"Hey, how can you waste food like that?!" Sitting at one side of the table was a woman with chestnut hair tied in a high ponytail. She wore a beige turtleneck beneath a dark red velvet vest, with a leather jacket over it that gave her a sharp, practical look. Her trousers seemed to match her vest, and black leather guards covered her knees—a common outfit among adventurers.
She had taken off her gloves and was eating plant stew from a wooden bowl with a wooden spoon. As she ate, she pointedly addressed the person across from her.
"You're twisting my words." The man sitting opposite her wore similar clothes. Compared to the woman's restless manner, his movements weren't exactly graceful, but he was composed and at ease.
A strip of white linen covered this male adventurer's eyes, making it clear he couldn't see—a blind adventurer. That sounded rather interesting.
"Hmph, look! You clearly dropped that food out of your bowl!" The woman wouldn't let it go, even as the hand holding her spoon conveniently dropped some food beside his bowl.
"You crazy woman!" the male adventurer said, his expression sour.
Sitting beside them, Fatenai watched the pair. Since she had no one to argue with, she had already finished her own meal and was observing their squabble with interest.
These two, who called themselves adventurers, were the newest faces she had seen in the past half month.
At the time, Fatenai was still in the yard, marveling at how quickly it was getting dark, when she keenly noticed two guests approaching. They were both riding horses laden with packs, slowly making their way toward the cabin.
"There's a Forest Hunter's cabin here." Fatenai first heard the man say as he pointed toward it.
"That's wonderful," the woman said, her personality seeming rather flighty. "I'd love to try some different game and salads. It'd be even better if there's ale!"
The man couldn't help reminding her, "We're still quite a ways from town. You're getting ahead of yourself. It's already pretty good if the hunters can spare us some fruit and vegetables."
"I don't care. If I have to eat any more travel rations, I'll throw up!" the woman said.
As Fatenai listened to them talk, she simply crouched down to pick some edible plants—and unwittingly gathered quite a lot more than she needed.
"Oh, there's a little girl here." The two soon reached the cabin. The woman dismounted first, quickly spotted Fatenai, and walked over to her. "Does a family live here? Hello, could we speak with your parents? We're adventurers, and we'd like to stay the night."
In any case, Fatenai looked no older than eleven or twelve. It was hard to imagine a child living alone in the forest.
"They've gone hunting," Fatenai replied. "You're welcome to stay."
"That's wonderful! I'm Helise, and he's Hubert," Helise said happily. "Don't worry, we're both very quiet. We won't disturb your sleep tonight."
Fatenai politely nodded. Only afterward did she realize how little she could trust Helise's words. Whatever happened, Helise had to discuss it with her companion. They would argue as they talked, sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for so long that Fatenai thought they could keep it up all night.
There was nothing quiet about them.
By the time their argument over who was wasting food began at the table, Fatenai had gotten used to their peculiarities. Fortunately, she didn't actually like quiet. By the standards of her former life, these two would have been noisy and rude.
"Your parents haven't come back?" At last, when their argument seemed to have reached a conclusion, Fatenai had already tidied up her things and was preparing to return to her room. Helise noticed her and asked.
Helise seemed rash, but she was also very kindhearted. By comparison, Hubert was quiet and reserved. He only seemed quick-witted when talking with Helise; otherwise, he hadn't said a single word to Fatenai.
"They'll be staying in the forest for a long time, so there's no need to worry," Fatenai replied. "If you need anything from them, you can tell me. They might be in the forest for half a month sometimes, so it wouldn't be good if something urgent of yours got delayed."
"I see. What a poor, sweet child." Helise gave Fatenai a sympathetic look. "Actually, we were hoping to ask them to help us find something."
Fatenai smiled without answering and listened closely.
"We're looking for a Stone Platform, roughly square-shaped. It should be in a clearing. We just need you to take us there." Helise gestured to show Fatenai what she meant. As she listened, Fatenai's heart gradually grew heavy.
The place she was talking about was the very Stone Platform where Wickel had died.
"What do you want to go there for? It's not a good place," Fatenai said.
It really wasn't a good place. Aside from the shadow Wickel's death had left over her, that Stone Platform had clearly once served as an altar, and it must have held secrets she didn't know about.
She wanted to find out something from these adventurers.
"It's pretty there, so we want to have a look," Helise said.
Looking at Helise's sincere expression, Fatenai couldn't help finding it funny. Even as an excuse to a twelve-year-old girl, it was incredibly clumsy.
"If you don't want to go, then never mind," Hubert said before Fatenai could reply. "If it were that easy to find, there'd be no point in what we've been doing for the past few months."
"You're so bad-tempered!" Helise puffed out her cheeks and protested at Hubert, but in the end, she agreed with him. The two soon finished the food on the table, said goodbye to Fatenai, and went out. Clearly, they still had things to do in the forest that night.
Fatenai thought nothing of Hubert's distance. Helise's warmth, on the other hand, was more than she could bear. She truly didn't want to go near that Stone Platform again. Helise's kindness, if left unreturned, would only make Fatenai feel worse.
Fatenai didn't want to talk much with them, afraid they might change their minds and ask her to lead them there. When she turned and went back to her room, Darwin was still sitting at the table, writing furiously. After her suggestion that afternoon, Darwin had already begun organizing notes on how to care for plants. Thinking of that, Fatenai turned her head. The roughly made wooden cabinet was filled with potted plants, all of them growing quite well under his care.
"Looks like we had guests today," Darwin said, having just finished a stretch of work, when he saw Fatenai.
Fatenai nodded. Seeing him return to his work, she didn't disturb him.
She still had to think about the two guests.
The two people claiming to be adventurers wanted to find a Stone Platform in the Eisole Forest—but that was only on the surface. In truth, their identities weren't as simple as they seemed.
With the Eye of Connection activated, Fatenai could clearly see that they were both mages.
Fatenai felt that ever since she had arrived in the Eisole Forest, the number of mages had gradually increased. By contrast, among the circles of noble society, no one ever seemed to mention the profession of mage.
Two mages searching for that Stone Platform couldn't be a simple matter. After all, the people who had been searching for Wickel before were also a group of mages. That suggested the secret of the Stone Platform had a close connection to mages. But what was that connection? Fatenai found it rather troubling.
As she thought, Fatenai had already lain down on the bed. After a moment, she closed her eyes, apparently deciding she could leave these matters until tomorrow.
At that moment, someone was pacing in the forest outside the cabin.
"Ah, I'm so sleepy, Hubert. Can't we just go back?" Helise yawned as she watched Hubert crouched on the ground, drawing magical symbols. She was bored out of her mind.
"There's a barrier here that can block mages and beasts from sensing what's inside," Hubert said sternly, paying no heed to Helise's drowsiness. As a mage, his perceptive abilities helped make up for his blindness. "It looks like the work of grand mages. This isn't an ordinary Forest Hunter's cabin."
"Forest Hunters live in the woods all year round. It's no big deal if they use a little Mana to protect themselves. Maybe they just happen to have a grand mage friend who put up this barrier for them." Helise didn't think any of it was worth worrying about.
"That little girl is clearly living here alone. If you can't even pick up on clues like that, you might as well give up on graduating this year," Hubert said bluntly.
Helise felt that he'd hit a sore spot. "You're awful! Why would you say that to me?"
"It's a fact—and that little girl is full of questions, too," Hubert said.
"So what? She's not the reason we came out here. If she really is some powerful person hiding in plain sight, wouldn't it be even more troublesome to go after her? The Month of Trekking is almost here. If we don't find research materials soon, graduating will be even harder," Helise said.
Helise's words left Hubert with no good argument. He took a twig and poked the spot where he had drawn the magical symbol, then erased it.
"Hehe, that's more like it. Stop being so prejudiced against people. We can just get back on the road after we wake up tomorrow," Helise said with a laugh. When Hubert stood, she took him by the hand without warning and dragged him toward the cabin, startling him.
"What are you doing?" Hubert asked, but Helise only answered with laughter as clear as silver bells, offering no explanation.
Before you continue