The next day after bumping with Xenos at the garden, I found my head sitting on Elara’s chest while hugging me. It might be a good start in the morning if I’m a male, but I’m already getting used to it.

As Elara continued to caress my hair, I asked. “Why do you like suddenly hugging me, Elara?”

“M—Miss Veniara!?” Elara squealed, pushing me and flinches back like nothing happened. “G—Good morning! I—I didn’t know you’re awake already.”

“Do you do this every time I’m sleeping?”

“N—No! Of course, not! Am I in need of a reason to find someone adorable?”

I looked away, smirking. “If you’re in my world, you should have been in jail already,” I whispered.

“By the way, Miss Veniara, I apologize to trample on your training schedule, but the castle received a message directed to you. It might be Pops’s letter that you’ve asked him.”

I turned back at her with a squint. “You didn’t need an apology. That letter probably wouldn’t have something written in it. Let us look after the woman first.”

“Yes, madame!”

Same old strat, I left a letter in my room, telling the authorities that I’m away. After what happened yesterday, I don’t want to see my suspicious parents about my plans.

But our departure today wasn’t an escape. We left the gates and informing the guard knights that I have matters with Elara at the town. They even helped me call a carriage for my departure.

It didn’t take long until we got to the tavern. As the carriage door opened, three familiar faces welcomed me.

The energetic tall kid with medium-length black hair and amber eyes was Lucas. Brenda was the sweet girl with a brown pigtails and emerald eyes. On the other hand, the sleepy kid with gray frizzly hair and dark purple eyes was Jake.

“Vena! I know you were a noble!” Brenda exclaimed, rushing at and hugging me the moment I stepped down. The three’s eyes sparkled towards my royal gown in which I forgot to change.

I looked at Elara who’s eyes are darting against Brenda. “What, Elara? Aren’t they unable to hug me?”

“I’m not saying anything. Hmph!” Elara mocked and looked away.

“So sister Elara was a maid after all? It’s amazing!” Jake exclaimed.

“Woah! A maid! I want one,” Lucas said with his sleepy innocent voice as he gazed at Elara without even blinking.

“W—Why are you staring at me, Lucas? I’m still your sister Elara when I’m outside. I’m no maid today,” Elara exclaimed.

“We’re happy to see you again, Vena! Pops said that you’re going back yesterday, but we waited the whole day and you didn’t come,” Brenda complained after releasing her hug.

Well, they should have asked Pops if they were going to wait. He was my only signal to go back here. That was entirely the kids’ fault.

“By the way, Vena, yesterday, we did lots of things with the ball! We created a ring and hang it up high, and…” Jake explained with his mouth that stretches from ear to ear. After that, the other two followed up what they did previously.

So this is how ten year old kids talk. They were surprisingly illogical, but that’s what makes them fun. I never experienced this kind of talk in my past life.

Suddenly, a loud static resonated to my ear and whispering a blurred message repeatedly. There’s only a fragment of it that I could clarify:

‘Mom…’

I suddenly covered my ears from the deafness brought by the sound. My face compressed out of pain, and Elara noticed it.

“Vena, is there something wrong?” Elara asked, touching both my shoulders.

The conversation between me and the kids stopped as they became wary of me. “Vena? Is there something wrong? Aren’t you interested in what we say?” Jake asked.

As the saying tells, kids never lie, but somehow… they were too blunt!

“T—that’s not it,” I replied, recovering my stance and posture. “Did someone of you call your mother suddenly?”

“What kind of question is that?” Jake mocked. “We’re already matured! We aren’t mama’s boys.”

“I still ask help for my mother. She also asked my help,” Brenda said.

“You’re not a ‘boy,’ Brenda,” Lucas added. These three somewhat makes a problematic trio.

“How about you, Elara? Did you hear something strange?” I asked, turning my head towards her.

“Nay, Vena. Perhaps did something greeted an entrance through your ear? Or was is telepathy?”

“I don’t know. It’s some deafening static sound. Do you know some magic connected to that?”

“Static?”

“……Nevermind,” I replied. I forgot that electric terms were still foreign to this world.

I talked with the three a little bit, explaining my visit to Pops while escaping their invitation for fun. I had a matter much important than enjoying my time with them, so I passed.

I entered the tavern, which is currently empty. Pops weren’t even on the first floor. When we ascended to our temporary room, I saw him reading a book in a desk while the woman lies in bed, awake.

“You’re awake… You’re awake!” I exclaimed, rushing and hugging to the woman like what Elara usually does. “Thank God, I manage to do it in time!”

“W—Who?” The woman stuttered with a tilted head. Her voice cracked, hinting us that she was still weak to speak.

“She’s the saintess that cured you,” Pops replied. “You should still rest since your state—”

Suddenly, the woman clasped my hand, forcing her shaking limbs to reach out to me. Elara became wary, but I told her that it’s alright. She clasped my hands, holding it for longer than necessary.

Tears fell down from her soft glowing eyes down to her smiling face. The sun ray lit her face, giving her a vibe of liveliness and hope. I could tell that this way her way of saying thanks to me.

“Y—you need not to pay me in return. What I did was purely my intention. I can’t just leave someone suffering before me,” I replied.

“But—” The woman said with hoarse voice. “My s—son.”

“I couldn’t find anyone who’s free in finding his missing son,” Pops said, bringing water for the woman to drink, and gave it to me. “Are you free today, Elara?”

“All we did here was to visit. We didn’t expect any side quest,” Elara replied.

“… But Elara, we’re free today.” I assisted the woman to drink her water while talking to Elara. “I wanted to help her find her child.”

“If that’s what you wanted, Miss Vena, I’m in… but, I’m just there to watch over you. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“By the way, Pops, I’d just noticed. Why is there no one in the tavern today? Are you closed? Or was it a national holiday?” I asked.

“Did you visit the adventurers guild today?” Pops replied. “An emergency quest was filed in the commission board today, and it’s from the kingdom. A B-level monster appeared in the western part of the Harswell Forest.”

“The kingdom asked that?” I had no information or whatsoever after I argued with Mom yesterday. “I’m not a bit informed with respect to that matter. Why didn’t they send the knights instead?”

“The kingdom wouldn’t even send their army to an undiscovered area. It’s like throwing a lit match to a pile of leaves and will soon burn the whole town with it.”

“They’ve sent adventurers instead? I don’t even know what they’re thinking anymore. If the southern area wasn’t harmed, they should’ve left it alone.”

“That’s a B-rank monster, little girl. If you left it alone, the stronger it will become. Only a single A-rank adventurer or a party of B-ranks will defeat it. But right now, all A-ranks are absent, and there are only two B-ranks in there. The lower ranks are only there to stall.”

“That’s why you’re asking me to do it?” Elara asked, entering our conversation. “Since I’m the only available A-rank adventurer visible, the whole reward will be retracted to the kingdom if I joined.”

“It’s better that way,” Pops replied. “It would be worse if it remained and made its way here. It might become A-rank in that case.”

“What did the adventurer’s guild told about stalling?” I asked. ”I bet no one would dare charge towards the monster with death in mind.”

“That’s a difficult decision the guild had made. They told the lower rank adventurers that the guild would ask help for A- and B-ranks in the nearby cities, but it would take days for the latter to respond. Those lower rank soldiers believed that help would come, when in fact…”

“That Urthus guy was a really deceptive old fart.”

The moment I saw him, I thought that he already has a plan moving behind the eyes of the people. His info-gathering skills are top-notch that even a simple event in my life has been recorded.

The guild card he gave me must have been another of his acts that disguises pure intention. He was surely seeking something from me, but I can’t tell what his goal was, nor his motive. What was he even plotting?

Suddenly, the static came back again to my ear, deafening me. The same pain touched my brain, causing a sudden headache.

“Vena, are you alright!?” Elara asked with drawn eyebrows, rushing towards me.

“M—My son… He’s calling…” The woman muttered. She might have heard the same waves like I did but in a different frequency.

After recovering, I asked. “Miss, do you hear the same thing as mine?”

“My son—That’s—my son.”

“Don’t worry, I swear to you that I will find him, right, Elara?” The moment I stared at Elara’s face, she nodded with a smile.

Facing back the woman, I continued asking. “By the way, miss, can we humbly ask for your name? It would be helpful to us not to call you ‘miss’ all the time.”

“Mathilde…”

“And the name of your child?”

“……D—Dion.”

After she told me her child’s name, silence broke out the room. With my dilated eyes blinking twice, I gasped with my fingers touching my parted lips.

Elara had the same reaction as I do. We ended up shouting at the same time.

“EEEEHHH!? THAT DAMN THIEF!?”