Chapter 686 - Sitting Under the Tree, The Granddaughters and The Story of Love in the Past (1/2)

Day 150 - 2:05 PM - Faculty, Damaso D. Salvador Building, Panganiban Central Elementary School, Bagong Bayan, Municipality of Panganiban, Catanduanes

Inside the office that appeared to be the teacher's faculty, everyone gathered to have lunch. Lining up office tables side by side and taking the non-broken chairs from other rooms, they created a dining area enough for everyone to eat.

Aliya's sudden arrival surprised everyone. None of them expected Mark's ancestor they heard about the other day to appear before them without notice.

The only ones feeling strange were the young soldiers, Geronimo and Padua. After all, they were still new in Mark's group and had not heard about Mark's encounter with Aliya. Furthermore, the two were new to the mysterious things around Mark's group. At first, they could not believe that the young-looking Aliya was not just Mark's Grandmother but his ancestor far in the past. If not for the Black Children with Aliya, the two would not believe that Aliya was not human anymore.

And because of Aliya's presence, the dining table was mostly silent.

It was not like they were uncomfortable with Aliya being there to share lunch with them. Their curiosity was not the issue either. The problem was they could not help but stare at her because she gobbled her food like a hungry ghost.

Aliya did not even bother touching her spoon and fork. She was using her hands to eat instead. It was like how it was back in the past when the people in the Philippines were nothing but primitive tribes.

Of course, there were still people in modern times that preferred to eat using b.a.r.e hands. It was said to bring out the flavor of some local cuisines.

Nonetheless, the way Aliya ate was like she never really used a spoon and fork before.

”Hmm? Gulp.” Aliya paused, noticing that everyone's eyes were on her. ”Is something wrong?”

That question made everyone watching her awkward. They did not dare answer that question. Well, aside from someone.

”Grandmother, you looked like someone that hasn't eaten for decades.”

Mark said, making everyone turn at him for lacking courtesy.

However, Aliya did not seem to mind.

”Sorry about this.” Aliya wiped her lips and smiled. ”I haven't really eaten cooked human food for decades. All we had at home are raw fruits, flowers, and vegetables.”

Everyone fell silent at Aliya's reply. Who would have thought that Mark's words would be spot on for the most part?

Because of that, everyone went to eat without minding Aliya's behavior. Mark even took out some canned food for his Grandmother to eat. It seemed that she really liked it.

Having their fill, everyone went to do what they could.

First was cleaning a room for Mark's group to stay the night. It did not take long since they only needed to sweep the dust in one of the rooms and add some temporary partitions.

After that, everyone was free to do what they wanted.

Edzel and Pearl decided to look around the school together. The two were both at high school age. The two were reminiscing the time they were still at school.

Pefile, on the other hand, was lazing around. He found an overgrown tree near the entrance of the school. Then, he laid down on its thickest branch to sleep. As it seemed, it was also how he spent the rest of the time while waiting for Mark's group to arrive.

As for Berrak, he decided to summon his weaker pets and groom them. He made sure not to cause too much magical fluctuation and avoided calling unto his stronger pets.

The newest recruits, Geronimo and Padua, were yet to recover from the surprises in Mark's group. However, they knew that they were still not in the position to ask too many questions. Instead, the two decided to borrow some items from Mark. The two went and did some maintenance on their weapons.

Amihan and Emika also decided to look around the school. It was good that Amihan was now able to play with other humans, even if it was just the little girls.

The last ones were Mark's family members. Since it was quite awkward to do during lunch, Mark decided to properly introduce the little girls to their Grandmother.

They set up some chairs and a table outside the building under a tree. It was so that they could take a rest after lunch while enjoying the cold breeze outside.

”This is Iola, Abbygale, and Miracle.” Mark introduced the three to Aliya. ”Go on, greet your Grandmother.”

The first one to step forward was Iola.

”My name is Iola. It's a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you, Grandmother.”

It was a perfect introduction. It was too perfect that Aliya was not able to reply immediately and turned to Mark in askance. It was not the type of introduction that you would hear from a child.

”She's pretty mature, you see...”

Mark said with a bitter smile.

”Then, it is my p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you too.”

Aliya smiled at Iola, patting her head gently.

Next was Miracle who curiously approached Aliya.

”I'm Miracle! Gra-Grandmader!”

Miracle then embraced Aliya. It seemed the little girl was having a hard time pronouncing Grandmother being a long word. Besides, it was already surprising to a seemingly three-year-old to be able to introduce herself.

Aliya returned the embrace and even lifted Miracle up in her arms.

As for the last one...

Abbygale was not stepping forward. She was hiding behind Mark, peeking at Aliya.

”Sorry about this.” Mark was also troubled. ”Abbygale had a bad experience with her real Grandmother.”

Hearing that, Aliya turned to Mark.

”As I thought. They are not your real daughters, right? Little Miracle aside, Iola and Abbygale's ages did not fit your wife's age. I also don't feel the familial attachment at first sight.”

To that question, Mark shrugged.

”Yeah, they are not.” Mark patted Abbygale's head. ”Though rather than me adopting them, it's more like they chose me to be their father.”

Aliya looked at Mark and glanced at the girls.

”Well, they are your daughters now, so they are also my Granddaughters.”

Aliya smiled as she approached Mark. She then lowered her body at Abbygale's eye level.