"All right, what a respectable girl. Now, can you tell us where the Eye of Simorely is?" One of the people who had been silent suddenly spoke as he set down his wineglass. His voice was deep and pleasant, yet carried such authority that no one dared draw a breath.
Fatenai felt a little dizzy. She sat in her chair and shook her head, as though trying to wake herself up—but the dizziness came on so quickly that she didn't notice Marrison pulling off her hood. In a daze, she stared ahead, confusion glinting in her brown eyes. "What are you talking about? What Eye of Simorely?"
"The necklace Wickel had. Since he was willing to sacrifice himself, it must be in your hands." The person across from her tried to be patient and repeated himself.
"I think... I think Ed took it. He stole the Eye of Simorely..." Fatenai's voice sounded weak.
Several of the adventurers looked troubled at her answer.
"So it really is with Mr. Ed?" Marrison spoke first.
"Impossible. That sickly Ed has no use for the Eye of Simorely. That thing is poison to him." The person who had asked the question sounded certain.
"Perhaps he just wanted to take the Eye of Simorely..." Edmund said.
"Shut up, idiot! If I say it's impossible, then it's impossible. Do you think I don't know what he's thinking? He's nothing but a tool." The voice suddenly turned harsh.
No one dared speak. They seemed to fear this person greatly.
"Maybe it's still in Wickel's cabin. We should go check," Marrison said after a moment. No one objected to the suggestion. Soon, his gaze fell on Fatenai again. After saying those last words, she had slumped facedown on the table, unconscious. "What about the girl?"
"Give her some Magic Potion, then dump her in the forest." The person who gave this answer thought it was only natural.
Then he rose from his chair, which had a rather thick cushion on it—a clear sign of how much he disliked this place. The others hurriedly made way for him. Except for the person leading the way, everyone followed behind him.
"How did you get to know this family? Looks like you've made quite a lot from them lately." Edmund watched them leave, then took a small bottle from his pocket. At a glance, the black liquid inside the glass bottle looked like nothing good.
"Don't talk so much about that family. Their people are all executioners." Marrison's face held a warning. "Even Wickel couldn't stand up to them. If you want to make it through this Rose Month, keep your mouth shut. If he drops you and finds other adventurers, he won't keep anyone useless around—just like Linda."
"What happened to Linda?" Edmund couldn't help asking.
"She angered Ed and the person from before. They forced her to drink Magic Potion. She could be in any brothel by now." A trace of fear flashed in Marrison's eyes.
Edmund understood what Marrison meant. Adventurers were known for not fearing death, but at least Edmund wasn't eager to die over something like this. He grabbed Fatenai by her platinum hair and effortlessly lifted her up, then glanced at her. "She doesn't look like a commoner. You really don't know who she is?"
"Whatever her background, anyone can die in the forest." Marrison sounded impatient. "Stop wasting words. Just throw her out the window later."
"Got it... Why bother with Magic Potion? A naive girl like her won't survive this Rose Month anyway." As he spoke, Edmund pushed the stopper from the bottle and slowly brought its mouth toward Fatenai.
Fatenai seemed completely unaware. Her eyelashes were thick and long, and her pale skin and white hair made her look so faint and insubstantial that she might disappear at any moment.
A girl like her should pose no threat.
Bang!
But then, everything changed. The brown eyes of the girl who had kept them tightly shut suddenly opened. Edmund's hand paused for an instant, and she seized the opportunity to raise her hand—there was a dagger in it, which she plunged into Edmund's arm!
Edmund cried out and immediately let go, saving Fatenai's hair.
Marrison was startled by the sudden turn of events, but reacted quickly, opening his mouth to chant a spell. While Edmund used his other hand to clutch his wounded arm, Fatenai swiftly snatched the Magic Potion from him and hurled it behind her, straight at Marrison's face!
Marrison turned his head to one side and dodged the potion. When it hit the floor, the wooden boards hissed.
Edmund tried to stop Fatenai. He was an experienced adventurer, and even with one hand injured, he could still draw his weapon with his right. But as he stepped forward, he was surprised to find his feet tangled in something. Vines were rapidly growing beneath him, pinning him in place. Even the farthest his weapon could reach fell just short of Fatenai.
Fatenai glanced at him, reached beneath her cloak, and pulled out a black, sticky lump. She immediately tossed it away. Smoke billowed out with a choking odor. As Marrison coughed, he discovered in alarm that, for a moment, he couldn't gather Mana. He could only watch Fatenai's silhouette disappear into the smoke.
"What happened?!" The people who had heard the commotion hurried back, only to find that the two adventurers had failed to catch her and Fatenai had vanished.
"Useless!" The most distinguished person saw what had happened and quickly understood. His tone couldn't hide his contempt for them. His chin was raised, revealing one blue eye, now turbulent as a stormy sea.
Click.
Fatenai jumped out the window. The height was frightening, but she couldn't hesitate if she wanted to escape. She leapt, and just as she was about to hit the ground, a strong wind swept in from all sides, caught her, and gently set her down.
For the first time, Fatenai felt that trusting someone wasn't so bad.
"Fatenai? Are you all right? How are you feeling?" Helise emerged from the forest. She had been the one controlling the wind, and now she hurried over, looking deeply worried.
"Run!" Fatenai didn't know how to explain. She shouted instead.
At the same time, a fireball came hurtling down from above!
Helise froze, barely managing to dodge. Fatenai yanked her aside, helping her evade the fireball.
"The Ansendil Family is still here. They're still searching for the Eye of Simorely! We have to get out of here!" Fatenai quickly explained what was happening as they ran. She looked up and saw the hooded figures jumping out of the window one after another, landing with great agility.
She hadn't expected them to be so formidable.
"What do we do now?" Helise ran with Fatenai into the forest. She had seen the people pursuing them, too.
"I don't know why they think the Eye of Simorely is with us. But if we don't run, we'll die horribly if they catch us." Fatenai fell silent for a moment.
The mastermind was clearly a member of the Ansendil Family. She didn't know of any other family searching for the Eye of Simorely. He wouldn't give up after failing to find it before.
What worried Fatenai even more was that this Ansendil Family member was trying to keep his actions secret. Anyone he decided was useless had been brutally executed.
"Are the traps ready?" Fatenai asked.
"Hubert finished setting them up. But how did you know those adventurers couldn't be trusted?!" Helise asked.
As she ran, Fatenai tossed things behind her—some were flowers that gave off a foul stench when they hit the ground, while others were fruit that looked like marbles.
She used them to try to slow their pursuers down.
Suddenly, Fatenai didn't want to answer Helise's question anymore. It wasn't just because her strength was becoming increasingly precious—this woman hadn't noticed the adventurers' ill intent.
In fact, Fatenai had never trusted them from the start. She never misread people's expressions. The two adventurers' eyes held only greed and desire. People like that couldn't possibly be Wickel's friends.
It wasn't only because she was grateful to Wickel. He was also someone who would sacrifice himself for others.
Without realizing it, Fatenai thought again of the Ansendil Family noble. He was as arrogant and conceited as Ed, and he hadn't even bothered to change out of his noble's clothes. She had recognized him as a noble at a glance, just as she had immediately recognized Ed Ansendil.
Fatenai could imagine that this Ansendil Family noble was leading the search for the Eye of Simorely. But in the previous hunt, Wickel had died, and they hadn't found what they wanted. They had lost the trail. Then they had encountered one another while hunting unicorns, which was what had led them to force her to "reveal" where the Eye of Simorely was.
"Careful." Fatenai's face turned grim as she swung her dagger, knocking aside the hand of someone about to reach Helise. Then she shoved Helise forward.
They were almost there.
Fatenai took a deep breath and tried to run faster. Neither she, already short of stamina, nor Helise, a mage with poor physical endurance, could hold out much longer.
"Just a little farther. Up ahead is..." Helise began. Then she felt a wave of heat surge from behind and hurriedly threw herself to one side. A fireball skimmed past the spot where she had just been.
Before you continue