CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Following several muffled impacts, the heads of every Assault Dog were shattered by the ice crystals. Their massive bodies thudded to the ground, all signs of life extinguished.
The battlefield instantly returned to silence, save for the heavy breathing of the villagers and the distant sound of the wind rolling through the wheat.
The villagers were stunned for several seconds before they realized they had been saved. They turned their heads one by one, looking toward March 7th with immense gratitude.
The tall man wielding the longsword walked over quickly. He bowed slightly to March 7th, speaking with sincere gravity, "Thank you very much for your help, young lady. If it weren't for you, our village would have surely suffered a disaster."
He paused and introduced himself, "I am the captain of the village guard, Paul."
March 7th waved her hand with a smile, her tone airy and light, "Hello, hello! My name is March 7th. Helping out whenever I see injustice is what this girl is best at! No need to be so polite."
She smiled so broadly her eyes curved into crescents, completely failing to notice anything unusual about Paul's introduction.
After all, generally speaking, a formal introduction usually included a surname as a sign of respect.
"Even so, we will remember this kindness." Just then, the gentle woman walked over as well. A soft smile graced her face, and her eyes were full of gratitude. "I take it Miss March 7th is a traveler passing through? It's getting late, and the sun is about to set. Why not stay the night at our house? We'd like to host you properly as a way to repay you for saving us."
March 7th looked at the sinking sun on the horizon, then at the warm, welcoming couple. She nodded, "Sure! I won't be shy then. Sorry for the trouble."
"It's no trouble at all," the woman shook her head with a smile. She turned to Paul and said, "I'll leave the rest for you to handle. I'll take Miss March 7th back first."
With that, she turned to March 7th and gently introduced herself, "My name is Zenith. Paul is my husband."
"Mm, hello Zenith-jie."
March 7th nodded obediently, but a sliver of doubt began to rise in her heart.
She followed Zenith toward the heart of the village, her pace steady but her mind racing—why did Paul and Zenith only give their first names without mentioning their surnames? In this fantasy world that placed so much importance on family heritage, ordinary people might not have surnames, but Paul and Zenith both had families behind them. When introducing themselves to a stranger for the first time, they shouldn't just be using their first names...
After hesitating for a moment, March 7th couldn't help but ask, "Zenith-jie, is your full name just Zenith?"
Zenith paused slightly and turned to look at March 7th, her face showing a hint of confusion, "Yes, it is. Why? Is there something wrong?"
"And Paul-ge's full name is just Paul?" March 7th pressed further.
"Yes, that's right." Zenith's gaze grew a bit more suspicious as she looked March 7th up and down. She asked softly, "Could it be that Miss March 7th knew my husband before?"
"No, no, I don't know him." March 7th waved her hands quickly, taking the opportunity to ask, "Then Zenith-jie, do you and Paul-ge have children? Do you have a maid at home? Also, is there a father and daughter in the village named Rawls and Sylphiette?"
Zenith thought it over carefully before shaking her head. She answered honestly, "Paul and I have only been married for about six months, so we don't have children yet. As for a maid, only the noble lords can afford to hire those; ordinary villagers like us couldn't possibly afford one. And regarding those people you mentioned, Rawls and Sylphiette... there are only a few dozen people in our village, and I know them all. There is no father and daughter by those names."
After saying this, Zenith's gaze toward March 7th became even more peculiar. She clearly didn't understand why this strange girl was asking these questions.
March 7th realized she had slipped up. She quickly came up with an excuse, saying with a bit of embarrassment, "Sorry, sorry! I asked too much. It's just that I used to know a pair of friends a long time ago whose names were very similar to yours. Seeing you just now made me want to ask a few questions. I hope you don't mind."
"Oh, so that's it." Zenith reached a sudden realization, and the confusion on her face vanished instantly. She said apologetically, "I was overthinking. My apologies, Miss March 7th."
"It's fine, it's fine!"
March 7th waved it off with a smile, but the clouds of doubt in her heart only grew thicker.
Something is wrong... According to the settings of the original work, both Paul and Zenith came from famous families. Even after moving to Buena Village, they shouldn't be without surnames.
Furthermore, Rawls's family was already in the village before the Pauls arrived. How could they not exist?
Was it because the two had just gotten married and hadn't had the chance to tell the villagers about their family backgrounds? Or were they intentionally hiding it for some reason?
Even if that were the case, the disappearance of Rawls and his daughter didn't make sense...
The more March 7th thought about it, the more off it felt. Having no surname meant they had no family support behind them. In other words, Paul and Zenith were just ordinary people born and raised in this village, with no great figures in their ancestry. This was a world of difference from the original settings she knew.
"Could this not be the timeline I know?" A thought flashed through March 7th's mind. "Is this one of Dragon Boss's countless loops? But even in a loop, it shouldn't cause two entire families to completely vanish..."
Full of confusion, she didn't stop her pace, following Zenith to a simple wooden house.
"We're here, Miss March 7th. Please, sit and rest for a while. I'll go prepare dinner." Zenith pushed open the door and spoke to March 7th.
March 7th stepped inside and looked around, finding the house to be even simpler than she had imagined. There was no independent yard, the house was only a single story, and the walls were built from a mix of mud and wood. The furniture inside was also very basic: a worn wooden table, a few chairs, and a small stove.
Everything pointed to the fact that Paul and Zenith's life was not wealthy; in fact, it could be described as impoverished. This was yet another deviation from the original work, where the couple was wealthy enough to afford a maid and a magic tutor.
During the subsequent dinner, the table held only a bowl of coarse grain porridge, a dish of pickles, and two rock-hard wheat cakes.
March 7th held her bowl, eating mouthful by mouthful, but she completely failed to taste a thing. Her mind was entirely occupied by the doubts from earlier.
It wasn't until Zenith had arranged a room for her and turned to leave that March 7th's form transformed into a streak of blue light, vanishing from the room instantly.
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Crossover World: Why Are All My Clones Beautiful Girls?
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