Anna

Buzz

A rift suddenly tore through the previously tranquil space, and a gigantic seven-colored dragon stepped out of it. It was Sordil, returning to Asland after signing a contract with the Spirit King. After carefully surveying his surroundings, Sordil realized that he had not appeared beside the cliff where he had entered the Spirit World, but above the vast ocean. However, he should not have been far from Diphiya and the others, as he could sense the magic power emanating from them. After confirming their direction, Sordil spread his wings and flew toward them.

"It's been five whole days without any news. Do you think Brother Sordil might have run into some trouble?" Diphiya stared anxiously toward the place where Sordil had disappeared.

"We don't even know where he is right now. What can we possibly do to help him? All we can do is trust in Sordil's abilities!" Kaldiz softly comforted the restless Diphiya.

"Back then, we should have insisted on accompanying Young Master Sordil. Then we wouldn't have had to sit here worrying ourselves sick. Sigh!" After five days had passed, even Lindel, who had always trusted Sordil immensely, began to waver.

"You really are all talk after the fact! Why didn't you join Diphiya in asking to accompany Young Master Sordil into that world back then?" The moment Lindel voiced his opinion, his longtime rival Murellia immediately mocked him.

"Enough. Arguing now won't accomplish anything. Let's wait a little longer! I believe Master will definitely return safely!" Unlike the others, Seraf had an inexplicable trust in his master. He had possessed it from the moment he first met him, and it had only grown stronger in Moens Canyon. That was why he had directly sworn loyalty to Sordil.

"Looks like Seraf trusts me the most out of all of you! The rest of you really break my heart. Boo-hoo-hoo..."

Just as Diphiya and the others were discussing the matter, a familiar voice rang out above them. They looked up to see a massive black shadow descending—it was Sordil, who had returned. Once Sordil landed on the ground, Diphiya and the others immediately swarmed around him, examining him from every angle in hopes of finding something different about him.

"Brother Sordil, didn't you go to another world? Why haven't you changed at all?" Diphiya circled Sordil no fewer than three times without noticing any change in him, and asked curiously.

"I was only in the Spirit World for less than three hours. What kind of change could there possibly be?" Seeing the four pairs of gleaming eyes around him staring as though he were some specimen, Sordil laughed and scolded them.

"You're lying! We waited for you for five whole days, yet you're saying only three hours passed over there? Tell me, what are you trying to hide about what happened there? Did you buy local specialties and not want to share them with us? Where are the tasty treats? Hand them over!" Looking at Diphiya, who seemed to have been possessed by Conan-kun, Sordil really wanted to ask, Miss, are you a foodie who transmigrated here from Earth?

"I'm not lying to you! Time flows differently in the Spirit World than it does in our world. One day in the Spirit World is roughly equal to one month in Ishgar, so while you waited five days for me, I spent less than three hours in the Spirit World. How would I have had time to buy local specialties or hide snacks?"

"Really? You're not lying to me?" Diphiya narrowed her eyes and stared into Sordil's, scrutinizing him as though he were a criminal.

"Really! If I'm lying to you, may I run into Zi Ni the moment I walk out the door! Besides, I can take you all to the Spirit World to experience the time difference for yourselves. Then you'll know whether I lied, won't you?"

Zi Ni was the name of the big fish that had swallowed Sordil that day. Hearing Sordil swear by it, Diphiya immediately believed he was telling the truth. Besides, just as Sordil had said, if they went to the Spirit World themselves, wouldn't they know whether he was telling the truth? If he dared lie to her, then hmph... Thus, Diphiya began urging Sordil to take her to the Spirit World to experience it for herself. Left with no choice, Sordil agreed. He shrank Diphiya and the others down to adult size, had them change into the clothes prepared by the Spirit King, and brought them to the Spirit World. Because of Kaldiz's unusual body, he was left behind in Asland, where he could also verify whether Sordil had been telling the truth.

After four or five attempts, Diphiya and the others finally accepted the fact that time flowed differently in the two worlds. Afterward, Sordil and the others began carrying out the long-planned "Kaldiz Transport Plan." In truth, it was not much different from before: Sordil and the four dragons worked in pairs to carry Kaldiz through the air. Once one pair grew tired, they entered the Spirit World to rest, then came back out to replace the other pair once they were exhausted. In this way, Sordil and the others gradually moved toward Ishgar, drawing ever closer to Fostadu.

Ishgar

Port City, Hajirulon

"Boss, please let me work here! I'm very hardworking, and I don't even need wages. I just need a meal!" A blonde girl with a single ponytail pleaded with the owner of a fruit stall before her.

"Go on, get out of here! I'm not hiring you. Try somewhere else!" Faced with the girl's plea, the vendor impatiently waved his hand and chased her away. With no way to resist the owner's heartless dismissal, the girl could only leave helplessly.

"Jiru, that girl looked so pitiful. Why didn't you hire her?" Watching the girl's lonely departing figure, the merchant's wife complained, clearly dissatisfied with her husband's cold behavior.

"Litas, you don't understand! That girl is called Anna. She arrived here with a merchant caravan not long ago. According to the caravan's people, she was expelled from her family for stealing the family's property. The caravan master saw that she was young and pitiful, so he took her in. Who would have thought that she wouldn't change her ways? She actually stole the caravan's funds, so the caravan master threw her out here in a fit of rage." The fruit stall owner, Jiru, rattled off Anna's background in one breath, leaving himself panting. After taking a drink of water and catching his breath, he continued, "After leaving the caravan, she had no food, shelter, or place to stay, so she began looking everywhere for work to support herself. Every time, she said she only needed food and lodging. Yet after being hired, she would always steal her employer's money, and then get fired once she was discovered. Now everyone in Hajirulon knows what she's like. No one dares hire her anymore!"

"So that's how it is! Then we definitely can't hire her. We need to make sure she stays far away from us in the future!" After hearing her husband's explanation, Litas looked at Anna's retreating back with no sympathy left in her eyes—only disgust. She spoke viciously.

Listening to the couple's conversation from afar, Anna's heart was filled with bitterness. At that moment, she wanted to turn around and shout at them: I didn't steal anything. It was some strange thing that stole it. It's just that the thing is parasitic inside my body, and I can't control it either. But Anna held herself back. When her family had accused her of stealing, she had explained it the same way, yet not a single person had believed her. Instead, they accused her of denying it and making excuses, then exiled her from the family. With no other choice, Anna could only try her luck at the seaside and see whether she could find anything there.