Commotion

In the afternoon in Frieren's hometown, dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves and branches streamed across the forest clearing, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and grass.

The children were originally in twos and threes, either chasing each other in the open space or surrounding Millialdai, watching her lightly touch the herbs with her fingertips and explain their names.

Time passed slowly and quietly, until Lowell's voice broke the silence.

He leaned against the shadow of the eaves, a lazy yet obvious smile on his face. He cleared his throat and then, in a slightly raised voice as if announcing something important, called out to the small figures in the open space:

"Hey--! Children! Look who's here!"

The children froze instantly, like a herd of startled deer, raising their heads and looking at Lowell with puzzled expressions.

Lowell looked at their curious little faces with satisfaction, the corners of his mouth widening into a smile. He pointed to Himmel and his companions, who had just approached and were still dusty from their journey, and said in a loud voice:

"Ta-da! These heroes who successfully defeated the Demon King are just passing through!"

The silence lasted only a moment.

Immediately, the open space Swirl rapidly, like the surface of a lake where a pebble had been thrown in.

"Wow--!"

"He's a true hero... Himmel!"

"And those people next to them! I know their names! It's Sister Ruby! Heiter! And Uncle Eisen!"

The children's eyes lit up instantly, as if filled with stars. They dropped their toys or blades of grass and chattered excitedly, like a flock of startled, joyful birds, rushing towards the still somewhat unprepared Himmel and his companions.

In an instant, Himmel, Ruby, Heiter, and Eisen were overwhelmed by this small wave of enthusiasm. The children's chatter was like boiling water, with questions coming one after another, giving them almost no chance to breathe:

"Himmel! Was the Demon King really defeated? What did he look like? Did he have three heads and six arms?"

"Ruby, isn't your magic brighter than the sun? Can you show me your most powerful magic?"

"Heiter! Did you use the Goddess's divine power to purify all the bad guys?"

"Uncle Eisen! They said your axe is bigger than your house, why is it so small? Is it a spare?"

Even the usually taciturn Eisen was being huddled around the legs by several bolder boys, who were pressing him for details about the battle. His bronze face remained expressionless, except for a slight twitch in his beard.

Ruby was surrounded by the girls, her little face flushed with admiration. She puffed out her chest proudly and began gesturing wildly, "Hehe~ Of course! Ruby then, Lady Ruby, with a super-powerful magic..."

Himmel half-squatted down, patiently taking in each imaginative question, her blue eyes crinkling into a smile as gentle as Melt snow. Heiter, on the other hand, laughed heartily, gently stroking the children's hair.

The open space was filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Lowell, arms crossed, leaned against the doorframe, watching the noisy scene with a hint of barely perceptible gentleness in his eyes.

Frieren had somehow walked up to him, her emerald eyes quietly sweeping over the group of children surrounding her. Her face was expressionless, but she tilted her head slightly, as if listening to the faint sounds carried on the wind of seeds of the future sprouting from the soil.

Solitär stood a little further away, her pale green eyes curiously recording something, her fingertips unconsciously tapping in the air.

Linié watched quietly as the children tugged at Eisen's beard, but he didn't get angry. A faint glimmer of curiosity seemed to flash in her deep blue eyes.

Lupa stretched her wrists and looked at the dense forest in the distance, seemingly weighing which two trees would be more suitable for the next round of weight training.

Millialdai walked in from the direction of the kitchen, carrying a basket of freshly picked berries. She looked at the lively scene but did not immediately go forward to disturb them, a slight smile on her face.

The atmosphere at the dinner table remained lively in the evening. The long wooden table was laden with simple yet hearty dishes, a welcome comfort after a long journey.

The plate of broccoli in front of Heiter was a vibrant green, standing out strikingly among the meat dishes on the table.

He stared at the dish, his brows furrowing slightly. Then, with a quick glance, he casually and naturally transferred his portion of broccoli from his bowl to Himmel's bowl next to him.

"Come on, Himmel, eat more! You're our main force, you're the one who uses the most energy!" Heiter's voice was loud, trying to cover up his unnatural behavior with a sense of self-righteousness.

Himmel looked at the rapidly piling green mountain in her bowl, then at Heiter's "I'm doing this entirely for your own good" expression, smiled, and before she could say anything—

"Heiter!"

A little girl, about six or seven years old, with pigtails, sat opposite me. Her cheeks puffed out, she pointed at Heiter with a spoon, her voice clear and loud, carrying an undeniable sense of justice.

"You can't secretly give your broccoli, which you hate, to your Himmel! Being a picky eater is wrong! It sets a bad example for us children!"

The accusation, like a clear chime, silenced the dining table for a moment.

Ruby, who was about to follow suit and move the broccoli from her bowl towards Himmel, suddenly froze in mid-air with Ruby chopsticks. Her face flushed red, and she glanced guiltily at the little girl before quickly pulling her chopsticks back. She pretended to be focused on studying the grains of rice in her bowl and then shoveled a mouthful of white rice into her mouth.

Heiter, embarrassed by being exposed in public, tried to salvage some of his "adult" dignity, stubbornly saying, "Cough... Nonsense! I... I just saw that Himmel needed nutrition! Besides, can a monk be called picky about food? This is... this is a unique spiritual perception of the smell of food!"

"Liar!"

"Heiter just doesn't like eating green vegetables!"

"My sister Millialdai said that picky eaters won't grow tall and will have nutritional imbalances!"

The children ignored his excuses and started talking back and forth, their voices growing louder and louder, forming a small wave of "condemnation." Even a few children who were originally timid mustered up their courage and joined the ranks of "criticism."

Looking at the growing number of accusing faces around him, Heiter finally couldn't maintain his haughty demeanor. Like a punctured balloon, his shoulders slumped, a wry smile on his face. Finally, he sighed helplessly and muttered resignedly:

"Okay, okay... I'll eat it, alright?... I'm really exasperated by you little devils..."

As he spoke, with a look of deep resentment, he carefully picked up a small floret of broccoli with his chopsticks, stuffed it into his mouth with a death-defying air, chewed slowly and laboriously, and then two wide streams of tears streamed down his face.

Ruby this, Ruby lowered her head even further, silently and obediently finishing her bowl of broccoli, afraid that if she was a step too slow, she would hear something like, "So there's more than one picky eater in the Hero Party! They're setting a bad example for the children!"

Having finally finished the vegetables, Heiter seemed to want to dilute the taste in his mouth with something, or perhaps it was just a habit, he picked up the wine jug at his feet and gulped down a mouthful.

However, before the wine was fully swallowed—

"Heiter! You're not allowed to drink either!"

It was still that little girl with pigtails, but her voice was much sterner, like a little housekeeper.

"Sister Millialdai taught me! Alcohol is bad for your health! How can a hero drink something that harms his health!"

"Yes! You can't drink it!"

The children rallied together again, their eyes fixed intently on the wine jug in Heiter's hand.

Heiter: "..."

His hand, holding the wine jug, froze in mid-air. He swallowed the wine, glanced with a complicated expression at his beloved wine jug, then at the group of righteously-looking children before him. Finally, under the children's "disapproving" gaze, he reluctantly and slowly tightened the lid of the jug, placed it back on the ground, and muttered to himself:

"Just one sip... not even one sip... hey! Don't grab the wine pot! Ah... no..."

Evening.

Heiter quietly slipped out of the room and took out a wine jug.

"Phew... finally they're all asleep. We can't skip the drinks..."

He had just raised the wine jug when a blond boy grabbed his hand.

"Heiter, you promised you wouldn't drink, so why did you sneak out to drink?"

"!!" Heiter had no idea when the child had appeared.

"Uh... cough cough, well... haha..." Heiter was momentarily speechless.

"Fine, I'll forgive Heiter this time, but if it happens again, Heiter 'll make sure all the children go astray!"

Heiter let out a sheepish sigh and silently returned to his lodgings.

After a moment, Heiter went out again.

This time, he cast Concealment spell, making himself almost transparent, and left the room far away.

"Phew... I hope I won't be discovered here..." Heiter took out the wine flask again.

"Which disobedient younger sibling is out playing again in the middle of the night?"

This time it was the girl with pigtails. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking like an older sister, as if she had been waiting there for a long time.

"I've already found you. Are you going to come out on your own, or should I drag you out?" She held a staff much taller than herself in her hand, the tip of which glowed faintly, and pointed it in the general direction of the Heiter.

"No, no!" Heiter quickly dispelled the Concealment spell. "Um... haha, I came out to use the restroom, yes, to use the restroom... but I couldn't find a place."

"Going to the toilet?" The girl with pigtails asked doubtfully. "Going this far to the toilet? Never mind, Heiter is a member of the Hero Party, he wouldn't lie. The toilet is over there, hurry up and go back." She pointed in the direction.

"Okay, okay..." Heiter practically fled in panic.

"What monsters are these children..." He walked back to his room in frustration, and looked up to see a plaque hanging under the eaves, the words "Hearth House" faintly visible in the moonlight.