Was she going to the academy to see her daughter?
Thinking of Lidona, that third-year senior with her signature flaxen hair and light brown eyes, then looking at the disguised legendary mage beside him...
He Xi came to a conclusion.
Though he was curious why she had gone out of her way to disguise herself, he did not ask. After all, it was her family business and had nothing to do with him.
Still, there was another matter he could ask about.
He took the black Adventure Card out of his Dimensional Bag.
"Do you recognize this?"
Flora, who had been walking along with light steps, stopped and took the card curiously.
"This is... an Adventure Card?" She took it, seemingly not paying it much mind. "You've started playing this too?"
By the light of the streetlamps, she caught sight of the front of the card.
The moment she saw it, her relaxed brows instantly furrowed.
"Eh... what an ugly character card."
"Why didn't you get one that looks better?"
He Xi could neither laugh nor cry. "I didn't buy it. Actually, I found it on the corpse of someone called Claw in the Hidden Valley District not long ago."
"Claw?"
"Yeah. The person printed on the front is Claw."
A flicker of surprise passed through Flora's eyes, followed by an expectant look toward He Xi. "That sounds... rather interesting."
Knowing that she enjoyed hearing such adventure stories, He Xi recounted in as much detail as possible everything that had happened at the Gray Rat Tavern that day—from searching for Tata, to his fight with Claw, to the appearance of that mysterious cloaked figure.
When he mentioned the Shadow Hand, Flora's brows lifted slightly, but she did not interrupt him and merely continued listening quietly.
"...In the end, I found