"What is this, Grandma?"

"Let’s plant that over here. Thank you."

"Hehe."

She accepted the flowers lined up before her with a smile and carefully planted them at her feet.

As she watched the children helping her, she truly felt glad she had taken them in.

It had been about a month since the children came to live with her.

The wariness they once carried had gradually faded, and hearing them call her "Grandma" in their adorable little voices filled her with happiness.

"Thanks to all of you, we made a beautiful flower bed. Thank you."

The idea of making a flower bed had only come up a few days ago.

Qiong Xing who visited often had brought flowers and suggested they try making one if they liked, and since the children enthusiastically agreed, they decided to do it together.

"I brought the water!"

She thanked the child who carried it over, and together they watered the newly finished flower bed before cleaning up and returning to the house.

Thinking she should make something nourishing for the children after all their hard work, she started heading toward the kitchen when she heard someone calling for her.

Smiling, she went to greet them, realizing Qiong Xing had arrived.

"Hello. Captain Narka and the others came with me because we thought it might be about time for lunch."

Looking behind him, she saw several large men standing there, though they were not wearing their armor today.

Since they were already familiar faces, the children greeted them without fear, and the men smiled warmly in return, clearly used to it by now.

"They brought meat for the children. So how about we all eat outside today?"

"That sounds lovely. The weather is wonderful today."

As she nodded happily at the invitation, the children who had been peeking from behind her threw their hands into the air and cheered excitedly.

"Then Captain... no, Narka and the others can grill the meat. I will prepare everything else."

"Got it. Hey, boys, you help too."

"Yeees!"

Laughing as she watched the children happily run off shouting about meat, she headed into the kitchen with Qiong Xing to prepare salads and other dishes.

"The captain is such a kind man. I cannot eat much meat anymore, so this really helps me."

"On the contrary, he practically eats nothing but meat. I heard he has started eating fish recently, but he still does not eat many vegetables. I wish he would learn from the children."

"Fufu. Qiong Xing, you sound just like a mother."

Perhaps because he already had children of his own, Qiong Xing fussed over even that large, intimidating captain in all sorts of ways.

"Ehh, no thank you. A child that big would be too much."

Although Qiong Xing himself seemed bothered by it, his refined appearance and slender build could hardly be called masculine in the traditional sense.

But thanks to that, even she had not been wary when they first met, and now the children adored him so much that they called him Big Brother Qiong Xing.

"But won’t your children grow up big like their father too, Qiong Xing?"

"Exactly. Sadly, even if they inherited my face, they did not inherit my build."

She burst out laughing at Qiong Xing’s lament.

She felt a little bad for laughing, but it was such an adorable thing to worry about.

"Everyone already keeps telling me to give up on it... though I have no intention of giving up."

She could not help thinking that he truly was still a boy at heart, so all she could do was cheer him on.

"Still, this miso really is amazing. It is so delicious, and the children absolutely love the soup made with it."

Every time she made it, the children begged for seconds, and she felt nothing but gratitude toward Qiong Xing for teaching them about it.

Since the children made it themselves, the flavor probably felt even more special to them.

On top of that, being able to make and sell it had greatly eased her worries about the children’s future.

"I am glad to hear that. I was worried I might have to think of something else if the children disliked it, so I am just happy they ended up enjoying it."

Even though he was not raising the children himself, Qiong Xing had taught them ways to survive.

At first, she had been anxious about how things would turn out, but now life with the children had become so joyful that every day felt precious.

After losing the person she loved, she had spent her days alone, believing her own end would come soon enough as well.

She never could have imagined that such happiness would still be waiting for her here.

"Thank you so much. Thanks to you, every day has become enjoyable. This morning, we all made the flower bed we talked about before. Now we will be able to decorate his grave with lots of flowers."

Even when she visited the grave every day as part of her routine, the children followed her without complaint.

They held her hands and prayed together with her, and seeing that made tears spill from her eyes as she thought how grateful she was to have lived this long.

All of the children were human, but surely he would still be happy to see this.

"Next time, perhaps we should make a swing attached to the tree in the yard. Since Narka and the others are here today, we can leave it to them."

"It seems even the captain cannot win against you, Qiong Xing."

Qiong Xing laughed and said they would surely be happy to make it, and she could not stop herself from laughing along with him.

And once the swing was finished, the children happily played on it with great excitement.

...

"You are my goddess!"

"...Unfortunately, I am a man."

The man spread his arms dramatically and looked ready to throw himself at Qiong Xing, but Sarin grabbed him by the back of the collar from behind to stop him, ensuring that those hands would probably never reach him for the rest of his life.