Evening had settled over the land like a velvet curtain drawn across a broken stage.
The sky, painted in streaks of deep orange and dying gold, bled light over the rooftops of the town. Shadows stretched long across cobbled roads. The lanterns flickered to life one by one, lighting up like fireflies trapped in glass cages.
The air had that late-summer scent — dry stone, iron, sweat, smoke — a blend unique to towns that survived on mercenary blood and steel coin.
Rei and Ailith walked side by side down the slope toward the gates.
The guards at the city entrance didn't move at first. But when they saw the two approach, they straightened instinctively, like animals sensing a predator that wasn't supposed to exist.
The taller of the guards cleared his throat.
"W-Welcome back, Sir Rei," he said, trying to sound official.
Rei didn't respond. He didn't even look.
They passed through the large steel gates, silent as ghosts.
As they crossed into the main road, people began to notice them.
Heads turned.
Eyes locked.
Whispers started, barely above breath — but not low enough to hide the awe.
Rei noticed. "Why are they all looking at us?"
Ailith snapped out of her fog, voice sharper than she meant it to be. "Obviously because of the pelts. You didn't damage them at all."
Rei blinked. "And?"
"Well, even Level 5 adventurers make a mess when hunting those beasts. Torn fur, damaged hides, blood everywhere. But these?" She nodded toward the bundle on her back. "They're perfect. Untouched. Of course people are staring."
"I see," Rei said simply, as if it didn't matter. It didn't.
They kept walking.
The Adventurer's Guild came into view — a large, open building of old brick and steel frames. Torches lined the outer walls, and the windows glowed with the warmth of oil lamps inside.
Like last time, it was crowded.
Dozens of voices blended into a soft roar: adventurers submitting requests, bickering over rewards, guards reporting regional monster sightings. The smell of steel and sweat was stronger here, mixing with parchment and leather.
Rei and Ailith entered without a word.
They didn't need to announce themselves. A few eyes tracked them, but no one spoke.
Leyla, behind the main counter, was buried under a pile of documents, her hands moving fast as she juggled three separate adventurers demanding her attention.
They waited off to the side.
Rei leaned against a support beam. Ailith stood beside him, quiet but present.
After a few minutes, Leyla finally freed herself and looked up — hair slightly messy, sleeves rolled.
When she saw them, she lit up. "Ah, you're back!"
Rei gave a slight nod. "You're working hard."
Leyla smiled. "You could say that."
Then her eyes drifted to the bundle of pelts strapped to Ailith's back.
Her smile widened — slightly flushed. "So you actually brought them back. Intact?"
Rei nodded again. "Yes. Intact."
Leyla blinked. Then leaned forward slightly, focusing on the fur detail. "I can see that…" She reached up to adjust her glasses. "Good work."
> Perfect furs… just like he said. Not even a scratch. Not even blood. Who is he?
A small blush formed on her cheeks, but she turned away before it could deepen.
"Here—on the counter."
But Ailith didn't move.
Leyla waited.
Then blinked.
"…Is something wrong?"
Ailith's voice was firm. "You said there were seven wolves of Level 3 in the request, right?"
Leyla tilted her head, confused. "Yes?"
"Then why," Ailith said, stepping forward, "was there a Level 4 wolf among them?"
Leyla's face changed instantly.
She dropped the parchment she had picked up and reached for the mission folder on the side. Her eyes scanned quickly. Her fingers stopped on a line halfway down the page.
> "One possible Level 4 variant. Low chance. Not expected."
Forgotten in briefing.
Leyla's expression tightened.
"I…" she started, then bowed her head slightly. "I am deeply sorry. It was in the mission file — but I failed to explain it properly. That's on me."
"I figured," Ailith muttered. She stepped forward and dropped the bundle on the counter with a loud thud.
"Six Level 3 wolves," she said, "and one Level 4."
Leyla nodded quickly, already grabbing coins and writing tallies. "Yes, I'll issue compensation right now."
Ailith's arms crossed.
> She forgot to mention a Level 4. And we still brought it down. Intact.
Rei watched it all silently, standing off to the side. His eyes didn't move, but his thoughts did.
> Whoa… she's not holding back at all.
Ailith's got guts.
Ailith turned and caught him staring.
She smirked. "What? Surprised?"
"I didn't say anything."
"I've been an adventurer for nineteen years, you know. This isn't my first argument."
Rei's eyes twitched. "Wait—nineteen? So how old are you?"
Ailith's expression snapped.
Her voice jumped. "Are you really that dumb?"
Rei blinked.
"Who the hell asks a lady about her age?!"
Rei paused. "Wait… that applies here too?"
Ailith's tail twitched in irritation.
Leyla, returning with the coins, caught the tension. "Um… did I miss something while I was counting?"
Ailith turned, back to neutral. "Nothing."
Leyla raised a brow but didn't press. "The full reward for your completed mission is ten gold and thirty silver."
Ailith blinked. > That much? In one day?
Rei looked over. "Only this much?"
His voice was flat. Not sarcastic — just genuinely confused.
Leyla cleared her throat. "Six gold for the six Level 3 wolves. Four gold for the Level 4. Thirty silver as official compensation for the oversight."
Ailith turned to Rei with a blank stare.
> Did he just say 'only'…?
> Is he seriously serious right now?
Rei didn't flinch.
> So this is how the system works, huh…
He folded his arms again.
Ailith collected the coin without further comment, though her mind was still spinning.
Leyla scribbled some final notes, set the documents aside, and opened her mouth to speak—
—but suddenly, the air shifted.
A faint breeze moved through the guild hall.
No one noticed.
Not yet.
But Rei's head turned. So did Ailith's.
Someone had entered.
The door hadn't creaked. No footsteps echoed. But there was a presence — cold, controlled, and unreadable.
She walked through the crowd like mist.
A girl dressed in black, hood low over her eyes, blades strapped under her coat, boots silent against the wood.
Even Ailith hadn't sensed her.
> An assassin?
No.
Too smooth. Too weightless. Her aura was hidden too well.
Rei didn't blink.
But his gaze locked onto her.
The girl — no older than twenty — moved past them without speaking. Her face calm, eyes low, as if tracking something Rei couldn't see.
Leyla looked up, confused. "Who's that?"
No answer.
Because even among adventurers, some people don't feel like people.
The crowd hadn't realized what had just walked past them.
But Rei had.
And deep in Ailith's gut, something tensed.
She didn't know why.
She didn't know who.
But whatever that girl was — she was no ordinary adventurer.
Not in the slightest.