"...I will do my best."

Seeing Sarin glance over with a wry smile only made it worse.

"If it is too difficult, you may prepare separate meals for Qiong Xing and the others."

Unable to endure it any longer, Rohen said that, and Qiong Xing immediately looked up with an expression of pure happiness.

Rohen had no choice but to admit defeat.

"Can I make hot pot?"

"Please do not say things that will make them feel sorry for you."

Sarin immediately stopped Qiong Xing, who was suggesting it excitedly.

Hot pot? What was that?

Rohen would not have to wait long to find out.

...

"Alright, we are heading out now. We will be back the day after tomorrow, so please take care of the four of them until then."

"Ueーーn, noーー"

Lian and the others were being held by Elias and were flailing around, refusing to be separated from Mama.

Only Cari kept his head down silently, as if enduring it while clinging tightly to Joa’s leg.

"We will be back soon. If you get lonely, you can talk to Brother Cari as well, alright? Cari?"

Qiong Xing spoke gently to reassure them.

"...Mm."

Qiong Xing had already purchased a communication magic tool for Cari the other day, thinking it would be useful.

Since Albe would be going with him as well, Cari would be the one they relied on for contact.

"When we come back, let’s all go play at the beach again. Please teach me how to collect shells like you mentioned before."

"Mm. Cari will wait."

Only after he said it was a promise did Cari finally manage a smile.

"I will also look for ingredients that go well with miso for Lian."

"Noooo. I want Mama!"

Well, that did not work.

Lian leaned backward dramatically and cried, and Elias could only give a wry smile.

"I will bring back delicious ingredients for hot pot for Lian. I want Lian to be happy and say it is tasty. Because I really like Lian."

After asking them to wait, /8@! finally nodded through tears.

"As for Rui and Yue... hmm... please take care of Fenrir."

He had no particular bargaining material for them.

"What!? Are you leaving me behind?"

Huh? Was Fenrir planning to come too?

When he looking down, Qiong Xing saw the puppy-sized Fenrisulfr sitting neatly at his feet.

It seemed he had been fully prepared to go.

"...You want to come along?"

"Mm."

What should he do?

From Qiong Xing’s perspective, there was no problem bringing him along, but he had not confirmed it with Rohen, and it would also remove the reason for asking the twins to stay behind.

"Take him with you."

"Joa?"

"Even with Albe alone it should be fine, but just in case. We cannot go with you anyway."

He was told that more combat strength would not hurt, but that only made Qiong Xing worry that the place might be dangerous.

"Alright then, let’s bring Fenrir too. Rui and Yue, please behave and wait here with Papa."

"No!"

Of course they refused.

"Hey, if you keep being selfish, Mama might not come back."

"Nooo!"

Crying loudly at the thought of that, the two clung tightly to him, and Qiong Xing hugged them back gently.

"I will definitely come back. I love Rui and Yue very much. So... while Mama is gone, please practice climbing trees. You were almost there last time, right? If you cannot do it, then I will have to come climb with you again."

"No!"

"No!"

It sounded like a threat aimed at him as a parent and as an adult, but it seemed to work on the twins, who groaned and promised to try their best.

Qiong Xing’s previous attempt at tree climbing with them had also ended in failure.

He had almost fallen, and Elias had caught him, but he twisted his ankle on landing and ended up hurting himself, which made the twins cry.

After that, they refused to let him run or climb trees with them again.

"I am looking forward to it. I will be going now."

"Be careful."

"Do not get hurt."

"Watch your surroundings."

"Hey, why can’t I go, I did nothing wro..."

"Iseul is not allowed. No one knows what he will do."

He got a smack for that.

After being seen off by everyone, Qiong Xing arrived at the meeting place with Rohen and the others, where they greeted him with smiles.

"Thank you in advance."

"Likewise. So... that... dog is?"

Rohen looked curiously at Fenrisulfr, whom Qiong Xing was holding, and after confirming whether he could bring him along, surprisingly agreed without issue.

"A dog’s sense of smell is not something to underestimate. We also have Ranga, so we are hoping they will notice monsters before they appear. However, it is still dangerous, so please do not let him leave your side, Qiong Xing."

"...Monsters."

Qiong Xing understood the word "monster," but in his mind, monsters were only green humanoid creatures.

"Will we be walking to that dungeon place?"

"No. It is quite far, so we plan to use horses this time... have you ridden before?"

"Once or twice in the past."

There was no point in pretending, so he honestly admitted his uncertainty, and Rohen nodded with a smile.

"That is fine. Then you can ride my horse—"

"I will ride with Qiong Xing, so it is fine."

"Albei, you can ride a horse?"

Qiong Xing looked surprised, and Albe proudly said it was no problem at all.

Since Fenrisulfr was also with them, it seemed better that way, so Qiong Xing told them he would ride with Albe, and preparations were quickly made.

"Can you ride?"

"Yes. I just have not had much experience riding for long periods, so I will just hold onto Albe and stay still."

After greeting the accompanying soldiers, Qiong Xing got on a horse.

Since he was holding onto Albe, he was thinking about what to do with Fenrisulfr when...