Following the direction of the white light, the two hurried forward. But because it had been too far away, the glow had naturally vanished long before they got close. Even so, though the light was gone, rather blurry footprints had been left behind on the snow surface.
If the other party had a physical form, then it should possess some means of flying or reducing its own weight. The footprints were shallow enough that Miss Reinhart could not even tell whether they belonged to a human or an animal. It was even possible that they had not been left by that ball of light at all.
"So what is going on here? Twenty years of investigation produced no results, so why did that light really appear as soon as we arrived? Oh no, I'm not actually some kind of Chosen One, am I?"
The troubled witch stood there looking into the distant place, while Shade continued crouching on the snowy ground and studying the shape of the footprints:
"Why do these look so much like Miss Reinhart's? Don't overthink it. Maybe you're simply unlucky."
"You won't make the young ladies like you if you talk that way."
She said this somewhat displeasedly, then reached out and pulled the crouching Shade to his feet:
"It's getting late, so let's head back. This Sunday has passed just like that. Other than hauling my drunken father home, it seems we haven't done anything worthwhile."
"The Poem Chapter Fragment and that sword."
"Yes. It feels like there are more and more things that need doing, yet fewer and fewer things we can solve."
After seeing Miss Reinhart back to Kael-Todd Town, Shade bid her farewell. He had not walked far down the mountain path when an owl descending from the sky landed on his