A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

Ah... there's no such thing as the Claas family, so what on earth is this Claas family that my brother is talking about?

Lux has been wanting to complain about this place for over a decade.

"Brother, are you still doing guild commissions lately?" Lux suddenly asked.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" A question mark appeared in Bray's dead fish eyes.

Almost everyone in the safe zone knows that eight out of ten of the Adventurers' Guild's requests are accepted by only one one-eyed man, and that man is Breklas.

Lux naturally found out as well.

“Recently, a lot of people have posted missing person requests…” Lux said.

She just remembered it and mentioned it casually.

However, while it was just a casual remark to Lux, Bray subconsciously frowned.

“Recently?” Bray noticed the important word.

Most of the missing person notices posted by the Adventurers' Guild were posted more than a year ago.

There will be no increase in missing person notices "recently".

"Yes, several people have gone missing in the safe zone, all of them women."

"Naruko, Levy, and Nia all need to be careful."

“You too,” Bray added.

"Of course I'll pay attention." Lux blushed slightly and scratched her cheek shyly.

“I’ll take a look around. Get ten bodyguards,” Bray said.

"Ten bodyguards." Lux's slightly flushed face quickly returned to normal after hearing this nonsensical remark.

“That’s right.” Bray nodded seriously. Even ten wouldn’t be enough; he wanted a hundred! Unfortunately, the safe zone probably didn’t have that many people.

Lux hoped Bray would say something else.

Unfortunately, Bray only said something with such a peculiar train of thought.

"I'm going back," Lux said, standing up after a sigh.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Bray pulled out a spatula and a cleaver.

"..." In that instant, Lux actually began to struggle.

"No way." Lux originally wanted her brother to pay the price for not understanding the situation.

"Fine..." But she ended with a haughty snort.

Because my brother's cooking is just so delicious.

---

"The disappearance of women?" That night, instead of going to bed early, Bray sat on the motorcycle seat and murmured to himself.

Although Bray knows everyone in the safe zone well, he can spot any new strangers with his keen eye.

But Bray never actually counted how many people were in the safe zone.

Bray hadn't even noticed that someone was missing.

Importantly, the disappearances occurred recently.

The missing people are no longer in any corner of the safe zone... does that mean they've all gone outside the safe zone?

“What happens outside the safe zone is no longer simply a matter of people,” Bray muttered to himself.

His first thought was of Jonathan, who was always causing trouble, but he dismissed the idea after a few seconds.

Because this matter wasn't public enough, Jonathan would be much more flamboyant in his actions, to the point that he would want to be the first to notice.

"I guess we can only ask Eric." Although Bray wasn't stupid, it was definitely more convenient to ask Eric for investigative matters. Eric was busy working...

“Soldiers,” Bray called out.

"Don't talk," Eric said without even looking up.

“Recently, many women have gone missing in the safe zone.” Then Bray seemed to completely ignore Eric’s words and continued speaking.

“I know,” Eric replied casually.

"Aren't you going to investigate?"

“Everyone has their own expertise; this isn’t my area of ​​expertise,” Eric said, shaking his head.

If he were to manage everything in the safe zone, he would certainly die from overwork even earlier than Carrasco.

“Really? I thought you would investigate.” Bray was a little disappointed.

If Eric, that smart guy, were here, he would probably be able to figure out the whole thing very easily.

Why would you care about something like this?

"There are many women in my family."

“Okay, you win.” Bray’s answer was so straightforward that it was impossible to find any contradiction.

That's true. Today a stranger is kidnapped, but who knows if someone you know will be kidnapped tomorrow?

Levy and Naruto might not be very close, but Lacus and Nia are different; they could be kidnapped in a heartbeat.

Bray wasn't always around them, so it was impossible to guard against everything.

"We haven't neglected this matter, so don't worry. It's just that I'm not the one in charge of it."

"My immediate focus is on the expedition."

“I can go with you if you can resolve this,” Bray said to Eric after a moment’s thought.

“…” Bray’s words made Eric fall silent for a few seconds.

He hadn't considered asking Bray to join the expedition, because the guy was hard to fool.

But it was somewhat unexpected for Eric that Bray brought it up himself.

"real or fake."

“Really, but I might bring my whole family,” Bray said.

"So you've been treating this expedition like a picnic," Eric said listlessly.

But for Bray, expeditions seem to be no different from outings.

"You're quite tempting, but unfortunately, I still can't spare the time to investigate this matter right now." Eric frowned.

“Let Seventeen help him,” Alice suggested at just the right moment.

After Alice finished speaking, she calmly took a sip of milk.

This is Eric's personal property, but Eric's things are now hers, so it doesn't matter.

"That kid?" Eric was stunned for a full minute.

"Is it even possible..." Eric still harbored doubts about Luo Shiqi's current abilities.

After nearly half a month of study, Luo Shiqi had indeed learned something, but in Eric's opinion, it was far from enough.

“Absolutely, he’s much smarter than Mr. Bray now,” Alice said lightly.

Bray raised an eyebrow; he seemed to have heard something particularly rude.

Was he hallucinating? It must be.

Eric stopped what he was doing and began to seriously consider Alice's suggestion.

While Eric was deep in thought, Luo Shiqi appeared silently at the table like a shadow.

“I can,” he said earnestly, resting his chin on the table.

He had overheard the entire conversation from a distance and deliberately chose this opportune moment to speak.

"But if I help Lord Bray solve his problem, you must promise me that I can participate in the expedition." Luo Shiqi's young face was filled with utmost seriousness.

He was truly determined to seize every opportunity to learn.

Even if it's dangerous, it's still an opportunity.

Admittedly, his motivation for learning countless things was to survive, but this danger was for the sake of surviving better in the future.

Expeditions are dangerous, but they are definitely safer than encountering monsters invading safe zones later on.

Moreover, there are many strong individuals in the safe zones, so the expedition is not as terrifying as imagined.

Of course, this is on the premise that you don't encounter a demigod.

"You little brat, you're trying to negotiate with me?" Eric crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it at Luo Shiqi's forehead without any politeness.

"But I promised that as long as you investigate thoroughly, I will let you participate in the expedition."

"I am deeply grateful, Lord Eric!" Luo Shiqi straightened up and gave Eric a very standard military salute, completely unconcerned about throwing the paper ball at Eric earlier.

"We'll talk about it when you've done it," Eric said, crossing his legs and looking nonchalant.

"Then, Lord Bray, let's begin now." As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Shiqi pushed Bray, who was as stiff as a log, out.

"Huh...?" Before Bray could react, the matter had already come to an end.

So, this kid is investigating with me now? This boy?

Watching from a distance as Rox XVII pushed Bray along, Eric rolled his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"This kid is always adding to my workload." Eric slumped helplessly on the table, not wanting to move at all.

“Isn’t this great? Mr. Bray has someone to help you, so you don’t have to waste your brain cells.” Alice glanced at Eric.

I was referring to the expedition.

"I estimate that Luo Shiqi can resolve the matter smoothly, so I have no choice but to let him participate in the expedition."

"You really don't want him to participate in the expedition?" Alice was actually a little confused as to why Eric was so stubborn.

This is a bit unlike his usual style.

"Because he is just a child, and we are adults, there is no need to put pressure on him."

"I never expected that you, Colonel, would be so superficial as to distinguish a person by the terms 'adult' and 'child'."

"Don't underestimate me. The adults and children I'm talking about aren't the arrogant 'adults and children' that others talk about."

“Really?” Alice smiled unconsciously; she knew perfectly well what Eric was talking about.

She simply wanted to tease Colonel Eric, who was usually carefree and irresponsible.

---

"Do you have any ideas?" Bray looked down at Luo Shiqi.

"We need a place that can provide intelligence, otherwise nothing can start." Little Luo Shiqi frowned; if he puffed out his cheeks, he'd probably have a chubby face.

“If you need information, the missing person’s relatives can provide it,” Bray said.

"But they might not necessarily respond to us."

"It's okay, they'll definitely talk to us," Luo Shiqi said confidently.

"When I first arrived, didn't you take me to the Adventurers' Guild?" That was the first time Luo Shiqi had ever heard of the Adventurers' Guild.

I learned a lot from Eric later, and I'm not as naive as I used to be.

“…” Breton paused, then quickly realized what Luo Shiqi was thinking.

“If you accept someone’s request, you can naturally get enough information from them, right?” If you think of this, it’s a very simple method.

The problem is that often, people find it difficult to choose the simplest method from among countless options.

This kid seems to be a tiny bit quicker-witted than me. By using the identity of the client accepting the commission, I can obtain all sorts of information from the person who issued the commission.

Anyone who is desperate to find their loved ones will basically reveal everything.

This is much better than just knocking on someone's door and asking questions; at least the other person won't be too resistant.

Therefore, Bray led Luo Shiqi to the Adventurers' Guild right after.

The girl standing at the front desk was still the same one who looked a bit rebellious.

Tina, who was lying on the front desk, lifted her eyelids to see who it was. When she realized it was Bray, she continued to lie there without even offering a greeting.