of which was the countless points of light on the open space.

Here stands a towering tree.

Beneath the ancient giant tree lay the corpse of a woman who looked exactly like Mira.

Even in eternal slumber, the woman still exudes a serene beauty.

Once, Bray met Mira in this place, guided by a piece of parchment.

Back then, Mira was a gravedigger who couldn't smile and couldn't even tell a lame joke.

"Can you feel anything?" Mira asked quietly, her back to Bray.

Do you feel like laughing?

“A feeling of nostalgia,” Mira corrected Bray’s thought.

“A little, I guess. I was quite young back then,” Bray murmured, looking up at the tree.

He hadn't examined the tree closely then, but now it seemed really big.

He never knew what this place was, or why a cemetery would be in such a gentle place.

“Yes, everyone was so young back then,” Mira remarked.

"young?"

"Yes, young."

How old are you?

“You’re over 20.” Mira’s tone wasn’t joking at all, but Bree felt that Mira was teasing him.

"No, how long have you been a gravedigger?"

“Once you become a gravedigger, your age will freeze,” Mira continued.

"No, how many years have you lived in your life?"

“I’m in my twenties,” Mira said, turning her head away with a cold expression.

"More than that."

“I’m in my twenties.” She gave a stiff smile.

“I’m forever in my 20s; my age is frozen.”

"Do you understand?"

"Understood." Bray nodded reluctantly.

"Seriously, why did you even think of coming here?"

“To keep my promise.” Bray moved closer to Mira and stood with her under the big tree.

“The promise, I think I remember it.” Mira smiled again, but this time the smile was more natural than before.

The moment the smile bloomed, the surroundings became brighter and warmer.

At that moment, Mira was the only sun in this "wandering grave".

Mira, like a little girl, put one hand behind her back and stretched the other out in front of Bray.

"Photographs." The tone was still cold, but the lingering smile on his lips made one lower all guard.

“Ah, what a lovely child.” Mira rested her chin on her hand, leaning over a rock, her eyes fixed on a photograph in her hand.

Bray brought some of the photos he had taken to show Mira.

He remembered mentioning this to Mira the last time he came.

Although Bray has a bad memory, there are some things he won't forget.

"what is it call?"

“Nia, you can also call her Vanellope,” Bray said.

"A nice-sounding name like that couldn't have been chosen by you."

“…” Bray acquiesced.

“Is Nia your daughter? She doesn’t look like you at all.” Mira pointed to Nia in the photo.

“It’s my daughter, and her hair looks very much like hers.” Bray glanced at Mira and answered the questions in order.

"The eyes don't look like it."

"It would be better if their eyes didn't look alike."

“You’re right.” Mira quickly agreed with Bray’s statement.

It's terrible for a girl to have dead fish eyes.

"But in the end, you actually married this girl." Mira sighed as she ran her finger across Naruko's picture.

"it turns out?"

"Everyone must have been surprised by your marriage."

"It seems so." Bray thought for a moment, it seemed that everyone was shocked that he was with Naruko.

"Your being together is both unexpected and reasonable, and not incomprehensible."

"She must be very special to you."

“…” Bray did not answer.

"Your child, I really love being able to hold him." Mira looked dazed.

"Can..."

"Don't even try this," Mira said, standing up and silencing Bray with her cold fingers.

She shook her head as she handed the photo back to Bray.

"Not everyone can be like you and avoid becoming a dead person in the 'Wandering Tomb'."

“That child will decay the moment he walks in, and I don’t like to see that.”

"Don't do anything stupid." Mira longed for her cold body to embrace this newborn life.

But she knew it was impossible, it would never be possible.

If people could freely enter the "Wandering Tomb," Mira wouldn't have to face loneliness for endless years.

This "Wandering Tomb" has probably been disturbed by people for a long time.

This tranquility is accompanied by solitude.

“…” Bray paused for a moment, then took the photos Mira had sent.

"Don't underestimate the gravediggers. Every gravedigger is destined to be alone, and we are also capable of enduring loneliness."

"A tranquil place where the dead linger is inevitably accompanied by deathly silence."

"No matter how lonely or painful, the gravedigger can endure it, and must endure it."

When Mira said these words, there was not a trace of sadness in her eyes, and everything she said seemed so "ordinary".

"Here you go." Bray suddenly handed the photo back to Mira.

Mira was stunned for a few seconds, wondering why Bray had suddenly become so tough.

“I don’t want to see photos of you that seem to be having a harem,” Mira said.

"He is a black dragon named Xiao You."

"He is a white dragon named Xiaoxue."

“This is their grandmother, her name is Nicolaes.” Bray began to say some strange things to Mira.

Mira looked into Bray's eyes and didn't push the photo back.

"Are these their names?"

“Hmm.” Bray nodded.

“This is my wife, her name is Naruko.” Bray moved his fingers slowly across the photograph.

He recounted the people and events in the photograph, word by word.

Even Naruko's parents were mentioned, and even the fireball on Levy's head was mentioned.

The story also touches on Nia, whom Mira likes.

Even Mira didn't know why Bray would suddenly start talking about these trivial matters.

But she really enjoyed listening to it.

That's the kind of story she wanted to hear, not something she'd learn from the dead.

He is omniscient because he knows all the dead, but he is also ignorant because he cannot leave them.

The light from the lantern flickered, and the surrounding fluorescent light seemed to come from near and then away.

Mira placed her cold hands on Bray's face.

She pressed her cold forehead against Bray's.

“That’s incredible,” came Mira’s words.

"I've probably met you no more than ten times."

“It certainly wasn’t ten times.” Mira’s gesture interrupted Bray’s continued explanation.

He didn't know what was wrong with Mira, but he didn't move, just let Mira lean on him.

"This is not love."

"This is not friendship."