A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

It should be noted that Bray was also His ally.

What dishes are you making in your kitchen?

"Snake meat stewed with radish".

"Okay, I'll continue." The name of this dish was practically a culinary disaster, but Naruko didn't find it strange at all.

Naruko has seen all sorts of bizarre dishes in the past two years and is already used to them.

The family had "wheatgrass stir-fried with wolf meat" just yesterday, and it tasted pretty good.

The meat here is not from any real animal, but from monsters.

There are practically no wild animals, only monsters. Dong Wei, who is kept in the safe zone, is also very rare, so it's impossible for him to eat them.

They have a more important function than just being food.

"Hmm..." Bray nodded, saying nothing; he didn't know what to say either.

However, her previous resentment towards Naruko for being idle was completely dispelled by her actions.

Bray, carrying Nia, stepped into the rift created by Nicholas and disappeared into the house.

"You think I can't handle you? Trying to take your anger out on me? You naive dead fish eyes." Naruko smiled slyly after seeing Bree leave with Nia in her arms.

"Levy's here," Levy said casually from the windowsill.

"..." Naruko's triumphant expression vanished instantly.

"Levy wants to eat meat, not stewed radish," Levy added as Naruko wavered.

"Okay... but there's only snake meat."

"Snake meat stew 0V0" Lei Bi wagged her tail rapidly; she had already decided to ask for the recipe.

“…” Naruko suddenly felt that things were really difficult for her.

---

While Naruko and Levy were playing a game, Bray went to the quiet, secluded forest.

What was once a dilapidated house has suddenly transformed into a world of ethereal greenery.

The dim fluorescent light prevented the world from becoming too gloomy.

Nia, nestled in Bray's arms, opened her eyes wide and carefully observed the scenery she had never seen before.

She has always lived in a safe zone, a safe zone, a safe zone, since she was a child.

Even if they were taken out by Bray, all they would see were ruins and broken walls.

Such scenery deeply impacted Nia's young heart.

"Bang bang, this place is so beautiful!" Nia expressed her joy with her limited vocabulary.

"Really? If we have the chance, I'll show you more." Bray ruffled Nia's hair and said softly. Nia jumped down from Bray's arms and began looking around.

Everything in her field of vision was something she had never encountered before.

Why are the trees so tall and have so many leaves? And what are these things flying around, flashing with fluorescence?

The air around us was humid, a stark contrast to the dryness of the safe zone.

For Nia, this was not Kapras at all, but a completely new world.

"Plop." Nia didn't care about getting dirty at all and fell to the ground =V=, still rolling around.

Bray resisted the urge to pick Nia up and took a deep breath.

If Bray didn't know what kind of childhood Nia had gone through, he probably would have picked her up like any other parent.

Nia's perception of the world is different from that of Bray and others.

It is dilapidated, not vibrant.

“Oh my, I’m so happy!” Nicol Bolas said from behind Bray.

“Don’t stand behind others all the time, or I might lose my temper and stab you,” Bray said, glancing at Nicol Bolas.

"Is this how your entire generation of children, from the lower races, is going to pass by?" Nicholas didn't respond to Bray's question, but instead asked another one.

“…” Bray fell silent; he couldn’t answer such a macro-level question.

But right now... for children born during this period of natural disasters, the world was indeed broken from the very beginning, with little hope or struggle.

"To be honest, your will to fight will be completely worn down after a few generations."

“At that time, I can foresee how the world will become.” Nicol Bolas quickly shut up and did not continue on the topic.

Some things only need to be mentioned once; Bray will figure out the rest on his own.

"Woohoo~" Nia played happily in the wet dirt on the ground.

This isn't that hard, grayish-black soil; it's soft soil, just like the kind in the fields of the safe zone.

"Hmm?" Just as Nia was having a lot of fun, she suddenly felt a breath on the top of her head.

It felt just like the usual wet sensation of a fireball blowing on your face.

This time, however, his breathing was noticeably heavier.

Nia raised her head and looked up, immediately seeing the enormous wolf head.

The giant wolf's nose was right above Nia's head, and its breath came out of the wolf's nose.

"Ahhhh, baa baa... What a huge wolf!" Nia blinked, showing no fear whatsoever. Instead, she touched the enormous mouth with her little hands that had just touched the mud.

Aside from the fear of things far away, most of a person's fear of other things is learned from other people.

Nia hasn't learned much about "fear" yet.

After all, her parents and her sister Levy are all somewhat fearless.

It will probably take more time for Nia to understand more about fear.

Nia was more curious about the world than anything else, and curious about things she had never encountered before.

She will be like this, at least until she "grows up".

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—" The giant wolf let out a threatening growl at the little girl's audacity.

The giant wolf is, of course, Favarona, the true master of this Green Forest.

As a spring wolf, it was naturally the first thing to know that a stranger had entered its home.

"What's going on, Nicholas? Why are you putting human children in my house?" Favarona's sharp gaze fell on Nicholas and Bray.

Finally, He gave Nia one last, wistful look.

"Wow, it's even thicker than a monster's fur." ​​Nia hugged the wolf's leg and rubbed against it.

It's warmer than any plush toy in the house, and it's so soft and comfortable.

Importantly, there is no unpleasant odor; it only has a scent that blends seamlessly with the forest.

"..." Favarona was speechless at the little human girl's actions.

"Can I kick her away?"

This inferior species was extremely arrogant, even more arrogant than Bray, and Favarona really wanted to kick it away.

"It's best not to," Nicholas kindly advised. At the moment, He didn't know the extent to which Bray was protective of his own, so it was better not to test him.

If you're a doting father to your daughter, you're probably going to end up in a bad situation.

"..." Favarona looked at the girl who had almost fallen asleep hugging her legs speechlessly.

Although she said it was her legs... Nia was actually hugging her paws more.

"Explain the situation to me quickly," Favarona said in a deep voice. Nicholas had gotten himself into new trouble in less than an hour since he left home, and she was even considering kicking Nicholas and his family out of the forest.

“This is Nia Clas, the daughter of our ally,” Nicol Bolas said.

“You can also call her Winnie,” Bray added casually.

"I don't care if she's called Nia Klass or Vanellope."

“I just want to know why she’s here.” Favarona stared intently at Bray.

“I might have to leave home for a while, but there are too many silver plants out there, and I’m worried I won’t be able to manage it all,” Bray explained earnestly, stroking his chin.

"so what?"

“So I’d like to have her stay with you for a while.” Bray’s right eye met the giant wolf’s eyes.

“This isn’t a place to foster cubs…” Favarona opened her mouth, as if she wanted something more.

But Nicol Bolas immediately transformed back into a dragon and covered His mouth.

"What...what do you want to do..."

“Just say yes, my dear friend, just say yes.” Nicol Bolas kept winking at Favarona.

Favarona frowned, but after calming down, she felt that having one more human cub wasn't a big deal.

"Hmph." He broke free from Nicol Bolas's restraints and let out a cold snort.

"It's only for a short time. If you don't come to take her away for a long time, I'll eat her as food," she threatened viciously.

"?" Bray tilted his head, unsure if the other person was joking, but in any case, he had just drawn his sword.

However, seeing that Chunlang seemed to be joking, he didn't actually make a move.

“Nia, Daddy is going away with Mommy and Sister Levy for a while. How about you stay with Nicol Bolas for a while?” Bray crouched down, rubbed Nia’s little face, and asked.

“Hmm…um…” Nia looked at Bray’s right eye, then hesitated before responding.

Bree breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Nia had agreed.

"Then... I'll leave Nia in your care."

---

Bray left Nia temporarily in the forest of Favarona and returned to the dilapidated house through the magic circle.

"I'm not used to it..." But without my daughter, I always feel a little uneasy.

But before he could finish his reflection, another spatial rift opened up behind him.

From inside the spatial rift, a woman with incredibly sharp eyes poked her head out and reached out a hand towards Bray.

"Hey... your daughter started crying as soon as you left, and I can't handle it. Come over here for a second." With that, she pulled him into the spatial rift.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Naruko was still racking her brains trying to figure out how to stew snake meat. "You look tired?" Naruko asked, jumping left and right, looking at Bray with a bit of confusion.

For some reason, Bray suddenly became like a salted fish again, slumped in the chair and didn't move at all.

"It's not just what it looks like, it's really tiring," Bray replied dejectedly.

Nia didn't cry when he was there.

But as soon as he left the forest of Favarona, Nia burst into tears.

Even after he was captured and taken back by Favarona, he was still crying uncontrollably.

Nia's cries were so heart-wrenching that Bray wanted to take her home.

Although Nia has cried many times since she was a child, it is very rare for her to be this fierce.

After a long time of coaxing, Nia finally stopped crying and fell into a deep sleep, nestled against Favarona's thick neck.

You're saying Bray knows how to soothe a child? Of course... he watched Nia grow up, this isn't the first time he's done it.

Although Bree didn't show much emotion when he was coaxing Nia, Nia was still very happy.

Perhaps because she has a mother with an extremely expressive face, she doesn't have much dissatisfaction with her father, who doesn't show much expression.

In any case, Bray finally made it back after a lot of effort.

“Nia was crying very hard.” Bray paused after saying that.

Should we bring her back?

"No, it's not because I'm afraid she'll get hurt that I don't bring her," Naruko said, tapping Bree on the head.

Nia's crying is indeed heartbreaking, but crying is better than letting her encounter something bad outside the safe zone, right?

Even Bray felt it was a bit dangerous, so Naruko had even less reason to let Nia go out with her.