“What’s going on here?” Sarah asked. “Why are all of you here?”

“M-My lady, your daughter picked up a Monster and is calling it her friend,” Marie reported. “We are just trying to take the Monster away from her, but she ran away. I had to call the Guards in order to help me deal with the Slime that is threatening the young lady’s life.”

Sarah frowned and glanced at the slime in Leah’s hands.

When she saw that the Baby Slime wasn’t doing anything to hurt her daughter, the worry in her heart decreased. Also, a single glance was enough to tell that her youngest daughter was doing her best to shield the Monster from harm, so Sarah decided to handle this personally.

“I’ll take over from here,” Sarah stated as she walked towards Leah with steady steps. “All of you return to your duties.”

Although they were reluctant, the Maids and the Guards obeyed, and left together.

When only Sarah, Leah, Eiko, and her eldest child, Alexa, were left, peace once again returned inside the Ousborne residence.

“Leah, my love, where did you find your new friend?” Sarah crouched down and asked her daughter.

“I found her in the garden,” Leah replied. “Her name is Eiko. Isn’t she cute?”

Leah no longer hid Eiko and showed her to her Mama with a big smile on her face.

“Hi!” Eiko said, which made Sarah arch an eyebrow.

This wasn’t the first time she had seen a talking Monster. In fact, her father and mother had raised a Great Wolf back in their Ancestral Residence and taught it how to talk.

“Hello, Eiko. How are you?” Sarah asked.

“I’m fine,” Eiko replied. “Let’s talk!”

“Oh? You want to talk to me?”

“Yes!”

“What do you want to talk about?”

Eiko didn’t answer right away. Instead she spat something out, which Sarah caught by reflex.

The beautiful woman’s eyes widened in shock after seeing the golden pendant in her hand. Its design was very familiar, and it made her heart start to beat rapidly inside her chest.

Using her thumb, she deftly pried it open, and a projection appeared, showing her, and her daughters smiling back at her.

This familiar image made Sarah’s heart skip a beat, and she looked at the Baby Slime on her daughter’s hands with a solemn expression on her face.

“You said you want to talk, right?” Sarah gripped the pendant firmly in her hand.

“Yes,” Eiko replied. “Important talk!”

Sarah closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down. When she finally regained her composure, she patted Leah’s head, and the little girl looked up at her in confusion.

“Leah, I need to talk with Eiko for a while,” Sarah said. “We need to talk in private. Are you fine with that?”

“Can the two of us play after you finish talking?” Leah asked. Her blue eyes held a tinge of anxiety in it because she didn’t know if her Mama would hurt her new friend or not.

“Of course you can. Isn’t that right, Eiko?”

“Un! Play with Leah later!”

Seeing that the Baby Slime had assured her that both of them would play later, Leah finally passed Eiko to her Mama, and took a step back.

“Thank you, Leah,” Sarah said as she stood up. “I’ll talk with Eiko for a bit. You go with your sister Alexa for the time being.”

Sarah didn’t even wait for her daughter’s reply and entered her room with Eiko without another word.

After closing the door, she activated the sound proofing spell to prevent anyone from hearing her talk with Eiko.

“Okay, Eiko, let’s talk,” Sarah said as she placed the Baby Slime on top of the table. “What happened to my husband? Why do you have his pendant?”

The baby slime looked up at the beautiful woman and nodded her head.

“Wait!” Eiko replied. “Papa will talk to you!”

Eiko didn’t bother to answer Sarah’s question because she had already decided to let her Papa handle the rest.

The Baby Slime opened her mouth wide, and spat out a red-headed teenager, which made Sarah summon her sword in preparation to strike.

“Wait!” Lux hurriedly said, raising both of his hands in surrender. “I came here because Great General Garret has an important message to tell you.”

Sarah’s sword was only a foot away from Lux’s face, and a simple thrust would be enough to pierce through his head.

“Start talking,” Sarah stated. “If I don’t like what you’re going to say, I’ll kill you.”

Although Sarah looked like a harmless housewife, she was in fact a warrior who had fought battles alongside her husband Garret.

Lux was taken aback when he realized that the woman before him was actually a C-Ranker, several leagues stronger than him.

Of course, if he were to fight seriously, he was confident that he would be able to gain the upper hand. However, he didn’t go to the Ousborne residence to fight.

“Instead of me talking, it will be best if you let Garret talk to you personally,” Lux replied while taking a round mirror out of his storage ring and holding it over his chest, reflecting Sarah’s face on its surface. “Sir Garret, your wife is here.”

As soon as Lux said those words, the surface of the mirror began to blur. A moment later, a wrinkled old man with clouded eyes appeared in the mirror.

Sarah’s hand slowly rose up until it covered her lips.

Although this was her first time seeing the old man, she was certain that it was none other than her beloved husband, whom she hadn’t seen for nearly two weeks.

—————

While this was happening, the teleportation gate of the capital city of the Haca Dynasty, Aspen, glowed brightly.

A few seconds later, a dozen men appeared, making those that were watching over the Teleportation Gate gasp in surprise.

“Finally, I’m back,” Ronan muttered as he glanced at the Castle in the distance. “I’ll go first to see His Majesty. After that…”

The Commander of the Vanguard shifted his attention to a large manor that was located within the first layer of the Noble District.

‘I’ve waited many years for this, Sarah,’ Ronan thought as the image of the woman he loved for a very long time appeared in his head. ‘Finally, you will belong to me.’