A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

He made a gesture of looking into the distance, but unfortunately found that his eyesight was not good enough to see that far clearly.

Then, an hour later...

Bray's figure became more and more common in the town.

"Delicious! The guy is really nice." Bray hugged a paper bag of sesame cakes and happily ate them.

His dead fish eyes were filled with joy, and although his face was expressionless, he felt very happy.

Probably.

Just now, Bray saved a person in town who had been captured by an out-of-control monster with a single sword strike. To thank him, the person bought him a bag of sesame cakes.

After asking the people he had rescued some questions, he also understood his own situation.

The place I live in is called Menggama.

The main city of Mengama is Roca, but this is not the main city; it's just a town that's not too far from it.

How I ended up in such a terrible place after being thrown from the ship remains a mystery to this day.

He also asked other people about the Eastern Continent, but the townspeople mostly shook their heads.

Others even thought Bray had made a fool of himself, which led Bray to stop asking questions altogether.

"First, we need to find a way to get to the Eastern Continent," he muttered to himself, swallowing the biscuit in his mouth.

Being stranded in a foreign land is not a good thing, but let's get to our original destination anyway.

But after learning that the cost of going to sea was high, Bray fell silent.

Was Brey poor? Not really.

But he discovered that his money was not valid there at all, meaning that—at least in Mengama—he was completely penniless.

He stared blankly at the sky, his heart filled with helplessness.

But in order to go home, he still had to find a job locally to earn money.

Even if it's difficult, we still have to start, right? Lying dejectedly on the beach won't get us home.

So he found a grocery store in the town and started working there.

He thought about it and realized that his knife skills were actually quite good, so he was better suited for the kitchen.

However, other restaurants didn't trust his skills and didn't hire him.

Only the young owner of this grocery store hired him.

---

After spending three or four days in town, Bray had become somewhat familiar with the place.

At the very least, you won't get lost while walking.

"Bray, could you please help me move these boxes to the warehouse?" the young man named Caesar said to Bray.

"Okay." Bray looked dejected, but he was a hard-working guy when it came to work.

So he didn't slack off and moved the boxes one by one into the warehouse.

Caesar always liked to buy all sorts of things, saying that since he ran a general store, the goods should be a variety.

Well, Bray couldn't refute that reason, but he still felt something was off.

"All done moving," Bray said to Caesar after knocking on the door.

"You've worked hard, take a rest," Caesar said with a smile.

"Here you go, this is some beef jerky I recently got." He then tossed a bag of beef jerky to Bray.

Bray caught the bag of beef jerky in mid-air and tore it open to eat.

After finishing his work, he naturally wanted to sit down and take a good rest.

After all, after lying down for a day, he would tell himself, "Although I didn't do anything, I still worked hard."

Caesar opened one for himself and started eating.

The grocery store's business is only so-so; not many people usually come in.

Therefore, Bray often saw Caesar, the boss, slacking off himself.

Seriously, hasn't Caesar ever heard the saying, "If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too"?

"By the way, Bray, why do you always carry a sword? Don't you find it troublesome?" Caesar glanced at the longsword at Bray's waist and asked curiously.

No matter what happened afterward, Bray always carried a sword with him, and he almost took it with him when he took a bath.

"A longsword?" Bray looked at Caesar with a dazed expression, puzzled.

“That sword at your waist,” Caesar said, pointing to “The Last Song.”

“Sword…” Bray touched the sword at his waist and murmured.

When did I start carrying this sword with me?

Because I instinctively associated myself with the word "swan song," I haven't had this problem for the past few days.

And what kind of sword is this?

He covered his head, seemingly troubled.

He covered his head not because he was in a lot of pain, but simply because he was confused about his situation.

There seems to be no problem, yet there seems to be a problem everywhere.

"I don't know, I've kind of forgotten." Bray shook his head helplessly.

No matter how hard he racked his brains to recall, he couldn't remember anything about the sword.

Fine, since it's been hanging up for so long, let's just keep it hanging.

"Are you feeling unwell? You look a little pale," Caesar asked kindly.

“I’m fine, I’m just overworking my brain,” Bray replied.

"It's alright. You're always very hardworking. I thought you were just overworking yourself."

“It’s not that bad…” He felt that Caesar’s concerns were unnecessary; he wasn’t so weak that he would overwork himself even while working.

"You seem to be in a hurry for money, is that why?"

"Let me guess, making money to get married?" Caesar asked casually, seeing that Bray seemed to be really alright.

Why ask so many strange questions? Come on, we're just chatting, of course we can ask whatever we want.

If someone asks you "Have you eaten?" on a difficult road, would you also think about why?

“Yes, we’re really short of money.” Bray sighed deeply.

He wouldn't be searching for work all over town if he weren't short of money.

Yes, I only took the job because I was short of money.

Short of money? Why would he be short of money? Just like Caesar asked, what is he so eager to make money for?

What is he going to do?

Countless questions flooded his mind, making Bray feel as if something was wrong with him.

No, isn't it normal to be short of money? I can't even afford to eat.

Without Caesar providing accommodation, he would have had to sleep on the streets.

“Because we have no money for food and drink, and we even need you to provide for our lodging,” Bray said.

After giving that answer, he suddenly felt relieved, as if he had unloaded some burden, perhaps the burden of "thinking".

——"Master, Master..."

"Can you hear me?"

One after another, the voices of young girls rang in Bray's ears, as if a girl was talking to him right next to him.

He turned his head sharply, only to find that there was no girl in sight at all.

"Master? Was my voice too soft?"

"What to do... what to do..."

The sound continued, and it even seemed to carry a hint of a tearful whimper, leaving Bray somewhat bewildered.

Did you encounter a paranormal event?

"What's wrong with you?" Caesar noticed Bray turning his head and couldn't help but ask.

"It's nothing, I might just be hallucinating," Bray waved his hand and replied.

"Shopkeeper, I think I'm really too tired. I should reduce my workload a bit," he said to Caesar in a seemingly weak voice.

"Nonsense." Caesar, hearing such an affected tone, naturally wouldn't fall for it.

"Work hard, and take time off when you really need to rest."

"Can't you just give us a day off in lieu of leave? Why not just give us a day off directly?" Bray was exasperated; Caesar was still heartless.

However, even experiencing auditory hallucinations must mean I'm just too exhausted.

He yawned, realizing he really needed a good rest. "The Last Echo" had developed her own will; from that moment on, she was a "young girl."

She had no idea why she was born, or why she was a girl.

These questions were too complicated for her, who was just beginning to develop wisdom.

Even in her ignorance, she still understood some simple things.

For example, the person holding one's own body is one's Master.

The character 御 (yù) means to control or master.

No one taught her any knowledge; everything she knew came from what she "saw" and "heard" from Bray.

In one's own mental world, all sorts of books will always appear.

When she opened the book, she saw many things she didn't know before, and she learned the word "Master" from it.

So where did these books come from?

Was it the craftsman who forged himself? Or someone else who once used him?

She doesn't know; there are so many things she doesn't know.

So, her favorite thing to do later on was to read books, all kinds of books.

The more you see, the more you will know.

My own will is not mature enough, so I cannot speak to my Master, nor can I see my Master.

So she sat under the shade of the big tree, reading a book.

She wore a straw hat and a simple dress, and just stayed in the village.

Need more detailed description? No.

She was just a simple black-haired girl, a girl who was simple in both mind and body.

The quiet village makes it easy to relax, and it's a favorite place for young girls.

Although the girl herself is a sword, she does not like fighting, and even dislikes conflict.

The more she saw, the less she understood why people had to fight each other and couldn't get along.

Is this something she, as a weapon, will never understand? If so, she'd rather never understand it for the rest of her life.

However, it seems that one's master always has to fight with them.

Ah, this is also my mission, after all, the person who created me once said something like this.

"Anyone, just hold this sword and struggle a little."

"The Last Echo" is the weapon she, a mortal, uses to struggle, so in the end, she will still be drawn into the battle.

So, what kind of person is the Master who uses her in battle?

The girl knew some things, but there were also things she didn't know.

She looked forward to meeting her Master, but was also a little timid.