A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

“Bray is Bray.” The girl tilted her head, as if Bray had asked some incredibly stupid question.

"Okay, what's your name?"

"Levy!" The girl who called herself Levy wagged her tail vigorously.

It was only then that Bray noticed that Levy had a hideous bony tail behind her.

This... has absolutely nothing to do with birds anymore; it's a wild beast.

No, calling her a beast would be too much of an exaggeration, after all, she is a girl.

"Levy, stop for a second," Bray said quickly to Levy, as he was about to faint if she kept spinning around.

After hearing what Bray said, Levy obediently stopped.

“Left hand,” Bray said to Levy.

Upon hearing this, Levy extended her left hand.

"Right hand."

Levy continued to do as instructed.

"Spinning around..."

Levy did as she was told.

I see. Bray roughly understood what was going on.

But what should I do with Levy? Should I take her with me?

"Bray, Bray!" Levy called out Bray's name excitedly, making him scratch the back of his head helplessly.

It seems that now, there is no other choice but to bring Levy along.

“Come on, let’s go back to Skane Village.” Bray reached out his large hand and took Levy’s small hand in his.

“Oh!” Although Levy had no idea what Skane Village was, she trusted Bray implicitly.

This puzzled Bray, as she didn't seem like the type of child who would mistake the first person they saw for their mother.

It seems like I've encountered a lot of strange things ever since I became an adventurer. Are all other adventurers like this?

It was still a remarkable life, so remarkable that even Brei, who was originally a farmer, couldn't stand it.

But what happened next was truly incomprehensible.

Just as Bray took Levy's hand and was about to turn back, a crowd of people surged out from around them.

He was so frightened that he immediately went into battle mode and drew his iron bow.

Seeing Bray so nervous, Levy also became alert, like a wildcat with its fur standing on end.

Once Bray could see who the group of people were, he quickly breathed a sigh of relief.

The knights that Bray wanted to follow coming from all directions—what a coincidence!

Of course, there are also adventurers who are responsible for the knightly order to slay monsters.

There were quite a few people, so it's no wonder Bray jumped.

"Clap clap clap clap." The knights and the adventurers started clapping as soon as they met.

The thunderous applause left Bree somewhat bewildered by the continuous applause.

"What are you doing?"

"That's amazing! I never expected you to defeat the monster so quickly, Breclas." The leading female knight clapped her hands and said with admiration.

"Huh?" Bray opened his mouth slightly, but didn't know how to reply.

“I thought you were lost, but I didn’t expect you to go and defeat the monsters all by yourself. That’s truly admirable,” the female knight said, bowing to Bray.

"I...no," Bray managed to squeeze out the words with difficulty.

“Isn’t this it?” the female knight said, pointing to the eggshell beside her.

"???" Ever since he was suddenly told that he had single-handedly defeated the monster, Bray had been in a state of confusion.

He felt there was nothing wrong with the world, but he still couldn't shake off the deep sense of unease.

In short, after that incident, he was promoted to C-rank adventurer, and with a little more effort, he could become a B-rank adventurer.

Although the things I've encountered are truly perplexing, they're all good things.

“How strange,” Bray murmured, taking a sip of fruit wine.

He sat in the Adventurers' Guild in the Imperial Capital, with Levy and Naruko beside him.

Levy goes without saying, and Naruko was forced to come along.

Although she left for a while, I heard she went to find her true love.

But now that Naruko is sitting next to him, it's not hard to guess how things are going between her and his new true love.

Levy sat obediently beside Bray, her hands resembling orcish claws, and she had a ferocious tail, completely different from her cute face.

She carefully licked the milkshake from the cup, trying not to waste a single drop, completely disregarding her image.

"Slurp, slurp." Levy even tried to scoop out the milkshake with her fingernails.

Naruko kept drinking her juice, then lay on the table and sobbed loudly, pretending to be drunk.

But if you tell Bray that drinking juice can make you drunk, he won't believe you.

"Wa ...

Left with no other choice, Bray covered Naruko's mouth.

"Waaaaaah!!"

“Speak properly.” Bray gave a wry smile and then released his grip.

"That guy is hanging out with ten girls!!!" Naruko pounded the table in anguish.

"Ten, a full ten."

"Girls can play with ten boys sometimes too," Bray said, speechless.

"That's the problem!!" Naruko's voice sounded miserable, as if she had just been betrayed.

Those who don't know her might think she had a tragic love story.

"It's so strange, why do I play with so many girls? They're not even girls." Naruko wiped away her tears.

"..." Bray was speechless and could only pick up a glass of juice and hand it to Naruko.

"Glug glug—" Naruko gulped down the juice and continued to wail at Bray.

Although her tearful account was strange, Bray had no choice but to listen to it all.

"Good men are all extinct!" Naruko exclaimed before collapsing onto the table with a thud, completely drunk.

This was the first time Bray had ever heard of someone getting drunk from drinking fruit juice.

Even Levy stopped eating her milkshake and looked at the drunken Naruko in surprise.

After confirming several times that Naruko would not get up again, Levy continued fighting Milkshake.

Bray ignored Naruko and let her sleep soundly.

He had a strange feeling, a sense of peace and familiarity.

"Can I sit here?" A deep voice sounded in Bray's ear as he was pondering.

That sound was coming from under the helmet.

"Um..." Bray looked at Naruko and Levi beside him, feeling a little embarrassed.

However, the person who spoke didn't seem to have any intention of getting Bray's consent and sat down opposite Bray on his own.

He was dressed in white armor, but he had no weapons on him.

The armor was peculiar; it didn't show the face at all. You could only peek through the inside of the helmet, and you probably couldn't see anything there.

Is this armor for human use?

However, this guy was exactly the same as the hallucination that Bray had seen not long ago.

Aside from not being quite as fantastical, all the characteristics matched perfectly, which made Bray more wary.

“My name is Braclas,” the swordsman in white armor said to Bray.

"Your name is Brayclas?" Bray looked at the white-clad swordsman in surprise.

“Yes, I know you’re called that too. You’re quite famous,” the white-clad swordsman said quietly.

"What a coincidence." Bray never imagined in his life that he would meet someone with the exact same name as him.

While it's possible to share the same name, it's truly a rare occurrence for two people to meet and sit together.

"How do you know my name is Blakelas?" he asked the white-clad swordsman curiously.

"Because you are Blakeras, it's that simple."

"What kind of logic is that?" Bray curled his lip, thinking the other person was avoiding his question.

"Truth," said the white-clad swordsman.

Bray sighed, then looked at the white-clad swordsman.

One second passed, then two seconds passed, and his expression gradually became strange.

“You’re not called Braclas, you’re called Whiteface,” Braclas suddenly raised his hand, pointed at the white-clad swordsman, and said.

"Then how do you know my name is Whiteface?" The swordsman, who did not deny Bray's address, asked Bray in return.

Bray was taken aback by the question.

Yeah, how did he know the other person was called Whiteface and not Blakelas?

“Because you are white powder,” Bray replied instinctively.

"See? You know how I know my name, just like I know how you know yours," Bai Mian said calmly.

“No, you’re Whiteface, you’re also Blakes…” Blakes said, rubbing his head, sounding dazed.

"Who knows?" Bai Mian stood up from his seat.

"All things are vanity."

"Can you see through it?"

Even if you see through it, so what?

Whiteface spoke a bunch of things Bray couldn't understand, and then left the Adventurers' Guild.

Before leaving, however, he ordered two milkshakes for Levy and Naruko.

"Sir, this was given to you by that person just now," the waitress said to Bray with a smile, and then handed him the milkshake.

"Uh, thank you." Bree nodded blankly, looking in the direction the white-faced man had left.

Unfortunately, the white-faced figure vanished completely in a moment of confusion, leaving no trace.

He tried to understand the series of words Bai Mian had left behind, but the more he tried to understand, the dizzier he became.

It wasn't a headache, but rather a feeling of drowsiness, as if I would fall asleep at any moment.

What is illusory, and what do I need to see through? What exactly is the identity of this strange fellow?

There are just too many problems.

“Whoosh—” Even though he was sitting in the Royal Capital Adventurers' Guild, Bray saw a railcar fly past him.

"Boom boom boom!" The sound of the railcar wheels rubbing against the rails echoed in Bray's ears.

His gaze was fixed on the unexpected railcar, and when he looked away, he found himself sitting in a pastoral setting.

This is Newham, my hometown, and behind me is the house I've always lived in.

As for myself, I aged nearly ten years in an instant.

Some people are waiting to see what Bray can do.

But they didn't know that Bray was trapped in a dream.

That was a dream I couldn't wake up from, a meaningless dream.