[ It's exactly the sort of thing that can eat at you if you let it. Ernesto wishes he was able to say he's a strong enough person to laugh off this kind of thing, but that's not actually true. He is the kind of person that can bluff about taking everything in stride though.

He's certainly doing a pretty good job of keeping up the facade of nonchalance as this connection is being drawn, even giving the smallest of shrugs in response. ]

I can't really say. I've never experienced anything like that before.

[ Though... ]

They certainly didn't take that long to find us after we came to though.

[ It's possible they always have people keeping tabs on the shrines, but if that's the case it would raise some more questions as to why... ]