In the courtyard.
Moses naturally noticed Pyon and the others, but he didn't pay much attention to them. Instead, he focused on completing his daily ten thousand sword swings.
When the snow under his feet melted into a three-meter-wide circle, the ten thousand swings finally came to an end.
'Two more months to go.'
After the last swing, Moses let out a long breath of hot air, and then dispersed the black sword.
At this moment, bursts of fragrance wafted from the kitchen.
Menchi came out carrying dishes towards the hall.
She could roughly estimate the time Moses would finish his daily sword training, so she could always prepare a hot meal just after Moses completed his routine.
Kanzai and Pyon glanced at Menchi, who was inviting everyone to eat, and they could obviously see some clues.
'Could it be that this is how Moses has been living the past year or so?'
Their eyes shifted between Menchi and Moses.
After Menchi brought all the hot dishes to the table, everyone took their seats.
Kanzai, the most impatient, grabbed the utensils first.
The reason he chose to stay was precisely to enjoy the delicious food prepared by Menchi.
Soon, the delicacies on the table were devoured by everyone.
After the meal, Pyon mumbled about getting her revenge.
So, until the sun set, Pyon was tortured by Moses for most of the day.
"We'll continue after dinner. I won't give up!"
Pyon said, taking her phone to charge. She frowned as she thinks of strategies to win.
However, late at night——
Kanzai, Menchi, and Sanbica could hear Pyon's frustrated shouts echoing through the night.
The days passed one after another like this.
In the early morning, Moses wielded his sword as usual.
From noon to dusk, he kept crushing Pyon in games.
In the evening, everyone sat around the stove, drinking tea and chatting.
Then, at midnight…
Unwilling to accept defeat, Pyon would always challenge Moses until dawn, but always ends up in defeat.
Just like that, ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
Sanbica, having work to attend to, had to leave after staying for ten days.
"I'll see you down the mountain."
Moses took the initiative to offer.
Sanbica hesitated for a moment and nodded in agreement.
The two then left the temple and walked along the snow-covered mountain path towards the foot of the mountain.
"Moses."
Halfway through, Sanbica suddenly spoke.
"Hmm?"
Moses turned his headand glanced at Sanbica.
Sanbica looked straight ahead and said softly, "In the future... if you ever need help, I hope you'll think of me."
"…"
Moses was slightly taken aback, then responded softly, "Okay."
When Sanbica heard this, a smile appeared in her eyes.
After escorting Sanbica down the mountain, Moses returned to the temple.
"Ten days."
When he saw Pyon, he casually reminded her.
Pyon pretended not to hear him and ran into the room at lightning speed.
"What the…"
A question mark popped up in Moses's head.
'This bunny girl is really free.'
'Was she planning to stay here forever?'
Thinking of this, Moses took out his phone and considered whether to assign Pyon another job translating obscure texts.
Just then, Kanzai came out from the kitchen.
Seeing him, Moses put away his phone and approached, smiling, "Zaikan, since there's nothing else to do, how about a spar with me?"
"No time."
Kanzai replied without hesitation, directly rejecting Moses' proposal.
But Moses wasn't ready to give up, and asked, "You don't seem that busy, do you?"
"Who said that? I need to help Menchi gather some ingredients in the mountains."
Kanzai crossed his arms and thought to himself, 'Even if I have time, even if you put a fucking knife to my neck, I will never fight with you!'
Moses was slightly surprised by this, and just then, he saw Menchi coming out of the kitchen.
"Menchi, have we finished eating the stored ingredients?"
"Well, with a certain glutton here, the ingredients are being consumed faster than I expected."
Menchi sighed softly.
Kanzai nodded in agreement and frequently glanced at Moses, as if to say: 'You really are a glutton.'
Moses raised an eyebrow and asked directly: "Who's the glutton?"
"Him."
Menchi pointed to Kanzai beside her without hesitation.
"???"
Kanzai was stunned, then directly pointed at Mosesand loudly defending himself, "It's obviously him who eats more!"
"No, you eat more."
Menchi said calmly while carrying a bamboo basket, "But as long as you can eat your fill, I will be happy too."
"…"
Kanzai turned his head away and sneered when he heard that, and the emotions that had just surged onto his face receded like the tide.
Menchi ignored Kanzai's reaction, looked at Moses, and asked with expectation in her eyes: "Master, would you like to join us?"
"Sure."
Moses agreed readily.
Menchi smiled when she heard this.
The three of them set off into the forest to gather ingredients, leaving Pyon alone in the temple.
Some time later…
In the wind and snow, two figures, one big and one small, appeared outside the temple's gate.
It was Cheadle, dressed in a green hooded coat and Hawk's Nen Beast, Rat Jewel.
If Moses were here, he would be very surprised by one thing.
How could Rat Jewel be here while Hawk was still recovering in a distant hospital?
Even the most powerful Emitter couldn't achieve this.
Cheadle came to the front door and stretched out her hand to push it open.
"Chirp chirp!"
The chubby Rat Jewel bounced around, its tail, which was adorned with smiley-faced Nen bubble, was swishing back and forth.
Cheadle looked down at Rat Jewel, realized what it was gesturing, and shook her head and said, "It's just a door. There's no need to use your ability. It will only waste your 'power'."
"Chirpp…"
Rat Jewel suddenly deflated, and the Nen bubble on its tail changed from smiley faces to disappointed ones.
Cheadle had no intention of accommodating Rat Jewel, and simply pushed open the door and walked into the temple.
Rat Jewel followed behind Cheadle, its footsteps making 'chirp-chirp' sound as it stepped on the snow.
Entering the courtyard, Cheadle glanced at the release pond.
After standing there for a few moments, she walked straight towards Moses's room.
Seeing light seeping through the door crack, she assumed Moses was inside the room.
When she arrived at the door of the room, Cheadle saw that it was slightly open, so she pushed it open and walked in.
On the bed against the wall, Pyon, hearing the door, thought it was Moses returning and popped her head out of the quilt, only to see Cheadle who had just pushed the door open.
Likewise, Cheadle saw Pyon nestled in the bed with only her head visible.
"???"
"???"
Both were stunned.
"Why are you here?"
"Why are you in Moses's bed?"
The two were stunned again.
"Chirp chirp?"
Rat Jewel was standing on the side, with a puzzled expression on its tail.