"The children—"

Someone yelled, but everyone knew it was too late for the kids. At least one of them was going to die.

But at the last second, someone jumped between the kids and the curse. The griffin collapsed as the curse hit it.

[Darn it… I was so close… Fuck! How will I be able to show my face to my lord now…?]

The voice faded as the last of the darkness disappeared from the world. Everything was quiet for the time being until a loud yell broke the calmness.

"G-Guardian! NO! Don't collapse!"

Nyx was the first to run toward the fallen griffin, her eyes wide with shock and betrayal. She looked like she was crying, but no tears fell from her eyes.

Eon was pacing around, not knowing what to do. And Erebus… well, he might as well not have been there. That kid looked like he had no soul left in him.

Grrrr—

The griffin let out a roar to reassure the kids, but it was clear the curse was affecting him. He could hardly even stand up.

"Is there… nothing we can do to help him out? Please, help him. I will do anything you ask of me if you help us out."

Eon pleaded with Cardinal Joshua, but the Cardinal couldn't reply. He was frozen in shock over what had just happened.

The three kids cried as they felt their guardian's life force leaving him. I felt equally as bad, but I had no strength to help them.

"Shopkeeper, can we do anything to help?"

Duchess Isabella asked me with a hopeful look on her face, but all I could do was shake my head.

After all, I was no miracle worker, and these kids had their own path to walk. I had done everything I could to help them up to this point.

"I see. What a pity indeed. I had hoped to be able to help these kids somehow."

She said, still looking at me with wide eyes, clearly hoping I would change my mind.

But as much as I wanted to, I was afraid I was of no use here. Nothing I had could help.

Well—there was one thing. The fruit of the World Tree was a treasure I had been saving for myself, since it could save my life.

I could try to use it here, but I was afraid it wouldn't work on the griffin. After all, the fruit was said to cure any disease and save lives, but a curse wasn't fundamentally an illness. There was no guarantee it would help.

[Ding! You have a message.]

My system blinked, and I took out my phone. The sender was Goddess Helia—and she sounded annoyed.

[Ugh! Tell these fools to stop moping around like this. Due to what happened, my authority has faded from the dome, but I can still help my guardian. I just need someone to bind their life with his. Convey that message for me.]

The goddess sounded extremely rude when she asked for the favor. I almost didn't want to follow her instructions.

But then I looked at the kids in front of me, at their red eyes, and felt my heart soften.

I stepped forward and knelt down to be at their level. Everyone watching looked suspicious and curious about what I was about to do, but I ignored them and placed a hand on the griffin.

"Don't worry about the griffin. The goddess will help him. However, someone here will need to bind their life to the guardian to make sure he lives."

I told the kids, and they looked hopeful.

Cardinal Joshua snapped out of his daze and took a step toward me, his eyes narrowing.

"And who would know all this, Shopkeeper? You've been acting a lot more suspicious than before. What are you planning—"

"Cardinal Joshua, do not complain about the shopkeeper if you want to keep your head intact. This is my last warning to you."

Duchess Isabella cut him off sharply, her tone leaving no room for argument. The Cardinal looked ready to lash out, but stopped.

I felt like a kid stuck between two angry adults. But they were the least of my concerns—for now.

The goddess wouldn't stop messaging me, her impatience showing in the way she spammed me constantly, not caring who else heard my phone's sound.

[Tell them to hurry up. I do not have much time. The window of opportunity is closing.]

I coughed into my hand to gather everyone's attention, and they all looked at me.

"Please hurry. The goddess doesn't have much time—nor does the guardian. We just need one person to bind themselves to him."

I said, and finally, I had a volunteer.

"I will do it. I will bind my life to our guardian and save him. Shopkeeper, please allow me to do that."

Eon stepped forward. His small body looked so huge at that moment, and everyone gasped as they realized what was happening.

"You cannot! You need to participate in the ceremony—"

"No! I won't listen to you! I'm sick and tired of being treated this way! So what if we were originally supposed to be one soul? We are three people now, and if you can't respect that, then you have no right to be here!"

Eon shouted, his voice trembling but firm. The guards turned toward the Cardinal, waiting for orders. He was the only one who could decide what to do here.

However, Nyx and Erebus were more concerned about what their third half was saying than what the Cardinal wanted to order.

They looked shaken as they looked at the person they had called their brother.

But there was not much guilt on Eon's face when he spoke. He had made a decision and he was going to abide by it.

I could only watch it from the sidelines as the argument took place. I had no right to participate in it, even if the others wanted me to.

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