On the first basement level of Aklatia, there was an employee cafeteria. No employees would be there at this hour, so Qianchun had deliberately chosen the time to host a gathering for Night Frost.

“It’s a shame we can only make do here.”

After Night Frost returned, Qianchun began planning a dinner with the people Night Frost knew. Unfortunately, many restaurants were still closed because of the invasion a few days ago.

So Qianchun had no choice but to buy some ingredients and cook everything herself.

“Need some help?”

Chen Xiaoyin put on an apron. Before Qianchun could refuse, she picked up a cooking pot.

Chen Xiaoyin had originally been patrolling the border. But when she heard Night Frost had returned, she rushed back without stopping and handed Blade a leave request.

This was what Blade had said at the time:

【You’re already back. Why are you submitting a leave request? Things should be peaceful for a while. Have fun.】

Blade approved Chen Xiaoyin’s leave. Around noon, Chen Xiaoyin went to find Qianchun.

At that time, Qianchun hadn’t prepared a thing. With Chen Xiaoyin’s help, they finally bought all the ingredients they needed.

Qianchun heated the wok and poured in oil, then added scallions and ginger to bring out their fragrance.

She hadn’t cooked for several months, so her hand felt a little rusty. Chen Xiaoyin was no different.

When Qianchun added the carrots, she failed to control the heat properly. The meat turned a little tough and slightly burnt.

Still, it tasted pretty good.

The carrot-and-pork stir-fry unexpectedly became the sacrifice that helped Qianchun recover her cooking instincts.

After the two of them busied themselves for a while, they finally filled two entire tables with food.

“Isn’t this a bit too much? I remember you only invited the dean, Hao Wenqian, and me.”

No matter how Chen Xiaoyin looked at it, the food seemed excessive. Even if they counted all the children from the orphanage, they might not be able to finish everything.

“Aren’t those little sorceresses here too?”

Chen Xiaoyin knew Night Frost had returned, but she hadn’t met her. Instead, she had gone straight to the border.

There was a mountain of trouble waiting for her there.

For example, there were Kapus’s younger brother and the mercenaries’ bodies to deal with. She had also been handling tasks like receiving supply shipments.

Chen Xiaoyin was the bold yet careful type, which made her quite popular with Blade.

If Qianchun hadn’t invited her, Chen Xiaoyin probably wouldn’t have had even the slightest thought of coming back.

She had only heard that Night Frost had brought back quite a few Magic Maidens. Judging by her reaction, though, she hadn’t really taken the matter to heart.

Qianchun’s reminder jogged her memory.

Night Frost really had brought back quite a few little sorceresses. Apparently, they weren’t very old.

Chen Xiaoyin’s curiosity was piqued. As it happened, she wanted to meet those little sorceresses herself.

Qianchun had arranged for them to stay in Aklatia’s employee dormitory.

The dormitories held four people per room. Aside from the language barrier, the girls were living quite comfortably.

“Hello, big sister… We’ve been lealning the language here lecently—” Keti stammered, biting her tongue. “Though we still aren’t very pwacticed—”

Keti had opened the door. She seemed to have quite a talent for languages.

She had learned Dragon Tongue and Elven Tongue almost instantly. She was also picking up the language of the surface world quickly.

Of course, talent alone couldn’t possibly let her speak a complete sentence in such a short time.

In Qianchun’s eyes, Keti was simply very interested in all these languages.

Perhaps her talent, combined with her interest, had driven her to study hard. That was probably why she could speak the surface language after such a short time.

She still wasn’t very fluent, but it was already impressive.

To communicate with the little sorceresses, Li Dogegg had been stationed nearby.

Qianchun called Li Dogegg over and tried to exchange a few words with Keti.

“You’re already doing great. Make sure to rest well while you study. I hope that, one day, we can speak to each other in the same language.” (Dragon Tongue)

Qianchun gently patted Keti on the head.

She remembered how, on the second day after Night Frost brought Keti back, she had struggled to explain the meaning of the words “small fry.”

Those weren’t words of greeting. They had been Night Frost’s prank.

Keti had been dejected for a long time after learning the truth. No amount of comfort from Qianchun had helped.

Yet the moment Night Frost arrived, the little girl quieted down.

Qianchun began to wonder if she was really that bad at comforting people.

Chen Xiaoyin looked at the little sorceresses inside the room.

To her, they weren’t much different from the children at the orphanage. If only they could understand one another, they should be able to play together, right?

“Come on. There’s good food today.” (Dragon Tongue)

After Li Dogegg finished speaking, its eyes widened.

Night Frost had delicious food and hadn’t invited it?

It was going to throw a fit!

Ever since arriving in the Twelfth District, Li Dogegg had eaten thin porridge and salty pickles every day. Its mouth had practically gone numb from the blandness.

Now that there was a feast, Night Frost still hadn’t invited it.

How utterly outrageous!

“I’m going too! I’m going too—”

Li Dogegg kept making a fuss beside everyone.

Suddenly, a pair of hands reached toward its neck and squeezed it into Mana motes.

Night Frost had heard Li Dogegg causing a racket from far away and thought something had happened.

After learning the truth, Night Frost understood why Li Dogegg was making such a fuss.

The creature had been eating poorly and sleeping hungry lately. Then it heard there was good food, only to discover that Night Frost hadn’t brought it along.

Night Frost had considered bringing Li Dogegg.

But she thought its appearance might frighten the dean and the little ones, so she decided against it.

“Next time. I’ll treat you to a feast next time…”

Come to think of it, they would be heading to the Order Keeper headquarters in a few days.

There were plenty of resources there. It wasn’t as cramped as the Twelfth District, so Li Dogegg should be able to eat to its heart’s content.

“That’s a promise!”

Li Dogegg reappeared and ran back to the cozy little nest Aklatia had built for it.

Once it was gone, Night Frost let out a long sigh of relief.

“Big Sister Night Frost—”

Keti leaped forward and hugged Night Frost.

Night Frost was a little surprised. Keti’s sentence in the surface language had been remarkably clear.

She couldn’t help praising the little girl a few more times.

Keti basked in the praise, practically floating with pride.

“I brought the dean and the others over.”

While Night Frost had been away, she had gone to the temporary shelter, found the dean and Hao Wenqian, and brought them here.

To be honest, Aklatia’s eastern district was quite far away. The drive had taken half a day.

There was nothing they could do about it.

The road had only just been repaired, but it had been destroyed in the chaotic battle between Night Frost and the others of Chapter Three.

They had stopped and started all along the way, wasting quite a bit of time.

“Hello, Grandma~”

Qianchun greeted the dean.

Chen Xiaoyin, meanwhile, pounced on the children behind the dean and immediately joined them in their games.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s—eat!”

“Yay!”

Night Frost looked at the little ones who had followed Qianchun toward the dining tables.

Those brats really knew how to cause trouble.

But this was nice too, wasn’t it?

In her eyes, this was what home felt like.

“Come on~” (Dragon Tongue)

Night Frost took Keti’s hand.

Fertini followed nervously behind her, leading the other children to sit at a separate table.

“Don’t be nervous. Just think of this as your own home. Of course, even if I say that, you’re bound to be nervous.” (Dragon Tongue)

Night Frost tried to reassure her.

“I’m so jealous of Keti. She learned the surface language so quickly and can already get along with those little ones. I wish I could communicate with you all too, but I really have no talent for learning it.” (Dragon Tongue)

“Oh, am I talking too much? You’re the guest of honor tonight, after all. Thanks for listening to me complain.” (Dragon Tongue)

Night Frost drank her cola without a care.

She had promised Andi that she would take good care of Fertini and the others. Getting to know them better was a good thing, too.

“Let’s work hard together. We still have a long future ahead of us.” (Dragon Tongue)

“Of course! I’m not that easy to knock down!” (Dragon Tongue)

Night Frost stood up and raised her plastic cup. She gently clinked it against Fertini’s.

“This is one of the surface world’s customs, too. Enjoy yourself tonight. The food is pretty good.” (Dragon Tongue)

Fertini silently committed that to memory.

Then she began eating with the little sorceresses beside her.

The food wasn’t particularly delicious. It was only ordinary home cooking.

Yet, somehow, two trails of tears appeared on Fertini’s face.

The flavor was strangely similar to Andi’s cooking.

She couldn’t help remembering Andi’s final words to her—

【Your tears are for yourself.】

Fertini turned her head and quietly wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.

Then she chatted and laughed with the little sorceresses, speaking of the past and looking toward the future.

After making sure Fertini was all right, Night Frost sat down beside the dean.

It had been a long time since she last saw her.

The previous time had been… well, the time before this one.

Night Frost had experienced too much. Reuniting with these familiar people felt like returning from another lifetime.

She swept her gaze across everyone at the table.

Then she noticed several familiar faces were missing.

Night Frost lowered her eyes in silence. The faces of those children surfaced in her mind.

She already knew.

She had known since they were in the car.

They were dead.

A few days ago, Blood—the Chapter Three intruder—had invaded the shelter. She had torn open an Abyssal Rift, and the Monsters inside had feasted on them.

Damn it!

Night Frost clenched her fists.

“Dear, even after becoming like this, you still can’t hide what you’re thinking…”

On the way there, Night Frost had confessed her identity to Hao Wenqian and the dean.

She was Lingchen Yao. She had only become this way because of certain circumstances.

Hao Wenqian hadn’t been able to accept it at first. She had nearly stripped Night Frost naked to check whether she really was Lingchen Yao.

To get revenge for Hao Wenqian’s impudence, Night Frost had called Qianchun and asked her to add extra green peppers to the food.

Now Hao Wenqian was close to tears as she picked through the green peppers in her bowl.

If only she had believed Night Frost right away. Then she wouldn’t have to eat all these peppers.

Another thing that had made Night Frost furious during the journey was learning from Hao Wenqian that Blade had erected a tombstone for her.

It claimed that she was dead.

Night Frost was so angry that she planned to cause a scene about it another day.

Relying on the dean’s affection for her, Night Frost kept putting green peppers into the dean’s bowl.

As the peppers piled higher and higher in her bowl, Hao Wenqian wished she could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

In the end, Qianchun stepped in to smooth things over.

She brought Hao Wenqian a plate of fried rice without any green peppers.

All the peppers in the bowl were left for Night Frost to deal with.

“I don’t know what you’ll have to face. But if you want to do it, then go ahead.”

“Just make sure you come back alive.”

“And if you have nowhere else to go, this will always be your home.”

Night Frost’s body stiffened.

The dean’s wrinkled cheeks broke into a smile. She placed a hand on Night Frost’s head and gently stroked it.

Just like when Night Frost was little.

Whenever someone bullied her, the dean had comforted her in exactly the same way.

“Yeah… I will. I’ll come back.”