The tired sun began its celestial descent, painting the skies a mixed hue of crimson, lavender, blue, and dandelion.
Beneath, a middle-aged woman sat on a fairly spacious, roofed, and fenced balcony, appreciating even the simple everyday occurrence.
"Ahh, the sunset is nice today again..." Helena muttered, her eyes reflecting lancholy and a hint of sadness as she ignored the bustle of the townsfolk.
She didn’t have the ti to appreciate the sunset like this back at Poporo, as the constant fear of sothing attacking at night was all too real.
"Oh well, that’s that for today. Ti to feed Loki!"
In the next mont, she stood up and headed inside, descending the stairs.
She then spotted Lynn watching the television again.
"Co on, Lynn...move a bit. It’s not good to sit all day, you know? Look, you’re even gaining a bit of weight!"
"Aihh! Mind your own business, will you? I’m already a widowed lady. Can’t I at least do what I want?"
Helena sighed, shaking her head.
’At least her liveliness is back...’ she thought inwardly, heading to the kitchen.
The smart Loki knew what was coming next, excitedly following the middle-aged woman when, suddenly, the hums of a Manatech Engine snarled outside, stopping after a few monts.
The pup, now as tall as Helena on four legs, slled sothing, or soone...
Loki then hurriedly ran to the door, tail wagging excitedly.
The engine seed to have stopped right in front of their rented house, and so, Helena got curious as well.
But Lynn beat her to the door.
"Hal!" the aunt called out with a smile. "Quick, co in!"
Helena had a clue that it was her son based on how Loki reacted, but she still felt surprised and happy at the sight of her son’s face.
"Have you eaten?" she asked. "Wait a bit, alright? The at stew I’m cooking should be done soon."
"Ahh, yeah, thanks, mom. I’m quite hungry...Oh? Loki! Look at how much you’ve grown!" Hal responded before turning to the pup, giving Loki so rubs and a hug. "I guess mom and aunt are feeding you well, huh?"
"Woof! Woof!"
"Hehehe, of course, little Hal! This big dog of yours is so cute. Look at his cross-eyed face...Who could resist giving this one a few hugs and rubs?" Lynn chid in, earning herself a snort from Helena:
"Hmph! You only ever bond with Loki and never take care of him! You’ve only bathed him one ti, and after that, I had to do all the work!"
"Wha...hey! You didn’t have to embarrass in front of little Hal! What can I do? Look at how short I am compared to you two! It’s a struggle for to bathe soone as big as Loki! If only I were as tall as you guys, then I would’ve given him baths twice a day!"
"Hmph! All talk! Anyway, co in, Hal, and rest for a while."
"Thanks, mom."
Hal was smiling, but Helena sensed that there was a matter that weighed heavily on her son’s mind.
She wanted to ask what it was.
However, Hal might’ve visited them to temporarily escape from that matter and take a break, so perhaps it would be unwise to bring it up.
Helena decided to return to the kitchen and wait for Hal to tell her.
Or not, if he didn’t want to.
Either way was fine...
After around ten more minutes, the at stew was done cooking.
Helena gave Loki a huge portion, in addition to the usual huge portion of raw at.
The four of them then ate together, chatting casually.
"Oh, right, aunty," Hal rembered, retrieving sothing from the system’s inventory.
"Ooh, was that wizardry?" Lynn remarked in amazent, finding Hal’s magic trick cool. Her eyes then widened as she realized what was on Hal’s hands.
Manatech Communicators!
"Ooh! Is this for us?!" the aunty gasped, unceremoniously snatching one in the sa way her daughter did.
One didn’t even need to perform tests to know the two were family.
Helena also took one, taken aback by how rich her son was.
The two middle-aged won watched the television the majority of the ti, since they had nothing much to do, and so, they watched a few advertisents regarding the amazing devices.
These little rectangles would allow them to talk to each other, even when they were in different locations.
Instantaneously, at that!
Both Helena and Lynn naturally wanted one, as not only were they fashionable, but the devices would also allow them to check on their hardworking children from ti to ti.
Unfortunately, the devices were extrely pricey.
The two middle-aged won could only watch the advertisents with a hint of yearning in their eyes.
Who would’ve expected that they would get one this soon?
These didn’t seem as impressive as the ones they saw yesterday on television, but still, they were over the moon at the thought of being able to talk to Hal and Ennya anyti they wanted!
Hal taught the two middle-aged won how to operate the devices, saving both his and Ennya’s unique code in them.
The mont she learned, Lynn imdiately went ahead and tapped on, typing a long ssage that was quite the eyesore to read to her daughter, as though this was her final will.
The day ended happily, just like that.
Hal couldn’t bring himself to tell them the grim news and could only save the matter for later.
He shall recollect himself and gather his courage tonight...
Co morning, they ate breakfast together, and Hal helped his mother clean the house, while Lynn took care of Loki and prepared lunch.
It was quite a lively and eventful day for the two middle-aged won.
Lunch inevitably ca, yet Hal still couldn’t speak what was on his mind.
He could, at most, stay until mid-afternoon, as he still had a batch of arcane artifacts to craft.
He had to tell them now...
Only after they finished eating did Hal suddenly find the courage:
"M-Mom, I have sothing to tell you..."
To his surprise, Helena sighed in response.
"Finally...I thought you’d leave without telling us your problems...Even your aunt could tell there was sothing on your mind. We just couldn’t bring ourselves to ask, since you might’ve co here to...you know, escape and rest a bit..."
Hal’s jolly exterior finally crumbled at the words, glancing at his mother, then his aunt, then back to his mother again.
Then, he sighed.
"I thought I hid it well..."
"Aihh...co on, just tell us, little Hal." Lynn urged, her heart finding the heavy atmosphere a bit difficult to bear. "W-We might not be able to help you solve your problems, but we can at least hear them out!"
Hal fell silent, sighing another ti before...
"T-This is about everyone in the village. K-Korren told that they’re..."
He struggled to finish his sentence.
But then, to his bewildernt...
"Aihh...so you’ve learned already, huh?" Helena sighed, lancholy and sorrow flashing through her weary eyes.
"Lynn and I weren’t going to tell you, but it happened three weeks ago. The two of us have sowhat recovered already, and our hearts are nding well, so I hope you don’t take this matter to heart too much.
Most of all, don’t feel guilty, alright? This is simply the risk of living in a border village.
You’ve done everything you could, and the heavens are our witness...Focus on your life ahead.
One day, you’ll have your own family, and you shouldn’t be stuck too much on the past, on this tragedy..."
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