The old woman froze for a moment.
What?
Her eyes shifted.
Then she saw the ice pop in the child's hand.
"You bought an ice pop too?"
The joy the old woman had felt at finding the child was suddenly mixed with other emotions.
When she realized the child was missing, she had panicked, at a complete loss.
She had hurried all the way here.
Yet the child seemed perfectly fine—
A wallet was a wallet, after all. It was meant to hold money.
"G-Granddaughter?"
Your footsteps quickened.
The old woman put on a stern face.
She called softly, "Nini! Nini!"
The young man had offered to take her home, or somewhere else where she could shelter from the rain...
"Did you sneak out of the park to buy an ice pop while Grandma was asleep?"
So that was what the nodding and shaking of her head earlier had meant.
"But I paid Big Brother."
You were just about to thank him again—
Of course.
You wondered whether the child would respond if she heard your voice.
You weren't young anymore.
"...Nini!"
"Come out, now!"
The amount of money in a red envelope was substantial.
"But..."
"Nini..."
"Thank goodness you're all right."
The old woman looked around.
"Tell me."
Her granddaughter was missing...
All she could think about was her missing granddaughter...
Although she didn't know what the child looked like.
The old woman's voice was hoarse.
The child carried money with her not because she liked money or wanted to buy anything.
Her brows and eyes revealed a trace of alarm.
"Grandma doesn't want one."
The old woman rushed forward.
By the time she had called out several times, her voice had gone hoarse.
She quickly pieced together what had likely happened.
"Got