After finding a way forward, Laki hurriedly said goodbye to Clare. He didn't rush around like a headless chicken, searching aimlessly for people. Instead, he went straight where he needed to.
And he was very focused. After paying to hire a carriage, he headed straight for the western village. He promised the driver extra money to go as fast as possible, and the journey—which would normally have taken most of a day—took him only half a day. He arrived in the middle of the night.
That's right!
The place Laki had gone was the "Western Village," the small town where Clare had previously taken a commission. When she arrived, she'd discovered that five lurking Yoma—including a flying one—had already been killed by someone using all kinds of bizarre methods.
In Laki's opinion, since it was certain the Yoma in that town hadn't been killed by a Claymore, there was a good chance that mysterious little girl had done it.
He'd never heard of anyone besides Claymores who could fight those terrifying Yoma, let alone five of them! Apart from that mysterious little girl who could easily suppress both Yoma and Clare, he couldn't think of anyone else who might have done it.
So he figured that if he started investigating in the Western Village, he might be able to make twice the progress with half the effort.
Fortunately, the Yoma had been killed, and no one had been attacked by one recently. So even in the middle of the night, the only inn in the Western Village was still open. That meant Laki, who was pressed for time, could ask around right away instead of having to wait until morning.
After paying the innkeeper a few coins made of precious metal, the man—who at first had barely paid Laki any