"Maggie, aren't you going to introduce this little sister to me?" Eve asked with a hint of amusement.

She had heard about Macal carrying Ogre back.

The interaction between these two seemed to go beyond the usual relationship between colleagues, didn't it?

She even inquired about Macal from the stable hands—her beloved brother Macal almost got into a fight over this girl.

‘I need to see what kind of spell you've cast on Brother Macal that even Maggie is so protective of you.’ Eve clenched the hem of her clothes tightly behind her back.

She no longer saw this young girl as 'harmless.'

"Oh, you mean Geling... wait, where is she?"

Maggie turned her head to find that Ogre had somehow hidden behind her.

She turned around and caught the girl trying to avoid them.

"You know each other? Since when..."

Maggie looked at Ogre's behavior, then at Eve, who seemed a bit off, and connected the dots.

In an instant, Maggie's mind filled in the entire story—she had a knack for this kind of thing.

‘No way...’ Maggie turned to look at Eve again, realizing what had happened.

Though the truth might not match exactly, Maggie felt it wouldn't be far off.

She hadn't expected that Eve, whom her cousin had openly acknowledged as a 'brother,' would have such thoughts.

"Brother Macal introduced us," Eve said with an unchanged smile.

"Uh-huh..." Ogre nodded.

‘Seriously... the mess in the town hasn't been resolved, and now there's this emotional drama.’

Ogre found these women quite boring—they weren't concerned about why Macal had rushed back but were instead guessing this and that.

The worst part was, he couldn't extricate himself and couldn't even clear his name.

This made Ogre feel like he had tried to steal a chicken only to end up losing the bait.

He hadn't even started doing anything, so why had so many things happened?

‘Father was right... this face really is troublesome.’

"Um... I think, Sister Eve, you might have misunderstood Geling," Maggie said with a twitch at the corner of her mouth.

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Ogre had difficulty speaking, and with her cousin not around, she had become the scapegoat.

‘My brother is really unreliable, what's he up to?’ Maggie knew Macal was unreliable, but she hadn't expected him to be this unreliable.

‘Even Maggie is on her side now...’

Maggie's dilemma deepened Eve's preconceived notions about Ogre.

"Oh, come on, what misunderstanding could there be? I just want to know more about Miss Geling," Eve said with a sunny smile.

Three women make a play, and in some sense, that's not wrong.

Although Ogre wasn't a 'woman,' the atmosphere was set, and the play was still going to be performed.

A stage play doesn't care if you're cross-dressing.

‘Macal... you might as well prepare for the worst.’ Ogre sighed inwardly—he had tried his best to prevent Macal from digging his own grave.

But this guy was all muscles and Battle Qi, even dumber than Thrandic used to be, so there was really nothing he could do.

This made Ogre feel a bit guilty.

He felt somewhat sorry for Macal.

However, Ogre didn't think this would have much of a negative impact on Macal.

"No, Sister Eve, you must have misunderstood. Miss Geling only arrived in the village yesterday." Maggie was at a loss for words, feeling like the more she explained, the more complicated it got.

Because of the matchmaking between Ogre and her wooden-headed brother...

She was involved in that too.

However, Eve's next words were like a thunderbolt, almost knocking Maggie out.

"It's okay, I don't mind being the second—I just want to see how beautiful Miss Geling really is."

Even Maggie, who prided herself on being open-minded, was taken aback by Eve's words.

‘Sister Eve... what did you learn in the city, do city folks play like this?’

Of course, Maggie didn't dare say this directly—she wasn't that bold yet.

Maggie didn't immediately answer for Ogre but took a deep breath, trying to piece together her shattered worldview.

"Geling's face is injured, so... huh? Brother!" Just as Maggie was thinking of an excuse, she suddenly saw Macal.

"Brother Macal?" Eve immediately relaxed her tightly clenched hands behind her back and turned around.

Indeed, Macal had arrived.

But along with him came the High Priest—Fra the Great Cleric.

"Greetings, Great Cleric..." Maggie immediately bowed in respect.

"Greetings, Priest," Eve followed suit with a bow.

"No need for formalities; we are all children of God and should be equal," Fra responded with a slight smile.

"Maggie, Eve, the Great Cleric is here to see Priest Geling," Macal stated directly, revealing the purpose of their visit.

Upon hearing this, both Eve and Maggie's eyes narrowed slightly—though their thoughts were not the same.

‘So they came for me, after all.’ Ogre wasn't surprised; he would have been surprised if the Priest hadn't come to find him.

After all, he was the one who first discovered the problem in Rock Town.

Ogre just hadn't expected the Church of Dawn to bypass the hunters and come directly to him.

"Priest Geling, please," Fra gestured for Ogre to step aside for a private conversation.

He didn't question why Ogre was wrapped up like that, showing only his eyes.

"Uh-huh..."

Ogre nodded and followed Fra, leaving the makeshift drama behind.

He didn't plan to explain anything directly.

"Brother, Geling, she..." Maggie couldn't help but ask worriedly.

"The High Priest isn't a bad person, it's fine." This was what Macal used to reassure himself, and it worked just as well to reassure others.

"But this is still..." Maggie didn't finish her sentence with the word 'deception.'

"It's fine," Macal shook his head, indicating the topic could end there.

Then he turned to Eve: "Huh? Eve, why did you follow us?"

"I..."

Facing Macal, Eve's previous assertiveness crumbled instantly, leaving her at a loss for words.

She hadn't expected Macal to finish so quickly.

"Alright, brother, none of that matters now. You should catch up with Sister Eve," Maggie said, pulling the two of them closer together.

Macal's words had eased Maggie's worries.

Then, her lively mind quickly and naturally shifted to other matters: ‘Brother has no chance with a girl like Geling, but pairing him with Sister Eve might work...’

Unexpectedly, she had actually managed to bring the two of them together.

"Maggie, what are you doing!" Macal was the quickest to react, immediately pulling his hand away.

If Ogre hadn't told him about Eve's feelings, he wouldn't have cared about this.

But since Ogre had revealed that Eve liked him, it would be strange if Macal didn't react.

Eve's reaction wasn't as strong; she just turned her head, her face much redder than before.

"Not interrupting," Maggie stuck out her tongue, indicating her innocence.

"Maggie, stop it," Eve turned back, whispering a small reprimand.

But her head remained lowered.

She realized she might have misunderstood Maggie and Ogre...

"Eve..." Looking at the shy girl in front of him, Macal finally believed Ogre's judgment.

"Brother Macal..." Eve's emotions were in turmoil.

Courage is most effective the first time, and she wasn't prepared...

"Sigh..." Macal sighed, feeling frustrated—he hadn't expected his peaceful life to become entangled in such a mess.

In the end, he made a decision with a wry smile.

Things couldn't be dragged out any longer; it would only get more chaotic—and that would be irresponsible to Miss Geling.

"Eve, do you like me?"

Maggie/Eve: "Huh? Huh!"

...

Unlike Macal's straightforward approach, Ogre was facing a much bigger issue.

"How is Yato... is he alright?" After walking a while, Fra suddenly turned to Ogre and asked.

‘Who is that...’

Ogre remained silent for a moment, then nodded, thinking he might as well play dumb... just nod.

However, Fra's next words left Ogre unable to continue pretending: "You can actually speak, can't you, Miss Geling..."