They were not his mother, nor his father.

And yet, they had already become an irreplaceable, precious family to Iseul.

Things had not completely returned to how they once were.

But being able to have a family again made him so happy he felt like crying.

It seemed he had been clinging to Qiong Xing and sleeping the whole time since then, and the children had gathered around them, waiting for Iseul to wake up.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Iseul, does it hurt?"

Lian also asked worriedly if she was in pain, and he could feel his heart growing warm.

"It seems I am okay now. Thank you."

The intense pain that had spread through his entire body was gone, and his magic power even felt more stable than before.

He still felt a bit sluggish, but it would not interfere with his daily life.

"Let’s see. Today we will have a meal with Lian’s favorite miso soup, and after that, shall we try making Cari’s favorite cheese?"

"What about the meat?"

"And the fish?"

The twins puffed their cheeks, wondering if there was nothing for them.

"Of course there is for both of you. But would it not be a waste to eat everything at once? Today we will just prepare the meat and fish to make them delicious, and tomorrow we will eat until we are full."

"We will eat!"

Qiong Xing smiled as the two jumped around happily.

Then Lian took Iseul’s hand and pulled him along, inviting him to come too.

"If you are still feeling unwell, it is alright. Please rest."

"I am fine. I am looking forward to the meal too."

If a delicious meal made by Qiong Xing was waiting, then a little fatigue was nothing to worry about.

As he chatting with Lian about how much they were looking forward to it, Iseul headed toward the living room.

Raon,who had clearly been worried the whole time let out a relieved sigh when he saw that Iseul seemed well.

"...Um, I am sorry for biting you."

"That was nothing. I am just glad you are safe."

Just as Raon was Iseul’s last remaining kin, Iseul was also Raon’s last companion and family.

Iseul felt certain Raon must have been terribly worried, so he apologized, but Raon told him not to worry and roughly ruffled his hair, almost to the point of pain.

"Raon, will you help as well? I brought back a lot of souvenirs."

"...You did go to a dungeon, right?"

Raon said it in disbelief, as if those were not the words of someone who had just returned from a dungeon, and Qiong Xing laughed out loud.

...

"This is quite a sight."

Joa stared in amazement at the fish laid out to dry all over the yard.

There had been quite a large amount, so they kept some for dinner and turned the rest into dried fish.

"This way it will keep longer, and the flavor will deepen, so it will be delicious."

"Now I am looking forward to it."

The meat had already been seasoned and prepared as well, so tomorrow they would be able to eat plenty.

"Mama, look!"

"Ah, you can do it properly now."

The tree was quite tall, but the twins had climbed all the way to the top and were waving from above.

It seemed they had learned how to climb trees, just as they had promised Qiong Xing.

He waved back at them, praising them, and asked Cari to help dry the fish.

"Hey, Lian, do not get in Mama’s way."

"I am not!"

As she clinging to him like a koala, Lian wrapped herself around his chest, and Qiong Xing could not help but laugh.

At the same time, he wondered if she had felt that lonely, and he found himself unable to pull her away.

It was certainly difficult to work like that, but not impossible, so he decided to leave it as it was.

"Then shall we leave this to Cari, and Lian can help me prepare dinner?"

"I will!"

It was still a bit early for dinner, but if he continued working with Lian clinging to him like this, it would probably strain his back.

With Lian in high spirits, he gently had her climb down, took her hand, and headed to the kitchen.

"The fried tofu in the miso soup at lunch was tasty, right?"

"Yes!"

"Next, we are going to put rice inside that, so I would like you to help with it, Lian."

After preparing the seasoned fried tofu and vinegared rice, he demonstrated how to do it and began stuffing them little by little.

"...That is a bit too much filling."

The overly stuffed sushi was set aside as a gift for her father Elias.

If it was something his daughter made, he would surely eat as much as she gave him.

This time, they adjusted the amount and worked together to make them one after another.

Watching her small hands earnestly helping filled him with affection.

"Here you go."

"Mmm... it is delicious!"

"That is good. I am sure everyone will be happy."

When he gave her a small bite to taste, she smiled and said it was delicious, and he felt glad that it had turned out well.

"I hope they will like it."

"Yes!"

Holding hands and getting along well, they arrived at the workshop where Naz was.

The dried fish had been successfully finished, and since dried fish naturally went well with alcohol, they had come to share some.

"Hello."

"Hello!"

As they greeted cheerfully, there was a loud clattering as someone rushed over, occasionally bumping into things along the way. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

".Qiong Xing!? Lian!?"

...It did not seem like something worth that much surprise.

Seeing how flustered Naz was, Duzy also noticed them and approached while waving, saying it had been a while.

"It has been a while. We came by today to share a little."

"Share?"

"Here."

When Lian held it out, Duzy accepted it and checked the contents, then happily patted her on the head.