Seeing Zeri return, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on Soona's face.
Then, extending her thick arms, characteristic of an artisan, she patted Zeri's little head helplessly and said:
"You child, leaving without a word right after the earthquake ended... Do you know how worried Mom was about you? Also, the person destroying the Chem-Baron factories recently must be you, right? A green electric rat—sounds just like your magic!"
Hearing this, Zeri laughed sheepishly, "Hehe."
"I... I was just so angry... The earthquake was clearly caused by the Chem-Barons! But they just washed their hands of it and left us to rebuild the district ourselves!"
"I understand, you little dummy." Nodding with a smile, Soona picked up a hammer nearby and continued working on the item in her hand while saying:
"You did the right thing. People in the district know your personality and know you were venting anger for them. What really makes me angry is why you didn't come back; it made me very worried that you might encounter danger."
Soona wore a forged protective suit. Although getting on in years, she gave off the classic vibe of a "gang matriarch" or "construction site big sister."
Her smile was infectious, and her muscles flexed solidly as she swung the iron hammer. It was hard to imagine that the petite and cute Zeri was the child of this Protein Queen.
Although it might sound strange to say, compared to her mother's health, strength, and vitality, Zeri was really a bit too small...
While magic gave Zeri powerful damage output, in terms of physical fitness, apart from being faster, she was still at the level of an ordinary person in other aspects—likely inferior to Soona.
Being a 'Glass Cannon' is a characteristic feature of most fantasy worldviews.
Just as Faen was thinking, Soona turned her gaze to Faen, a look of curiosity appearing on her weather-beaten face: "Speaking of which, who is this?"
"His name is Faen. He's my partner, and also my boyfriend!" Zeri grinned and pulled Faen over.
Hearing Zeri say Faen was her boyfriend, a look of surprise appeared on Soona's face. She immediately scrutinized Faen carefully.
His tall and upright body overflowed with a vitality and vigor that was out of place in Zaun.
Wearing an Ionian-style short shirt, his muscular arms were exposed to the morning light, refracting a faint arc of light. Full muscles were carved with hard lines, and the streamlined contours allowed Soona to feel the explosive power hidden beneath Faen's skin.
Raising Zeri alone in a chaotic place like the Zaun Sump, Soona was naturally more knowledgeable than Zeri.
Although she hadn't deeply understood Faen's character yet, Soona could more or less determine through these physical traces—such as the calluses left on his fingertips from training—that Faen was by no means a superficial person with only looks.
Zeri is a big girl now; looking at it, her taste isn't bad.
Thinking this, a smile appeared on Soona's face as she said, "Hello, child. My name is Soona. You can call me Auntie."
"Hello, Auntie Soona."
Faen extended his hand openly, and Soona took off her work glove to shake it.
Because she had just finished working, Soona's hand was still sweaty and sultry from the glove. Unlike Zeri's delicate smoothness, Zeri's mother's hand was tighter and more powerful; it was a hand of perennial labor, without many traces of maintenance, with rough calluses spread across the tiger's mouth (the web between thumb and forefinger).
Similarly, during the handshake, feeling Faen's solid palm, Soona further confirmed her inner thoughts—
Zaun's chem-tech has developed crazily. Chem-tech elixirs for physical enhancement, while expensive in Zaun, are by no means rare.
Flesh and blood enhanced by chem-tech elixirs often present a slight 'inflated feeling' due to the magical power and other elements within. But Faen was different; whether looking or touching, he had the solidity of rock.
This was the trace of ascetic training.
Thinking this, Soona looked down and smiled, saying, "Zeri didn't cause you any trouble, did she?"
"Mom!" Hearing her mother's words, Zeri said somewhat indignantly, "Why would I cause trouble!"
"Because I'm your mother, and I know you best," Soona said leisurely. "You've been mischievous since you were little. Last month, you got angry and overloaded twelve streetlamps in one breath. I had to work for quite a while to clean up your mess."
"Ugh... that was a special situation..." Hearing her mother expose her shortcomings, Zeri shrank her head, lacking confidence.
To this, Faen on the side lamented that everything has its weakness. Because if he had said this, the current Zeri would definitely have hissed anxiously in a coquettish way.
Looking at the shrinking Zeri, Soona stepped forward and poked Zeri's little belly.
"Don't I know your self-care ability? Haven't seen you for a few days, yet you came back a bit fatter. Looks like you ate plenty of good food?"
"Uh... this... it's okay..." Zeri shrank her head even more. Especially when her mother lightly poked the milk in her stomach, knowing exactly what she had eaten, Zeri felt an inexplicable shame.
This, on the contrary, confused Soona a bit, but she didn't think too deeply about it. After all, it's not hard to understand a young girl minding getting fat. Even if she didn't care before, having a boyfriend would make her care about such things correspondingly.
After confirming that Zeri didn't want to discuss this topic, Soona didn't continue. Instead, she turned around and led the two into the shop, then poured two glasses of water and handed them to the two, saying:
"Alright, tell me, why come back so suddenly?"
"Is it strange for me to come home?" Zeri blinked, not knowing why her mother asked that.
"It's not strange for you to come home, but it's strange for you to come home so openly and fearlessly."
Sitting on the side, to relieve the pressure on her shoulders, Zeri's mother crossed her arms. Her boss-lady face was full of boldness and playfulness as she said:
"Although you look carefree, you are actually sensitive and delicate inside, and you always like to escape—like fearing letting down other people's trust, or disappointing those who love you. If you were scarred and had nowhere to go, I could understand. But mustering the courage to come back directly like this now... you must have been encouraged by someone, right?"
Although ending with a question mark, there was no doubt in Soona's voice. Instead, she looked at Faen on the side and blinked, as if saying, 'Did you do this?'
Nodding silently, Faen said, "Yes, mainly because of what happened last night."
Because the raid on the factory happened just yesterday, the news hadn't fermented yet.
To help Zeri's mother understand, Faen specifically described the events of last night.
When hearing that Zeri wanted to destroy the chemical factory's energy workshop and paralyze the entire factory, although Soona didn't speak, she frowned slightly, obviously not approving of this behavior.
Then, there was the workers' plea, and Faen and Zeri opening the warehouse to distribute food and choosing to leave.
Hearing this, Soona nodded thoughtfully, then reached out and ruffled Zeri's hair vigorously, laughing loudly.
"Not bad! Zeri! You've grown up! Not so impulsive anymore!"
"...Hehe." Zeri twitched the corner of her mouth awkwardly, obviously not feeling much happiness from this praise.
Especially since Faen spoke relatively briefly, it gave the impression that Zeri had a lot of assertiveness in this matter. But in reality, Zeri knew it was because Faen was taking care of her, otherwise...
In Zeri's own feeling, she seemed to have played no role at all. In the end, Faen not only had to handle the factory raid and decide what to do in the future, but he even had to counsel her.
Although not explicitly stated, as a mother, Soona could more or less guess some things from Zeri's expression. Thinking this, Soona looked at Faen and said, "So, the reason you finally decided to come back is because...?"
Faen didn't speak but took out the documents he had organized.
Seeing the few sheets of paper Faen handed over, a look of surprise appeared on Soona's face.
She perked up a bit, but after reading just the first two lines, the relaxation on Soona's face quickly turned into seriousness. In the end, she pressed her chin and frowned, reading seriously—completely different from Zeri's confused reaction when she first saw it.
Soona read very seriously. It wasn't until half an hour later, when she felt thirsty and drank water, that she remembered Faen and the others were still in front of her. She immediately said apologetically, "Sorry, I got a bit absorbed."
"It doesn't matter. Rather, your focus makes me feel reassured."
Meeting Auntie Soona's gaze, Faen said peacefully, "I haven't been in Zaun for long, and I don't understand the local situation in Zaun very well, certainly not as meticulously as you. If there is anything you think is wrong, I hope you won't hesitate to enlighten me."
"Enlighten you... I feel I don't have that ability yet."
Looking at the document in her hand, Soona's eyes held a strange gleam. Looking at Faen, after a moment of silence, a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"Although Zeri is mischievous, she is a simple and sincere child. I know her character, so I never worry about problems with her morals. The only thing that gives me a headache is that her simplicity might not be suitable for Zaun; she is easily hurt when meeting those with ulterior motives. I was a bit worried when I first saw you. But looking at it now... I can at least rest assured a little."
Lowering her head again, Soona said, "If this is the change you want to bring to Zaun, then every worker in Zaun will remember your name."
Soona spoke very seriously, but Faen didn't intend to take credit arrogantly. Because he knew very well that he could take this out directly because countless predecessors had constantly succeeded one another through trial and error.
Thinking this, Faen said, "This is a methodology summarized by countless predecessors with their lives and blood. And in my hometown, Ionia, there is a proverb: 'The orange grows in the south as an orange, but in the north as a trifoliate orange.' It means the same seed growing in different places, influenced by temperature, water, soil, and nutrients, will eventually bear completely different fruits."
"These documents are the same. Because I just arrived in Zaun, I can only see the surface of Zaun and don't know the deeper things about it. So we still need the workers of Zaun to find loopholes and correct them."
"You are too modest." Hearing this, Soona said with some emotion, "Being able to come up with this set of methods and correct it based on your understanding of Zaun has already surpassed the vast majority of people in Zaun... or even everyone. Under these circumstances, how can I have the nerve to pretend to understand and criticize these methods?"
With a smile on her face, Soona continued, "But I still have a question I want to ask you."
"Please speak."
Faen nodded. Seeing this, Soona said, "So... why do you want to do this? To bring such changes to Zaun, wanting to change the entire Zaun."
Hearing this, looking at Zeri beside him, Faen said after a brief thought, "There are many reasons, but if we separate public and private, there are just two."
Faen said sincerely, "Morally, I have a lot of selfishness, because I know that sometimes I can be insatiable and push my luck. But precisely because of this, I hope this world can have more, or rather, I can have more people around me like Zeri—kind, beautiful, enthusiastic, and helpful. As for the other reason... it's about a curse."
Saying this, Faen looked at Zeri. After nodding to Zeri, whose eyes conveyed hidden worry, Faen introduced the story of Ashlesh and the entanglement between him and Ashlesh.
Upon learning that joy was very important to Faen, even directly convertible into part of his power, Soona's eyes widened.
Then, after hesitating for a moment, she said, "I... I've never heard of anything related to this. But if it's true, honestly, I hope there can be more of this kind of curse."
Soona rubbed her eyebrows and said, "What this so-called Demon of Joy wants to do sounds much better than what the Chem-Barons do."
"Can't say that exactly, because demonic curses can easily lead people down a radical path," Faen said. "For example, Ashlesh got high out of her mind and attacked the Celestial Realm..."
To this, Soona nodded thoughtfully.
And after a moment of silence, Soona looked at Faen and said, "If that's the case... Faen, can you let me try this feeling? Just like you mentioned, improving Zeri's mental state during combat."
Although it was a question, Soona's eyes were full of seriousness.
There was no helping it; Faen's thing sounded a bit too strange. Although Faen bluntly stated the shortcomings of the joy factor, which made Soona trust Faen more, trust was one thing. Living in a place like Zaun, one couldn't do without being vigilant.