Night fell, and darkness began to gradually envelope the entire town.
Ur stood by the window, her worried eyes constantly scanning every corner in the darkness, but there was still no sign of Gray.
"Why hasn't that child come back yet?"
Sitting nearby, Tike blinked and guessed, "Maybe he's still looking for that passing wizard?"
Lyon muttered under his breath, "Gray is so gullible. I can't believe he believed that nonsense."
Ultear narrowed her eyes slightly, scrutinizing Lyon with a questioning gaze.
Unlike Gray, Lyon hadn't pestered his mother to teach him any secret magic. This abnormal behavior made her suspicious.
Sensing her strange look, Lyon clearly panicked a little but forced himself to act calm.
"Seriously, Gray. Not coming back this late... he makes everyone worry too much."
"I'm going to look for him."
Ur was worried that something had happened to Gray. She quickly threw on her coat, ready to go out and search.
The three children exchanged a tacit glance and said in unison, "We're going too!"
Ur wanted to refuse, but seeing the eager looks in the children's eyes, she finally nodded.
"Fine, but you have to listen to me. No acting on your own."
---
Once in town, under Ur's arrangement, the group split up to search for Gray in four different directions.
Relying on his innate keen sense of smell, Tike tracked Gray's scent to where it was strongest—near Mrs. Plain's Clothing Store.
(The scent suddenly disappears here, and...)
Aside from that, what surprised Tike even more was that besides Gray's scent, there was also a faint trace of an extremely subtle scent drifting in the air.
(It seems like... Mom?)
(Why would she be here? Is it... a coincidence?)
While Tike was puzzled, Mrs. Plain walked out of the store, preparing to close up. Seeing Tike standing not far away, she immediately greeted him warmly.
"Good evening, little Tike."
"Good evening, Auntie Plain," Tike responded politely, then asked, "Have you seen Gray today?"
Mrs. Plain frowned slightly, recalling as she spoke, "He came here this afternoon asking if I'd seen any strange wizards, then left in a hurry. Why? Did something happen?"
"Gray hasn't come home yet. Everyone is very worried."
"Gray is missing?" Mrs. Plain became concerned upon hearing this and immediately offered, "I'll go get my husband to help you look for him."
"Sorry for the trouble," Tike nodded gratefully. However, he didn't rush off. Instead, he asked with a hint of anticipation, "By the way, have any strange... women come to town recently?"
"No..." Mrs. Plain was about to shake her head decisively when she suddenly felt a headache. Her tone became somewhat hesitant. "I don't think so."
She felt that something was weird about her memory, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong. This vague feeling confused her greatly.
Hearing her ambiguous answer, Tike lowered his head in disappointment. Just as he was about to turn around and continue searching for Gray, Mrs. Plain called him back.
"I remember now. Gray ran out after hearing someone in the shop discussing Deliora being in Brago."
"Deliora is in Brago?"
Learning this crucial information from Mrs. Plain, a bright light flashed in Tike's eyes.
After thanking Mrs. Plain, Tike took a signal flare from his pocket. He raised his hand and released it. With a whoosh, a brilliant rose-shaped firework bloomed in the sky, shining like a bright beacon in the night.
Soon, seeing the signal, the others converged on Tike's location one after another.
Ur arrived first. Seeing no sign of Gray, she immediately asked, "Tike, did you find a clue?"
Tike nodded solemnly and said with absolute certainty, "Gray went to get revenge on Deliora."
Hearing this, Ur's eyes widened in shock.
"How could that child be so reckless? Is this true?"
"Pretty much. Auntie Plain said..."
As he spoke, Tike looked at Mrs. Plain. The woman understood immediately and repeated what she had just said.
Ur was now somewhat convinced, and the expression on her face became increasingly anxious.
"Gray will die if he goes there now!"
Lyon scratched his head, sounding exasperated. "Gray is way too impulsive."
Ultear pouted and said grumpily, "That guy is in a hurry to die."
Tike muttered, equally dissatisfied, "He should have called me to go with him!"
Although their words were different, the worry all of them felt for Gray was exactly the same.
(If Gray is really with Deliora...)
While worrying about Gray's situation, Ur looked at her daughter. A hint of struggle appeared in her eyes, but the hesitation vanished in an instant, quickly replaced by resolve.
"Tear, you, Lyon, and Tike stay in town and keep looking for Gray. I'll go check out Brago."
"No! I'm going with you!" Ultear naturally refused.
Ur reached out and gently stroked her daughter's cheek, comforting her gently. "Be good, Tear. I'm just going to check. If Gray is really there, I'll drag him back by force."
(Ah, the scent of a lie.)
Tike immediately smelled the falsehood in Ur's words. He knew she wasn't just planning to "check" and "drag him back."
"Are you going to kill Deliora?" he asked bluntly.
Ur froze for a moment, then shook her head with a bitter smile.
"I really can't hide anything from you. That's right, I plan to confront that guy."
"Can you win?"
"Yes."
Ur responded crisply, without hesitation or lies. But Tike felt an inexplicable unease, so he asked again, "Can you come back safely?"
Ur paused, then smiled and nodded.
"Of course."
However, Tike didn't feel reassured.
Because he could smell it—the scent of a lie.
Besides that, there was another scent that made him uncomfortable right now—the scent of a dying person.
(No, I can't let her go alone!)
Thinking this, Tike blurted out, "Although it's very faint, there's a scent of abnormal spatial fluctuations here. Someone definitely used space transfer magic or something similar here."
"What do you mean?" The hand Ur had raised paused slightly.
"I think I can use the same magic."
Tike began to carefully sense the strange spatial fluctuations. He slowly raised his right hand, crystal-clear water flowing from his fingertips. He drew a water circle in the air that passed through their bodies.
In the next instant, they vanished from where they stood, leaving only a faint trace of water vapor gently dissipating in the air.
Mrs. Plain was stunned.
"D... Disappeared?"