Itâs apparent that the girlâs life might be a bit difficult, yet sheâs well taken care of by her mother.
She was covered with a small blanket, basking in the midday sunlight of early winter, seriously reaching into a basket, continuously taking out dried pea pods, skillfully shelling them one by one, and carefully placing them into a jar beside her.
This action would be naturally effortless and simple for an ordinary person, but for a blind little girl, it is not so easy.
Especially when placing the shelled peas into the jar, she needs to repeatedly touch the jar to find the mouth of it.
Somehow, seeing this scene instantly reminded Raine of the image of a blade of grass continuing to strive and grow under the weight of a stone.
Aside from faintly hearing the clatter of a manual loom shuttle moving back and forth inside the house, Raine also heard the girlâs murmuring:
"Why hasnât brother come back for so long this time?"
"Even an adventurer should take a rest, right?"
"I wanted to make his favorite pea rice for him, Iâve already shelled so many peas."
The girlâs sincere self-talk full of eager anticipation instantly moved Elise, who was inherently kind-hearted.
Her eyes turned red, her small lips pursed, and she spoke slightly choked to Raine in a low voice, "Mr. Rein, is this Robinâs sister? Sheâs so well-behaved itâs heart-wrenching!"
"Doesnât she know...."
Raine nodded and sighed, "She probably doesnât know, right, letâs not mention this for now, maybe when sheâs older, sheâll accept it better."
The girlâs mother probably hasnât told her about her brother Robinâs situation yet.
At this moment, Raine gently tapped on the fence gate and said in as soft a tone as possible, "Excuse me, is this Robinâs home? I am a friend of Robinâs."
"Ah, yes!" Hearing the call of a stranger, the girl became a bit flustered, dropping a few peas she was holding.
She could not care about picking up the peas, instead, she quickly turned her head to shout into the house, "Mama, brotherâs friend is here."
The sound of the loom came to an abrupt stop.
A middle-aged woman in a gray linen dress quickly walked out, her expression visibly tense.
Compared to the girl who was unaware of the situation, this mother clearly knew more.
Her son had died during an adventure.
It was said that a whole adventurer squad encountered an accident.
So why would someone still come?
Looking at the womanâs washed-out linen dress, the bloodshot eyes, and the haggard expression, Raine quickly determined that without Robin, maintaining a household with only a mother and daughter wasnât easy.
Initially, when Robinâs mother looked at Raine and Elise, her gaze carried some fear, especially seeing Raineâs intimidating spiked armor.
But when she saw Elise, wearing a priest robe and with a sweet and lovely appearance, she seemed to relax significantly.
This made Raine feel that bringing Elise here was indeed a wise decision.
After a brief exchange.
The humble woman warmly invited Raine and Elise to sit, while the girl timidly said in a soft voice, "Sister, are you my brotherâs friend?"
"Why hasnât brother come back?"
Upon hearing these words, Elise extended her delicate fingers, gently patting the girlâs somewhat callused hand and said, "Your brother has been busy, he specifically entrusted me to take you to Dorne City for eye treatment."
Meanwhile, Raine took out a money bag from his pocket, handed it to the woman, and said, "This is the money I owed Robin earlier, please be sure to accept it."
Raine had considered giving more, but having too much money might not be good for a woman who didnât have a strong power to protect herself, as it could provoke greed from others.
The bag contained mostly silver coins, with some gold coins, which should be enough for the womanâs daily needs for quite some time.
"This..." Feeling the heavy bag in her hands, the womanâs eyes grew moist.
Though not an adventurer, she was not naĂŻve, understanding full well that Raine was using the excuse of repaying a debt to give her the money.
"Please do accept it!" Raine said sincerely, gently patting the womanâs callused hands.
"Thank you! Thank you!" The woman wiped her tears, repeatedly expressing gratitude.
...
"Grace, you should go with this Miss Priestess to the Divine Hall."
Though leaving her mother made the little girl somewhat afraid, Eliseâs gentle voice and the warmth conveyed by her softly held hands soothed the girlâs fears.
She nodded and said, "Yes, Mom, Iâll come back to see you after my eyes are healed."
...
Half an hour later.
Watching the departing carriage, Raine stood for a long time.
If Robin hadnât been killed by the Gray Dwarves, this family would certainly be much more prosperous than it is now.
Unfortunately....there is no "if".
Raineâs thoughts were momentarily tangled, linking back from Robinâs death to the Gray Dwarves, and then to the Talin Association.
If it werenât for this Talin Association, the Gray Dwarves wouldnât have appeared beneath the Azure Mine, and if there were only Kobolds, Robin wouldnât have died.
Although Robin was a high-risk adventurer, it shouldnât have led to such an untimely accident.
Wouldnât it be great if those large forces and organizations spent more effort in doing human deeds and less in intrigue and power struggles, using their power to kill monsters instead?