Speaking of winter, roasted sweet potatoes are indeed the best.

However, considering the situation where it is not suitable to light a fire near the wooden house in dry weather, I gave up.

Successfully made sweet potato cake at home. Using a different method from the original world, I made a similar paste-like dessert. Of course, I also added some wheat flour and a small amount of honey for sweetness. The taste has the unique sweetness of sweet potatoes.

Scoop it with a small spoon in a bowl.

Perhaps there is already a layer of snow outside, and there are no guests in this weather.

By the way, since just now, Ilan, who is in charge of cleaning the house, has been secretly peeking. Although I have prepared a share for her, I found it interesting and wanted to tease her.

The next time she peeked, I met her gaze.

Ilan's face turned red all of a sudden, she fiddled with the broom in her hand awkwardly and hurriedly looked away.

"There's also a sweet potato cake for Ilan in the cabinet, go eat it after finishing the cleaning."

Working hard, she really is a child.

Shortly after.

"It's sweet and delicious~"

Holding her cheeks in both hands, her eyes radiate an unusual brightness.

"I'm glad."

I gently stroked her hair. Because there were no guests, I agreed to let Ilan take off her hat. Ilan's hair is shiny silver short hair, just the length of her lower jaw, slightly fluffy and very smooth to the touch. I stroked her hair a little harder, like combing a cat's fur, and Ilan, who was sitting next to me, immediately leaned in.

"Hey, do you remember today last year?"

Ilan closed her eyes gently and rubbed against me, and I could feel the hardness of the small horns on her forehead.

"Yeah, you just lay down at my doorstep without a sound, really scared me."

"I wonder if anything will happen today this year~"

Ilan happily swung her legs.

"One freeloader is enough."

"Ilan is working hard!"

Once angry, her speech will stutter a bit.

I let out a sigh and tapped her horn with my fingertip.

——Bang, bang, bang.

The intermittent knocking on the door.

Is there actually a guest at this time? I gestured for Ilan to put on her hat.

I carefully opened the door a crack.

Late night, the snow is white and the starry sky stretches for miles.

A boy of fifteen or sixteen years old is wearing ragged clothes, his frostbite oozing pus, and his hair is unkempt. His thin, pale face is full of illness, and his emaciated, weak body crawls on the ground.

He just raised his head and looked at me, his eyes like an injured young wolf.

Helplessness, fear, and a never-give-up expression.

Just one glance and I knew that this child was not a vulgar person like Durant.

This is interesting.

"Come in."

I said.

I took him through the side door of the counter into the house. Actually, the wooden house is divided into two parts, home and shop, with the home side obviously smaller, comprising only a kitchen and bathroom. We usually sleep on the floor of the weapon store with the beds spread out.

I let him clean himself, then found him some clean clothes to change into and made up a bed for him. After all, I let him sleep on my right side.

Ilan usually sleeps on the left side, and of course, we use two sets of bedding. Even if it's not me, I'm not interested in doing anything to a child.

"I say, what's your name?"

I asked as I applied the medicine.

"Nord. Nord Baliyo."

"Got it. I'm Saiwa, the owner of this weapon store, and this is my assistant Ilan."

Nord simply glanced at Ilan and looked away without even pausing for a second.

Instead of saying that he is not interested in Ilan, it's more accurate to say that he is attracted to the full store of weapons.

He looks around like he has found a treasure trove.

Nord doesn't talk much and didn't say a word when I was applying the medicine to him. After applying the medicine, I wrapped his wound with a white bandage. After tidying up, Nord was a very handsome child. It's a pity that he's thin and bony, otherwise, he might have been quite popular with women.

Not long after, Nord turned his head and looked at me, quickly saying:

"I don't have any money to give you."

I shrugged.

"I didn't save you for money."

His eyes seemed a bit evasive."You are just like my father. He owned a weapon shop, too."

"What happened next?"

Although I basically knew it wouldn't be a good story, it's better to know it anyway.

"Big fire. Everyone died, and I was the only one who ran out."

Nord's whole body was stiff.

I gently patted his back.

"Damn demons."

Suddenly, Ilan was startled by this sentence and shrank behind me, tightly gripping my pant leg.

"Was the fire set by the demons?"

Nord nodded his head. He thought that Ilan was a ghost who had been exposed.

"Can I take a look at the swords you made?"

"Please do. Although it may not be up to your father's standards."

This is actually modesty, I believe. I seriously made the best weapon I could, and there might not be many stores on the entire continent that could match my skill. I have confidence in my technique, but not in my materials. I couldn't get dragon scales or shark skin, so I couldn’t make high-level equipment.

"That black sword is better than the one my father made."

He pointed to a double-edged sword in the upper left corner behind the counter.

Well, the kid has good taste.

I lightly jumped and took down the sword he mentioned.

Nord solemnly received it with both hands, without hesitation, he rubbed the blade with his thumb. Red blood immediately flowed out, and he acted as if nothing had happened.

"It's a sword for laminar flow use, really nice. My father also made a similar sword, but his technique couldn't catch up with yours."

He seemed slightly unhappy. Indeed, he probably thought his father's forging skills were the best in the world.

He showed no reluctance when returning the sword.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

Before going to bed, I didn't know if he was talking to himself or to me.

"Won't you stay?"

Although I didn't particularly want him to stay, I couldn't just leave him alone if he had nowhere else to go. That being said, I knew his answer.

"No, I'm going to defeat the Demon King."

"Oh, really?"

I remained noncommittal and gave no comment.

He didn't assert his determination any further, which I quite liked. Some young people faced with this kind of attitude would argue loudly that they were genuine heroes and then leave angrily.

Determination is never just about talking.

The next day, at dawn, the birds began to sing.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes."

He paused, then added.

"I'm sorry, but can you give me this set of clothes?"

I nodded, and he suddenly fell to his knees, prostrating himself on the ground.

"Thank you."

I gave a snort and turned around to grab the black double-edged sword, placing it in front of him.

Nord looked at the sword on the ground and then at me, hesitating for a moment before saying:

"I have no money."

I went back inside the shop, and Ilan looked at me with a cute smile.

I casually closed the shop door:

"Like I said, who wants your money?"

Should I call him Brave No. 576? But he seems too ordinary, even though he is very interesting. So should I call him Nord? Then what should I call the next brave, No. 576 or No. 577? What a nuisance.

I leaned against the shop door, pondering unrelated issues.