The morning rain seemed reluctant to fall completely just a drizzle, but enough to make the streets of Wisteria Ridge look dull and wistful. The wind fluttered plastic sheets over the vegetable stalls, sending a few lettuce leaves drifting away.
The Great Ancestor stood in front of his small kiosk, staring westward as if echoes of the past were calling him.
But the one calling him was just a single person.
"Hanaaa… slow down a little!" he shouted.
Hana hair tied in a messy ponytail ran toward him with a small blue umbrella covered in cartoon stars. Her shoes nearly slipped on the slick pavement, and the Great Ancestor instinctively raised a hand.
The air around her shifted gently, steadying her balance as if an invisible hand held her shoulders.
"Good thing I was watching…" he muttered, taking the umbrella from her. "If I hadn't"
"trusted me, I know, I know. I'm not a baby," Hana cut in with a pout.
The Great Ancestor exhaled.
Lord above… only a few days living as a human, and he had already met his strongest enemy: teenage stubbornness.
"Yesterday I saw you on the mountain," Hana said suddenly, her voice slicing into the calm. "You looked like… someone else. Not like the usual you."
He turned to her, more serious now.
"What did you see?"
Hana bit her lip.
"You were playing that… harp thing. But the sound was weird. Weird in a good way. But… not human."
The Great Ancestor's heart which had no need to beat quivered faintly.
"And?"
"And… I kinda saw a big shadow behind you. Like… some figure made of light. I couldn't see clearly. But I know one thing."
She looked up at him.
"Bro… you're not the same brother as before, right?"
Silence fell.
Even the vegetable stalls felt quiet, as if the rain itself held its breath.
The Great Ancestor closed his eyes briefly.
He could manipulate Hana's perception. Make her forget everything.
Easy. Childishly easy.
But the final request of this body's original owner… was to protect his sister.
And protecting meant being honest.
"I… have changed," he said softly. "But I'm still the brother who will protect you. That part will never change."
Hana studied him for a long moment, as if trying to read something far beyond his gaze.
Then she huffed.
"Hmph. Just don't turn into an alien, okay."
Unexpectedly, the Great Ancestor almost laughed.
"Even if I did, aliens would show me respect."
"Hey! Then aliens should be scared of me too!"
He pretended to think.
"Low-tier aliens, maybe…"
"Hey! Bro!!"
Before their ridiculous argument escalated, a deep voice cut through the air:
"Excuse me. Is this the vegetable kiosk?"
A tall, broad-shouldered man approached, carrying a brown folder. His hair was neatly combed, his expression stern, his aura ex–military.
The Great Ancestor instantly sensed it: stable energy, controlled breathing, heart rate steady.
Not normal for an ordinary human.
"Yes, sir. How can I help?" the Great Ancestor asked.
The man took out an ID card.
Name: DERRICK HAN
Rank: A-Rank Hunter / Energy Anomaly Surveillance Division
Affiliation: Atlas Guild
"Are you the owner of this kiosk?" Derrick asked, scanning the area.
"Yes, I am."
"There was a report of an energy anomaly near the mountain behind town. The intensity was… absurd." Derrick's gaze sharpened. "And the center of that energy ended up here."
Hana instinctively stepped back.
The Great Ancestor remained calm, even though he had already calculated thirty-two ways to erase the Atlas Guild from the planet without cracking the planet in half.
But he chose the most peaceful option:
"Hunter," he said flatly, "I'm just a vegetable seller."
Derrick didn't smile.
"Then I'd like to check the area behind your kiosk. You don't mind, do you?"
The Great Ancestor extended a hand, allowing it.
"Go ahead."
Derrick stepped inside… pulled out a mana scanner… pressed it to the wall
And his expression changed instantly.
The needle slammed into the maximum limit.
The analysis screen flashed red.
WARNING — ENERGY LEVEL: UNCLASSIFIED
POTENTIAL ANCIENT-TIER OR NON-HUMAN ENTITY DETECTED
Derrick stared at the Great Ancestor as if witnessing a god descending to earth.
His mouth opened, but no sound came out.
"S-sir… what…"
The Great Ancestor sighed and offered a faint smile.
"Well? Hunter? Is your device… working properly?"
Derrick swallowed. Twice.
Hana, blissfully unaware of the danger, leaned on the counter and whispered:
"Bro… what did you do this time…?"
The Great Ancestor picked up a stalk of celery from the vegetable crate.
"Fresh celery. Want to buy some?"
And Derrick A-Rank Hunter, the kind of person monsters avoid
nodded rapidly.
"Y-yes. Two kilos."
Because whatever he had just stumbled upon…
He absolutely did not want to anger the being capable of making an Atlas Guild detector scream like that.