Yui lowered her eyes.
Nai Hyuga had a point. The information Xiao You knew was probably somewhat outdated by now.
And no one knew whether this "evil goddess Nami" had changed the effects of the Cursed Seal since then.
At that thought, she finally gave a slight nod.
Yui said regretfully, "Sigh! All right, let's head to the Land of Whirlpools first! Looks like we won't get to soak in the hot springs now!"
"Yui, you..."
Hearing that, Nai Hyuga shot her a reproachful look, as though asking how she could still be thinking about that.
"Are you... going to the hot springs...?"
Just then, a timid voice came from behind them.
Yui and Nai froze and exchanged a glance, then turned to look toward the voice.
A short distance behind them stood a little girl who looked no older than six or seven. She wore gray sackcloth clothes, and her messy hair covered the upper half of her face, hiding her expression.
Her head was slightly bowed, and she held her index fingers in front of her chest, tapping their tips together. Her timidity was obvious at a glance.
Nai Hyuga's gaze sharpened, then she asked in surprise, "Didn't I tell you all to go home together? Why are you still here by yourself?"
The little girl was one of the children the cultists had captured earlier.
The girl shrank back a little, hesitated, then answered in a trembling voice, "I... I... don't have a home..."
"No home?" Nai Hyuga was a little taken aback.
"Then where were you taken from? I'll take you back."
Nai Hyuga was running out of patience. She needed to head to the Land of Whirlpools with Yui as soon as possible. If she had to take this little girl home, she would have