After thinking for a moment, Grin reached out his hand and made a grasping motion toward the two little ones from a distance.
A faint green glow drifted out from their abdomens, and at the same time, certain bad things inside their bodies were deactivated.
"The two brats will be fine now. Luckily, what I gave them wasn't poison."
Grin felt a bit of lingering fear; he had poison, and it was discreet enough.
But in a situation like this, he might not have been able to resist intervening early.
Grin watched the scene quietly until Ato and Mia finished the cake and began licking the crumbs from the gaps between their Fingers.
"Oh my god! Their little hands are so filthy, and they're still licking them. What if they get a stomachache?"
The magic mirror also shook its head in disdain. "The souls of guys like this must be bitter."
"No, I can't take it anymore!"
Grin suddenly jumped out from the bushes and walked aggressively toward the siblings.
"Hey, you! Stop licking your hands!"
As the older brother, Ato was the first to see Grin. Realizing things looked bad, he quickly moved to protect his sister.
"Who... who are you? Don't come over! Don't come any closer!"
Mia, who had been focused on licking the cream off her hands, also snapped out of it and hugged Ato's waist from behind in terror.
"Brother, I'm scared..."
Grin ignored the boy's warning and reached into his clothes with a fierce look, as if he were pulling something out.
Ato was terrified; trembling, he picked up a dry tree branch from the roadside and waved it around wildly.
"Don't come over! I'll really hit you!"
Mia didn't dare to look anymore and closed her eyes as if accepting her fate.
Grin walked up to them, raised his left hand, and knocked the branch away.
His right hand pulled out a handful of coins with a clinking sound.
"Wait a second, let me look for copper and silver coins. How annoying, I should have gotten some change earlier!"
"Three... four, five... Alright, take them!"
Grin stuffed several silver coins into the hands of a bewildered Ato.
It wasn't that Grin didn't want to give them gold coins, but giving them too much money would likely get them killed instead.
"Now, get over to the refugee stalls and eat. If I come back later and see someone licking their hands, I'll give you each a slap across the face."
After saying this, Grin turned to leave in a hurry. After a few steps, he suddenly hit the brakes and turned back.
Ato's heart, which had just begun to settle, leaped back into his throat.
Grin grabbed his shoulder and looked the boy over scrutinizingly.
"How old are you this year? You know how to spend money, right? Don't go showing it all at once, you hear me!"
"I-I'm nine, and my sister is five, B-b-big brother..."
Ato nodded numbly. This person was so scary; he was clearly a good person, yet he was so fierce.
Grin didn't quite trust these two little fools, so he scratched his head and continued to instruct them.
"Go to the very end of Refugee Street. There's a shop run by a Bearded Boss; that old guy won't cheat you."
To prevent the siblings from being taken advantage of, Grin recommended an old shop he used to frequent.
Once everything was arranged clearly, Grin finally let go and released the two little ones.
"Don't squat in such an obvious spot late at night, and definitely don't eat things given to you by strangers. Especially good-looking guys—they're basically all bad people."
Mia spoke softly, "But you and the big sister from before both seem very kind..."
Grin felt a surge of secret satisfaction, and his back couldn't help but straighten up.
"Ahem, I'm an exception. Since I'm peak handsome, my looks overflowed and were added to my justice points, understand?"
"Uh... I don't understand."
The two little ones shook their heads, not following him at all.
"Hiss—"
The magic mirror hiding in Grin's collar made a sound, catching Grin's attention.
"Master, stop being narcissistic. We're about to lose her."
Grin realized this and waved his hand.
"Alright, alright, this handsome man has things to do. I'm leaving, go eat!"
The two of them watched Grin walk away, tightly clutching the silver coins in their hands.
"Mia, there really are many good people in the world! When we grow up, we should be kind people too."
"Yeah, if only this big brother could be Mia's father. He only looks fierce, he definitely wouldn't hit us."
Hearing Mia's innocent words, Ato's mood improved a lot. He picked up the conversation, "Then let the big sister from before be the mother."
Mia nodded heavily.
"Yes, that big sister looks very strong too; she'd definitely be an unkillable mother!"
Ato opened his mouth but hesitated.
Their biological mother had been beaten to death by their alcoholic father. Mia's yearning made Ato's heart ache.
But as the older brother, he needed to be a pillar for his sister and must not fall first.
Patting his face lightly, Ato regained a confident expression.
"Let's go, Mia. We'll go to Refugee Street and find that little shop run by the Bearded Boss."
"Okay, we'll buy some black bread and eat a few pieces while the taste of the tree cake hasn't faded yet!"
...On the other side, Elsa had already walked to the very edge of the Royal Capital.
After confirming she wasn't being followed, Elsa stopped in front of a dilapidated house, curled her Fingers, and knocked gently on the wooden door.
The house was quiet, without a sound.
Elsa's fingertips paused slightly, then she knocked again with a distinct rhythm—two long, two short.
"It's me, Meli."
Her voice was very soft, yet it carried a strange penetration.
After a moment, the sound of light footsteps finally came from inside, step by step, until they reached the door.
The old wooden door creaked open, and a thin figure appeared behind it.
Meli was wrapped in thick bandages from head to toe, even her eyes were almost covered, like a little mummy.
"Cough, cough... Did you get... the medicine?" she coughed heavily, her voice intermittent and raspy with illness.
"Luckily, I got it." Elsa stepped into the room and handed the glowing bottle of High-Grade Healing Potion to her.
She looked down at the bottle, her brow furrowing. "Why is there some strange little powder in this potion... Could it be poison?"
Elsa replied, "A little guy on the roadside already tested it for you. From the results, there shouldn't be any problem."
After hesitating for a moment, Meli still unscrewed the stopper and brought the potion to her lips.
If she didn't drink it, the injuries on her body would eventually kill her anyway.
Gulp, gulp.
The sweet liquid slid down her throat, and a warm power surged from within to every part of her limbs and bones.
The pain throughout her body immediately receded like a tide.
The movement in Meli's throat gradually slowed down.
She raised a hand to wipe the medicine from the corner of her mouth; her originally pale and cracked lips gained a hint of color.
The tips of her bandaged Fingers pressed lightly against her chest, where she could clearly feel a tingly itch coming from the fractures in her bones.
That was the sign of flesh and bone healing frantically under the medicinal power.
"The effect is even better than expected, cough, cough."
She coughed twice, her voice sounding less weak than before.
The eyes hidden in the gaps of the bandages brightened, and her gaze fell back onto the paper box Elsa was holding.
A thirteen-year-old Little Girl is at the age where she loves sweets.
Meli knew exactly what this packaging was.
"Elsa, is the tree cake in your hand bought for me?"