A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"You know about the commission I issued?" Bray looked at Rector with surprise.

"I happened to be posting a commission when I saw it by chance, and it seems there are a few things I can help with."

“However, I don’t want payment; what I want is for you to complete my commission in return,” Rector said.

“What is your request?” Bray glanced at Rector and asked.

He doesn't like being used as a pawn, so it's necessary to find out the other party's intentions first.

“I hope you can serve as my bodyguard, because I’ve heard that you frequently enter and leave the safe zone, so you must have a way of surviving outside.” Rector wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

“There’s no special method.” Bray shook his head.

Rector's expression immediately showed disappointment.

"However, ensuring the safety of one person is not impossible."

Bray's words rekindled hope in Rector's eyes.

"I hope you can protect me and take me somewhere that's a little far from the safe zone."

“The ground in that area has recently collapsed, and I want to go in and take a look.” As Rector spoke, he couldn’t help but swallow a few times.

For some reason, he's been extremely nervous lately.

Is it because of that dead fish eye?

"Which of the tasks I've assigned you can you complete?" Bray continued.

"I can provide any design or other items you want."

"However... finding a romantic location is a bit difficult."

"Then it's a deal, but you have to give me what I want first." Bray thought about it seriously and decided it would be better to have the other party pay part of the amount first.

"Of course, of course, I can provide the wiring and lights you need."

"Even when it comes to piecing things together, I can help you." Upon hearing Bray's words, Ricko not only didn't mind, but seemed quite pleased.

---

Rector and Bray reached an agreement in a very simple way.

After confirming that he could make Bray his temporary bodyguard, Rector happily put on his work hat and left.

Rector didn't know Bray's strength, but he believed the facts.

If someone has a 90% completion rate for their assignments and frequently enters and exits safe zones, and even they can't guarantee their own safety within those zones, then who can?

Although what Bray needed was a bit difficult to obtain in the safe zone, his job was as a worker in the relevant field, so it wasn't impossible for him to put together the necessary materials.

"Brai, did you post a quest at the Adventurers' Guild?" Naruko looked at Bray, who was standing in front of the door, with a strange expression after watching Rector leave.

"If I don't answer, are you going to refuse to open the door for me?" Bray said irritably to Naruko, who had only left the door a crack open.

"Mmm-hmm-hmm!" Naruko nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

She hadn't originally intended to threaten Bray like that, but after being reminded, she realized that it wasn't entirely impossible.

"I went to the Adventurers' Guild to post a quest to find something," Bray answered honestly.

Even if she doesn't say anything, Naruko can still go to the union and look up the commission forms herself.

There's nothing to hide.

"My birthday present?" Naruko's eyes lit up as she tentatively asked.

“No.” Bray glanced at Naruko.

"You still say no! Your eyes have already betrayed you!" Naruko happily opened the door.

"You're really something, you don't know how to surprise people at all," she said as she opened the door.

"If you just tell others directly, they'll miss out on the surprise."

If noses could stretch, Naruko's nose would be incredibly long.

“…” Bray looked at Naruko, who had inexplicably become smug, and felt a little like making a comment.

This pink-haired idiot is such a hassle...

"However, I always feel that guy named Rector is plotting something bad."

Naruko wrinkled her nose and gave a reminder after Bree had started learning.

Her intuition told her that Rick was far from being as simple-minded as he seemed. "I know that," Bray said casually after putting Nia on the ground.

Naruko's intuition has never been wrong, so Bray trusts Naruko's intuition.

The reason he reacted so coldly was that he had known from the beginning that Rector had his own agenda.

However, he agreed because he could provide what he wanted.

Doesn't this guy know that he went to so much trouble to post the request for her birthday?

Her birthday is always such a hassle; we have to come up with all sorts of new ideas every year.

The important thing is that on his own birthday, Bray simply had a chicken leg added to his bowl, which was as miserable as it gets.

“Nia, go play,” Bray said to Nia.

"Oh~" Nia ran off happily after getting off the ground.

That expression practically screamed, "Levy, here I come!"

Nia went to play with her sister Levy again; Nia is quite attached to Levy.

To be honest, Bray, the young father, was a little envious.

"That's so perfunctory. I was really serious just now," Naruko said, squinting her eyes and pressing her face close to Bree's.

"Okay, okay, I'm so sorry I was so perfunctory," Bray said expressionlessly.

Although the line is "I'm sorry," the tone doesn't convey any genuine apology.

Even with Naruko's breath right beside him, he remained completely unmoved.

They even started peeling apples.

“My intuition has never been wrong,” Naruko said, patting her chest and speaking seriously.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you.” Bray shoved the apple he had peeled into Naruko’s mouth as he spoke.

When the other person is too annoying, just go for it. Stuffing them is the best option.

"Mmm!!!" Naruko made muffled sounds as the apple was stuffed in her mouth.

Although I couldn't hear what Naruko was saying, it wasn't hard to tell from her eyes that she was protesting.

"It's a deal. He does his thing, I do mine, it's that simple."

"Anyway, I won't be sold out." Bray has been tricked by guys like Nicol Bolas many times before, so he knows how deep a trap usually is.

In short, that seemingly honest guy, who was actually clueless about what he was thinking, was just using Bray.

"Hmm..." Naruko struggled to remove the apple from her mouth and looked at Bray suspiciously.

She found it hard to believe that such words would come from someone like Bray.

I always had this illusion that Bray was very clever.

Hmm, that's definitely an illusion. How could Bray possibly be a smart person?

Even if Levy suddenly told Naruko that she had written a novel, it would be more plausible than the hypothesis that Bray had become smarter.

“You’re thinking something very rude to me, aren’t you?” Bray said quietly.

"No way, am I that kind of person?" Naruko denied it righteously, taking a bite of the apple that Bressey had given her.

After taking a few bites, Naruko found that the apple was quite sweet.

"Are you coming with me?" Bray asked casually.

“Go protect that guy? No way,” Naruko replied with extreme disdain.

"I'd rather teach Nia how to jump between skyscrapers."

“…” Bray was very skeptical of the truthfulness of Naruko’s words.

---

A few days later, Bray received goods such as wiring and lights from Rector.

As for what these things are actually used for, that's quite intriguing.

It's likely that Bray will use it to create something really tacky.

After seeing the actual product, Bray realized how big the gap was between his imagination and reality.

After receiving the wiring and lights, I had absolutely no idea what to do next.

Admittedly, Rector did give Bray very detailed instructions on how to connect the lines.

Kobrew isn't a professional, so he needs some time to digest Rector's knowledge and do some research.

"Hey, hey, hey, Bray." Bored, Naruko squatted down next to Bray, who was surrounded by all sorts of odds and ends.

"These are the gifts you're giving me?" Naruko asked tentatively.

"I don't know," Bray replied casually.

Naruko jumped into the pile of debris and continued to crouch down next to Bray.

"You don't mean to pack these things up."

"Then light these lamps in a certain pattern and place them in an open space as a gift."

"..." The person who was fiddling with laying the mines for these lines froze instantly, standing still.

Yes, Naruko got it all right, word for word.

"How did you know?" Bray asked in a deep voice. This was something he had thought about for a long time, yet Naruko had seen through it at a glance.

It's rare for Bray to rack his brains to find such a romantic gift, and once it's mentioned, it loses all its meaning.

“Intuition,” Naruko casually told Bray the reason.

“…” Bray chose to remain silent.

"Your idea is really corny, but I guessed the key point anyway," Naruko said.

"..." He wanted to say something, but Bray couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

I'm so depressed, I feel terrible all over.

"I do not care."

“This is the gift,” Bray said stubbornly.

Bray was too lazy to waste his brain cells thinking of other gifts.

Thinking of something else? You're making things difficult for him, Blakeras.

"Are you a child...?" She was speechless at Bray's comment.

However, she also felt that she might have gone too far.

No matter how you look at it, this is a gift that this idiot Bray came up with for himself.

It was a bit corny, and there was absolutely no surprise, but it still proved that Bray remembered his birthday.

She picked up the two wires from the ground.

"Don't take it randomly, or you'll get an electric shock," Bray added, oblivious to the situation.

"You didn't even connect to any power source, so how are you going to shock me? Are you using your eyes?" Naruko complained.

There aren't even any magic stones; how could this circuit possibly electrocute someone?

“I’ll study it with you. What kind of pattern do you want to make?” Naruko looked at Bray, who was engrossed in his research, with great interest.

It's quite a novel sight to see Bray, who only knows how to wield a sword, pondering strange and unusual things here.

“Even if it’s pieced together now, it will still need to be taken apart later,” Bray said.

"Then you should try to assemble it first, shouldn't you?" Naruko pouted.

"Emmmmmm," Bray was speechless.