A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"Really?" Nia covered her forehead where Bray had poked her, looking at Bray with a skeptical expression.

Regardless of who Yunhai and Yunji are to Nia, they are strangers to her.

At most, they are somewhat friendly strangers.

Asking Nia to chat with strangers is a bit of a test of her social skills.

“Really,” Bray said irritably.

“Hmm…” Nia took a few steps toward the sea of ​​clouds, then turned to look at Bray.

Only with Bray's encouragement could she manage to take a few more steps.

Until they arrived at Yunhai's side.

Nia looked at the man she called "Grandpa" and suddenly became a little curious.

He had many wrinkles, gray hair, and the light in his slightly lowered eyes was like the afterglow of the setting sun.

Just by looking at him, Nia could tell that her grandfather must have gone through a lot.

"Grandpa?" Nia tried calling out to Yunhai.

"Hmm, Yunni is such a good girl." Yunhai reached out his hand and touched Nia's head.

Yunhai naturally knew Nia's two names, but as a person from the Eastern Continent, he still preferred to call her Yunni rather than Nia.

He didn't touch or rub it; he just touched it briefly before withdrawing his hand.

Yunhai understood that he was quite a stranger to Nia.

Being patted on the head by a stranger is definitely not a pleasant experience.

However, even though it was a short time, Conya could still feel that her grandfather's hands were very rough, like dried tree bark.

"Sit on this stool next to Grandpa," Yunhai said, pointing to the wooden stool beside him.

He actually wanted to get one for Nia, but his legs were weak, so he had to give up.

“Yun Ji used to sit here, but my silly daughter is still crying, so you can sit here,” Yun Hai said with a smile.

Her smile was much more natural than before; at least it didn't look unpleasant.

Nia even thought Yunhai looked a bit like a kind old grandfather.

"Oh." Nia nodded slightly, straightened her skirt, and sat down on the wooden stool.

The stool was a bit too high, so Nia's little feet couldn't touch the ground.

But Nia liked it that way, because it allowed her little feet to dangle freely.

"Grandpa, Dad said you know a lot about Mom." Nia asked about the thing she cared about most.

"About Naruko."

“I know a lot, but there should be someone who knows even more than I do,” Yunhai said quietly.

"Another person?"

“Your maternal grandmother,” Yunhai said casually.

"Well..."

"Don't mind it, I always like to bring up these things." Yunhai realized that what he said wasn't very good, so he added.

"Then Grandpa, tell Nia everything about Mom," Nia said, swinging her legs and looking forward to Yunhai's words.

“Then let’s start from her… from the time she was born,” Yunhai said to Nia after a few seconds of confusion.

“Okay~” Nia replied cutely.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, the simple clock inside the wooden house chimed rhythmically.

Bray sat quietly to the side, his eyes lowered.

Levy hugged Bray and took a nap.

Yunji finally stopped crying.

Meanwhile, the petite Nia listened attentively to every word Yunhai said about her mother.

---

P.S.: I cut the base of my index finger with scissors and can't type, so I'll be posting only during this time TAT

Inside the safe zone of Anjing City, there was a girl whose emotions were completely different from everyone else.

Nia held the windmill in her hand high and skipped ahead of Bray and Levy.

The windmill was obtained from Yunhai's home.

Although it is actually very simple to make a windmill, most people don't have the inclination to do so.

After Yunji had cried enough, she held Nia for a long time.

Because Yunji looked quite like her mother, Nia didn't resist much at the time.

Later, Yunji made a windmill by hand on the spot and gave it to Nia.

She couldn't do anything for Nia, so she could only give her a trivial toy.

However, she clearly underestimated the power of the toy; the windmill delighted Nia.

“Windmill, Daddy, it’s a windmill.” The windmill in Nia’s hand spun around with a “whoosh” sound due to the airflow.

“Yes, it’s a windmill.” Bray didn’t know what to say to the child, but he still responded.

Come to think of it, I've never actually let Nia play with a windmill.

But Nia was running too fast, and she accidentally bumped into someone.

Little Nia was easily knocked to the ground.

"I'm sorry," Nia said, covering her stinging nose.

Then she dusted herself off and prepared to stand up and retrieve the windmill that had flown out of her grasp.

But before she could stand up, she bumped into someone and bent down to help her pick up the windmill.

"Here you go." A woman's voice rang in Nia's ear.

"Thank you!" Nia beamed with joy as soon as she saw the windmill back in her hands.

The woman Nia accidentally bumped into was the former leader of the scout team.

"Hmph..." For some reason, the woman snorted coldly when she saw Bray.

This left Bray somewhat bewildered.

However, considering that the other party helped his daughter pick up the windmill, Bray let it go.

So what if the attitude is a little bad? Back in the capital, the receptionist at the Adventurers' Guild was also rude to me, so I'm used to it.

Although Bray doesn't think getting used to something is a good thing...

"Are you planning to stay here?" the female leader asked.

“No,” Bray replied.

Bray does need to reorganize in Anjing City for the next few days, but that doesn't mean he will stay there afterward.

Even if he settles down, he will still return to the Central Continent, after all, he is not one to enjoy wandering.

He's actually quite a homebody, you know, it's just that he has to be out every day because of endless things to do.

"Not living in the safe zone?" This time, it was the female leader's turn to be surprised.

Her eyes were filled with astonishment, as if she had expected Bray to answer "yes" from the start.

She had initially thought that this so-called "messenger" who had traveled across the ocean intended to settle down here after delivering some important information.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m a messenger, and that’s a rather troublesome job,” Bray said earnestly.

"This job requires people to be on the go every day, although right now I might be the only messenger." His tone was somewhat regretful.

There's not a single person in my industry, and just thinking about it makes me feel a bit lonely.

"Are you planning to go to other places after this?"

“Yes, the next place is Sharjah, the capital of Manchester.” Bray stroked his chin, recalling the geography from before, and then answered.

I wonder if the orc nation of Shahjaman still exists.

Previously, the "Prophet's Tomb" was located near Greentree City, which was a city in the Shahjaman chieftaincy.

To be honest, it takes quite a long time to travel from Yundu Kingdom to Sharjah United Chiefdom.

The middle section will likely be quite difficult.

Whether or not to bring Nia along... that is a real question.

"Shajah United Chief..." The female leader's expression froze.

She once thought that Bray didn't understand that Sharjah United Chiefdom and Yundu Kingdom were actually two different countries.

The journey from Anjingcheng to Sharjah United Chiefdom is quite long.

"Are you serious?" she couldn't help but ask, though she still suspected Bray was joking.

“Seriously.” Bray’s expression was very serious, and his tone was extremely earnest.

"Well, all I can say is... good luck." The female leader sighed and then left.

She just happened to be passing by; she had other tasks to complete.

---

"What a hasty guy," Bray remarked, watching the female leader's departing figure.

“Daddy, Nia wants to eat something.” Nia held the windmill out to Bray, gesturing for him to put it away properly.

Bray skillfully took the items and put them into his waist pouch.

He certainly didn't like other people stuffing their things into his own pocket, but how could Nia be considered "other people"?

"Levy, hug me." Then Nia opened her arms, waiting for Levy to hug her.

If she had cat ears on her head, they would probably be trembling.

"Oh~" Levy hugged Nia, who was slightly smaller than her.

"Why is Levy holding you instead of Daddy?" Bray complained about his daughter.

Normally, they would ask you for a hug, right?

“Because Sister Levy smells good, and Daddy smells like dust,” Nia said honestly, just like Bray.

"..." Bray's heart was bleeding, but he had no way to refute it.

All I can say is that it's already a miracle if I don't have any body odor; the heavy smell of dust is really unavoidable.

"Where do you want to eat?" Bray slapped his forehead and asked in a helpless tone.

“Grandpa’s house~” Nia answered cutely 0V0.

Yunhai has successfully transformed from a "stranger" into a "grandfather".

congratulations.

"Please wait." Just as Bray was about to take his daughter and Levy back to the Cloudsea family, someone called out to him.

No, to be precise, it was an angel who called out to him.

The angel was wearing a very simple linen robe, and his wings were folded back as much as possible.

“If I’m not mistaken, that’s ‘Uranus’s Backpack’ next to you.” The angel pointed to Bray’s “waist pouch.”

Bray squinted his right eye and began to examine the angel before him.

Levy wagged her tail and stood behind Bray, ready to run.

If a fight really breaks out, regardless of whether we can win or not, the first thing we should do is run away with Nia.

"Don't be nervous, I just want to confirm if you are Breclas," the angel said.

"Before asking others, shouldn't you also state your name?" Bray didn't intend to hide his name, but indeed, the one who came should state their name first.

“My name is not important. You only need to know that I am Lady Afrena’s subordinate.” “Afrena?” Bray frowned, trying to recall who the owner of that name was.