When Irene tried to get up, Jessie hastily supported her.

“You’ve been lying down for a long time, so be careful when getting up.”

For a long time? Irene asked, puzzled.

“How long have I been lying down?”

“It’s been a week as of today.”

She thought it might have been a day at most, but a week?

Surprised by the unexpectedly extended period, Irene opened her mouth wide.

“Was my condition that bad?”

Could there be a serious problem somewhere?

Despite that, there was no specific pain.

Her back was a bit stiff, but she attributed it to lying down for a week.

Jessie smiled and said, “There’s nothing wrong with your body, so don’t worry, Miss.”

“But I was unconscious for a week…”

“That’s because of the sleep poison in Arachne’s spider web. We used an antidote, but the poison was strong, and it took a long time for your body, which is weak, to detoxify.”

“Oh, I see.”

There was sleep poison in that spider web. Finally understanding, Irene stretched her legs outside the bed.

Perhaps due to lying down for a week, her legs didn’t have much strength.

It seemed like she had forgotten how to walk properly.

“I think I should walk a bit… Can you help me?”

“Of course, Miss.”

Jessie readily offered his hand.

Irene held Jessie’s hand like a newborn baby learning to walk, taking one step at a time carefully.

After walking around the room as if undergoing rehabilitation, she felt intense fatigue and hunger.

“I’m hungry…”

Hearing Irene muttering to herself, Jessie apologized in surprise.

“Right. You must be hungry since you haven’t eaten anything for a week. I didn’t think about it. I’ll quickly bring some food, Miss.”

“Oh, no. I should have said something. I’m sorry.”

“This is my role, taking care of you, Miss. You don’t need to apologize.”

After seating Irene on the sofa, Jessie left the room, promising to return soon.

Left alone, Irene looked around the room.

“The place I will stay from now on…”

It was just a temporary place until now, but from the moment she decided to stay by Kallos’s side, it became a place to stay continuously.

As she changed her perspective, the room, which had felt unfamiliar, became familiar.

Her gaze, which had been meticulously examining the patterns on the wall, stopped at the dresser.

“What’s ahead for me…”

Irene approached the dresser and picked up a hairpin on top of it.

“Indeed, this hairpin.”

A hairpin received as a balloon dart prize.

There was no blue gem known as the tear of a mermaid on the hairpin, but she could easily recognize it.

When she was attacked by a monstrous spider and it was thrown far away, she remembered finding it with difficulty.
However, where did the mermaid’s tear go?

While fidgeting with the hairpin, Jessie, who had gone to get food, returned.

“What are you looking at, Miss?”

“Oh, this.”

Irene showed the hairpin to Jessie.

“I was looking at it because the mermaid’s tear is missing from the hairpin.”

“Oh, I heard that it broke.”

“Broke…?”

“Yes, I heard it might have broken when you dropped it. Isn’t that right?”

“Well…”

She remembered something flying away, but she had no idea what happened afterward. Irene blurred the end of her words, sweeping the spot where the mermaid’s tear should be with her thumb.

One thing for sure was that the hairpin had a mermaid’s tear before losing it.

Come to think of it, Kallos appeared after the hairpin flew away.

They say when the mermaid’s tear breaks, the person you want to see arrives… Could it be that Kallos came because the mermaid’s tear broke?

“No way.”

Such things are just stories made up by people.

Thinking that Kallos appeared just because he was lucky, Irene put the hairpin back on the dresser.

With a determination not to be absent from Kallos’s sight, the managers worked diligently.

Although it was impossible to recover buildings or destroyed roads in just a week.

They not only quickly assessed the number of casualties and provided free treatment but also repaired overall facilities so that people who lost their homes due to the rampage of monsters could use the shelters temporarily. They also supplied all the items needed for living in those places.

Thanks to the managers’ generous support, the situation in the Esper Territory had improved beyond recognition in just a week.

At least, it seemed that way at first glance.

“…”

Standing in front of the western castle wall surrounding the Esper Territory, Kallos covered his face with one hand and let out a deep sigh.

Just by looking, the castle wall seemed flawless, and there appeared to be no problems. However, that was not the case.

A large hole had formed in the barrier surrounding the castle wall, large enough for three or four people to pass through.

If a hole appeared in the barrier, unauthorized individuals could enter or leave the territory without Kallos’s permission. Therefore, repairs had to be made as soon as possible.

The problem was…

Kallos’s gaze went down to his left leg.

Now, he was wearing long pants, so it wasn’t visible, but below the knee was translucent like a ghost.