Uncle

After the girl ran away, the two looked at each other. It was only after the door to the cabin was slammed open and a man with a double-barreled shotgun came out menacingly that they realized the seriousness of the situation.

"Where did these little thieves come from, daring to touch my daughter?!" The man, with a face full of rough flesh, bared his teeth. The shotgun in his hand was already loaded with ammunition, as if he was going to blast any poor soul that dared to cross him into pieces the next second.

"Sorry, we just wandered in here by mistake." Taking advantage of the fact that the other party hadn't made a move yet, Ren quickly raised his hands. As he spoke, he also tugged on Kiana next to him, telling her not to be impulsive.

Kiana, who finally realized what was going on, quickly raised her hand to show that she meant no harm. However, the rancher did not think that just surrendering would let them off the hook. "Speak! Why did you come to my ranch! Why did you attack my daughter!"

"No, no, no, we didn't do anything to your daughter, she was just so focused on her painting that she didn't notice us." Ren quickly explained.

"So, you're saying it's my daughter's fault?" The middle-aged man clearly couldn't stand anyone saying anything bad about his daughter, and pointed the gun directly at Ren.

Just as things were about to get worse, a little head suddenly peeked out from behind the man. The blue-haired little girl tugged on her father's clothes, and shook her head at him. "I'm sorry, Daddy, I was too focused and didn't see them."

Hearing the little girl's voice, the man's fierce expression finally softened a little. He held the gun with one hand, and used the other to touch the little girl's head. "Don't be afraid, Little Griseo. Daddy knows you don't want to hurt anyone, but we have to question these people of unknown origin."

"Quick, tell me how you got in."

"We got lost…"

Before Ren could finish speaking, he was interrupted. The man held the gun right to his face. "Do you think I'm easy to fool? My ranch is surrounded by fences, it's laughable to say you got lost and somehow got through them."

Ren, who was at a loss, could only show a helpless expression. It seemed like no matter what he said, the man would not believe him.

"Daddy!" Griseo, hiding behind the man, walked forward and pulled on the man's clothes. "I'm going to get angry if you keep this up!"

The man, who had just had a fierce expression, immediately deflated. He glared at the two of them harshly, and finally put away the shotgun, crouching down to rub Griseo's head. "Don't be angry, Little Griseo, Daddy will let them go."

Ren and Kiana, who had sighed in relief, looked at each other, and slowly lowered their hands. At this moment, their stomachs rumbled at almost the same time.

"Uh…"

The man, who was still coaxing Griseo, suddenly turned his head and glared at them again.

What was it, not only had they trespassed into someone else's ranch, but they wanted to get a bite to eat before leaving?

He didn't say those words out loud, but Griseo, who had heard the sounds of their hungry stomachs, took the initiative to invite them to stay.

"Oh lost travelers, you may rest here for the night." She spoke like a poem, her paint-splattered dress fluttering in the wind.

The two of them were a little embarrassed. Although they were hungry, it was always a little awkward to freeload off of others. Although they were a little hungry...

"Then thank you, little miss." In the end, Ren was the more thick-skinned of the two, and agreed right away.

This naturally brought about strong dissatisfaction from the man, but after figuring out who the boss in this family was, Ren had learned to selectively ignore his threats.

"Wait, although Little Griseo agreed to let you stay here for the night, I still need to verify your identities. Take out your documents and let me see them." After seeing that there was no more room for negotiation, the man still relented, reaching out his hand for their documents.

This was natural, of course. Ren didn't refuse, and took out his ID.

"Su… Su Ren, that name sounds familiar." The man muttered to himself. After a while, he seemed to remember where he had heard that name, "Kid, is your father's name Su Lin?"

Ren was taken aback, and slowly nodded.

"So you're that guy's child, no wonder." After confirming Ren's identity, the man's expression immediately softened.

"How is your father doing?" The man asked hesitantly.

"May I ask who you are?"

"If we're going by generation, I should be considered your uncle."

…

They never expected that this ranch was actually run by Ren's uncle, Kiana was quite surprised. Because she had heard from Ren that his father had severed ties with his relatives in order to be with Ren's mother. Especially now, his father was a drunk and was in a state of utter disrepair. She had thought that they really had no contact left, but it seemed that was not the case.

Thanks to this connection, the freeloader situation suddenly became much more reasonable. However, her identity hadn't been explained yet, and the other party seemed to treat her as Ren's girlfriend, which made her a bit troubled.

But she didn't refute it. While the two men were chatting about the past of the family, Kiana was playing with Little Griseo. She could tell that Griseo really liked to paint, she was even holding her paintbrush while eating.

The ranch's mistress had not appeared, and Kiana knew better than to ask. Looking at the carefree Little Griseo, she suddenly missed her own father.

Siegfried Kaslana, the one who had given her the name Kiana, and also taught her how to grow into an honest person. In Sirin's previous mental interference, she constantly said that her name was just a tool for Siegfried to restrain the Herrscher of the Void.

But the current Kiana did not think so.

Kindness, honesty, the proof of being human, were all due to the existence of these good qualities. Even if in the end she really was just a substitute, just a test subject named K423, then everything she had experienced, all the people she had met, were real.

Thinking of this, she raised her head and secretly glanced at Ren's profile. That thin boy, he was the one who gave her the strength to break free from the Herrscher of the Void's vortex.

He was real, and that was enough.