Soon, all the children who went out to look for Carmel returned empty-handed, each looking dejected.
"Where did Mother go? I couldn't find her."
"There was nothing in my direction either."
"Nothing on my side."
Black Shadow spoke up uncharacteristically, drawing extra glances from the other children.
Hearing everyone's answers, Reno frowned, though he was sneering inwardly.
The corpse is probably almost digested by now. It would be strange if you could find her.
Reno glanced at Linlin, who had finished washing up, and said:
"Since that's the case, let's not wait for Mother. Let's start now."
"Okay! Okay!!"
Although everyone was a bit disappointed not to find Mother, the thought of eating delicious cake and tasty food immediately lifted their spirits, and they began to look forward to the party.
Linlin's birthday banquet soon began.
The super-giant cake Reno prepared moved Linlin almost to tears.
Because of her eating disorder, Reno had always controlled Linlin's diet, never letting her overeat.
The cakes she usually ate were small ones, and she never felt satisfied.
This was the first time she had seen such a huge cake.
"Thank you, Big Brother! You're the best!"
Sitting on the floor, Linlin nuzzled Reno affectionately.
"Alright, everyone don't just stand there. Let's start."
"I prepared drinks for everyone!!"
"I'll set the table!!"
The happy children quickly got busy and gave their prepared gifts to Linlin.
The whole process was full of joy.
Halfway through the banquet, everyone suddenly heard a booming sound coming from the distance.
The children looked over; it was Hajrudin.
"Hahahaha... Am I late??"
"Linlin, this is the birthday present I prepared for you!"
As her savior, Hajrudin naturally wouldn't miss Linlin's birthday party.
"Thank you, Hajrudin!"
Linlin accepted the gift happily, a blissful smile on her face.
"Eh?? Where's the Mother?? Where did she go?"
Hajrudin frowned, looking around.
It makes no sense for her to be absent on such an important day as Linlin's birthday, Hajrudin thought to himself.
"We don't know either. Mother went out early in the morning and hasn't come back yet. We don't know where she went."
"Maybe she got delayed by something."
Reno took a sip of juice and offered his guess.
"Is that so??" Hajrudin nodded, not suspecting anything.
"Then let the banquet continue."
Looking at the half-eaten giant cake, Hajrudin started drooling too.
"Come eat cake!"
The interrupted banquet resumed amidst everyone's laughter and joy.
The pleasant birthday party ended in the evening. Everyone had a great time surrounding the birthday girl, Linlin.
Even the usually reticent Black Shadow smiled a bit more.
However, the only thing worrying everyone was that a whole day had passed, and Carmel still hadn't returned.
It was as if she had vanished.
The Next Day.
"She hasn't returned for a whole day??"
Listening to the children's chattering descriptions, it took Chieftain Jorul a while to understand what had happened.
"Something like this has never happened before."
"Don't worry. I'll have the giants help you look for her. As long as she's still on Elbaf, we'll definitely find her."
Looking at the worried faces of the children before him, the heartbroken Jorul promised.
"Thank you, Grandpa Jorul!"
"With the help of the giant warriors, we'll definitely find Mother."
The children naturally assumed that this would guarantee finding Carmel.
On the first day, all the giant warriors who went out searching returned empty-handed.
On the second day, Chieftain Jorul sent more men to search deeper, but there was still no result.
On the third day...
Ten days passed.
For a full ten days, the children of the House of Lambs and a large number of giant warriors searched every corner of Elbaf, deep in the forests, and places they had never set foot in before.
But the result was still nothing. Carmel seemed to have vanished into thin air.
"Chieftain, we've searched for ten days and haven't found a trace of Mother. I suspect..."
The giant warrior Hulk stopped mid-sentence, leaving the rest unspoken.
But the meaning he wanted to convey was self-evident.
They knew Carmel's nature well; she would absolutely never leave without saying goodbye, especially disappearing for such a long time.
That left only one possibility.
"Sigh—"
Jorul sighed helplessly. How could he not know?
But who would dare to kill someone in the territory of the giants?
Especially a nun who treated children kindly and had never offended anyone.
From beginning to end, Jorul was unwilling to think in the worst direction.
"Waaaaah... Are we never going to see Mother again??"
"Mother is missing! We can't find Mother!!"
"I want Mother!!"
Realizing that Carmel might have met with an accident, the children, who were prone to tears, burst out crying.
"Children, don't cry. Things aren't as bad as you think. Maybe the Nun really has something to attend to and can't appear for the time being."
"Rest assured, as long as she hasn't been found, we won't give up."
With Chieftain Jorul's comfort, the children quieted down a bit, sobbing softly.
"Chieftain Jorul, I am very sad about Mother Carmel, but Linlin and I have been here for a long time. We plan to leave tomorrow."
Reno, who had returned empty-handed like everyone else, walked up to Jorul and announced his decision.
During this period, he and Linlin had followed everyone into the forest to search for Carmel.
In this matter, he had done all that duty required.