A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"..." Bray pondered for a long time, unsure where to begin his rant.

However, before complaining, we really need to ask a question.

"So, you're going to foster Xiaoyou in my family's care?"

“I’m already at your house.” Nick Boras patted his clothes.

---

"Yuu, since you're here to receive an education, sit down with Levy." Naruko put on her black-rimmed glasses and pointed at the blackboard with her pointer.

In front of the blackboard is Levy with an =A= expression, and Xiao You, a cool and aloof older sister with drool dripping from the corner of her mouth.

"Why do we need a blackboard?" Xiao You asked a very pointed question.

“Idiot! Having a blackboard is the most basic thing when teaching someone!” Naruko said confidently.

“Oh!” Levy and Xiaoyou exclaimed.

"Hmm! Good to know." Naruko began to swell with pride. On a patch of lush green grass, a girl bent her knees and quietly flipped through a book resting on her lap.

The grass around the girl was originally uneven, but after a long period of cultivation, it has finally recovered.

When a girl is reading, she will unconsciously touch the grass around her.

"The weather is nice today too." The girl pursed her lips and smiled.

The girl loved both the smell of ink from the books and the scent of grass from the ground.

"..." However, just as the girl was about to continue turning the pages, she felt a slight pain in her arm.

The girl sighed helplessly. For a literature major, getting injured was something that should never happen.

After all, she was just a quiet, book-loving young woman.

If the "Swan Song" is injured, its own will will be affected to some extent.

If a sword suffers too much damage, its own will will also be severely damaged, or even destroyed.

Even if only the hilt of the sword remains after the "final echo," the mental world can still exist.

But to be honest, that's a very extreme case.

"My skin is all broken." The girl closed the book and touched the wounds on her fair skin.

Although such injuries can heal on their own, the sword itself cannot be repaired.

Once the blade is bent, it's bent.

"But it's alright." The girl had told Bray before that she wouldn't feel any pain, of course she was lying to that idiot.

Moreover, for a young girl, this is hardly a big deal.

Compared to the useless Master who constantly ruins his body, these pains are insignificant.

The girl even hoped that the idiot would treat her better and at least learn to care about his body.

"I'm so sleepy, let me rest for a bit." The girl lay down flat and covered her face with her large, wide-brimmed straw hat.

However, just as the girl was about to get a good night's sleep, someone woke her up.

"Big Sister!" A black-haired kid wearing a red scarf stood next to the girl and called out loudly.

However, after shouting, the little devil in the red scarf curiously looked around at the peaceful little village.

Just like how "Beers" was able to come to this place to teach "The Last Echo".

"The Last Echo" can access the mental world of "Black Keys", and "Black Keys" can also enter the mental world of "The Last Echo".

As long as they are in the same Master's mental world, they are interconnected.

However, it was always the young girl who taught this kid before; this was the kid's first time in this place.

It's completely different from my own fortress; this place makes me feel very safe.

"..." The girl pretended not to hear the chuunibyou kid's voice and continued to lie motionless.

"Big Sister!!!" The kid, who really thought the girl was asleep, called out again.

This time, the girl finally took her straw hat off her face and looked at the black-haired, chuunibyou kid with sleepy eyes.

The little devil was quite energetic, and inexplicably put on a very proud expression.

What is this guy, whose face is now covered in bruises, so proud of?

"Big Sister, you've worked hard!" The little devil bowed respectfully, just like a younger brother.

Well, actually, this "black key" brat is the girl's little brother.

"Is this all it's for?" the girl said irritably, her expression bearing a striking resemblance to that of a dead fish.

"Weren't you injured? That's why I came here on purpose!" The kid's attitude in front of the girl was completely different from how he acted in front of Dead Fish Eyes.

"It's just a minor scratch." The girl lowered her eyelids, as if she were about to fall asleep at any moment.

The curling of the sword blade, as it appeared on her, was no more than the extent of a person falling down.

However, if it gets rolled around a few more times, it probably won't just be a fall; it might get much more serious.

Ah, the girl only hoped that she wouldn't tear her dress next time.

"And your injuries are even worse, aren't they?" During battle, "Black Key" suffers far more damage than "Echo."

That kind of breaking and then repairing is like a kid getting beaten up and then getting back up.

Thinking about it this way, this immature kid is surprisingly principled.

"The boss is a girl, so she's different from me," the immature kid said earnestly, shaking his head.

As a man, how can you grow up without experiencing some hardships?

That's right, this is a trial, a trial to prevent myself from being looked down upon by that dead-eyed idiot.

Black Key hasn't fully mastered the swordsmanship he learned from Bray yet. Keep in mind that Bray has only taught Black Key two or three styles so far.

If Bray knew, he would definitely look down on himself.

The little devil absolutely doesn't want to see this happen, so he's still diligently practicing his swordsmanship.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Our will is not divided by gender." The girl was speechless at the brat.

He's still just a chuunibyou kid around thirteen years old.

No, she's just a teenage girl.

The girl thought to herself and took a deep breath.

The crisp air, instead of waking the girl up, made her want to sleep even more.

Under the blue sky, on the green grass, sleeping peacefully under this big tree, what could be more wonderful than this life?

"It's rare to come all the way from that barren place, so lie down and get a good night's sleep." She didn't say much more to "Black Key" and didn't care why he had suddenly come here.

Perhaps it was because he was concerned about her injuries, or perhaps he was curious about the mental world outside of himself.

The girl put the straw hat back over her face.

"Boss, this place is different from where I live," Black Key exclaimed sincerely.

There is no sense of the horror of war in this place, and you would never think of anything related to "battle".

This place should be just ordinary and peaceful.

“Yes, that’s why that idiot Master wouldn’t even use this place for battle,” the girl said quietly.

"If it were me... I wouldn't be able to bear it either," the kid answered instinctively.

Yes, he wouldn't want this place to be engulfed in war either.

If possible, all I need is my own place as the stage for the battle.

"Alright, alright, I told you to lie down and get some rest."

"We can just stay here quietly like this all the time." The girl pulled her straw hat back over her face and fell into a deep sleep.

This time, He will definitely not be woken up again.

With this unwavering thought, the girl drifted off to sleep—what would the sword's dream be like?

"Black Key" looked at the sleeping girl and tried to find a place to lie down as well.

He found the sunniest spot, lay down, and squinted his eyes.

Sunshine was a luxury for him, who remained in that fortress.

"Click." Bray, sitting in his chair, snapped his fingers seriously.

But nothing happened.

"Hmm?" Levy leaned over the armrest and tilted her head in confusion.

She thought Bray was going to do something really amazing, so she ran over excitedly.

But it doesn't seem to be anything special; it's just a snap of the fingers.

"As expected, snapping your fingers needs to be accompanied by a spell with amazing special effects." Bray frowned and muttered to himself.

He often saw others snap their fingers and always thought it was a cool and pretentious move.

However, after he tried it, he discovered that snapping fingers required other things to be done in conjunction with them.

For example, snapping your fingers can ignite sparks—that's pretty cool.

Bray raised his head and pondered what he might have that could complement the snap.

Why not just snap your fingers after you've finished off the enemy with your sword? The enemy will be cleaved in two after the snap.

Oh wow, that seems like a good possibility.

But laying a trap like that is not as good as sheathing the sword; the sound is the same as snapping your fingers.

It didn't work as expected; we still need attacks that don't require any movement.

After snapping his fingers, Bray stood still, and his opponent was instantly cleaved in two—how is that even possible!?

"Levy," Bray said, still tilting his head back, and gently patted Levy's head.

"Hmm?" Levy nuzzled Bray's hand, revealing a rather enjoyable expression.

As an animal somewhere between a lion and a dog, Levy really enjoys being petted.

Well, only for people I don't dislike.

If a stranger dares to touch Levy, Levy will definitely bite back.

“How about I snap my fingers and you rush to the kitchen and get me a loaf of bread?” Bray lowered his head, trying to negotiate with Levy.

"Okay~" Rabie wagged her tail rapidly, even though she didn't understand why Bray wanted her to do this, but she did what Bray said.

"Levy, go!" With that, Bray snapped his fingers.

"Whoosh—" Levy dashed off to the kitchen, leaving only a fleeting afterimage behind her.

This isn't an exaggeration; Levy really was so fast that she left afterimages on the ground.

"Clang, clang—"

"Levy, what are you doing?!" Naruko's startled cry came from the kitchen.

"Waaah...it's all a mess." And there was Xiao You's dazed voice.

Once the noise subsided, Levy immediately knelt down in front of Bray, holding a bag in her hand and looking at Bray with expectant eyes.

“Levy is really amazing.” Bray complimented Levy, then put the bread in her hand into his mouth.

"Hehe~" Levy chuckled sweetly, her tail sweeping on the ground, looking quite content.

After lifting Levy into his arms, Bray began munching on his bread and continued to ponder.

"It still doesn't work." Even after snapping his fingers and using the Lion, the effect wasn't very good.

In terms of effectiveness, it looks stupid.

For summoning, it's best if the creature that appears after snapping your fingers is a ferocious monster.

Levy, being so cute, won't do.

At that moment, Bray's eyes fell on the fireball.