In Terra, she is a hunter and a bad woman.

"We made that to defend ourselves against bandits."

"After most of the young men in the village followed Tracy away, there were fewer people left who could fight... and those bandits set their sights on us."

"To deal with them, we've set up a lot of obstacles along the way... but this only partially reduces their strength. When night falls, it's safer for everyone to gather together."

As the old man continued speaking, he put down his pipe, rubbed his eyebrows with his fingers, and sighed with a slight headache.

Maria on the side suddenly became alert.

The location of this village... although it's not a particularly important place, it's less than a week's journey from Kazdel Royal City.

Still near the main road.

Occasionally, warriors from the Tower of Babel would pass by.

In a place like this, there are actually robbers?

Are they crazy?

"I don't know what's going on... They've only been out for the past few months. They're called bandits, but they don't seem to be stealing anything valuable. They just come here to burn down houses, smash things, and occasionally take a few people away."

When the old man said this, his face was full of confusion.

His words sounded like an excuse for the robbers, but in fact they were indeed his own genuine doubts.

You know, not many people would become robbers just for fun. What is their reason for becoming robbers?

Isn't it just to get rich by robbing?

But this group of bandits didn't rob anything. Every time they came, they would burn and smash things... and occasionally they would kidnap people and leave.

But they didn't capture people to sell them as slaves. According to observation, after a few days, those captured compatriots would join their team.

But he will become weird and won't listen to what people say.

As Custer values ​​his family the most, the old man once organized people to try to bring him back.

But unfortunately, they didn't know what had happened to those people. They could still communicate normally and their memory was fine, but they were just crazy and would yell from time to time, attracting the robbers.

As a last resort, the old man could only let these people leave.

As for the remaining people who had not been captured, he gathered them together and put them under protective gathering.

When Maria heard this, she frowned.

She sat aside, her legs slightly crossed, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the table.

The breath gradually becomes sharper and more mysterious...

"What do you... know?"

The old man was also a little surprised when he saw Maria's performance.

"...I can't give you the results directly, but...the conditions you described reminded me of something."

Maria rubbed her brows.

When she first heard the old man talking about those bandits, she thought it was just some reckless Sarkaz mercenaries causing trouble.

But hearing the old man's strange expression reminded Maria of something else.

Behemoth!

Or perhaps...the superior.

Only its participation can explain why a good person became crazy after being taken away by these robbers for a few days.

But there is a problem with this…

"The last time I came here, I didn't sense the presence of the giant beast... It's the same now..."

With Maria's almost specialized perception of giant beasts, there is nothing she can't discover.

The situation the old woman described was indeed very similar to what happened after the giant beast appeared, but her perception would not lie.

and so……

What kind of accident happened in the middle?

Maria frowned in thought, her eyes flickering.

After another moment, she shook her head slightly.

"Do you have a place to rest here...I mean a house or something like that."

"Of course there is."

The old man nodded, but did not refuse.

In fact, due to the series of events that happened during this period, the population of their village has dropped sharply to a rather dangerous level. Even when people gather together, they can hardly fill the houses in the central area. If Maria needs it, she can find a house to live in by herself.

But the food is definitely not guaranteed.

"that's enough."

Maria shook her head slightly.

With her ability, it would be easy for her to investigate the details of a group of robbers.

If the other party is really an organization related to the behemoth, Maria will eliminate it without hesitation.

If not... then Maria will also deal with it according to the situation.

None of this would take her too long.

The doctor beside her didn't quite understand what Maria was doing, but he still nodded in support of Maria's choice...

After confirming the target, Maria did not hesitate for too long and turned around to ask the old man.

"Is there any pattern to their attacks?"

After hearing the question, the old man frowned, closed his eyes and thought for a while, then shook his head.

"I'm not sure, but I feel like I often see those people...either attacking us, or attacking caravans on the road or distant towns."

"Their trajectory and objectives are quite vague... Previously, someone calling themselves Babel came here and tried to investigate, but ultimately left without finding anything."

The old man spoke with a helpless tone.

Maria wanted to ask something, but a pair of ears suddenly popped out at the door.

Although its appearance cannot be seen, judging from the position of its ears, it should be a child.

The people present wisely kept quiet.

Obviously, no matter in which cultural system of the three people, children can be regarded as a group that deserves special treatment.

But what they were going to talk about was still too early for a child.

After Maria and the old man looked at each other, the old man suddenly changed his expression and put on a smile.

"Look who's here? My little Tessie?"

"Ah."

After hearing the old man calling her name, the little girl in plain white clothes carefully pushed open the door and curiously stuck her head out to look at the two people in the room.

Her eyes were bright and big like two gems. She was holding an exquisitely crafted wooden violin in her hand, and her face was full of innocence and curiosity.

It seemed as if he was not affected at all by what happened in the village today.

"Hello."

This little Tessie looked like a very polite girl, but when she saw a stranger in the room, she still saluted stiffly.

The doctor next to her was still smiling, but Maria, who was standing next to her, adhered to etiquette, took off her hat, held it against her chest, and bent down to the girl.

No matter how old the other person is, since they have greeted her, she has to return the greeting.

The doctor standing by obviously didn't understand any of this. She simply understood it as some kind of custom that had to be followed, but she had no hat to take off, so she had to put her hand on her chest and followed suit and chose to bow.

After a while, both sides raised their bodies.

The old man on the side introduced it gently.

"This is my granddaughter...Tessie, the only little musician we have here."

When introducing the little girl, the gloom on the old man's face dissipated a little, and he revealed a warm smile.

But the title of little musician still made little Tessie blush.

Proud and shy at the same time, his eyes kept wandering between Maria and his grandfather. His little face puffed up and his ears curled slightly, forming an X.

This made both the doctor and the old man smile knowingly.

Maria, on the other hand, blinked and looked at the old man next to her.

The old man was also aware that the topic he and others were discussing was not suitable for children, so he coughed twice and continued speaking gently.

"It's so late, aren't you asleep yet? My little Tessie."

The old man deliberately extinguished his pipe, walked forward and picked up the little girl.

The little girl did not object to this. After being picked up by the old man, she just shook her head slightly and spoke with a sad tone.

"So many people are crying...Aunt Merlin, Uncle Peterson, and Brother Boro...Everyone seems so sad. Grandpa, why is that?"

Little Tessi obviously had no idea what was happening in the village. She just relied on her child's instinct to observe everyone's mood changes.

Because of Grandpa's instructions, all the children went to play nearby with Uncle Ezio today, so when they came back, they had no idea what had happened here.

But even so, the smell of tears in the air could not conceal the keenness of these children.

The Custers are such a race. They value family and are not aggressive. As long as they are in the same family group, even if they have no blood relationship, they can truly consider each other wholeheartedly.

"You'll know when you grow up."

The old man smiled and shook his head, without any sadness on his face. Instead, he spoke a few words as if he were telling a fairy tale.

He tried his best to melt the uneasiness and resentment in the girl's heart.

Obviously, the old man's method is very effective.

After a moment of confusion, Tessi nodded seriously.

Don’t think about things you don’t understand.

Grandpa would never lie to himself.

You will definitely know these things when you grow up...

but……

"What can I do to make everyone happy?"

Tessi asked, her voice was very delicate, but it carried a bit of the tenderness and consideration of a child.

She also wanted to do something to make everyone happy.

The old man beside him paused for a long time and then smiled helplessly.

"You don't have to do anything, my little Tessie... You are a child that everyone likes. As long as you grow up well, everyone will be very happy."

"Woo..."

Hearing her grandfather bring the topic of growing up again, Tessi hesitated. She wanted to help others quickly, but... growing up is really slow.

"Is there any way to grow up faster, Grandpa?"

The girl asked the old man innocently.

But the old man just smiled and rubbed the other person's hair.

"Go to bed early, eat well, and spend every day happily, and you will grow up quickly..."

"Wow...Grandpa, I'm eight years old."

Tessi shook her head slightly, her words sounding somewhat dissatisfied.

She just wanted to prove to the old man that she was not a child anymore.

But the old man just smiled.

He lowered his head, leaned close to the girl's ear, and said something to Tessie again.

Finally, after the old man's coaxing and deception, Tessi hesitantly chose to go back and rest.

But before leaving, he did not forget to take another look at Maria and the Doctor before leaving.