Terrifying Grandmother

"Grandmother, I'm back!"

Cynthia opened the door and called softly inside. For the first time, Sato and the others behind her saw her being... cautious? Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of a cane striking the floor drew closer. An elderly woman with graying hair and a stern face slowly walked out of the room.

"You're back."

"Mm... Grandmother, these are friends I met during my travels—Sato, George, and Mark."

Cynthia obediently nodded, only remembering to introduce the three after spacing out for two seconds.

Before long, Cynthia's grandmother shifted her gaze to the three of them. For an instant, all three felt as though they could barely breathe.

She was definitely intimidating!

Sato and the other two offered respectful greetings as juniors, then obediently stood to one side, stiffly accepting Cynthia's grandmother's scrutiny.

"...Mm. Let's eat first."

If it had not been an illusion, a full two minutes had passed before Cynthia's grandmother finally spoke. Then, leaning on her cane, she turned and headed toward the dining room.

"Hiss... I was so nervous my legs went weak," Mark said with lingering fear, immediately collapsing against the wall once Cynthia's grandmother was out of sight.

"Grandmother is rather strict with juniors. Um... you'll get used to it," Cynthia said, not knowing how to defend her grandmother, so she simply gave up trying.

"We should go in quickly. Don't keep the elders waiting too long," George said, patting Mark, whose expression said life is meaningless, before following them inside.

Sato and the other two sat silently in their seats, watching Cynthia and her grandmother bustle about. They did not even dare step forward to help.

Just moments ago, George had habitually tried to enter the kitchen to help carry dishes, only to be directly shut down by Grandmother's "Go sit properly."