A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

Thinking this way, Naruko and Bree ate in front of their daughter without any guilt.

"Brave, isn't this a bit much?" Naruko, feeling a pang of conscience, tried to say to Bray.

"Huh? Is there a problem?" Bray was still unaware that there was anything wrong with his actions.

“…” Naruko looked Bree up and down and then let out a long sigh.

"I always thought you were a doting father, I'm so sorry." She apologized to Bray with utmost sincerity.

A true doting father wouldn't treat his adorable daughter like that, right?

If Nia hadn't stopped herself, Naruko would have wanted to go over and share some of the biscuits with her.

Yes, we also need to drink some water.

“Of course I’m not a doting father,” Bray said matter-of-factly, lifting his eyelids.

However, he still didn't understand why Naruko would suddenly say such a thing. Had something happened?

"Nia is really persistent. Why does she like swords so much?" Naruko wondered. What was the reason that made her so obsessed with swordsmanship?

"Maybe it's because he drew a sword when they were drawing lots," Bray said casually.

"Oh, I see." Naruko suddenly realized.

She actually believed such a mystical claim.

"Oh, right."

"Hey, Bray, it's almost my birthday," Naruko said to Bray, pretending to be nonchalant.

“I know,” Bray replied.

"Do you remember my birthday?" Naruko looked at Bray in surprise.

“…” Bray looked at Naruko with the kind of loving gaze one would give someone with intellectual disabilities.

"I've been using this same trick on you for years."

Every time, Naruko would casually remind Bray that her birthday was coming soon.

However, even if Naruko didn't remind him, Bray remembered this guy's birthday.

"Why would I try to trick someone? So what do you want to give me this year?" Naruko rubbed her hands together.

"I don't know, I haven't thought about it yet, let's talk about it later." Bray threw a three-word message at Naruko.

Every year on Naruko's birthday, he has to put in a lot of effort. Sometimes he even complains about why he has to come up with so many fancy things for this idiot.

Take Naruto to eat delicious food—referring to eating rare monsters.

To give Naruko the yard she wanted—meaning to move a tree and plant it at the entrance.

Following Mingzi's wishes—meaning finding a way to get her a rabbit-like doll.

"I want something very romantic." Naruko gestured with her hands, as if she already had a very specific plan in her mind.

However, Naruko's mind was actually blank; she had no idea what romance truly meant.

Shall we sit together under the starry sky and gaze at the stars? Or shall we lie on the grass and share our innermost thoughts?

I just don't think they fit the couple quite well.

"I'll try." Bray, who was completely unromantic, twitched at the corner of his mouth.

While the couple were discussing what to do for her birthday, Nia threw away her wooden sword and lay sprawled on the ground.

“…” Bray and Naruko looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!" Naruko was the first to scream, making Bree cover his ears.

"Nia, what's wrong?" she shouted and rushed to Nia's side, asking anxiously.

Even Bray wasn't as fast as her.

"I'm tired," Nia said, looking aggrieved. QAQ

"And it feels completely useless." This is the real reason why Nia felt wronged.

Nia had been thrusting for most of the day, but she hadn't been able to dodge a distance in a flash as her father had said.

At most, the action of the salted fish thrusting forward is smoother.

"Nia wants to learn swordsmanship! She wants to learn swordsmanship!" Nia flailed her arms and legs restlessly on the ground.

It seems the time has come for the child to start acting spoiled.

Bray looked helplessly at Nia, who was acting spoiled on the ground. Was it too difficult to master a complete playstyle at the beginning?

Since that's the case, we can only let Nia start learning from the very basics, like "Severing Steel Sword Technique".

"Bang, bang, Nia wants to learn powerful swordsmanship, not just 'poof poof poof'!" Nia burst into tears on the spot, her face turning black from crying.

However, Bray was used to this; as long as it was handled properly, Nia could instantly smile.

This kind of crying is either because of sadness or pain, or it's just making a scene.

Of course, if not handled properly, crying can become incredibly annoying in the end.

My head hurts... Bray walked along the narrow streets of the safe zone with his hands in his coat pockets.

Every now and then you can hear rude arguments and the sound of things being smashed.

Interspersed among them were vendors enthusiastically hawking their wares.

All of this creates the peculiar atmosphere of the safe zone.

There seemed to be no order, yet everyone appeared to be following some kind of rule.

As usual, he observed the diverse crowd in the alleyway and strode toward the Adventurers' Guild.

Bray finally managed to calm Nia down, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to go out for a stroll.

Pshaw, it wasn't just a stroll.

However, it seems that "Broken Steel Sword Technique" is indeed more suitable for beginners than "Eighteen Styles".

I wonder how Nia would fare if she learned from other schools of play.

But in any case, let's find a swordsmanship instructor who can calm Nia down first.

At this very moment, Nia is probably squatting in front of her house, trying to feel the "breathing" of the wooden stake.

Everything breathes, even inanimate objects.

If you master this "breathing," then you can cut through anything in the world, and cutting through steel is the first step.

The above is the core idea of ​​"Severing Steel Sword Technique".

It's not about mastering complicated techniques, but about focusing on perceiving what is called "breathing," which is a clever skill.

So even now, Nia is still trying to figure out what it would be like for the wooden stake to breathe.

Although the effectiveness of this teaching method is questionable, Nia herself is willing to do it, and Bray is quite happy to do it as well.

Perhaps it's because swinging a sword is too boring and tiring; squatting and spacing out is better than swinging a sword.

Bray skillfully pushed open the simple wooden door of the Adventurers' Guild and walked up to Tina, who was leaning over the front desk.

"Uncle, what are you doing here again?" Tina said weakly, completely lacking the vitality that someone her age should have.

Life has long since worn down her edges, and her positive emotions have probably been suppressed to the point of exhaustion.

These days, Tina probably only wants to earn enough money to make a living, and that's all she wants to do.

“Come on…” Bray began.

"You've come to accept the mission, right?" Tina could even guess what Bray would say next.

Ugh, what else can this guy do besides come to the Adventurers' Guild to accept quests?

Could it be that this middle-aged man can come to the Adventurers' Guild to post a quest?

If that's the case, Tina is willing to bark like a dog.

“No, I’m here to issue a mission.” Bray shook his head; this time, he really wasn’t here to accept a mission.

"Woof." Tina barked expressionlessly at Bray.

"What are you doing?" Bray looked at Tina, who had just started barking like a dog, with a bewildered expression.

"It's nothing, just clearing my throat," Tina explained casually. How could she possibly tell Bray that she had secretly made a bet with herself a few seconds earlier?

Even though the bet was against herself, Tina chose to accept defeat and gave a perfunctory call.

Of course, Bray was completely unaware of Tina's inner monologue; he was simply waiting for Tina to complete the necessary procedures for him.

“Write down the details of your commission here,” Tina said, pushing a yellowed piece of paper in front of Bray.

At the same time, a pen was handed to him.

Bray lowered his head and carefully wrote down the details of the request.

"Next, we'll discuss the compensation. Should I explain the Adventurers' Guild's compensation system to you?" Although Tina's attitude was terrible, she still managed to say the important things.

"No need, I know." But Bray didn't need Tina to explain, after all, he was a very experienced adventurer and knew some basic things about the guild.

Even though the union compensation system in the safe zone has been adjusted, Bray has been aware of it for the past two years.

I don't know how others give money or how they make money.

"That's fine then, I'm too lazy to waste my breath." Tina rested her chin on her hand and glanced at Bray.

After waiting for about half an hour, Bray finally finished the procedures for issuing the commission.

Actually, the process for the Adventurers' Guild to issue the notice is already very simple, otherwise it would take more than half an hour.

It takes about fifteen minutes just for Bray to write his own stuff.

"Alright, you can wait for someone else to take over your case now."

“Although I don’t think anyone will do it even in a year,” Tina shrugged and said to Bray.

Tina was telling the absolute truth, without any exaggeration.

Everyone knows that the only person the Imperial Capital Safe Zone usually entrusts with tasks is Bray.

If Bray were to post the commission himself, probably no one would take it.

“…” Bray stared at the published order and remained silent for a long time.

It's a bit much that no one has answered the phone for a whole year.

"Alright, stop arguing. Give me the processing fee." Tina stretched out her rough hand and demanded the processing fee directly from Bray, without any subtlety.

"Here you go, two copper coins, right?" Bray took two copper coins from his pouch and placed them in Tina's palm.

The moment the money was placed in her palm, Tina immediately clenched her fists, as if afraid the money would suddenly fly away.

Seeing Tina's behavior, Bray was speechless; this little girl was completely obsessed with money.

“This money isn’t going to end up in your hands anyway…” Bray said.

“Holding it in my hands makes me feel at ease,” Tina said confidently, glancing sideways at Bray.

"Without this, people wouldn't even be able to afford dry bread."

"..." That makes perfect sense; Bray simply couldn't refute it.

While Bray was still stunned by Tina's words, Tina subtly glanced at Bray's request form.

To be honest, she was really curious about what kind of tasks this uncle would issue.

It's probably extremely difficult, something even he himself couldn't solve.

Otherwise, there is no need to issue a delegation.

However, if that were the case, then the safe zone would be even less likely to be completed.

However, when Tina saw the request form, she was completely dumbfounded.

There were many words above, but what stunned Tina were the following sentences.

—"We need clues about the most romantic and unusual place in the night sky near the capital."

—"A large number of magic wires are needed."

—"We need many more magic lamps."