A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"You can't go any further!" the boy said sternly, showing no sign of backing down.

"It's a boy, and an orc at that," Bray muttered to himself in disappointment.

“So what if he’s a boy?” However, Dorothea was nearby, and her long ears easily picked up Bray’s mutterings.

"It's nothing, I was just hoping it would be a girl." Bray was genuinely disappointed.

Under normal circumstances, you should encounter a cute little girl.

The orc girl's words are fine, but why is it a little boy?

"Why can't we move forward?" Dorothea got out of the car, walked up to the boy, and asked in a cool voice.

"The angels' territory is just ahead. If we go any further, we'll be killed," the boy said nervously. It was the first time he had spoken to a beautiful older woman.

"To be killed—" Dorothea squinted, drawing out the last syllable.

"And why did you even dare to drive? The noise was so loud, it would definitely attract angels!" the boy continued.

Upon hearing this, Bray and Dorothea exchanged a knowing glance.

The two looked at each other, wondering if the loud noise of the car had attracted the angels' attack.

"Anyway, you should hurry back, it's dangerous here," the little boy said hastily.

"If it's dangerous, then why are you here?" Dorothea looked at the little boy meaningfully.

"This is because..." The little boy, who was asked this question, suddenly became very embarrassed.

"Waaaaah, little brother, are we lost..." At this moment, a little tiger girl ran to the boy's side crying.

"Idiot, didn't I tell you to hide first? I said I was warning these two people to come looking for you."

"..." Why does the one calling the other "brother" sound more like a sister? "Yes, yes, yes, that's the way!" The tiger boy grabbed Bray's shoulder and shouted excitedly.

As the magic car sped along, the constant onslaught of wind made the little boy extremely excited.

So fast, so exhilarating!

This might be why many people enjoy the feeling of speeding in a vehicle; that speed really makes it easy to release all the stress.

"Shh." Bray, who was driving, glanced at the little boy who was grabbing his shoulder.

"Didn't you just say that making too much noise would attract angels?"

The wind was strong, making the sound of the thunder somewhat muffled.

“Anyway, my voice is quieter than the noise of your car!” the tiger boy protested.

"Alright." Bray wasn't going to take the kid seriously. This was what they called a brat... or maybe a tiger cub?

"But are you sure this is the direction?"

“There’s no mistake, I remember these collapsed houses.” The tiger boy nodded emphatically.

“I remember this road too,” the tiger girl added weakly.

“You can reach our village by following this direction.”

Now, Bray is driving towards the village the two tiger children told him to go to.

Although the city has been reduced to ruins, it doesn't mean that the people in the city have been slaughtered by angels.

The remaining people secretly built villages and began to eke out a living.

In order to survive, the villagers kept to themselves in small areas, fearing that they would be discovered by the angels.

However, being confined to a small area for a long time will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among some people.

For example, these two children longed for the world outside the village and often sneaked out.

But every time I sneaked back, I would be severely reprimanded.

After all, their actions are not only dangerous for themselves, but they could also attract the angels at any moment.

"..." Bray pressed the accelerator without expression, accelerating continuously.

He had thought everyone in the place was dead, but he was surprised to find that some people were still alive.

"What is your village like?" Dorothea asked the tiger girl with a smile, resting her chin on her hand.

"How...how is it?" The tiger girl was speechless for a moment when asked this question.

She didn't know how to describe her village.

"Very dark? Very damp..." After holding it in for a long time, the tiger girl finally uttered these words.

Dorothea frowned; it didn't seem to be a beautiful village.

Just as Dorothea was asking her questions, a small entrance leading underground appeared before Bray's eyes.

The entrance was blocked by a lot of rubble and was difficult to find.

"Is this the place?" Bray asked, otherwise he would have mistaken it for a pile of rubble.

"That's right, our village is down below."

"Sister, we're back!" the tiger boy said excitedly to his sister.

"That's great!" The little girl interlaced her fingers and smiled sweetly.

I'm always on edge when I'm out, it's so good to be able to go home.

"How dare you come out like this?" Dorothea thought the little girl was incredibly brave.

But this timid little girl dared to run out of the village and go to a place where angels could appear at any time.

"Hmm..." The little girl covered her ears, lowered her head, and looked a little shy.

"I'm sorry, my brother and I were too naughty," the little girl said.

"By the way, I still don't know your names." Dorothea took the initiative to ask the two of them their names.

If we wait for Bray to ask, it will probably take forever.

It's more likely that Bray won't even bother to remember it.

For Bray, remembering names is troublesome; one would need an amazing memory to remember everyone's name.

With so many acquaintances he knows now, Bray is starting to forget them all.

"A name...?"

"Mm." Dorothea's expression was gentle, much more approachable than Bray's cold face.

"My name is Melissa," the tiger girl said shyly, pressing her ear.

“My brother’s name is Bird,” Melissa said, pointing cautiously to the little boy.

Although she is the older sister, the younger brother's side seems to be more dominant.

Is it because Bird's head is a tiger?

"Big sister, what's your name?" Melissa asked tentatively.

"Dorothea," Dorothea whispered.

“…” Bray, who was still driving, hesitated before speaking.

“Sister Dorothea, you and that…” Melissa glanced at Bray, then whispered in her ear.

"That fierce-looking older brother..."

"Why are you here?" Melissa blinked and asked curiously.

"We arrived here without even realizing it," Dorothea said casually.

She squinted, feeling the wind rushing towards her.

Not only Bird liked the wind when the magic vehicle was moving fast, but Dorothea liked it too.

"unconsciously?"

"Yes, without realizing it." Dorothea wasn't lying; she and Bray had no specific purpose in mind.

I simply drove the magic car all the way here.

If my thoughts were different back then, the car might have gone in the opposite direction.

Then we won't know where the two of them will end up.

“It’ll be very dark ahead,” Bray said abruptly, then turned on the headlights.

"Buzz—" The old engine of the magic vehicle roared, and the "thump-thump" of the wheels made it sound particularly eerie.

The moment Bray finished speaking, everything went dark.

If it weren't for the car lights, I probably wouldn't even be able to see my own fingers if I stretched out my hand.

"Swish, swish, swish—" There was a lot of water in the passage, and when the magic vehicle waded through it, the water splashed all around.

However, the darkness did not last long. After about fifteen minutes, Bray turned off his car lights.

Because there were already some dim yellow lights providing a light source around.

“Our village is just ahead,” Bird said, stretching out his hand and pointing cheerfully ahead.

"Screech—" Bray slammed on the brakes, the car veered slightly around a corner, and finally the sound came from the wooden wall.

“If you want to keep driving, you have to just crash into it,” Bray told Dorothea.

“Normally, I would approve of you running it over,” Dorothea said.

"But for now, let's get off the bus."

“…” Bray jumped out of the car without hesitation.

Dorothea put the car away immediately after Melissa and Bird got out.

"I'm starting to feel more and more like a lackey," Bray remarked to himself.

No matter how you look at it, I've been like Dorothea's little follower all this time.

“Because I am the Queen,” Dorothea said matter-of-factly.

Since she is the empress, what's so surprising about Bray acting like a lackey?

"..." Dorothea's words made perfect sense, and Bray was speechless.

"Stop!" Shouts rang out simultaneously from both sides as Bray prepared to cross the planks.

On either side of the wooden plank were tall watchtowers, and the ones shouting were the tiger clan sentries on the watchtowers.

Bray looked in the direction of the sound and found that the two Tiger Clan sentries were poorly equipped and covered in wounds.

"Byrd, Melissa! Get away from these two strangers!" a tiger sentry shouted at the two tiger children.

"They're not bad people!"

"You two can't possibly tell if he's a bad guy or not! Come here quickly! This man is too dangerous!" the tiger sentry shouted.

The female elf looked alright, but this one-eyed human looked very ominous.

After listening to the entire conversation, Bray was speechless.

Bray turned to look at Dorothea, only to find her completely indifferent.

It seems she intends to let Bray handle everything himself.

Dorothea should have had a more convenient time to negotiate, but she refused.

Bray nudged Bird and Melissa in the back.

"You two go ahead," Bray said to the two children.

“But you…” Bird began, about to say something.

“It was just normal chatting,” Bray said.

These tiger sentinels were only afraid that Byrd and Melissa would become hostages.

Even without Bird, Melissa was there, making conversations easier.

After hesitating for a moment, Bird took his sister's hand and walked away from Bray for a distance.

The tiger-kin sentries on the watchtower exchanged a glance from a great distance.

"Who are you people? Why are humans and elves on the Western Continent?"