Still in the same market, the once chaotic noise had now dropped like a crashing stock. No one paid attention to the robber anymore; everyone simply returned to their own lives as if nothing had happened.
It felt strange, yet somehow fitting. Once everything was over, this robbery would just become a topic of casual conversation for the next two or three days.
As for the robber, he was simply left lying on his side in the middle of the market.
His knife had been kicked away by someone, sliding far from his reach.
"Are we really just leaving the robber like that?" Icam asked, glancing at him still sprawled out.
"I wanna lie down too!!" Alif exclaimed enthusiastically, immediately dropping to the ground near the robber.
The little boy, a former hostage, could only stare blankly, his mind completely empty as he watched Alif suddenly lie down.
A few concerned adults gave the child gentle pats on the shoulder, their presence gradually fading away.
The old woman smiled in relief, lifting and adjusting her shopping bag as she prepared to leave.
"You did great, Yas. That was a smart idea saving this grandma!" Icam praised.
Iyas responded in confusion.
"Huh? Heh? Ohh…"
Alif stood back up, scratching his back slightly, walking heavily as if climbing a mountain.
"Ouch, why does my back hurt? I just jumped and lay down," he said.
Icam glanced at Alif and casually replied, "Don't care," before turning back to the old woman with a smile.
"Hehehe… Grandma… you okay? Hehehe…"
The old woman turned her face slightly, her body trembling with age.
"I'm fine… I'm fine, dear…"
"Haha, of course you're fine, you're walking," Iyas said bluntly.
"Right, Grandma?" Iyas asked.
"Yes…" the old woman replied softly.
"See?! Huuuuh!" Iyas mocked, raising his hand as if teasing.
The former hostage child watched them with a mix of cynicism and confusion.
"What's wrong with these guys?" he thought.
The old woman gently moved her fingers, signaling someone to follow. She slowly turned around, her steps fragile and unsteady.
The child quietly followed, still too confused by the strange people in front of him to say anything.
Then—
Iyas approached the old woman, followed by Icam and Alif, blocking her path.
"Grandma, want me to carry that for you?" Iyas offered sincerely, even bowing slightly while extending his hand.
Icam and Alif just stood there smiling, lining up beside him as the market noise began to rise again.
"Grandma, do you wanna be my girlfriend?" Alif suddenly blurted out, making the little boy widen his eyes in disbelief.
"Hey?! Why am I standing in line with you guys? I'm the leader! A leader doesn't extend his hand—unless someone else does first!" Icam declared, lifting his head as his smile turned serious.
"Hoho… good boys…" the old woman murmured gently.
The trio looked at her with different expressions.
The old woman then handed her shopping bag to Iyas, who stepped closer.
Iyas crouched down, turning his back to her.
Without warning, he grabbed both of her legs and lifted her onto his back.
The shopping bag almost slipped, but Icam quickly caught it. The little boy had actually been about to grab it as well.
Alif just smiled.
Icam rummaged through the bag.
"What's all this, Grandma?" he asked, casually inspecting it without manners.
The old woman chuckled softly and looked at him.
"Those are ingredients for soup."
After looking inside, Icam glanced at her again.
"Then just give it to me, Grandma."
Alif just smiled.
"Haha, be patient… I have plenty at home… You can take some there… dear…" the old woman replied gently, refusing with kindness.
"Then I'll just take your house instead," Icam added absurdly.
The old woman simply laughed and smiled, holding tightly onto Iyas.
Iyas began walking, carrying her without hesitation. Some people in the market stared at him.
"Grandma, these guys are weird," the child said.
"You shouldn't say that about your rescuers, dear…" the old woman replied softly.
"But this one is especially weird," the child insisted.
Icam suddenly interrupted, approaching them mid-conversation.
"Yeah, super weird. I totally agree with you, Grandma, the rescuer is really weird," he said quickly, misunderstanding who said it.
"Huh?" the child said in confusion.
"Huh? What? What were we even talking about?" Icam asked as he walked alongside Iyas.
Without realizing it, they had taken several steps. The noise of the market gradually faded.
The old woman's house was now very close.
They all stopped.
"This is my house," the old woman said.
"Which one?" Alif asked, looking far away instead of at it.
"This one!!" Icam shouted, pointing directly at the house.
"Ohhh, I thought it was something else, hehe," Alif said awkwardly.
Iyas gently set the old woman down. Icam still held the shopping bag, intending to bring it inside.
But the little boy rushed over, reaching out to take it back.
Icam glanced at him.
"You look malnourished."
"Begging again, huh?"
"Hey! That's my grandma's bag! Give it back! I'll carry it!" the child protested.
"Wait, it's not for us?" Alif asked innocently.
"OF COURSE NOT!" the child snapped.
"Then the house is for us?" Alif continued.
"That's not it either! It's still Grandma's house!" the child insisted firmly, throwing a justified little tantrum.
"If the bag's not for us, and the house isn't… then what is?" Icam asked.
Alif suddenly acted up, smiling widely, drooling slightly.
"Ululululu! Huhuu huhu!!"
The old woman and the child stared at him in confusion.
Suddenly, Alif stopped, returning to a sincere smile, ready to leave.
"Alright, see you, Grandma."
"Wait… Grandma will give you a reward for saving her son's life."
"Your grandchild, Grandma," the grandson corrected.
"Ohh yes, my grandchild," she corrected herself.
"The reward is in the backyard…"
She walked toward the house, with Iyas and Alif following.
"Hooray, land!" Icam cheered.
THEN—
"Well… it really is land," Alif said.
The trio stood in the backyard, which turned out to be a small vegetable farm, the plants still rooted firmly in the soil.
"Playing with dirt, not bad. I could conquer the world through land trading!"
The old woman looked a bit embarrassed.
"Ah… I thought everything had already been harvested…"
"Harvest your position?" Icam said randomly.
"Just take whatever you need. I'll cook some vegetable soup," she said softly.
The grandson stood nearby, about nine meters away, watching them closely.
"Why not cook something else, Grandma? Vegetable soup is boring," Alif complained.
"Hey! You're being given something and still asking for more, primitive," Iyas snapped, even tapping Alif's shoulder.
"Did you forget our goal?" Iyas added.
"What's our goal again?" Alif asked.
"I don't know," Iyas replied casually.
Iyas grabbed a hoe nearby, ready to work.
"Wait, this is farming!" Icam said, looking around.
"Stop talking nonsense. Let's work," Iyas said.
He began digging enthusiastically, each swing as if trying to reach the Earth's core.
"Isn't one hole enough?" Icam asked.
"If it's just one, we'll only get one vegetable," Iyas replied seriously.
"Wait… we're planting?" Icam said.
Alif crouched down, digging into the soil with his hands.
"Hey! There's something here!" he suddenly shouted.
Icam rushed over. "What? Treasure? Government documents?"
"Better…" Alif said.
He pulled something out—a strange, long, pale green vegetable… just like the one Kirios had shown.
Everyone went silent.
Iyas stopped digging.
Icam squinted. "…Isn't that…?"
Alif raised it high. "THIS IS IT!! THE 8 KG VEGETABLE!!"
"That's not necessarily 8 kg, idiot!" Icam snapped.
Iyas took it and weighed it in his hands.
"Hmm… light," he said honestly.
"Of course it's light, it's just one!" Icam replied.
Alif looked back at the ground, eyes sparkling.
"Then… we just need more…"
Icam grinned. "Ohhh… so it's not one that's 8 kg…"
Iyas added, "But many that add up to 8 kg…"
They looked at each other.
A slow smile formed.
"Let's go."
Without hesitation, they got to work.
Iyas dug aggressively.
Alif used his hands.
Icam… supervised, occasionally kicking dirt to look busy.
It didn't take long before they gathered several vegetables—some crooked, some split in two.
Icam gathered them in one spot.
"Alright, now we weigh them."
"How?" Alif asked.
They all fell silent.
Iyas looked left… right… then pointed at himself.
"I can feel the weight."
"Since when?" Icam asked suspiciously.
"Since just now."
"…"
Icam sighed. "Fine, try it."
Iyas lifted all the vegetables at once.
His face remained flat.
"Still not enough."
"How much more?" Alif asked.
Iyas thought hard. "…Half a hunger."
"WHAT KIND OF MEASUREMENT IS THAT?!" Icam shouted.
Suddenly, soft footsteps approached.
"Ahem…"
They turned.
The old woman stood there, holding a large bowl of steaming hot soup.
"Did you get your vegetables, dear?" she asked gently.
Icam stood straight. "Yes, Grandma! We even helped harvest!"
She looked at their pile.
Silent.
"…Those… aren't ripe yet…" she said softly.
"Ripe?" Alif repeated.
"They're still seedlings…" she continued.
Silence fell instantly.
Iyas slowly lowered the vegetables.
Icam froze.
Alif just smiled.
"So… we have to wait, right?"
The old woman nodded slowly.
"Yes… about… three months…"
A gentle breeze passed.
Icam turned to Iyas. "Return the hoe."
"Got it," Iyas replied, dropping it immediately.
Icam looked at Alif. "Let's go back to the market."
Alif nodded seriously. "Agreed. Let's find the grown ones."
Iyas raised his hand. "But… what about the soup?"
They all looked at the bowl.
Silence.
Alif stepped forward. "…It's okay if we taste a little, right?"
TBC, Tubercolusis.
I mean, To Be Continued.