A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"Right, you really do value that little girl named Dove." Jonathan shrugged.

"You can rest assured, I would never harm a child."

"I always feel ashamed of this kind of thing."

“No, the little man is wearing a mask, or rather, he’s quite shameless,” Jonathan said, snapping his fingers repeatedly and laughing.

Snapping your fingers is indeed addictive; Jonathan is a prime example of someone who is addicted.

"Besides, you know that a little over a year is simply not enough time, right?" Jonathan's voice was low and deep, like the whisper of a demon from legend.

“I know, a year is too short,” Redip finally said.

Time is limited, and Redip, as the person involved, knows this better than anyone else.

but--

“I would never lay a hand on someone who has done me a favor.” Redip has his own principles.

Many people think that "principles" are stupid.

But often, it is precisely because of this foolishness that people deserve respect.

“Hmm, that makes sense.” Jonathan suddenly started nodding, looking as if he had just realized something.

“You know Blakeras, and he’s helped you before, so it’s normal that you wouldn’t be his enemy,” Jonathan sighed.

"But really, won't you consider it?" Jonathan tried asking again.

“I…” Redip was about to say “no” at the end, but Jonathan interrupted him.

"Please, please think about this very carefully," Jonathan said, adopting a serious tone.

“I’m not a liar,” Jonathan said gravely, his hands no longer twirling his beloved cane.

He wasn't lying to Redip.

Well, of course, opinions on the word "always" vary.

However, Jonathan is indeed a very honest person and would never stoop to deceiving others.

“I’ve seen a lot, really a lot of people, more than you can imagine.” Jonathan took off his hat, and the smile on his mask disappeared.

"How many exactly? Probably as many as the sea," Jonathan said, making a rather inappropriate comparison.

However, Redip wasn't in the mood to criticize Jonathan; he was listening to what the other man had to say.

Jonathan's tone of voice compels you to listen attentively to what he has to say.

"Many people will regret their so-called 'decisive' choices made at the first moment."

"So-called 'no regrets' choices, choices made without even thinking them through, will only lead to regret." Jonathan clutched his tie with heartache.

"Therefore, please think this through very carefully."

"If you refuse, it means you will have to leave the 'Alliance of the Gods,' and I will not extend your life."

“You should remember very clearly the deal we made at the beginning.”

Jonathan rattled off a long string of words without much pause.

For a chatterbox, being able to talk so much is simply a great satisfaction.

And Jonathan's mask did indeed reveal a satisfied smile.

It's wonderful that you can speak properly without being interrupted.

"The Fisherman" is a great person to talk to. I wish he could stay in "The Alliance of Gods".

“I remember.” Redip’s face was gloomy, and his lifeless eyes held an unreadable emotion.

He was a fisherman, but his memory wasn't that of a fish.

The process of making the deal with Jonathan that night is still vivid in my mind.

“Well, even if you refuse, 'Fisherman' you have helped us a lot, so as a reward you will be able to live for another year.” Jonathan told Redip the good news.

“Thank you…” Redip said from the bottom of his heart.

Regardless of what kind of person Jonathan is, or whether he is a villain or not.

At least at this moment, what Jonathan said truly made Redip incredibly grateful to him.

“I would never lie, not even if it concerned my own life,” Jonathan said, raising two fingers to the sky.

This is a way of swearing oaths in the Eastern Continent, which Redip doesn't understand.

“I’ll take my leave now. I’ll reappear once you’ve thought it through.” Jonathan opened his arms, wanting to hug Redip.

However, Redip didn't mean it that way, leaving Jonathan feeling awkward.

Jonathan chuckled dryly and silently withdrew his arms.

“I’ll think about it,” Redip murmured.

However, by the time he said that, Jonathan had already disappeared.

Arriving quietly, one should naturally leave quietly as well; this aligns with Jonathan's aesthetics.

---

Jonathan strolled above the clouds, looking down at the vast ocean.

You read that right, he was walking on the clouds without using any tools.

It's like walking on flat ground, or walking on clouds.

Well, this isn't a particularly rare ability; some strong adventurers can do it too.

"Many people will regret their so-called 'decisive' choices made at the first moment."

"So-called 'no regrets' choices, choices made without even thinking, will only lead to regret," Jonathan repeated what he had just told Redip.

However, the following sentence is different from what was said before—

"However, many people, after careful consideration, make choices they regret."

“It’s not even as good as the initial choice.” Jonathan snapped his fingers.

He was a con artist, but he was an incredibly honest one.

He doesn't lie; he just doesn't know how to say certain things.

“Redip?” Dove looked up at Redip in confusion.

Redip is acting a bit strange today.

Although Doffin couldn't quite put her finger on it, she instinctively sensed Redup's unusual behavior.

"Hmm?" Redup held Dove's little hand and walked slowly down the street, his eyes closed in deep thought.

"Are you feeling unwell today?" Dove was worried about Redip, afraid that he might be feeling unwell.

However, she didn't know that Aragami are basically immune to disease.

What the Aragami fears most is always its own collapse.

“No, it’s perfectly normal.” Redip shook his head; he was in excellent health and felt perfectly fine.

He was puzzled as to why Dove would suddenly ask such a question. Was he behaving strangely?

Although Redip was thinking about many things, he felt that he did not show any unusual expression.

"Really? I feel like Redip is a little unhappy." Dove breathed a sigh of relief; as long as Redip wasn't feeling unwell, that was good.

Since Redup had said that, Dove felt it must be his imagination.

"No, I'm in a good mood..." Redip held Dove's hand, unconsciously tightening his grip a little.

"That must be Doffin's imagination," Doffin said, pursing his lips and smiling at Redip.

Redip's slightly shy smile would make him feel at ease.

"..." Looking at Dove, who was swaying his hand back and forth, Redup hesitated to speak.

If... if Jonathan hadn't talked so much nonsense, Redip certainly wouldn't have considered standing against Bray.

But Jonathan said so.

These endless ramblings made the usually decisive Redip hesitate for a moment.

Hesitation leads to trouble... The yes or no choice is a difficult question, and many people have probably struggled with multiple-choice questions before.

Well, multiple choice questions are definitely harder, but as expected, all multiple choice questions are difficult.

"I see a bookstore! Redip, let's go read some books!" Doffin excitedly grabbed Redip's hand and said with great joy.

"You want to read?" Redip was a little surprised; he had never known that Dove was a child who liked to read.

“No, we’re just looking at what books are available,” Doffin said, tilting his head to Redip.

"I see," Redup murmured. It turned out that Dove simply wanted to see the book cover.

It's like going to a clothing store but not buying any clothes.

Thinking this, Redup let Dove pull him toward the bookstore.

“Look, Redip, look over here, there’s a novel about fishermen and whales!” Daphne casually picked up a book from a stall in front of the bookstore, opened a page, and held it out to Redip.

“You’ve got it upside down,” Redup said helplessly as he straightened Dove’s book.

"Hehe, don't you think you look a lot like Redip?" Dove smiled, his eyes serious, not caring at all that he was holding the book upside down.

She just wanted to show the book to Redip.

"Redip also fought whales at sea."

"Well, that can't really be called a whale, can it?" Redip rubbed the back of his head.

"Yes, a fish bigger than a whale!" Dove exclaimed, gesturing dramatically as he put down his book.

"So Redip is really amazing!" The shy girl became unusually lively in front of Redip.

Doffin may only know that Redip is powerful, but he doesn't understand the true meaning of defeating a Silver-ranked being.

They also wouldn't know what price they would have to pay for doing that.

"..." Redip didn't know how to respond to the little girl's adoration.

He simply picked up Dove silently and placed him on his shoulder.

"Wow!" Dove exclaimed at first, but when she realized that she was being placed on Redip's shoulder the next second, she subconsciously laughed out loud.

"Redip, look! A book about heroes defeating demons!" Once Doffin was placed on Redip's shoulder, her field of vision opened up, and she spotted another book that interested her.

Dove swung her little feet and pointed at the book.

Redup's face showed no particular expression, and he didn't feel that Dove was too much of a problem.

He simply walked up to the book without saying a word and picked it up.

The book cover features a demon king and a hero drawn in a fairytale style.

The subject matter is old-fashioned, but many people still like it, probably because of that sense of longing.

This aspiration encompasses both the desire to save and the desire to be saved.

This subject matter will exist in any era.

“You like this kind of book?” Redup raised his eyelids and glanced at Doffin sitting on his shoulders.

“No, it’s just that whenever I see that word, I always think of Redup.” Dove touched Redup’s hair.

"..."

"Because Redup is a hero, isn't he?"

You're overthinking it.

"I didn't think too much about it. Redip is the hero, hehe." Dove chuckled cutely.

"A super skilled fisherman." Dove racked his brains to come up with a description for Redip.

“Super Fisherman?” Redip’s expression was a little strange, but he didn’t say anything about Dove.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm, super fisherman." Dove nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

This name is a bit strange, but Dove likes to call her that, so let her be.