Nak Catches Them in the Act

Nak heard that it was Sonata's idea, so he said no more. He waved Andy over, and the two of them set off.

Nak's patrol route was pretty simple. They left the Quilboar settlement in Razorfen, headed west for a few kilometers, and reached a fork in the road. From there, they went five kilometers south, then stopped. Nak said that any farther south would take them beyond the Steel-Bristle Quilboar's territory, and going there without permission could cost them their lives. From that point, they went west, then north until they reached a large boulder, and finally headed south back to Razorfen. That was the full extent of the Steel-Bristle Quilboar's outer territory.

By the time Andy and Nak reached the fork, it was already dark. They raised their torches, got their bearings, and headed south. Andy glanced around the fork, and then, to his surprise, the Monster Spirit suddenly said, "Welcome to Crossroads!"

"Crossroads!" Andy blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Yeah, this is Crossroads. It's just missing a signpost," the Monster Spirit said.

"What Crossroads?" Nak asked, staring at Andy in confusion.

"N-nothing. I mean, this place looks like a crossroads," Andy quickly covered.

Nak looked around, then down at the ground. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead and said, "Oh! How did I not think of that? Now that you mention it, this really does look like a crossroads. Next time I come by, I'll put up a signpost. Then I won't have to waste so much time figuring out which way to go." He sighed repeatedly.

Andy was sweating. His careless exclamation had just helped give a famous place its name.

After crossing the crossroads, the two continued south. Andy had no idea how Nak judged distances, but he only realized they had walked five kilometers when Nak said to stop. Andy followed Nak west across the desolate plain. Apart from the biting night wind and the sand it blew across the ground, there was nothing. There were plenty of stars overhead, though, and they were large and bright.

Following Nak, Andy had unconsciously turned with him. It was only then that Nak explained why they patrolled at night. The Quilboar hadn't used to patrol after dark, and they hadn't needed to. They were such a small tribe that no one paid them any mind, and they were already far from the heart of the war zone, the Razorfen Barrens. There hadn't been much to worry about.

Then one morning, a Quilboar woman went to complain to Sonata that someone had stolen the chickens she kept at home during the night. At the time, Sonata had simply thought there was a thief among his people. It wasn't anything strange; they were ordinary people, and it was only natural that some of them would do bad things. Besides, Sonata had already narrowed it down to a few suspects, and unfortunately, Nak was one of them. The reason was simple: back then, Nak had been lazing around the tribe, with so little to do that he was practically bouncing off the walls.

While warning the tribe, Sonata also secretly sent some guards to keep watch at night. But the thief never came back. With no other choice, Sonata let the honest Nak take the blame, though he never outright accused him of stealing the chickens. He told Nak to patrol, and said that if anything similar happened again, Nak would be held fully responsible. Nak didn't mind patrolling at night, but he did care about his reputation.

And so Nak had been in charge of the night patrol ever since. No one else had ever taken his place.

As Andy listened and walked, they gradually reached the large boulder where he had first met Nak. Nak gestured for them to sit and rest. Andy plopped down on the boulder and suddenly said, "Nak, don't you think there's something wrong with your wife?"

"What did you say?" Nak nearly leaped off the boulder. He stared at Andy in shock. "How could you think that? What could be wrong with her?"

"Have you really never suspected that something might be going on between your wife and Sonata?" Andy tried to choose his words carefully.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Nak said. "My wife is wonderful. It's just that I've been patrolling every night lately, and I've let her down."

"Maybe they were the ones who arranged for you to patrol," Andy said with a smile. He'd known Nak wouldn't believe him.

"How could you think that? If you keep saying things like that, I'm going to get angry!" Nak was clearly already angry.

"Think about it. Today you hurt your foot, and Sonata took out that bottle of potion to treat you." Andy looked at Nak. "As far as I know, that potion is incredibly expensive and rare. Why would Sonata let anyone else use something so precious?"

"He's my uncle! That doesn't make me just anyone!" Nak grumbled. "My uncle is a good person!"

"Is he? Then was it good of him to take the position that should've been yours?" Andy snickered.

"I'm not interested in the elder's position. I'm much happier the way things are now," Nak said dismissively.

"Do you remember when I first got here?" Andy said. When Nak nodded, he continued, "I saw someone in Sonata's inner room. Then I went to your house and found out that the person was your wife."

"That's impossible!" Nak jumped to his feet, finally losing his temper. "Did you actually see her?"

"I didn't, but I have an ability that lets me see through obstacles," Andy said.

"Impossible, impossible!" Nak shook his enormous boar's head and muttered to himself.

"Whether it's possible or not, you'll know everything if you head home early today!" Andy said, winking at Nak.

Nak froze for a moment. Then he saw Andy had already set off back the way they had come. He shook his head and hurried after him, saying in a muffled voice, "If this isn't true, you'd better apologize to me!"

Andy didn't answer. He just smiled. He knew he couldn't have been mistaken. And even if he had been, the Monster Spirit couldn't be wrong. It was a system with cheat-like functions!

And yet, somehow, everything had turned out this way.

That evening, in Sonata's cave.

"Sonata, I think I'll go home tonight after all," Nak's wife said.

"Why, Ina? Are you afraid of Nak, or that kid who's who-knows-what?" Sonata asked, his eyes full of disdain.

"Nak isn't the problem. I really am afraid of that kid. Every time I see his eyes, I get a chill. I can't shake the feeling that he knows something!" Ina said.

Sonata burst out laughing. "What's there to be afraid of? What's so scary about that kid? You're mine. Even if that idiot Nak finds out, what can he do? I took his position, and he didn't even dare say a peep!"

"I still don't think this is a good idea," Ina insisted.

"All right, all right! We'll do it your way. Go home tonight, then." Sonata suddenly felt irritated for no reason and waved Ina away. With him backing her up, what did she have to be afraid of?

Andy's plan was doomed to fail that day. He had underestimated Sonata and the other Quilboar. Nak might have been a fool, but the other Quilboar weren't!

When Andy watched Nak's wife sleeping in her own bed with his own eyes, he realized he might have made a serious mistake. Faced with Nak's furious glare and his wife's confused expression, Andy quickly gave an awkward smile and dragged Nak outside.

"This doesn't make sense. Did they notice something and prepare for it?" Andy muttered.

"Andy, I want you to apologize!" Nak shouted angrily.

"Nak, you have to believe me. What I told you is absolutely true. If you don't believe me, watch them for another night!" Andy said with complete certainty.