Five minutes later, Liam finished his meal first, leaving them both stunned and incredulous that it had taken him only five minutes to finish everything.
Liam stood up, pushed his chair back, and walked over to the sink with two plates, washing them immediately under running water.
The clock showed 6:00 p.m.
The three of them had finished eating before nightfall, but afterwards something made them feel uneasy. They wondered why their mother had not come home at this hour, and according to the market activities in the town square as traders, she should have been back home in thirty minutes or so.
At 5:15 PM, according to Mayor Novewilian Alistair's policy, vendors in the town square had to pack up their goods and return home by 5:40 PM at the latest.
But this time was different; they felt like something had happened to their mother and the other vendors.
Isabelle told her two brothers that if their mother was going to be late or wanted to go somewhere after returning from the market, she always told her before leaving for the market.
Hearing this, Liam and Ren thought of something else, choosing to wait for fifteen minutes, and if the appointed time had passed, they would both immediately start searching.
But Isabelle did not agree with the plan. Rashly, she did not follow her brother's advice and wanted to look for her mother alone.
Liam saw Isabelle quickly climb the stairs, running towards the room as if she was looking for something.
"Ren, stay down here! I'll stop her from doing something stupid."
Ren nodded, and then Liam climbed the stairs and walked towards his sister's room.
After all, after seeing what happened earlier that afternoon, going out at night was very foolish. He didn't know what was out there. But it seemed like there was no harm in trying..
Liam sighed softly.
He stood staring at the closed door, hearing the sound of objects touching each other. Liam raised his hand, about to touch the door, but then he changed his mind because he no longer heard the sound.
"What are you doing in there?" he asked, trying to stop his sister from doing something reckless.
There was no answer. Liam only heard his own breathing and the sound of the kettle below.
"Answer me! Why are you silent?" he asked again as he placed his right hand on the door handle.
He sighed and shook his head, not knowing what was going through his younger brother's mind. Liam turned around, walked away from his room, went down the stairs and approached Ren.
"So, have you found the answer?" asked Ren, watching Liam descend the stairs.
"I don't know what he's thinking right now," he replied casually, continuing on his way.
"...."
Ren walked towards the stairs, telling Liam to get ready while he went to get something from his room that he thought would be useful for this search.
Nodding, Liam walked towards the room, looking for his coat and not forgetting to bring the silver revolver, hiding it between his trousers and shirt.
The two waited in the living room, while Liam fastened his watch, staring intently at the hands.
"It's been fifteen minutes," said Liam as he closed his watch and put it in his trouser pocket.
Ren nodded. "Let's hurry to the town square."
The two of them left the house, while Isabelle peeked at them from the side of the upper floor wall, clenching her fists, praying that her mother would be found and return home.
"You are the God Auneron, the bringer of good fortune, so please help them find my mother," Isabelle whispered, turning and walking back to her room.
The sun set behind the horizon, replaced by the soft glow of the blue moon shining across the world. The stars twinkled in the sky, slowly dispelling the tension of the night and replacing it with a gentle calm.
Half an hour had passed since they left the house, and now the two of them were walking slowly towards the town square, observing their surroundings and calming their minds after overcoming several obstacles on the road.
This afternoon, or more precisely this evening, they did not find any horse-drawn carriages passing by on their way to the town square. Yes, it was true that Xirc's operations ran from early morning until five in the afternoon, and they knew that.
Whether they liked it or not, they had no choice but to walk hundreds of metres from their home in the Chapena district.
Their journey was interrupted by unexpected events. They saw a box moving on its own as if someone were carrying it, and they also saw a crowd of people, but when they got closer, they found no one there.
They witnessed it twice. They knew about it, especially since several other residents in the town of Moran often experienced these supernatural occurrences.
Moreover, the mysterious deaths made Liam's heart feel as though it were being sliced hundreds of times by a sharp knife, thinking about what his mother might be going through in her mind.
He shook his head, trying to dispel those negative thoughts. Upon hearing the word "mother," Liam suddenly remembered his family back on Earth. But at that moment, he was in a foreign world with his new family.
He fully rejected the idea, but deep down, Liam did not want to lose his loved ones again. He would do everything in his power to find his mother and bring her home.
Ten minutes later, about a hundred metres away, Liam and Ren were startled by a crowd of people, accompanied by shouts and anger.
"Is that the work of evil spirits again?" Ren said softly, turning to Liam.
Unexpectedly, his younger brother's face suddenly turned pale. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his eyes widened as if he had seen something inexplicable.
"What's wrong with you?" Ren asked in panic.
"Damn it, don't talk so much. Let's go there!"
Ren, of course, did not know what his younger brother had seen, so he chose to follow Liam, who was running towards the crowd.
When they arrived, they were shocked by the unpleasant sight. Fruit was scattered everywhere, and there were drops of blood surrounding the fountain in the square.
The pond had turned red from the blood. The situation became tense, with murmurs of people heard everywhere.
Liam, who already had a bad feeling, realised that what he had been thinking about had come true. He immediately fell to the rocky ground, covering his face with his hands.
He didn't know what to do, thinking that his arrival in this body had brought disaster, especially to the people he knew. Meanwhile, Ren just glanced at him with a cold expression.
Without saying a word, he moved towards the three men standing before him, seeking information about what was happening here.