"The ritual is over now. Let's head back in. You look exhausted, and I think you also need some sleep."
The innkeeper looked at her friend with a grateful expression on her face.
Now that her son had disappeared, her friend was the only person she had to lean on, and she was grateful for that opportunity.
"You know, I-"
The innkeeper started to speak, but the bushes rustled at that very second, causing her to stop and turn in that direction.
She was not the only one who looked at the bushes with interest.
Everyone else in the clearing waited for the person to come out of the bushes, and they were all ready to kill it if necessary.
"M-Mommy!"
But when the bushes parted, the one that came out of the bushes was the innkeeper's son.
He looked lost and terrified, but he was alive.
"My son! You are alive! Thank god you are alive. I-I don't know what would have happened to me if you were to die somehow."
