Nighttime Watchers

The two began working in silence.

Xia Lin handled the digging, while Sera helped carry the more intact bodies.

She wasn't particularly skilled at it, clearly unused to this kind of rough labor, but she didn't complain.

Only her tail gave away her feelings. It tensed whenever she exerted herself, then flicked irritably whenever she caught a whiff of the corpses.

When Xia Lin reached the edge of the woods to deal with the body of a caravan cook, his foot struck something hard.

He looked down and saw a finely crafted longbow.

It was Shamir's bow.

He picked it up. It felt light yet sturdy in his hands, and a faint, lingering fragrance still clung to the limbs.

[Item: Elven Longbow (Human-Made "Fine+" Version)]

[Durability: 75/90]

[Kills: 128]

[Appraisal: A rather good elven-style longbow, modified by a skilled human artisan to suit its user's habits. It has moderate draw weight and high accuracy. Unfortunately, its previous owner seemed better at running away than shooting. Perhaps you could sell it to someone who really needs it?]

Xia Lin held the bow, feeling somewhat conflicted.

"Hey, Sera," he asked. "Do you remember that female archer? Shamir?"

At his words, Sera raised her dark red eyes, looking puzzled. "The female archer? Wasn't she supposed to break through with you, then... die somewhere in a corner? Before I was knocked out, I thought I saw you getting ready to charge out."

Xia Lin looked at the longbow, then briefly explained how Shamir had pretended to help him break through, only to use the opportunity to escape on her own.

As Sera listened to his account, the scorn and mockery vanished from her face.

She didn't make a cutting remark as usual, or wear that look that said, "See? That's just how humans are."

She just... fell silent.

She stared at the shovel in her hands. Her tail, which had been swaying slightly all along, went completely still and pressed tight against the backs of her legs.

The dark red flames in her eyes seemed to dim. She lowered her eyelids slightly and looked at her open palm, saying nothing for a long time.

Only the wind sweeping over the grass and the faint howls of beasts from the distant woods broke the silence.

The sudden quiet made Xia Lin feel a little uneasy.

After that, Sera didn't say another word. She just kept working in silence.

By the time they tamped down the last mound of earth, the sun had completely sunk below the horizon, leaving only a trace of red in the distance.

"Done." Xia Lin tossed aside the shovel and wiped the sweat from his brow.

He looked at Sera. "This place isn't safe. We'd better get to the city soon. Orlando shouldn't be far."

At that, Sera brushed the dust from her robe, but didn't set off right away.

She walked over to Xia Lin. Her dark red eyes gleamed strangely in the twilight. Then she held out a hand, palm up.

"Hmm?" Xia Lin looked at her outstretched hand, feigning ignorance.

Sera gave him a look that said, "Try playing dumb and see what happens," and spoke with matter-of-fact coldness. "Don't play dumb, human. I survived, so by adventurer rules, I'm entitled to my share.

"You mean...?" Xia Lin pretended not to understand, doing his best to look like an innocent, simple young man who'd just finished a hard day's work.

Sera rolled her fiery dark red eyes without the slightest hesitation. Xia Lin even wondered if he'd imagined it. Could a Tiefling roll their eyes in such a human way?

"Cut the act, human." Sera's voice was still hoarse, but it carried an undeniable force that pierced straight through his pretense. "What about the gear and weapons on our 'colleagues'? Don't tell me they grew legs and ran off."

She paused, her gaze landing precisely on the Space Bag at Xia Lin's waist. "What, you really planning to fool everyone? Or did you think that, while no one was looking, you could 'hold on to' the dead's compensation money too?"

Well, so much for playing dumb.

He gave up the act. The hint of honest simplicity vanished from his face, replaced by a shrewd merchant's look.

"Fine, fine. You've got sharp eyes." Xia Lin spread his hands. "That's right, I took the opportunity to 'sort things out.' After all, we can't let all this good stuff go to waste on the beasts in the woods, can we?"

"Sounds better than it is." Sera gave a derisive snort, but kept her hand out. "Enough talk. We split it according to the rules. The spoils go to the two survivors."

"How do you want to split them?" Xia Lin folded his arms and looked her over.

"Simple." Sera held up two fingers. "Eighty-twenty. Eighty for you, twenty for me."

"I only care about the share I earned by surviving." Sera's voice was flat, as if she didn't care how much the money amounted to. "You did the most work and took the greatest risks. It's only right that you get the bigger share. Don't drag it out. Let's settle it."

Now Xia Lin was the one who was surprised.

He'd prepared a whole list of arguments for haggling, things like "I risked my life to kill the Orc leader," "The equipment took a lot of damage," and "I suffered serious emotional distress." But she wasn't having any of it. She'd offered a split so reasonable that he had nothing to argue about.

"Fine!" Xia Lin agreed at once, afraid she might change her mind. "Then it's settled! Ninety-ten! Ninety for me, ten for you!"

Sera fell silent. Her dark red eyes fixed on him, her face expressionless. But her tail, which had been swaying slightly, suddenly went rigid, its tip trembling as though she were desperately holding something back.

"Fine..."

She actually agreed? With that wary look, does she think I'm going to kill her to keep the loot? Xia Lin thought.

He might be greedy, but he wasn't about to stab someone in the back after fighting alongside them, especially when she didn't look like an easy target.

With that in mind, Xia Lin hurriedly waved his hands. "Ahem! I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Eighty-twenty it is. Deal!"

Sera stared at him for several seconds before her stiff tail gradually relaxed, though it remained held at a wary angle. "Hmph. Keep everything with you for now. We'll turn it into money somewhere safe, then split it."

"No problem." Xia Lin agreed readily. "It's dark. We need to get out of here. Let's try to find somewhere to stay before midnight, or go straight to Orlando?"

"Whatever." Sera seemed not to care. "But we'll probably have to go back to the city and haggle with the merchants' guild over the reward."

The two wasted no more time. After a quick cleanup of the battlefield, they set out for Orlando, guided by the fading daylight and the faint light of the twin moons rising in the distance.

Night deepened, and the stars shone unusually clear. Silver moonlight spilled across the wilderness, draping everything in a hazy veil.

Insects had replaced the daytime clamor, and every so often the howl of a nocturnal animal drifted over from afar, adding to the sense of desolation and danger.

The two walked one behind the other, Xia Lin half a step ahead as he warily scanned their surroundings.

Sera followed at an unhurried pace. She had deliberately adjusted the hem of her robe to conceal her purple tail, which so readily betrayed her emotions.

Silence spread between them, broken only by their steady footsteps and the rustle of the night wind passing through the grass.

Xia Lin eventually gave in to his curiosity and asked, "Hey, Sera, that move you used earlier... the black beam. What was it? Magic?"

Sera glanced at him, her dark red eyes gleaming strangely in the moonlight.

His question seemed to surprise her, but after a moment's silence, she answered. "That was Eldritch Blast. I'm not a mage."

"Not a mage? Then... a sorcerer?" Xia Lin pressed. He knew sorcerers were the lucky ones born with magical bloodlines.

"I'm a warlock," Sera said flatly, though the words seemed to touch on some sort of taboo. "Our power comes from pacts."

She didn't seem to mind saying a little more. Perhaps the night had lowered her guard, or perhaps after coming so close to death, she didn't see any need to keep up an air of mystery. "We don't need to understand and manipulate the Magic Net like mages, or rely on our bloodlines like sorcerers. We just need to... form a connection with certain powerful beings and pay the appropriate price in exchange for power."

Warlock... Those fragments of knowledge flickered through Xia Lin's mind.

Making a pact with a powerful being in exchange for power... It sounded like a shortcut, but one full of unknowns and dangers.

"So... you signed a contract with some, uh..." He chose his words carefully. "Big shot?"

"You could put it that way." Sera's voice betrayed no emotion. "A fair trade. I provide a service, and they grant me power."

Xia Lin wisely didn't ask what the "service" or the "price" involved.

He switched to a lighter topic. "By the way, what you said to those Orcs earlier... that they'd regret killing you. Was that true? Do you really have someone powerful backing you?"

At that, Sera suddenly burst out laughing.

"Ha, that?" She raised a hand to cover her mouth, her dark red eyes curving into crescents. "I was just trying to scare them. You believed me?"

Watching her expression, which seemed to say, "You actually fell for that?" Xia Lin felt like the Tiefling had fooled him again.

But for some reason, he felt that there had been something unnatural about Sera's laugh and expression as she answered, as if she were using a joke to cover something up.

Was it just his imagination?

He focused his mind and used Item Appraisal on Sera.

His head throbbed, and a pale blue screen appeared in his vision.

[Name: Sera]

[Race: Tiefling]

[Class: Warlock Lv.?]

[Condition: Lightly injured, moderately fatigued]

[Skills: Eldritch Blast, ???, ???, ???]

[Appraisal: A typical Tiefling, with a mouth like a poison-coated dagger and secrets buried deeper than a dragon's hoard. Was what she said just now true? Who knows? Maybe even she doesn't know.]

A string of question marks, much like when he'd appraised Barrett earlier.

Still, the appraisal fit his impression of her rather well.

"Looks like you're not exactly an honest person, either." Xia Lin looked away and pursed his lips.

"Likewise." Sera shrugged, her smile once again turning inscrutable.

The two continued onward through the silent night.

Moonlight flowed over the rugged dirt road, stretching their shadows long.

Just then, Xia Lin came to an abrupt halt. His hand instinctively tightened around his sword hilt as he warily scanned the surrounding darkness.

"What's wrong?" Sera stopped too, a flicker of wariness in her eyes.

"It's nothing..." Xia Lin frowned and focused on the feeling. "Just now... it felt like someone was watching us. No... watching me..."

The sensation was strange. The gaze hadn't felt hostile so much as coldly appraising.

An unseen gaze seemed to sweep across his soul from somewhere incredibly far away, linger for a brief moment, then silently disappear.

He looked around again, but there was nothing except the wind and the chirping of insects.

"Maybe I'm just tired." Xia Lin shook his head and gave a self-deprecating smile. "That battle scared me senseless."

Just my imagination.

After all, they'd just been through such a brutal battle. It was only natural that his nerves were on edge.

He put it out of his mind and urged Sera to keep going.

The night was long, and the road ahead uncertain.

Beneath the cold light of the twin moons, the land where more than a dozen bodies had just been buried seemed even more dangerous than it had in daylight.