A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

Except for his bewitching eyes.

"It's a child."

"Welcome to accept my invitation, big brother," Sack said happily, putting down his book.

"Wait a minute, I need to sort out my thoughts." Bray stopped Sack, his head throbbing.

After taking a few deep breaths, he slightly changed his mind.

Maybe this child is some kind of old monster who drank a potion that makes them young again.

It's worth noting that Bray had examples like Nicol Bolas around him.

"Alright, let's continue," Bray said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"First of all, have I seen you before?"

“Of course I’ve seen it.” Sack smiled sweetly.

His sitting posture was very well-behaved, and there was nothing about it that seemed out of place for his age.

"You've seen him before?" So, this guy really is an old monster.

"Do you remember, there was a female soldier holding a baby back then?" Sack said casually, his eyes still full of smiles.

"That baby is me."

Bray's lifeless right eye suddenly sharpened. "You can call me Sark, or Little Sark, it's up to you," Sark said with a smile.

No matter how lovable he may seem to others, Bray remained wary of him.

He could never forget that baby giggling on the ground that day.

Now you're telling Bray that the baby back then remembered himself? Isn't that a bit far-fetched?

Is it really possible for a baby to remember things from when they were around one year old?

When Bray met Sark's strange eyes, he gave up the idea of ​​treating him like a child.

Anyone who thinks that Sark is just a child is definitely being deluded.

Little Sack laid the book flat on his lap and looked at Bray curiously.

At that moment, he truly resembled a pure child—

Like a child who has seen a new and exciting toy.

However, children have a bad habit of always smashing their toys.

“Why did you invite me here?” Bray asked.

"To slay the monsters," Sack said in a childish voice.

"You've already invited many adventurers, why did you specifically invite me?" Bray didn't treat Sark like a child at all.

“Because Mr. Bray is Mr. Bray.” Sack’s expression was unexaggerated, as if he were talking about something very ordinary.

“In the end, I’ll still end up going to the same places as those adventurers.” Bray shook his head; he couldn’t quite understand Sark’s actions.

"I see. Mr. Bray is still very wary." Sack sighed pitifully.

He looked like a lost child.

No, he is...maybe.

“…” Bray did not respond to Sachs’s words, after all, no matter how he answered, it would not be a good answer.

That's what they mean by not giving face.

To say no is to lie.

“If we hadn’t done that, Mr. Bray wouldn’t have come at all.”

“…” Bray subconsciously pressed the back of his hand against his chin.

Sark was right. If he hadn't been invited, Bray would never have traveled all the way to the Northern Continent to seek a commission.

Why go to the Northern Continent to take on commissions when there are so many other options available in the Central Continent?

Perhaps in the end, the Northern Continent's mission will require me to return to the Central Continent myself.

“Right?” Sack said happily when he saw Bray thinking.

"This mission is to defeat a super, super powerful monster." Sark jumped off the chair.

He ran up to the bookshelf with his short legs, only to find that he couldn't reach it at all.

Even when I stand on tiptoe, I can't reach it.

"Which book do you want?" Bray, unable to bear it any longer, walked over to the bookshelf and asked.

“This one, a brief history of the Cardo family,” Sack said, pointing to a thick book.

As expected of a wealthy family, they even wrote a book about themselves.

“Look, this is the monster.” Sack snapped open the book and flipped to a page to show Bray.

The drawing on the paper was something incomprehensible, seemingly a mixture of crystals and mist.

"this?"

“That’s right.” Sack nodded.

"This is an extremely powerful monster, which has been sealed away by the family in a certain place."

"But the seal is about to break, so we have to go and defeat this monster."

"Otherwise, Tokam would definitely be destroyed."

"Then everyone said there was an adventurer named 'Bloodblade' who was very powerful." After saying that, Sark gave Bray a smile.

The child, whose speech was unclear, managed to utter such a long string of words, which Bray found incredible.

How did Sack manage to say all that while biting his tongue?

"So, does this matter have anything to do with the 'monastics' you mentioned?"

Bray always pays attention to strange things, but sometimes those strange things are actually very important.

Just like now.

What does this monster-slaying have to do with those who uphold the precepts?

The letter from Saxe says "the one who upholds the precepts," which is why he came; otherwise, he wouldn't have accepted the invitation from a stranger.

“Yes, it’s related,” Sack said smugly.

“Our ancestors in the Kado family once wore a ring that belonged to the ringholder.”

"However, I lost the ring later for various strange reasons."

"This is a monster that was also sealed away by our ancestors with a ring."

“As long as you make contact with that monster, you will definitely be able to learn about the Ring-Bearers,” Sark confidently told Bray.

So rings can have exes too? Bray only found this out now.

He had assumed that those who observed the precepts were all appointed by imperial decree.

But then again, where is my ring? Could it be that the previous wearer hid it?

Bray was speechless when he thought about this. Could it be that someone could be called a ring-bearer even without a ring?

While he was lost in thought, Sack clapped his hands a few times.

"Bring some tea and snacks over," he said to the maid across the hall.

Almost a few minutes later, everything was ready and delivered to the room.

“I love drinking milk the most, Mr. Bray, what about you?” Sack picked up the cup and began to chug the milk down as if it were alcohol.

“I don’t have any particular favorites.” Bray didn’t have any particular fondness for drinks.

I drink juice and alcohol, but I don't particularly like any of them.

He felt they were all about the same.

Bray didn't care, but Levy, who was with him, wasn't such a casual person.

"Juice!" Levy exclaimed, her eyes widening as she spoke to Sark.

Although Sack continued to ignore her, it didn't matter to her.

"Bring some more juice, a little of everything," Sack said to the maid.

The maid respectfully responded and quickly pushed over a small cart of drinks.

Levy looked at the car full of drinks, and her tail couldn't help but wag.

"Is there any meat left?" Levy continued to ask, her ears twitching slightly.

"A little more meat," Sack said again.

Then Levy saw another truckload of high-quality meat.

Although Levy initially thought Sark was a big problem, she chose not to get angry when she saw that he was giving her food and drink.

Thinking of this, Levy plunged headlong into eating and drinking, cupped her little face in her hands, and revealed a lovely, happy smile.

Seeing this, Bray felt a little envious.

Is this the legendary power of money? Bray really wants it too.

"Mr. Bray, won't you have something to eat?" Sack, who had just finished a glass of milk and then another, looked at Bray with a puzzled expression.

After staring at Sack for a few seconds, Bray suddenly wondered if he had been too wary of the child.

Even though it's unusual for a three-year-old child to behave this way, I was still too nervous.

"No, I don't particularly like any of them," Bray shook his head.

"I want to know what reward you will give me after I help your family defeat that monster."

“Of course, just like other adventurers,” Sark said, holding up a finger.

The reward offered by the Kado family is already very generous, more than an adventurer could earn in a lifetime.

Although Bray said he didn't not want the compensation, he felt strange as someone who had been directly invited.

It's not that I'm any more noble than other adventurers, but I was tricked into coming to the Northern Continent from the Central Continent, which is already a huge loss for me.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Bray.” After finishing his milk, Sack sat back down in his chair.

“I will tell you all the information you want about the ‘observant of the precepts’,” he said.

“Okay.” After a few seconds, Breton accepted the terms.

The person who upholds the precepts is someone he has always wanted to understand.

Now that he has the opportunity to understand the whole picture, he naturally wants to seize it.

"Levy, we..." Bray was about to call Levy to leave together when he saw Levy happily eating, her tail swaying in mid-air.

Levy devoured everything in both cars.

In that instant, Bray wondered if he had been abusing Levy.

Levy has such a big appetite that five or six bowls of rice might not be enough for her normally.

"Hmm?" Levy chewed on her meat, turned around and looked at Bray with a puzzled expression, not knowing why he had called her.

"It's nothing, you can continue eating." Bray sat down again with a sigh.

"Oh!" After hearing what Bray said, Levy started chopping away happily again.

Bray began planning what to bring on the next expedition.

We need dry rations, and we also need climbing tools.

He has a lot of things to carry, and he really wants a backpack that can hold an unlimited amount of things.

---

A few days later, a team of adventurers appeared in the wilderness of Tokam.

They were all adventurers commissioned by the Kador family to defeat Slat, a monster known as the "Mist God" in the Kador family's brief history.

This huge group naturally included Bray and Levy.