A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

The sound of “0A0” drew the attention of Levy and Nia.

"Nia can't hear or see," Levy said, quickly covering Nia's ears.

"Meow! Meow meow meow!!!" Then the fireball jumped down and covered Nia's eyes.

"Sister Levy, Nia can't see anything," Nia said, confused.

"What was Mommy doing just now?" Little Nia's curiosity exploded instantly.

If crying and making a scene didn't have to work in this house, Nia would probably have burst into tears to find out what was going on.

Because her father is incredibly perceptive, he can immediately tell if Nia is genuinely crying or faking it, so she has never faked a cry or thrown a tantrum.

Because it's not very useful...

There's nothing we can do; her dad is cunning.

If Bray really focused his observation, he could tell whether the little girl's emotions were genuine or not.

The premise is careful observation. I've never seen Bray so bored as to watch others cry, whether they're genuinely crying or not. Being observant is exhausting.

If it weren't for the fact that soothing children is more tiring, Bray wouldn't use it.

“Naruko didn’t do anything.” Levy released her hand from Nia’s ears, looking calm.

"Meow!" Fireball let out a loud meow after releasing its paw, indicating its agreement.

“…” Bray stared at Naruko expressionlessly.

Naruko's movements and expression both froze.

“I choose to eat.” He took Naruko’s hand and led her into the house.

"Are you really not considering eating me?"

"You're saying I'm not nice enough?" Naruko, who was being led by the hand by Bray, suddenly perked up and started rambling on.

“It doesn’t smell good, I have no appetite, and what are you saying in front of your own daughter?” Bray glanced at Naruko.

"Isn't this normal behavior between an old married couple?"

“An old married couple wouldn’t have this kind of conversation,” Bray scoffed at Naruko’s theory.

Nia, standing to the side, was completely confused.

Not only Nia, but even the mature and composed Levy was a little confused =A=.

"Bah, baah, what are you and Mom talking about?" Nia couldn't hold back any longer, so she pulled away Fireball's claws, looked at Bray expectantly, and asked curiously.

"Your mom goes crazy all the time, I just give her a perfunctory response."

"Hey, you idiot, I've never gone crazy, okay?!"

Bray covered his ears and watched Naruko retort expressionlessly.

"I'm hungry..." Bray said to Naruko with a dejected look.

"What earth-shattering thing have you done this time?"

"I guess so. We probably won't see those wandering zombies anymore." After thinking for a few seconds, Bray gave Naruko a brief explanation.

If it's too complicated, I doubt Naruko can handle it.

“…” Naruko pouted.

"What do you want to eat? Oh, by the way, there's no meat at home, so don't expect to eat any meat." She finally let out a deep sigh.

This guy is always messing with himself.

So if you're so tired, just be honest and accept your own "suggestion".

"Need a hand?" Bray asked.

"Nonsense, of course you should. Killing monsters has no necessary connection to cooking."

"..." What had initially felt a bit heartwarming, Bray's heart instantly turned cold.

---

Nia tugged at Levy's clothes, opened her eyes wide, and looked at her parents.

"Levy, Papa and Mama are super close, right?"

“Yeah.” Levy gave a meaningful smile =W= and patted Nia’s head.

They've always had a good relationship. "Hey ya!!!" Nia held up a wooden sword that wasn't much shorter than her body and stood in front of the wooden house, swinging it with great flair.

"Levy, take this!" She swung her sword at Levy without any strategy.

At first, Nia was very reluctant to wield a sword against her beloved sister Levy.

However, Levy only said one sentence about it.

"It's okay."

Then Nia tried to swing her sword at Levy, but so far she hasn't touched Levy at all.

Levy kept her hands behind her back the whole time, dodging Nia's sword by swaying her body in place.

Even while leaving afterimages, it maintained a cute 0V0 expression throughout.

To an outsider, it would probably seem quite bizarre.

"Go Nia!"

But Nia's sword-wielding speed was getting slower and slower.

"Waaah..." Nia waved all morning but couldn't touch Levy, and for some reason she started to feel a little wronged.

Does that mean Nia can't wield a sword properly?

Although Nia is treated like a treasure in this family, she often suffers setbacks for various reasons.

And when my hands are hurt, my mom doesn't always comfort me; sometimes she even laughs out loud.

Thinking of this, Nia's tears began to well up in her eyes QAQ.

"Snap." But before her tears could fall, the wooden sword gave her an incredible feel.

It looked like it had hit something.

"Nia is amazing." Levy swayed her tail gently and reached out to touch Nia's hair.

"You actually hit Levy!" She praised Nia without reservation.

"Does it hurt, Levy?" Nia, whose tears hadn't yet dried, touched the spot where she had hit Levy and asked anxiously.

"It doesn't hurt. Nia won't be strong for another ten years," Levy told a small lie.

Yes, saying it would take ten years is a lie.

Barring unforeseen circumstances... Levy doesn't know when Nia will be able to hurt her enough.

Having grown up so much, Levy naturally had a very clear understanding of her bloodline.

She's no ordinary elf; even her tail is extraordinary.

She possesses terrifying power, just like her biological father.

If someone saw her for the first time, they would definitely say she was a monster.

There was no subsequent remark from passersby that she was cute.

Before she could control her bloodline, Levy was an absolute monster.

But Bray has always been so kind to me, always so gentle when I'm encased in my armor.

Therefore, Levy also needs to be very gentle with Bray's children.

It wasn't to repay Bray in any way; she simply believed that, just like with Bray, if she treated Nia gently, Nia would surely become a gentle person as well.

As she was thinking, Levy's ears suddenly twitched.

"Bray~" Levy suddenly turned around, wrapped her tail around Bray's leg, and hugged his waist.

Bray habitually stroked Levy's hair, then looked at the wooden sword in Nia's hand with a bit of confusion.

"Why is Nia learning swordsmanship?" Bre was full of questions.

He hasn't even officially started teaching Nia swordsmanship yet, how come she's already sparring with Reibi?

Is this what they call self-study?

Bray stared at Nia in disbelief. Could his daughter be a self-taught genius?

"Bang bang, Nia can wield a sword now."

"Yes, Nia is really amazing." Bray can now praise his child without batting an eye.

To be honest, when he first became a father, he always found it difficult to say things like "Nia is so amazing" or "Nia, do it again."

However, it doesn't matter if you say it too much. This tone might sound awkward to adults, but kids like it.

That somber tone, ironically, doesn't appeal to children...

"Did Nia learn it on her own?" Bray looked at his daughter and the wooden sword in her hand with great interest.

“No, an uncle taught me,” Nia blinked and explained honestly to Bray.

"????????"

Bray's face gradually darkened, and his expression froze.

Fortunately, Bray rarely smiles, so there's no such thing as a frozen smile.

She has inherited honesty, one of the finest qualities of the Clarice family.

Unfortunately, these words came as a bolt from the blue for Bray.

Is someone teaching Nia how to use a sword?

"Which uncle taught Nia to use a sword?" Bray took a deep breath.

Regardless, it was kind of someone to teach Nia how to use a sword... right?

“Eh… Nia doesn’t know him.” Nia shook her head vigorously.

Nia knows many of the older brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts in the safe zone.

But Nia felt particularly unfamiliar with the uncle who taught her swordsmanship; it was as if she had never seen him in the safe zone before.

“Levy knows who it is.” Levy looked up at Bray with a smug look on her face.

“Who is that?” Bray asked Levy.

"I don't remember the name, but Levy knows it's that emperor who died from overwork."

When Levy used that name in an innocent tone, Bray felt a strong sense of incongruity.

Alright, the identity of the person who taught Nia swordsmanship is now obvious.

“Carrasco, what are you doing…” Bray muttered.

Carrasco is very busy, so even Bray rarely sees the guy.

But today he was so free that he could just pass by and teach Nia swordsmanship?

But none of that matters... the main thing is that Bray is feeling inexplicably unwell right now.

Although he repeatedly assured himself that he was not a doting father and would never follow in his father-in-law's footsteps.

But Bray had just had the suffocating feeling that his daughter had been taken away by someone else.

Bray walked up to Nia and slowly squatted down.

He placed his hands on Nia's shoulders, whose little face was full of confusion, and began to speak earnestly.

“Nia, you shouldn’t learn things from strangers, nor should you accept things from them,” Bray said after organizing his thoughts.

"Huh? But Mom said that you learned a lot of the things you know from strangers, and that a lot of other things were given to you by others," Nia asked in confusion.

"..." Bray hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Because he simply couldn't refute it.

"Never mind..." Bray began to mutter to herself. It was indeed very difficult for her to lecture others, so it was better to be straightforward.

“Nia, Daddy will start teaching you how to use a sword today,” Bray said to Nia after coughing a few times.