Lokkishi's News, Hiring a Search Party, and a Wanted Poster

Allen looked up, having snapped out of the daze Lokkishi's gaze had put him in.

"H-How is this possible? How could you be back?!? This makes no sense, umph…"

Lokkishi immediately clapped a hand over Allen's mouth, looking around frantically before putting a finger to her lips.

"Shhh! Everyone's still asleep."

Allen blinked, his eyes dropping to Lokkishi's hand. She blinked back at him, then quickly pulled her hand away, instinctively tugging at the stray hairs on her forehead as she whispered.

"…I just came back to see if you were all doing okay. It looks like everything's fine now, and you've successfully joined the Greyrat Family… Congratulations. Don't yell; I'll leave soon."

Allen looked at Lokkishi's face, still struggling to process what was happening.

Why? Why did Lokkishi suddenly come back? Up until tonight, the plot was still manageable, but what's going on now? What does she mean, 'see if we're okay'?

"Even if you just came back to see us, you didn't have to travel in the middle of the night… And you're saying you're leaving right after seeing me? You're not going to see Paul, Zenith, or Rudy? That contradicts what you just said, doesn't it?"

Lokkishi scratched her face, not bothering with why Allen wasn't using honorifics anymore. After a moment's thought, she decided to tell Allen what she'd learned, even though he seemed fine for now.

"I came here because I was passing through Donardi Territory—through the Rigette City Adventurer's Guild, and I found…"

She pulled a well-folded, document-like piece of good quality paper from her magic robe pocket, glanced at Allen's expression, and handed it to him.

Allen frowned as he took it and unfolded it, his expression turning to surprise.

It was a missing person advertisement. The paper was old, clearly having been posted for some time, and the handwriting had a distinct aristocratic tone.

To all adventurers:

I am James Boreas Greyrat. My beloved son, Allen Boreas Greyrat, recently went missing without cause on his journey to study, near the Red Dragon's Jaw. I am deeply distressed. To date, all search parties dispatched have failed to find any trace of him.

I hereby issue this missing person employment. I hope adventurers can help me find my beloved son.

My son, Allen, is only nine years old, yet his stature is already comparable to that of an adult woman. He is strongly built, with brown hair and gray eyes, slightly curly hair, and upturned eyebrows. His gaze is sharp. He often styles his hair back, and his eyebrows unconsciously rise when speaking to others, appearing sharp yet steady.

If you see anyone resembling this description, please provide information to the Boreas Estate in the Royal Capital.

If the lead is verified, you will receive two hundred gold coins.

If my beloved son can be brought back to the estate, one thousand gold coins will be awarded.

Thank you for your trouble.

Allen squinted as he finished reading the letter, remaining silent for a long moment before looking up at Lokkishi and speaking thoughtfully.

"I apologize. I suddenly ran into you, so… I subconsciously hid some things from you, also considering the need to conceal my whereabouts."

Seeing Allen's eyebrows unconsciously rise, Lokkishi blinked, feeling a little embarrassed herself.

"Well, um… I understand adventurers not telling the whole truth. Actually, you did tell the truth, but you never said what kind of trouble you got into from start to finish. I just guessed in a strange direction, um, sorry."

Allen looked at Lokkishi, still very confused, and decided to probe.

"But even so, you didn't need to come all the way back to question me about something like this, did you? A letter would have been perfectly fine… So there must be something else, right?"

Lokkishi hesitated for a moment, then pulled another crumpled, rough piece of paper from her magic robe and handed it over again.

Allen reached out, took it, and unfolded it, his expression suddenly darkening.

It was a bounty poster, concise and crude in its wording, a stark contrast to James's missing person notice.

Night Lion Bandit Group Bounty:

Target: Allen Boreas Greyrat.

Characteristics: Brown hair, gray eyes, an irritatingly surly face.

Bounty: One thousand gold coins.

Swordsman level: Water God Style—Advanced. Killed nine of my men at the Red Dragon's Jaw. If interested, we recommend targeted deployment of personnel for a 'hunt.'

Special note: Only the corpse is required.

Upon completion, contact the local Night Lion Bandit Group. Money and goods exchanged hand-to-hand.

This bounty is valid long-term.

Night Lion.

Allen squinted at it for a long while, then a humorless smile spread across his lips.

So that's it… No wonder Lokkishi suddenly rushed back. A thousand gold coin bounty from a bandit group… Tsk tsk, James, James, you truly never disappoint when it comes to being a disappointment. Killing someone is clearly much faster than bringing them back to the Royal Capital, isn't it? This bounty is so blatant… But why haven't I heard Paul mention it? Philip asked him to help inquire about information.

Allen looked up at Lokkishi, whose expression was a bit flustered.

"Was this bounty also found at the Adventurer's Guild? To be honest, Uncle Paul has been secretly helping me inquire, but he hasn't seemed to learn about me being wanted."

Lokkishi had already looked at these two strikingly different 'missing person notices' multiple times on her way back. She also realized that this must be at the behest of the Boreas Family in the Royal Capital. When combined, the information from the missing person employment and the bounty clearly showed that James wanted Allen dead, and the 'missing beloved son' was just a superficial pretense to maintain aristocratic decorum. This situation, where he was ordered to be killed by his own family, made her unsure how to approach Allen.

After all, she herself had run away from her village because of the cold shoulder she received for being unable to use telepathy. But she had only been given the cold shoulder, while Allen was explicitly named by his father to be killed.

This kid's only nine. I wonder what kind of trouble he got into back in the Royal Capital. Murder? Arson? He doesn't seem the type. No wonder he was so cautious and scared the whole way here; he probably had some idea of what he might be facing. Yet, even so, he still gave me all the money he had.

She took a deep breath and replied, "Actually, I got this when I was on my way to Rigette. Three bandits suddenly jumped out of the forest and ambushed me. I got it from them. This bounty must only be circulating in a small, grey area. At the Adventurer's Guild, I only found a missing person ad; I didn't hear anything else. Speaking of which, the Adventurer's Guild in the Asura Kingdom is really deserted. There aren't many requests, so this one stood out immediately."

Allen's eyebrows twitched. "On the way to Rigette City, bandits suddenly jumped out of the forest? Were they looking for me?"

Lokkishi nodded. "According to them, there's a bandit group searching for you east along the forest near the Red Dragon Mountain Range."

Allen's expression darkened at her words. "...This... that doesn't make sense. The trail I left pointed north. Why would anyone be searching on the southern slopes of the Red Dragon Mountain Range?"