No one knew how much time had passed. The flames in the fireplace still burned tirelessly, bathing the wooden cabin in cozy warmth.
Yano returned from outside carrying the faint chill of night dew. With practiced ease, he added several dry pine logs to the fireplace, bringing the temperature inside back up.
Just as he was about to report the situation to Chen Yu, the deep shadows in the corner beyond the firelight rippled like water, and Nili emerged with a yawn.
"I heard you two were searching all over town for me. Well, I'm back now."
She shook the damp dew from her black robe, casually pulled down her hood to reveal a small, weary face, then unceremoniously squeezed into the best spot before the fireplace and narrowed her eyes in comfort.
"Say whatever you need to say quickly. Your aunt still needs to hurry back and catch up on sleep. You two may not sleep at night, but I do."
Yano did not waste words and went straight to the point. "The boss said there's some important intelligence that needs to be told to you immediately."
Chen Yu bounced around to face Nili. "I happen to have some information about Vampires. Interested?"
"Vampires?"
Nili paused in the middle of rubbing her eyes and lowered her gaze toward the Slime sitting on the blanket, surprise in her voice.
"You Slimes can get information about Vampires? Information even we Stoneborn don't know?"
Chen Yu confidently puffed out his round belly. "Of course. Don't underestimate the intelligence-gathering abilities of the Slime Kingdom."
"It's no exaggeration to say that even every move made by the Goblin Legion at Cracked Stone Pass is under our close watch."
Hearing the little fellow talk such a big game, Nili immediately grew interested, and much of