“Aah··· my legs hurt.

  Let’s rest for a bit.”

  Aira grumbled as she dragged her feet.

  After hours of walking, even her shoulders looked heavy.

  Rynel stopped quietly.

  “Yeah.

  We’ve come pretty far··· want to grab a quick bite?”

  Aira’s eyes lit up as she rummaged through her bag.

  “Ta-da~!”

  She pulled out a small bundle wrapped neatly in cloth.

  When she unfolded it, a warm, nutty scent drifted out—cookies.

  “These are from the best bakery lady in Bobre Village! She packed them for us!”

  Aira handed one cookie each to Rynel and Monero.

  Monero took a bite right away.

  “···!”

  His eyes widened, and he let out a short, impressed sound.

  “Oh. You brought Bobre’s specialty—Click Cookies?”

  “Huh? Click··· Cookies? That was the name?”

  Aira asked, genuinely puzzled.

  “You didn’t even know?

  What, were you two locked up somewhere and just got out?”

  Aira shrugged at Monero’s joke.

  “Mm··· I feel like I’ve heard that a lot.

  Sometimes I kind of wonder myself.”

  Rynel, chewing beside her, let out a small laugh.

  Monero swallowed and tipped his chin.

  “Rynel, Aira—honestly, you two are weird sometimes.

  Like you seriously don’t know how the world works.”

  “Haha, well···

  maybe. Or maybe not.”

  Aira twirled a strand of golden hair that had fallen in front of her pointed ear.

  For a moment, all three just ate in silence.

  Even on the road, something sweet helped.

  Monero spoke first.

  “If we keep going a little longer, we’ll reach Poen Village.

  Should make it before sunset.”

  He pulled out a map and spread it open.

  “Today, let’s avoid the path marked here. Take a detour.”

  Rynel frowned.

  “Hm?

  Isn’t it faster if we cut straight through this forest road?”

  “It’s faster, yeah··· but we should avoid it today.”

  “Why?”

  Rynel tilted his head.

  Monero sighed.

  “Seriously··· you two don’t pay attention to anything outside town, do you?”

  He lowered his voice.

  “I heard this a few days before we left Bobre.

  That village on the map—there was an incident. A fire. Burned to the ground.”

  “A fire?”

  “Burned down···?”

  Rynel and Aira asked at the same time.

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  “Yeah. A goblin band raided the place.

  But···”

  Monero glanced around once, then continued.

  “They found goblin corpses too. Burned right along with everything.”

  Aira’s expression tightened.

  “Then someone killed

  both the villagers and the goblins··· and set it all on fire?”

  “That’s the most likely theory.

  No one knows who died first, but the village and the goblins all burned.”

  Rynel carefully folded the cloth the cookies had been in, sinking into thought.

  Monero added, face twisted.

  “It’s just nasty. And suspicious.”

  “Yeah··· and we don’t have any reason to go there.”

  Aira nodded.

  But Rynel looked around and said quietly,

  “Still···

  shouldn’t we check it at least once?”

  Monero blinked, dumbfounded.

  “···Did you hear anything I just said?”

  “We’re adventurers.

  If there’s a weird rumor around a place, that’s exactly why we should go.”

  A strange curiosity flickered in Rynel’s eyes.

  “Ugh···”

  Monero rubbed his forehead.

  “Seriously···

  is there not a single sane person here?”

  He took a big breath and started,

  “Listen. We’re on our way to the capital—”

  “Sorry, I changed my mind~”

  Aira cut in brightly.

  “Monero, if you don’t come, we’ll just leave you behind~

  Rynel can read a map, so it’s fine!”

  “···Wait. I’m not finished—”

  “Let’s go, Rynel!”

  Aira started walking, and Rynel followed.

  Monero stood there for a moment, staring into the air.

  “···This is driving me insane.”

  He dragged his feet, muttering.

  “Fine. Fine!”

  In the end, the three of them changed direction

  and headed into the forest road where that village had been.

  ◇

  The forest was deeper than expected.

  Hardly any sunlight reached the ground. The soil underfoot was damp,

  and the trees tangled together, blotting out the sky.

  After a long while,

  something blackened began to show between the trunks.

  “···Here.”

  Monero spoke.

  Ahead lay the remains of a village—burned so badly

  it was hard to recognize as anything at all.

  Only a few skeletal pillars remained,

  barely proving people had once lived here.

  “···Wow.”

  Aira couldn’t close her mouth.

  “It’s worse than I thought.”

  “Exactly.

  This is why coming here just ruins your mood.”

  Monero let out a deep sigh, scanning the area.

  Then Rynel stopped.

  “Wait.”

  He narrowed his eyes, staring at the ground.

  “What is··· that?”

  “Huh? What?”

  Monero asked.

  Rynel stepped forward and picked up a small piece caught near his boot.

  It looked like a fragment of bone—

  small, sharp, white.

  “···Bone?”

  Aira came closer and examined it.

  Then she found another similar piece in the charred earth and carefully lifted it.

  “Was there ever a weapon like this···?”

  It was shaped like an awl,

  the tip smooth—almost like it had been deliberately carved.

  Monero tried to brush it off.

  “It’s probably just leftover debris.

  Burned animal bone or something.”

  But Rynel kept staring at the fragment with a faintly unsettled look.

  Aira glanced at him.

  “What? Do you feel something?”

  “···No.

  It just··· feels familiar.”

  Monero shook his head like he couldn’t believe this.

  “Ha··· you two really weren’t locked up somewhere, right?”

  Aira laughed.

  “That’s like the fifth time you’ve said that today~”

  Monero rubbed his forehead.

  “Alright, alright. Enough.

  We don’t need to hang around a place like this.”

  He pulled out his map and compass again.

  “Let’s ask at Poen’s guild.

  Staying here won’t get us anything.”

  Rynel looked back at the burnt village one last time.

  “···Yeah.”

  He nodded and started walking.

  ◇

  Poen Village was small, but neat.

  Stone roads swept clean of dust,

  chimneys letting out thin white smoke,

  shops opening and closing in quiet routine.

  “Wow.

  You can really tell people live here.”

  Aira stretched her arms.

  “Told you.

  This place actually smells like civilization.”

  Monero finally looked like he’d recovered some composure, lifting his chin as he breathed in.

  Rynel scanned the streets.

  “Let’s find this village’s guild first.”

  “Yeah. It’ll get dark sooner than we think.”

  As they followed the alley,

  a larger building came into view between the others—an inn signboard hanging out front.

  A round shield emblem.

  Under it, small letters read: “Poen Adventurers’ Guild.”

  “Here.”

  The three of them opened the door and went inside.

  The guild interior was calm.

  Maybe because it was morning, there were only a few people scattered around.

  At the reception counter sat a woman with short brown hair.

  She looked up and greeted them warmly.

  “Welcome. This is the Poen Adventurers’ Guild.”

  Rynel stepped up and gave a light greeting.

  “Could we··· ask about the fire that happened nearby recently?”

  The receptionist’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

  “Ah··· that···”

  She composed herself and spoke carefully.

  “I’m sorry, but we need to confirm your adventurer rank before we can provide access to that information.

  Those documents are restricted to adventurers of C-rank and above.”

  Without a word, all three reached toward their gear.

  Monero lifted the edge of his cloak.

  A golden round badge glinted inside.

  Aira pointed to the badge on her belt.

  It flashed once in the light.

  Rynel felt inside his chest pocket,

  then slowly brought out a small badge and showed it.

  All three badges were circular with silver trim,

  a single “C” engraved at the center.

  The receptionist’s eyes moved from one to the next, checking carefully.

  Then she nodded.

  “Confirmed.

  All three of you are C-rank.”

  She rang a small bell beneath the counter.

  A clear sound spread through the guild.

  A moment later, a neatly dressed staff member walked out from the back.

  After a quiet greeting, he spoke gently.

  “I’ll assist you with the document access.

  This way, please.”

  They followed him into a small, quiet meeting room.

  Soft lighting.

  Documents arranged on the table.

  Chairs that were surprisingly cushioned.

  Once they sat, the staff member closed the door and began.

  “Three days ago,

  a small village on the outskirts of Poen was destroyed by fire.”

  He turned a page as he continued.

  “At first, it was reported as a simple accident.

  But the circumstances were unusual.”

  A brief pause.

  “Among the remains, there were signs of goblins as well.”

  Aira’s brow tightened slightly.

  Monero crossed his arms and muttered,

  “Knew it···”

  The staff member continued carefully.

  “It’s believed the villagers were indeed harmed during a goblin raid.”

  He took a breath, then lowered his voice further.

  “But at the same time···”

  He indicated a line in the report.

  “The goblins themselves

  were also found dead—

  with evidence of severed limbs, or bodies pierced through.”

  He paused, then added,

  “Most of them were burned as well—just like the villagers.”

  The room fell quiet for a moment.

  Rynel spoke softly.

  “So both the goblins and the villagers···

  were already dead.”

  “Yes.”

  The staff member nodded.

  “This case is still under investigation,

  and the perpetrator has not been identified.”

  He turned another page.

  The paper made a brief scraping sound.

  “···There were no confirmed survivors

  from the burned village.”

  Aira asked carefully,

  “Not a single person··· was rescued?”

  “No.”

  He nodded.

  “The initial recovery team searched the site.

  What they found was ash··· and thirteen bodies.”

  Rynel frowned.

  “Then according to the records, how many people lived there?”

  “Fourteen.”

  He checked the document as he answered.

  “Eight adults, six children.

  But only thirteen bodies were confirmed.”

  Monero murmured low.

  “So··· one person is missing.”

  The staff member closed the file quietly.

  “The youngest girl.

  She was the only one never found.”

  Aira pressed her lips together, then spoke cautiously.

  “Could it be···

  that one body was burned too badly to identify?”

  The staff member lowered his gaze briefly.

  “It’s possible.

  But···”

  He lifted his eyes again.

  “One of the responders left a note. Something strange.”

  All three of their gazes fixed on him.

  “At the innermost part of the village,

  a little away from the main ash field···”

  He continued slowly, choosing his words.

  “Faint small footprints were reportedly found.”

  Rynel’s voice dropped.

  “Then···

  someone could’ve been alive after the fire.”

  The staff member shook his head.

  “We can’t be sure.

  The prints were very faint··· and recovery began days later.

  No one could determine who they belonged to.”

  Silence.

  Rynel murmured,

  “Even so···

  there’s a good chance it was that missing child.”

  The staff member concluded, as if summarizing.

  “That is all the information we’ve secured so far.”

  He hesitated, then added,

  “At this point, the formal investigation team has already withdrawn.

  If there’s no further progress···

  the case will likely be filed as unsolved.”

  The meeting room stayed quiet.

  The three of them looked at each other without speaking.