/
Mirna continued the conversation with me while comforting Speranza in her arms.
“I heard about you, Sihyeon, through Anis. You protected this child who was left alone and took care of her like family.”
“Not just ‘like family,’ she really became my family. Just like the other people living together on the farm.”
Hearing my response, Mirna looked slightly surprised, then she relaxed and smiled again.
“My granddaughter was truly fortunate to meet someone like you, Sihyeon.”
“It was a stroke of luck for me too. It was only because I happened to meet Speranza that I could gain a new family.”
“Though it’s late, I wanted to express my gratitude. Thank you for being a strong guardian for her when I couldn’t do anything.”
Mirna slowly bowed her head as a sign of respect.
Knowing the meaning behind her gesture, I naturally accepted her thanks.
After that, our conversation continued in a more relaxed atmosphere. Naturally, our main topic was about Speranza.
From the story of finding the tiny fox in a small crevice between rocks, to what she usually does on the farm, and how she gets along with other farm members.
Long-held questions and stories poured out endlessly.
Having shaken off her awkwardness, Speranza eagerly talked about her life on the farm. Mirna responded to each of her granddaughter’s stories with a pleased smile.
“Do you really like strawberries that much?”
“Un! And the strawberry jam that Papa makes is incredibly delicious too. But
 umm
”
Speranza’s face suddenly clouded as she excitedly talked.
“Why, what happened?”
“Papa brought strawberry jam as a gift, but a scary man took it away.”
“Who would do such a thing!”
“A man in front of the house took it while looking scary.”
It seemed that Speranza was talking about the time when a guard took away the prepared gift. From her perspective, the guard’s authoritative attitude must have been quite frightening.
“Were you very scared?”
“A little? But I was with Papa, so it was okay.”
“I see there was such an incident
”
As Mirna comforted Speranza with a proud expression, she sent a cold glance somewhere. The sudden change in her atmosphere made me flinch.
I hurriedly spoke up to clear the misunderstanding.
“It wasn’t like the guard forcefully took our gift. He did speak a bit stiffly, but he explained everything well.”
“That’s right, Mother. It’s just that they couldn’t bring unverified items here, so they took it temporarily.”
Anis and I explained the situation in detail so that the guard wouldn’t be misunderstood. Thanks to that, Mirna’s cold gaze softened a bit.
“I apologize, Sihyeon. I emphasized several times that you are a very important guest
 It seems the guard has committed a rudeness.”
“Not at all! He was just doing his job diligently. I wasn’t too upset about it. We can just give the gift later.”
“Hehe. Sihyeon, you really are as kind as I heard.”
“Haha
”
I showed a shy smile at Mirna’s praise.
“As Sihyeon said, I’ll make sure to get the gift later
 cough cough!”
“Priestess!”
“Priestess!”
The attending women were startled and rushed to Mirna’s side.
Covering her mouth with one hand, Mirna used the other to stop them from coming closer.
“I’m fine, so don’t make a fuss.”
“But, Priestess, the healer said you shouldn’t push yourself too much.”
“Today, I will just
 ask the guests to leave.”
“Didn’t I say I’m fine? Step back.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Mirna firmly made them back off.
“Grandma
 Are you in pain?”
“I’m fine. Just a little tired, that’s all.”
“Uhh
”
Mirna held Speranza in her arms again to reassure her. However, contrary to her words, her face showed signs of exhaustion.
“Sihyeon.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“I assume you are already aware of the complicated situation involving the Erul Tribe, the Priestess, and Speranza.”

..
I quietly nodded my head.
“Long ago, when I first heard about Speranza through Anis, I vowed to keep my granddaughter away from such a chaotic situation.”
As she continued speaking, a bitter smile crossed her lips.
“But as I grew older and weaker, the desire to meet my granddaughter just once became more and more urgent. In the end, I caused you trouble due to an old woman’s greed.”
“It’s okay. I understand completely. So don’t think of it as a nuisance.”
“Thank you for saying that. It makes my heart feel lighter. I’m truly grateful.”
Mirna expressed her gratitude once more and spoke to me with determination.
“My resolve to keep Speranza from being caught up in this chaos has not changed. Tomorrow morning, you should return to the Cardis territory with Speranza.”
“Will you be alright?”
Her long-lost granddaughter whom she had just met a few hours ago.
It couldn’t have been easy for her to say goodbye again so soon.
Mirna smiled faintly and gently stroked Speranza’s hair.
“I’m fine. Just seeing her face like this is a great happiness for me.”
“Alright. I understand.”
“But could I ask for one thing
 just one thing?”
“Please, go ahead.”
“I want to spend tonight with my granddaughter. I know it’s shameless of me, but please allow me.”
With a desperate voice, she asked me. I nodded slightly and looked at Speranza.
“Grandma wants to spend tonight with Speranza. What do you want to do?”
“Uhh
”
Speranza’s eyes moved back and forth as she pondered her decision. Mirna anxiously awaited her granddaughter’s answer.
After some thought, Speranza’s eyes sparkled as she replied.
“I want to stay with Grandma.”
“Alright. I’ll come to pick you up early tomorrow morning, so be sure to listen to your Grandma, okay?”
“Yep!”
Mirna’s face was filled with a happy smile.
“Please take good care of Speranza.”
“Thank you, Sihyeon.”
I left Speranza with Mirna and exited the room with Anis.
We followed the guards back down the corridor we had previously walked through.
As we moved further away from Mirna’s residence, Anis, who had been walking beside me, whispered.
“Thank you, Sihyeon.”
“Hm?”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my mother smile so brightly. It’s all thanks to you and Speranza.”
“Don’t mention it.”
I thought to myself that it was just a reunion that should have happened.
However, there was a lingering regret in my heart that this meeting should have happened a little sooner.
We left the building and arrived at the main entrance where Kaneff and Lia were waiting. Lia spotted me first and rushed over.
“You’re back now? Huh? But where’s Speranza?”
“She decided to stay with her grandma tonight. We’ll pick her up early tomorrow morning.”
“I see
 Uhm, by the way.”
“

?”
“?”
“Well
 how was it?”
Lia hesitated before throwing a rather suggestive question at me. I responded with a refreshing laugh.
“She was a lovely person. Speranza really liked her too. I think coming here was the right decision.”
Lia finally seemed relieved.
“Oh, thank goodness.”
Kaneff, who was standing nearby, butted in, sounding a bit displeased.
“Is it okay to leave Speranza with just anyone like that?”
“Not just anyone, it’s her grandmother.”
“Grandmother or not, they only met for the first time today.”
“Well, that’s true, but
 there’s a saying that ‘blood is thicker than water.’ After a little while, they looked just like an ordinary grandmother and granddaughter.”
“
”
“And this might be their last meeting. Since we have to leave early tomorrow morning, I wanted to give them as much time together as possible.”
“Oh? We’re leaving first thing in the morning? That’s great news!”
Kaneff perked up and seemed pleased to hear that we’d be leaving tomorrow.
“Yes, we’ll be heading back to the farm right away. So we should also head back and get some rest since we need to leave here early in the morning.”
“I’ll guide you to your resting place.”
We left the priestess’s residence and headed to a place where we could rest.
When we arrived at the lodging, it was midnight and almost all the lights in the village were out.
Before going to sleep, we organized our things for an early departure the next day. Since we hadn’t been here long, it didn’t take much time to pack up.
Feeling the emptiness without Speranza, we were about to go to bed when suddenly a signal sounded from inside a bag.
“Huh? What’s that sound
?”
“It’s the communication artifact Andras gave us.”
I took out the artifact from the bag and connected the communication. Unlike usual, Andras’s voice came through with a lot of static.
-Creek! Can you creee! Hear me?
“Andras? It’s me.”
-Cree! The communication
! It’s not stable. Creee! It’s probably because of the barrier around that place.
Although there was some noise, it didn’t hinder our conversation.
“What’s the matter at this hour?”
-Well, creee! There’s been something strange happening here.
“What happened?”
-I questioned some of the Erul Tribe members to find the one who facilitated the intrusion, and creeee! All of them gave strange answers.
“Strange answers?”
-Creee! They all claimed that they acted on the orders of the guardian deity. Creee! Then suddenly, they started behaving aggressively or spouting incomprehensible words.
Ordered by the guardian deity?
That sounded so irrelevant

While I was flustered and at a loss for words, Kaneff, who had been listening, said in a low voice,
“Aren’t they just babbling nonsense?”
-I don’t think so. Creee! I have a bad feeling about this, so I contacted you
 creee! Sihyeon? Mr. Kane-
 creee!!
“Andras? Andras!”
The artifact emitted a noisy sound, and the communication was suddenly cut off completely.
Everyone in the room was momentarily stunned when

-Swoosh!
Terzan emerged from the shadows and cried out urgently.
“We’re in big trouble!”