A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

Alice pulled a piece of paper out of the file box.

"What are you going to do!" The man panicked.

"Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous. After all, everyone knows that people like you have a tendency to commit suicide." Alice walked up to the man.

"Here, look at the GIF." Alice opened the paper in her hand.

The man glanced at the paper reflexively, but Eric closed his eyes.

The images on it were indeed moving, and they were even erotic pictures. The swaying and realism made the man momentarily dazed, even causing his blood to boil. It was truly exciting.

But at that very moment, Alice spoke.

"Now, let's begin the 'seduction'. Tell me what you know."

---

“I’ve never seen a guy use pornographic images to seduce someone!” Eric said.

"Colonel, you've seen this several times already, so don't say things like that." Alice stomped on the dazed man a few times.

"No, I didn't look at it even once; I kept my eyes closed the whole time."

“You stared at me for a long time the first time.” Alice kicked the man to the ground.

"..." Eric felt a pang of sympathy seeing the man treated this way. "Anyway, I've gotten enough information from that man." Alice took a needle from the file box and pricked the dazed man's neck.

A red liquid was injected into his body.

Not long after, the man stopped breathing, and the dilation of his pupils indicated that he was completely dead.

This is a needle used for euthanasia. Of course, this kind of thing is not very lethal, at least it's useless against those who are excessively strong.

However, the fact that this needle could kill the man proves that he was just a low-level henchman.

The information gleaned from the conversation is not very reliable, and there isn't much of it.

Nevertheless, the intelligence still needed to be reported to one's superior.

“First of all, this man is from the Federation,” Alice began reading from her small notebook.

"So many Federation guys have actually managed to sneak into the Empire?" Eric scoffed.

"Colonel, please don't interrupt." Alice glared at Eric.

“Okay, okay.” Eric raised his hands.

"Secondly, the Federation is looking for a man who wears an eye patch and has a child with him."

“That’s a really interesting feature,” Eric said, stroking his chin.

“Colonel…” Alice’s resentful voice came through.

"Sorry, sorry! It's probably just too hot, my brain isn't working properly!"

“But speaking of which, isn’t that man over there with a child?” Eric pointed to the two people passing by.

"Colonel, that man looks like a bard, he doesn't even have an eye patch," Alice said irritably.

"Oh yes, a bard, why don't we go listen to his story?"

"We're on a mission, Colonel."

---

“Sass?” Marlene stared at Sass with wide eyes.

"Hmm?" Sass tried to keep his voice as soft as possible.

"Where's Bray?" Marlene asked tentatively.

"Mr. Bray went to find the carriage. I'll take Marlene to the tavern for a bit first."

"What is Marin-chan?" Marin looked at Sass with a puzzled expression.

"..." Sass froze.

"Marlin-chan means little Marlin," Sass explained.

"What about little Marlene?"

"It means 'cute Marlene'."

"Oh, Marlene-chan understands." Marlene nodded.

“Marlene is so smart~” Sass said with a smile.

Just as Sass was enjoying his conversation with Marlene, a cool voice rang out.

"Hello, Mr. Bard." Alice stood in front of Sass.

"Oh... hello." Sass was a little confused as to why the soldier wanted to talk to him.

"Please don't worry too much, we just want to ask some questions."

“Okay, go ahead and ask.” Sass was prepared to cooperate.

"Have you seen a blindfolded man with a child?" Alice asked.

"I've met you before."

"!!!" Alice's eyes lit up.

"So, where is he?"

"I heard they've already taken a carriage to the Federation," Sass seemed to be deep in thought.

"Does the gentleman know any more details about that person?" Alice picked up her notebook, ready to take notes.

“Special features,” Sass said, tapping his forehead with his finger.

"Ah, I've got it." Sass slapped his right palm with his left hand.

"That guy is a very sunny fellow. Although he's blind in one eye, his left eye is very bright and he looks like a very skilled adventurer."

"Yes, there's more." Alice took notes diligently.

"By the way, he might also be a master of dual swords, because I've seen him with two slender swords."

"That guy came to listen to my story. He was quite an impressive fellow. The little girl next to him was even cuter than my sister."

"I'm so envious!" Sass patted Marlene's head, looking regretful.

"Is there anything else?" Alice asked expectantly.

"No, we're not that close to them after all."

“Thank you very much.” Alice nodded.

"Colonel, it's time to go. We may have to cross the border."

"Ugh, crossing the border? That's such a hassle," Eric said, looking at Sass with a hint of resentment.

Why did you have to give me such detailed information? Don't you know that Alice wouldn't give herself a chance to rest if you told me this?

"Stop dawdling, Colonel! Let's get going."

Alice's tone made it seem as if she were the colonel, and Eric was completely subdued by her scolding.

"Understood! Understood!" Eric followed Alice helplessly.

After Alice had walked away, Marlene tugged at Sass's clothes.

Why do you say that?

"Ah, they were probably looking for Mr. Bray, so I just told them a few stories."

Looking for Bray?

"Yes, try not to cause Mr. Bray any trouble."

Marlin nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

After saying goodbye to Sass and Marlene, Alice took Eric's hand and prepared to head to the border.

Then Eric saw someone incredible.

“Hey, Alice, that guy’s wearing an eye patch,” Eric said, pointing to Bray as he passed by.

Upon hearing the word "eye patch," Alice immediately looked over, and then her face was filled with disappointment.

“Colonel Eric, this doesn’t look like the person we’re looking for at all,” Alice said, rubbing her forehead.

“But Captain Alice, no matter how you look at it, this guy is very suspicious.”

Alice opened the file box and pulled out a small notebook.

"His left eye is bright and he looks very sunny. He is also a user of dual longswords, so he looks very powerful."

Alice read it aloud, word by word.

“Then, Colonel, take a good look at this passerby.” Alice pointed at Bray.

"His right eye was dead fish eye, and he was just utterly颓废 (tuí fèi - decadent/dejected) all over. He was carrying such a big sword, and it was a cheap one at that."

"Most importantly, he doesn't look like a skilled adventurer at all."

"How could someone who could break through the Federation's encirclement be such a weakling?"

After listening to Alice's analysis, Eric was momentarily confused, realizing that it seemed to make sense.

"He doesn't seem like the kind of person who could protect a girl from federal assassins at all."

“Alright, Captain, let’s go.” Eric shrugged.

---

"Achoo—" Bray sneezed.

"Achoo—" Bray sneezed again.

"What's going on? Who's insulting me?" Bray complained.

Don't you know that sneezing repeatedly is very uncomfortable?

The carriage wheels rolled, and the ride was very bumpy.

The carriage carrying Bray, Marlene, and Sass traveled along the main road.

Compared to walking, the horse-drawn carriage was much faster.

Even after returning to Risak, it didn't take too long to get to North Mountain Fort.

"Ugh...I feel nauseous." Marlene frowned as she looked at Bray.

“I’m spitting out the window,” Bray said, leaning against the side, his voice heavy with weariness.

“Ugh…” Marlene felt a little wronged, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Mr. Bray, be a little gentler when you talk to Marlene!" Sass snapped.

“Hmm…” Bray replied weakly.

“Mr. Bray, what are you doing?” Sass asked, noticing Bray’s unusual behavior.

"I just didn't sleep well last night," Bray yawned.

Bray feels a bit nauseous right now.

Of course, it wasn't that Bray got carsick, but rather that he hadn't slept all night, which led to some neurasthenia.

"Sigh..." Sass felt helpless, but he couldn't say anything.

"You and Marlene should get some rest."

“Hmm.” Bray nodded.

“Mr. Bray, you can take a nap now, I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

"Marlene too, she didn't feel as nauseous when she was asleep."

Sass is just like a nanny.

“I’m not sleeping.” Bray shook his head.

Bray dared not close his eyes at all.

That damned divine source is bothering me again.