"...Have you never considered what you'd do if there was no other way!?"
"Then think of one, Simoya." Hesta raised a hand and tapped the side of her forehead. "Solutions are thought up—"
"That's not the point!"
Simoya stared at Hesta. The look Hesta gave her now even held a trace of confusion, as though Simoya were the strange one here.
Simoya spread her hands before Hesta as if lifting an invisible barbell. "You can't always jump to the next step when you haven't prepared for it at all!"
"Why not?"
"It's dangerous!" Simoya's voice rose again. "Fifty people! And they're children! Have you considered what you'll do if an infectious disease breaks out when they arrive? What if they refuse to behave, get into huge fights here, or take the chance to run away—"
"There's a town hospital and pharmacy nearby, Sophie has a medical team, and Tulan is half a doctor," Hesta said. "And where would be better suited for quarantine than a farm?
"If they refuse to behave and start fighting, stop them. If they run, chase them. It's not like all fifty of them would run, right?"
"What if all fifty children do want to run?"
Hesta laughed. She got to her feet and casually set her cup beside the table.
"Then add one more task to your workload today. Work out in detail under what circumstances fifty Kashyapas would all try to escape at once, then give me three contingency plans." Hesta headed for the door. "I have things to do—I'm leaving first."
Hesta's footsteps soon sounded on the stairs. Simoya rushed to the doorway and shouted, "...In your dreams! I'm not doing something so pointless!"
Hesta's footsteps did not stop. "Hahaha, suit yourself."
The farm was very quiet at dusk.
Simoya had slept