Faced with Tina's desperate screams, Sian was certain that something bad had happened. Placing her in his arms like a princess, he immediately smelled a stench coming from her. But since the current situation didn't allow for any delays, he just ignored it.

"Show the way!"

The face that was once filled with anguish and anxiety, now, even bathed in tears, seemed to be being wrapped with a glow of hope.

Wasting no time, she pointed as she sobbed. "Ove-Over there!"

Starting to run, Sian turned to the distant Ophilia who was approaching with the others and shouted. "No need to worry, I'll be right back!"

After a quick run guided by Tina, Sian soon spotted a house made of wood and clay with a straw roof. Judging from what she had said, her mother was inside being threatened by 3 men.

Quickly using magic to investigate the house, Sian felt 4 presences. Although he couldn't tell who was who, it wasn't hard to speculate who Tina's mother was, since when he meet her the other day, she had a faint presence.

Coinciding with Tina's explanation, this weak presence was surrounded by three others who seemed to be on the same level as an ordinary soldier. Having singled out his targets, Sian used magic pressure to immobilize the 3 in place, making it impossible for them to make any movement.

Without slowing down the speed of the race, Sian hugged Tina tightly and created a protection around both of them.

As they were already a few meters from the house, he kicked the ground hard, making him fire ahead like an arrow which had just left the bow.

Shortly before colliding with the house, in a quick movement, he spun, letting his back collide against the wall.

Since it was something simple made of wood and clay, he easily went through it. With agile and precise movements, he steadied his feet on the ground while turning sideways with one knee flexed and the other stretched to slow down the impulse.

Before the people inside the house even realized what had happened, Sian created an air pulse to disperse the dust formed. Then he looked over to where Tina's mother should be, wanting to confirm the situation with his own eyes. But the scene he witnessed was totally contrary to his expectations.

The people who were supposed to be being a threat were actually on their knees with their foreheads pressed against the dirt floor. In front of the three were 3 shabby leather breastplates and a small pile of copper coins. To make matters even more confusing, in front of them was a thin woman with black hair.

'Looking like this, it seems that the situation is the opposite of what Tina told...'

"Hmm, what's going on here?" Sian asked Tina. "Did I happen to walk into the wrong house?"

After a brief moment of silence permeating the room, Tina finally responded. "Mommy! Are you okay?!"

Having noticed Tina in Sian's arms, the woman hurried over to where he was standing.

"I'm fine, dear." She looked anxious as she wiped Tina's tears with an old handkerchief. "What happened to you?"

But instead of answering, she cried loudly as she jumped from Sian into the woman's arms.

Unable to get an answer, she looked seriously at Sian. "What have you done with my daughter?"

"I didn't do anything." He shrugged.

"Then why is she like this?" Francionia said, showing Tina's body all covered in dirt, where the only place that was relatively clean was her face.

"You're not the only one who wants to know what happened. When she went for help, she was already like this." Glancing at the 3 men, Sian continued. "Also, the situation seems a little different from what I expected."

Being stared at by Tina's mother's serious and anxious gaze for a while, Sian felt a sense of nostalgia from her gaze.

Remembering the possibility of her being his childhood friend, Sian felt he had to know now. But before he could say anything, Tina, still in a tearful tone, spoke while keeping her face buried in her mother's chest.

"I saw those men taking off their armor... I-I thought they were going to do something bad to Mommy..."

Turning to the three who were still kneeling and immobilized, Sian decided to postpone the question he had originally. "What exactly happened here?"

"They came here wanting my daughter to go talk to a dangerous person." Francionia replied.

"Who was the dangerous person?"

"I don't know, they said it was a dangerous person they offended." She gently stroked Tina's back who was still sobbing. "They were saying she was close to him, but that's a lie. If it is as they say, there is no way my daughter could be associated with someone that even nobles fear!"

Remembering an event that occurred a few days ago, Sian had a vague sense of who the three of them were and who was the dangerous person they were talking about.

“Ahem.” Clearing his throat, Sian said awkwardly. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Ignoring Francionia's look of suspicion, Sian released the pressure he was exerting on the three and ordered them to raise their heads.

'So it really was them. But why would they come looking for Tina?'

"What are you guys doing here?" Sian asked.

"W-We just wanted a little favor from her daughter." The guy in the middle replied.

"And what could a child be useful in?" Sian questioned again.

"Since she seemed to be someone close to you, we thought she might-"

"So you wanted a hostage to use against me?" Sian narrowed his eyes.

"No-No!" We would never dare do that!" Shrinking even more, he hastily replied. "We wanted her help, but her mother didn't want to help us. So we used all our valuable belongings in exchange for help, but she kept refusing. Since we had nothing else to offer, we started begging on our knees."

"And what does it have to do with her being someone close to me?" Sian stared at him.

"We just wanted to apologize for our actions!"

Sian pointed at Francionia. "You mean you guys weren't here to intimidate her or anything?"

"No, that's all a misunderstanding!"

"So tell me, if you really wanted to apologize, why go after a child instead of looking for me?" Crouching down near the 3, Sian looked at them as if they were just insects that could be stepped on at any moment and conveyed his voice directly into their heads.

"It's best to have a good excuse, or this time you guys will not get out alive."

Even with a few mispronunciations because of nervousness, the three quickly explained what had happened. Apparently, after Sian broke the arm of one of them and threatened the others, they quickly went to meet with their employer, who immediately healed the guy with the broken arm. Like any noble, he did not intend to easily accept anyone harming his subordinates, for that would be an affront to his honor.

But since they didn't know where to find Sian and didn't even know his name or who he was, the nobleman went to the mayor. It was at this point that they were warned that Sian was in town and that they should avoid any commotion at the moment. Without choice, the only thing the nobleman could do was to await Charlotte's arrival as instructed by the mayor.

Then, the next day, when he went to meet Charlotte, he ended up discovering that the person he wanted to find was Sian himself. After cursing the three mercilessly and telling about the cruel and ruthless reputation their target had, he dismissed them. After that, he immediately left Solaris, saying that he didn't want to be associated with them when Sian was going to kill them.

Like any normal human being, they didn't want to die, so they tried to find a way to be forgiven by him.

Putting his hand on his chin, Sian said. "In short, because of my reputation, you knew I wasn't going to let you guys live. Because of that, you wanted the help of someone who knew me to mediate between us, and since you noticed that Tina knew me, you resorted to her, is it right?"

“Yes!” All 3 responded in unison.

'But I really planned to let you guys go... Or rather, I didn't even remember you guys anymore...'

Just as Sian was about to speak, he noticed some people coming and as he turned around, he saw Emily with open arms running towards him through the broken wall. Knowing what she wanted, he crouched down and also opened his arms while stamping a smile on his face.

But just as he was about to embrace her, she stopped abruptly and moved away with quick steps.

“Yuck!” Emily plugged her nose with her forefinger and thumb. "Daddy stinks!"

Arriving along with Ophilia, Illianna covered her nose with a handkerchief. "Stinking is too weak a word to describe this rot."

Looking calmer and stepping out of her mother's arms, Tina said awkwardly in an almost inaudible voice. "I bumped into a man and fell into the puddle where the waste is thrown."

"To be out in the open inside the town like that, it seems like the sanitation here is pretty precarious." Illianna said.

Noticing the smell he had ignored before, Sian quickly used magic to cleanse him, Tina and Francionia.

Approaching Sian, Illianna said. "Reach out your hand."

Doing as she said, he reached out and she did the same, only putting her hand a few inches above his and facing down.

With a bright smile, she said. "Could you clean this up here too?"

After uttering those words, a completely dirty doll appeared between both of their hands, falling directly into Sian's.

With the veins on his forehead pulsing to the point of almost bursting, Sian mentally said to Illianna. "I guess you like to test your luck, don't you?"

"I'm just proving something, no need to take it seriously." She answered nonchalantly.

'It seems that until I teach her a good lesson, she won't learn...' Sian thought.

While thinking of a punishment for Illianna, Sian cleaned the doll and handed it back to Tina who gripped it against her chest.

After that, he turned to the 3 who were still on the ground.