Even though Heron went straight in his path, not taking a detour unlike how he got there, it still took him some time. Just as the sunsets, Heron had come back to their previous site where they fought the bear king.
"Heron! You're finally back!"
"Huh..." when Heron saw two coworkers of his, waving at him, his heart beat faster.
'If they learned about him, they will definitely report it to the Imagi!' so he pulled the hemp cloth he used to protect the child from the cold to further cover the little one's face.
"I hope you will be quiet, little one." he whispered.
Trying to act normal, Heron continued walking until he reached them and greeted, "Hey... why are you guys still here?"
One of them answered, "Well, you're still not back so we thought we should wait here. Also, what did you brought there? You're carrying it like a baby."
The second man added, "Did you see something back there, man?"
"Huh?.. No, there's nothing unusual." Heron shook his head as he naturally lied, "And I didn't go further in much anyway."
"So... what are you carrying?" the first man repeated.
"Oh this... umm..."
Under pressure, Heron couldn't think well and abruptly said.
"It's nothing but thank you for waiting for me, but I gotta go."
"What?"
The two men watched as Heron flees from the scene.
"Isn't he a little ungrateful? We waited for him until it's dark!" one of the two slightly frowned, "We're not even his friends."
"Come on, let's try to be understandable. Furthermore, he said thanks."
.....
Later on, Heron finally saw their village. With the moon hiding the village was completely dark if not for the lights that were emanating from the windows of each household.
However, he didn't go there but went around to see a solitary house beyond a small hill. With a glistening lake at the front and a wide flat area surrounding them, the location was great.
But seeing their humble home made Heron sighed and hesitated from going in. Of course, eventually, he went inside.
The door creaked and Heron saw a beautiful woman standing meters away from the door. It was obvious she was waiting for him suggesting from the irritated look of her.
"Why did you only came home at this time? You usually come home an hour before the sun even sets."
"Lyssa... I volunteered to work overtime. After an Ima-... after we killed the bear king, we were ordered to scout its territory."
"..." Heron's wife, Lyssa Enova who had long black hair and have a white smooth skin slightly glared at him. She would be stunning with her curves if not for the round belly she has.
Lyssa's pregnant.
Only after a little while did Lyssa's expression mellowed and turned around.
"It's good that you're safe then..."
'What's with that sarcastic tone? It's as if you don't want me to become safe...'
"I've cooked dinner. You ready the table since I'm tired. No, actually, take a bath first." Lyssa coldly continued.
Heron then sighed, 'I'm tired too, you know and she didn't even praise me... not that I said the exact truth though.'
Feeling the chill behind him, he closed the door and only then did he remember he had a child in his arms.
Sweating, Heron muttered, "Ly-lyssa."
Hearing this, Lyssa frowned, "Hm?"
"Um... actually..." his eyes wandered everywhere as Heron slowly walked forward.
"What?"
Heron couldn't find the correct words and could only reveal what's under the hemp cloth.
At first, Lyssa was unable to understand him until she realized what he's holding. Her eyes widened with shock.
"Heron! Whose baby is that!?" she rushed to Heron with a terrified face, "Where did you take this?! Heron... I know that you couldn't become an Imagi but you shouldn't turn yourself into a crimi-"
"Lyssa, No!"
Lyssa stopped and both of them locked gazes.
'Why is it that everything I do, she always found ways to connect it with me not being able to become an Imagi?!'
Heron tried to calm himself down and explained.
"After I volunteered myself, I'm the only one who took a brief tour into the bear king's territory. But when I came there, I saw this child all alone. Furthermore, a wolf was about to..."
He continued until he reached the point where he thinks that the child was special. But when he finished telling his story, he saw that Lyssa was only looking at him with disbelief.
"I'm saying the truth, Lyssa. I really think this child is special..."
"No... I'm not doubting you." Lyssa stepped back, "But why do you think taking that child is a good idea?"
"W-what...? You want me to just leave the child alone in the woods?" Heron's voice rose a little.
"No! I'm saying about you adopting... him!" Lyssa shouted back and point but took a pause to calm down.
"We could just show him to the village for the village chief to decide."
"Lyssa, I have a feeling that if we raised him up properly, this child has the capabilities to return what we gave him."
"..."
"Lyssa, please." Heron pleaded and walked over to his wife, about to hold her hand but the latter evaded and turned her head around.
Meanwhile, her eyes rolled to him, "Are you saying that we will prioritize the child you picked up somewhere over to our own child?" she held her belly.
"I... no, can't we give them the same treatment? Once this child become ours, it doesn't matter if he's ours or not to begin with, right?"
"I know that, Heron, but I'm talking about money. The savings we got from what my parents left us is dwindling as time passed, while your parents... I don't think they can help us. What happens when the time comes when we don't have enough food to feed them? Whom do we not feed?"
"..." Heron gulped, speechless. He took a moment to think about what his wife said.
But before Lyssa could say anything, he continued and was able to promise.
"I just need to let that time not come."
Lyssa looked into Heron's eyes. It was as if he was scared.
"Then... you better do it."
"So... you agree?"
"Yes, on one condition. I want to say that if the parents comes back looking for their kid, we will give him back. But after knowing that they just left their child, intentionally or not, in the middle of a wild forest, I don't think I can say that anymore. So this is my condition, we will adopt him tomorrow by taking him to the village chief. After that, if his parents came looking for him, it's the village chief's decision. Furthermore, if the village chief himself disapproved of the adoption, we don't have any choice."
"... I agree..." Heron nodded with a saddened face before hearing.
"Then go take a bath with that child... Actually, after you're done, let's think of a name for him. Though I would not give him the name Elihim since it's for our child if he comes out as a he."
"Fine..."