Rose's face turned bright red, and Father chuckled. "Haha, it's okay. She is a close family friend's daughter. She came to visit us for the time being."

"Ohh, well, nice meeting you," Granny prompted for her name.

"Rose, ma'am."she replied

Hmm, I stared at Rose. I mean, she did look older than her age, but she had that 'mom look.' Maybe that's why, I guess. I couldn't explain it. Some girls did have those figures. I mean, it wasn't a bad look, but hmm, maybe she didn't like it.

Moments passed as it remained Father and I left to talk to Granny.

Father had taken Astraya upstairs to sleep, and Rose was taking a shower, mostly to relax and fall asleep as well. Father and I settled downstairs and took our seats.

Granny poured steaming tea into clay cups. "I had a hunch you wouldn't find where to stay, as I'm sure you realized why by now," she said, lowering herself into the chair opposite us.

"But why is he allowed to continue this behavior?" Father said, frustrated. "I would inform the mayor tomorrow. Something has to be done."

Granny replied with a smile as she stared back at him. Meanwhile, I was lost in the bliss of the tea. Damn, she sure knew how to make a killer tea. My taste buds were lost in a sea of bliss.

Morad's fish bowl was now set on the table.

"You care for that fish so much. I can see it in the way you carry him around. It's good; it allows children to appreciate life and responsibility," she observed, slightly going off topic.

As she looked at the fish bowl, bubbles crept out of Morad's gills—a sign he was alive.

But how long was he going to take? Like my boss always said in my previous world, sleep is for the weak. We had a lot of training to do. I was still the weakest with my binding chains. I'm sure Azazel must be laughing at me right now.

I took another slow sip of the tea, letting the warm, spicy bliss wash over me. It truly was a killer brew. As my tongue explored the flavor, Granny Maera turned her attention back to Father.

"Some folks around here… well, they aren't too fond of Manomancers, and Arcsaw is the most notorious of them all, but not just Manomancers—but anyone who isn't a believer of the Rainbow Sun."

"And you going to tell the mayor won't do anything, as Arcsaw has probably more influence than the mayor in this town."

Father frowned. "Why is that?"

Granny sighed, stirring her her tea slowly. "He makes a lot of money from merchants and travelers that come by Blackroot. After that major rainfall that went on for five days, travelers and merchants came pouring in. He made so much money he basically became the richest man overnight. Over the years, the mayor has mostly borrowed money from him and relies on him to pay our taxes to the state on time. He's… well, he's basically the rock that holds this town together."

Father nodded quietly, the weight of her words not lost on him, understanding the power Arcsaw might hold on this town.

As he said, "One thing Manyblood doesn't play around with is… taxes."

"Hmm, okay, but not like anything bad will happen, right, Father?"

He smiled and patted my head. "Well, yeah. But also, not paying tax as a town is considered a declaration of independence, ha ha! You won't get it yet." His face turned serious. "Even not paying on time was definitely a big no-no. Even the slightest delay..." His tone kept getting more serious. "They would immediately send the next available tax collector to your town, and usually, those guys are bad news. So, basically, he can do whatever he wants."

"Why is it that way?" I asked. "I mean, why were they going as far as saying that a town was declaring to be an independent kingdom? I mean, was it that serious?" I mean, come to think about it, you could be jailed back in my world for not paying taxes no matter where you are, huh. Sigh, I thought inwardly.

"And what was so scary about a tax collector? I mean, he's just a tax collector. Worst case, he brings soldiers or something…

Are tax collectors strong? Who are they?" I asked, intrigued.

Father replied, "It's not who. A tax collector is a responsibility that can be given to anyone in the Manyblood task force, as long as you're available—anyone in Manyblood's ranks. You just hope they don't send mages."

Granny, agreeing with him but not knowing about the "bad news" being tax collectors, said, "Aye, it does, and we should be paying in a few days, I think. But luck would have it, Arcsaw hasn't abused it to an extreme yet. The only major issue is his hate for non-believers, and some town folk support him, but many still hate how he doesn't understand how twisted his rules are, especially someone who owns an inn."

"We will be out of your hair as soon as possible, so we won't cause you any trouble, I promise."

Granny chuckled. "They already don't like me or ever take me seriously in this town. If you notice, many houses you passed to get to mine are empty .

Father touched his chin to be honest I did notice them but thought they had slept early

As granny added They first thought it was the forest behind my home and around taking the people, but their heads finally settled on a curse. But before they did everyone had change location .

To be fair Everyone was just looking for what would make sense of everything."

Father replied, "Truly, it's all up to the royal from Manyblood now, but I would do the best I can."

Granny pointed out her own wants. "Can't you help with this? We need as many smart and strong people as possible."

Father scratched the back of his head. "I might be a Manomancer, but I don't know. I really don't have expertise in this missing people issue and all.still many unknowns. it could be murders or stray out kidnapping or curse so many unknown especially when they don't see the body. He said trying to tell

"But it's something I have been looking into and will see what I can do." He continued, "I would try, but since Manyblood task force had sent someone, I can't interfere. Usually best to allow the task force to do their job. We must let him do his work."

"But one thing is sure: whoever or whatever is making people disappear is definitely in this town and has the intelligence to continuously keep the town functioning, almost running it like a farm in a weird, twisted way. People that would keep the town running haven't been affected."

"What do you mean, Father?" I asked, trying to piece his thoughts together.

"Well, think about it: it's been going on for four years and has never once disrupted the structure of power. I mean, look at Mr. Arcsaw; he hasn't disappeared, or the Mayor. It's almost like it's selecting based on its own requirements or something."

"But like I said, the best plan for now is to leave it to the royals."

All Father was saying was starting to get to me. After all that, he was just going to stand by? Father was too much of a follow-the-rules type of person. Me? I would investigate, but me as a four-year-old asking around would be bonkers. Best bet is to make Rose interested in this case, so I can use her to find what the heck is going on.

Granny then said, "These are the kind of things that would help solve this mystery. Please stay as much as you need. This is your home now. Staying in this town alone really weighs on you."

Father then asked a key question that solidified his claim, even one I hadn't realized: "How come Blackroot still has merchants and travelers come over? Aren't they worried they would go missing?"

She leaned back in her chair, her tone softening. "That was the thought on everyone's mind: what if a traveler finally goes missing? It never happens.

Outsiders don't go missing—only people of the town go missing…"—Father replied with a loud, "Hmm, interesting..."—her eyes glinted in the crystal light.

"…I don't know if this could be some kind of punishment for maybe someone in town offending a traveler," Granny Maera said sadly.

Father said, "That was my next guess, to be honest. Maybe a traveler cursed this town. At this point, nothing is impossible."

Granny, still unable to let the hope for her grandson's return die, said, "But that would mean it could be my grandson or the mayor's son that had something to do with it. Don't you think?"

Father reassured her. "It doesn't mean that. It's all speculation at this point," and referenced his initial point: "Let the royal be on the case."

Granny then turned to me. "Astraga? Looks like you're enjoying that tea."

"Ah, yes ma'am, I love it a lot."

"I added something to help relax. It was also my grandson's favorite," she said, pointing to his picture on a small table. She and him both smiled in the photo, but he looked much younger. I could see the missing poster of him beside it; it was quite a sad sight.

Wait, what did she mean she added something? I thought. Maybe it was a secret ingredient? No wonder it tasted so good.

But she turned to Father. "That still doesn't mean we don't warn travelers of the possibility they could go missing. We still don't understand why this is happening to us."

Father nodded. "Totally understand."

As they settled, she continued in a softer tone. "About the forest…."

I gave a large yawn; my body felt so weak. What? No, no, no! Sleep was toying with my eyelids. Crap, she gave me sleeping herbs or what? Not ready to sleep, I wanted to hear more.

Granny chuckled. "Looks like Astraga is ready for sleep. Let's go drop him so he can get a good night's rest," she said.

Father came over. "Sorry, little man, time for bed." As he lifted me onto his back, he said, "You and your sister are working my back overtime, ha ha!"

I weakly managed to say, "My forest… fish!"

Father chuckled, "Don't worry, I will bring him up to you. You have stayed up late enough."

As I lay on his back, I was losing the fight against sleep. "Sorry, Dad." His back was indeed so good to rest on. If there was one thing I loved about this world, it was the fact that I had a functional family. My father wasn't perfect, but he was way better than my previous one. Thanks to him, I could understand what a father-and-son bond was. I said with a low tone, "Thank you, Vulgabread."

Father didn't appear to hear what I said. All I could remember were footsteps and the final resting on the soft bed as Father kissed my forehead. "Sleep tight, Astraga. You're going to need it when she arrives."

"Will join you to sleep, have some things to discuss with Granny," Father said, walking downstairs.

I went into auto-pilot. My eyes shut, only my ears remained definite in the room. A strong wind blew against my ears.

That was when I heard it.

A whisper—faint but clear.

Hhhrrraaaahh..."I will be whole. I will be new."

"I will be whole . I will be new."