A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"Haha! It's finished!" Diman shouted, holding up the canvas.

Angelia glanced at Diman a few times, then seemed about to say something.

"Why do you like me?" Angelia asked quietly after Diman had calmed down.

It was a very sudden problem, so sudden that Diman couldn't react in time.

“…” Diman froze, speechless.

"Do you like me the way I am?" Angelia asked, her crimson eyes fixed on Diman.

“I… I really dislike these kinds of questions.” Diman replied earnestly to Angelia at this moment.

"I don't want to ask or be asked questions like 'Why do you like it?'"

"Why?" Angelia raised her beautiful eyebrows.

"I was indeed attracted by Miss Angelia's beauty, and that's why I fell in love with you."

“But…it’s definitely more than that, but I can’t say for sure myself,” Diman said softly.

Many people can give a long list of reasons when asked "Why do you like me?", but Diman can't.

“Is that so?” Angelia softened her tone.

“I’m not actually an innocent girl who has never been in love; I’ve had several relationships,” Angelia said, touching the canvas.

"Besides, I'm no longer a virgin."

"After hearing all this, what are you thinking now?" Angelia said a bunch of shocking things.

Angela was not lying; everything she said was true.

What Angelia said were common occurrences among nobles; such was the so-called aristocratic philandering, regardless of gender.

"..." Diman lowered his head, then left without taking anything with him.

---

"Young Miss, why say such things to discourage others?"

“I didn’t lie.” On the balcony late at night, Angelia rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the moonlight. Bray’s boots rustled on the rotting branches.

He walked slowly through a gloomy, dense forest.

The weather hasn't been cold lately, but Bree still feels a bit chilly.

The trees surrounding this dense forest looked like menacing evil spirits, as if they would let out a piercing scream at any moment.

However, this wasn't the first time Bray had seen this view.

Bray wasn't very familiar with the city of Clinton, but there was one place in Clinton that he knew very well: the hidden "Wandering Tomb".

No, the "Wandering Tomb" isn't really hidden, since the entrance to this place is right here, on the edge of a remote forest.

Those "trespassers" who accidentally entered never had a chance to leave.

The existence of this "Wandering Tomb" has been indirectly concealed.

Bray stretched his limbs and, finding that he hadn't become strange, continued walking deeper into the area.

The further you go, the more eerie and terrifying the scenery becomes. The scattered fireflies around you do not bring peace of mind, but instead add to the sense of unease.

However, things tend to reverse when they reach an extreme. When you delve deeper into a certain area, your vision begins to broaden, and the surrounding things become much brighter.

"Ding." A sound like a bell echoed among the trees.

As the sound rang out, the fireflies that had been following Bray began to scatter and then gather again, seemingly unusually excited.

"So you finally remembered to visit this poor dead man?" A purple-haired woman with bloodless skin sat on a treetop, holding a lantern in her hand.

Mirana, the gravedigger, was resting her chin on her hand, which was not holding the lamp, and was observing Bray with a subtle look.

“I suddenly remembered,” Bray said honestly, shrugging.

Normally, one would be thinking about how to explain things to the other party.

Unfortunately, Bray forgot this point.

"As expected, you forgot." Mira said coldly, though it was impossible to tell from her voice whether she was angry or not.

“It’s a bit far from my house,” Bray sighed.

His home is in the capital, which is quite a distance from Clinton's.

“I had a feeling that it would be a long time before we saw each other again, but it would only be that long,” Mira said.

"So what brings you here this time?" She tilted her head in her arms, waiting for Bray's answer.

"Just to visit you."

"Huh?" Mira opened her mouth in surprise after hearing Bray's answer.

"Is this the purpose of your visit to the cemetery?" Mira covered her face with her arm, revealing only her indifferent eyes.

"Well, that's one purpose, isn't it?"

“I didn’t just wander around, nor did I stumble upon this place. I came here specifically to visit you.” Bray glanced around.

If it weren't for visiting Mira, Bray would never have set foot in such a gloomy place.

"Really? I'm surprised to find that you're quite eloquent."

"I'm so sorry I thought you had low emotional intelligence before." Mira's face, hidden in her arms, was showing a smile.

Although it's a bit stiff, it's already very close to normal.

Even when no one is talking to her, Mira will try to smile from time to time, so her smile doesn't look strange now.

However, she didn't intend to let Bray know that she was laughing.

"Am I emotionally unintelligent?" Bray pointed to himself, frowning slightly.

“Well, I used to think that way.” Mira’s “hmm” sounded a little cold, but it wasn’t offensive.

“…” Bray fell silent after Mira’s answer.

After all, no one likes to hear others say that they have low emotional intelligence.

“You seem even stronger than before,” Mira said to Bray.

“I hope you don’t add the word ‘strong’.” Bray would rather hear people say he’s become stronger, rather than stronger.

“Actually, he’s just stronger.” Mira stood up and looked down at Bray expressionlessly.

"You're still a very, very long way from being strong," she said softly.

"I can't seem to deny that."

“However, you can now stay in this ‘Wandering Tomb’ longer than before,” Mira said.

"So I won't turn into one of those guys even if I stay here for a day?" Bray said, pointing to the rather unsightly zombies.

Those walking corpses wandered incessantly in the "Wandering Tomb".

Without purpose or stopping, it continues to crawl on the ground until it rots to the point of being unable to move.

"If it's just one day, it certainly won't turn out like that; you could probably stay for several days."

“You’ve already been studying with the people from ‘God’s Great Enemy’ for quite some time now,” Mira said casually.

She personally enjoys seeing Bray being bullied by all sorts of people.

“You want to chat, don’t you?” Bray said.

“Of course,” Mira didn’t deny it.

“I’ve been thinking about some things lately,” Bray said, then found a grotesque-looking tree and sat down against it.

The tree was like a wild beast, as if it might devour Bray at any moment.

Bray sat calmly, with Mira standing on the treetop above him.

"What's your purpose in sitting here?" Mira asked warily, tugging at her skirt.

“No purpose.” Bray curled his lip; he wasn’t that gentlemanly.

Mira sat down with some skepticism, looking up at the small patch of sky peeking through the gaps in the leaves.

"What are you thinking about?" Since Bray had something to say, Mira was naturally happy to listen.

Whether Bray's story is interesting or not, or whether Mira knows it or not, she will sit here and listen quietly.

"Even without intervention, will the World Wall eventually collapse one day?" Bray said, his eyes vacant.

He had wondered long ago why some people would be so obsessed with creating tragedies to pry open the walls of the world.

But recently, he's been wondering if the World Wall will collapse on its own even if no one does anything.

“Yes, it will eventually break down on its own.” Mira plucked a leaf from beside her and blew on it.

"As long as there are living beings, there will be struggle; with struggle comes chaos, and the world's walls will be affected."

"No matter how strong a city wall is, it will eventually weather and collapse on its own."

“However, without intervention, the World Wall will not collapse until you die,” Mira said.

Yes, although the World Wall will eventually disappear, it will be a very long time.

If no one deliberately destroys it, the World Wall will not break when Bray dies or when Bray's descendants die.

"But this world will eventually go down, right?"

“You’re right. Maybe one day, the world won’t need the ‘Wandering Tomb’ anymore.” Mira pursed her lips.

If the world is going to end, then the "Wandering Tomb" has no reason to exist.

"Why did you suddenly think of these things?" Mira asked, puzzled.

Despite his appearance, Bray is actually more thoughtful than many others.

He was constantly thinking, but what he was thinking about wasn't right or wrong; it was something much more complex.

“Because, not long ago, I killed someone.” Bray’s right eye had a complicated look in it.

He killed Nalan.

Even if Nalan eventually becomes a beast, he still retains his rationality and is still considered a human being.

She's just someone whose appearance has been altered.

"Is that so?" Mira closed her eyes, listening to Bray's words and the sound of the forest wind.

"A guy who thinks he has to save the world himself."

“So obsessive that he’ll stop at nothing, so obsessive that… he might have forgotten his original intentions.” Bray recalled Nalan’s words and said with a helpless tone.

"So you're thinking that there's no possibility of 'saving' this world at all, right?"

"Yes." If the World Wall were to break, Kapras would surely meet his end.

Does such a thing as a "savior" really exist?

"The topic you brought up is really heavy. I thought you were going to tell me about things outside," Mira said, still looking up.

“Because I think you should already know what I know,” Bray said helplessly, leaning against the tree.

Mira, as the guardian of the "Wandering Tomb," knows all the secrets brought by the dead.

Strictly speaking, the world doesn't hold many secrets for Mira.

Unless the person carrying that secret never dies, Mira will find out someday.

“Even so, it’s different when you hear it from someone else.” This time, Mira lowered her head and said earnestly to Bray.

"Oh, I see." Bray remarked, he hadn't thought of that.

He's not Mira, so he can't understand that feeling.

"Yes, even if I know that a disaster has occurred somewhere."

"But all I know is that a disaster happened there, and all I understand is what the people who died in the disaster were thinking."

“I have no idea what people like you, struggling in this disaster, are thinking or seeing,” Mira said, her voice slightly dazed.

Does the gravedigger know all the secrets? Perhaps.

But Mira wanted to know something more subtle, to feel something warmer.