A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

No, he is not dead.

"..." The sea creature frowned suddenly and looked up at the tall man.

"what's the situation?"

"They were taken away."

Only a dusty picture book remained on the ground.

---

"..." Dove, who should have been crushed to death in those ruins, looked up in horror at the strange creature in front of him.

He was wearing a clown mask and a gentleman's wide-brimmed hat.

"So high...so big...so scary..." Dove's pupils trembled.

The person in front of him was not very big, probably even smaller than his father.

But why did Dove think this person was so tall? Was it just psychological?

It was as if this person's figure was all I could see.

"Who...are you?" Dove swallowed hard and asked the question instinctively.

"Hahaha, how rude of me, I've frightened the little lady." The strange gentleman wearing a mask chuckled.

“I am Jonathan, just an ordinary human being,” the man who called himself Jonathan said, bending down and pressing down on his top hat as he spoke to Doffin.

Despite his friendly demeanor, Dove simply couldn't develop any affection for this man.

"Thank you..." Dove said, her little head drooping.

In any case, this strange human saved him.

It's strange that Doffin would be among humans in a sea creature city.

Humans are weak; in the sea creatures' city, they would probably be torn to pieces.

“Hahaha, you’re welcome. It’s something any gentleman would do, isn’t it?” Jonathan waved his cane, looking quite pleased.

"What's wrong with my father?" the little girl tried to ask.

"That gentleman's fate is very regrettable."

"..." Dove had already understood Jonathan's unspoken message.

“Alright, little lady, do you want to leave here? Do you want to live?” Jonathan said, gesturing wildly.

"I want...I want to leave!" Dove clenched her little fists.

"What a courageous little lady!" Jonathan clapped.

"Then, I wish you the best of luck in persevering until you see a glimmer of hope for life." With that, the masked gentleman snapped his fingers.

Dove disappeared from Jonathan's sight.

“Small things need to begin.” Jonathan rubbed his fingers together.

He was the one who betrayed her, and he was also the one who saved Dove.

He just wanted to see just how high the waves could go.

Bored, or perhaps with ulterior motives. "Good morning," Redip said, turning to Bray as he packed his things.

“Wow, that’s early.” Bray raised an eyebrow and said in surprise.

The two dead fish eyes met first thing in the morning.

"It's just work." It's hard to imagine that the guy who said this was an incurably lazy good-for-nothing not long ago.

“Yes, work is important.” Bray nodded; he didn’t dislike hardworking people.

“You have to work hard to support people other than yourself,” Redip continued.

“That’s right.” Bray nodded quickly; Redip was absolutely right.

For no apparent reason, I felt a special sense of familiarity.

This is definitely not because the other side also has dead fish eyes.

“Being an adventurer is a good job,” Redip told Bray.

“Hmm, it’s really good.” Bray murmured, lowering his eyelids.

"Your forehead is covered in sweat."

Bray touched his forehead.

"It was just a nightmare."

"What a coincidence, I've also been having nightmares lately."

"Goodbye, I'm off to set up my stall." Redip said casually after tidying up the things in his cart.

"Dove, let's go."

"Hmm." After putting on her shoes inside, Dove jogged over to Redip's side.

“Speaking of which, you trust strangers so much?” Bray called out to Redip.

"Hmm?" Redip looked at Bray with a puzzled expression.

“I mean, aren’t you afraid your house will get robbed?” Bray glanced at the cabin behind him.

This house built on the beach is truly unique.

"Do you think there's anything worth stealing?"

"Or rather, do you think there's anything worth stealing?" Redip countered.

However, Redup instinctively pulled Dove close to him.

Unaware of what was happening, Dove didn't resist and let Redip pull her close.

"Is that so?" Bray seemed to want to say something, but after thinking for a moment, he didn't say anything.

"Squeak—squeak—" came the sound of the cart.

Redip and Dove's figures gradually receded into the distance, disappearing from Bray's sight.

At that moment, Levy's head peeked out from behind Bray.

"Has Dove left?" Levy asked softly, clutching the hem of Bray's dress.

Dove wakes up much, much earlier than Rebecca.

When Levy woke up, Dove had already gone out to set up the stall with Redup.

“Hmm.” Bray reached back and stroked Levy’s hair.

"You're up way too early, Bray," Naruko said, yawning as she came out.

"There's an event," Bray said earnestly, patting Naruko on the shoulder.

"An event?" Naruko's eyes widened, filled with question marks.

“Lux’s school activities,” Bray added.

"Family members may enter."

"So, what kind of activity is it?" Naruko couldn't see anything in Bray's dead fish eyes.

But Naruko's intuition told her that Bray definitely wasn't up so early because of something important.

“A vibrant, youthful activity.” Bray recalled what a captain had told him not long ago.

Naruko gave her a disdainful look.

"Beach volleyball," Bray confessed truthfully.

"..." Naruko looked at her arms and then looked down at her beautiful figure.

"Tsk." She finally made a sound of extreme displeasure.

“There’s such a beautiful, vibrant young girl in front of you,” Naruko gestured.

"..." Bray's expression remained unchanged.

Naruko was surprised to see the word "determination" in Bray's dead fish eyes.

---

Bray is just a young man in his early twenties.

It might not sound nice, but as a normal man, Bray is quite interested in certain things.

Not long after Bray got up, he set off for his sister's activity location.

The purpose of this trip by Imperial Academy was to relieve the students' stress.

Therefore, there were no unusual activities.

"Brother, your eyes are quite dangerous." Lux hugged herself and looked at her brother strangely.

"Is there something strange about Mr. Bray's eyes?" Virginia looked at Bray curiously, trying to glean something from his deadpan gaze.

But a dead fish eye is a dead fish eye; it's impossible to see anything unusual about it.

After all, dead fish eyes are a very strange thing.

Only Lux, his younger sister, was able to notice the subtle change in Bray's eyes.

"Ugh!" Virginia suddenly realized her face was too close to Bray's, and then hurriedly took a few steps back.

"..." Blanche blinked, already used to Princess Virginia's appearance.

Some people are very brave in front of the person they like.

Unfortunately, some people become incredibly timid in front of the person they like.

Even though Virginia is usually poised and confident, she remains neither arrogant nor servile in the face of any person.

She would become timid if she stood near Bray.

This is a common occurrence, and Blanche fully understands.

However, if that's the case, Virginia might not be able to end up with Bray.

Because the timid side often misses out on many opportunities.

“I’m safe,” Bray said calmly, not surprised by Virginia’s reaction.

"Good luck in the game," Bray cheered Lux ​​on.

Of course, it's to cheer on the upcoming beach volleyball competition.

My little sister has finally grown up.

Back then, Lux was just a kid who was several heads shorter than me.

Lux has grown taller now.

Bray uttered the sentiments befitting an elder brother.

"You've grown up, Lux."

"What are you sighing about?" Lux said irritably.

"I'm leaving." Lux waved goodbye to Bray reluctantly.

"Okay." Bray waved goodbye to Lux as well.

---

Beach volleyball is played by both girls and boys.

Unfortunately, Bray had absolutely no interest in boys' beach volleyball.

A vibrant young girl is better.

Bray sat cross-legged on the ground, watching the others' intense competition.

Life without fighting and killing is simply wonderful.

As for Levy, she was hugging her tail and soaking in the water.

Naruko was watching Levy from the sidelines.