Allen stared at Lokkishi, finally snapping out of the daze caused by her gaze.
"H-how is this possible? How could you be back?!? This makes no sense—mmph."
Lokkishi immediately covered Allen's mouth with her hand, looking left and right in alarm before putting a finger to her lips.
"Keep your voice down! Everyone's still asleep."
Allen blinked, lowering his gaze to Lokkishi's hand. She met his eyes and blinked as well, then yanked her hand back at lightning speed. Tugging at the loose strands of hair over her forehead, she whispered.
"I... I just came back to see whether you were all doing well. It looks like you're fine, and you successfully joined the Greyrat Family too. Congratulations. Don't shout. I'll leave soon."
Allen stared at Lokkishi's face, still unable to process it.
Why? Why had Lokkishi suddenly come back? Up until tonight, the plot had still been manageable, but what was this? What did she mean, she came to see whether we were okay?
"Even if you just came back to see us, you didn't need to travel in the middle of the night. And you're leaving as soon as you see me? You're not going to see Paul, Zenith, or Rudy? Doesn't that contradict what you just said?"
Lokkishi scratched her cheek. She did not mind that Allen had stopped using honorifics this time. After thinking for a moment, she decided to tell him what she had learned, even though Allen seemed all right now.
"I came here because, when I passed through the Adventurer's Guild in Rigette City, Donardi Territory, I found something."
She took a carefully folded sheet of fine paper, something like an official document, from the pocket of her robes. Glancing at Allen's expression, she handed it to him.
Allen frowned as he accepted and unfolded it, then his expression turned startled.
It was a missing person request. The paper was old, clearly having been posted for some time, and its wording carried an obvious noble tone.
--
To all adventurers:
I am James Boreas Greyrat. My beloved son, Allen Boreas Greyrat, recently disappeared without cause at Red Dragon's Jaw while traveling to pursue his studies. I am deeply distressed. To date, none of those dispatched to search for him have found any trace of him.
I hereby issue this missing person request, hoping that adventurers may help me find my beloved son.
My son Allen is only nine years old, yet he is already as tall as an adult woman. He has a sturdy build, brown hair, gray eyes, slightly curly hair, raised brows, and sharp eyes. He often combs his hair back, and when speaking to others, his brows unconsciously rise. Though sharp, he remains composed.
If you see someone matching this description, please provide information to Boreas Mansion in the royal capital.
If the lead is verified, you will receive two hundred gold coins.
If you can bring my beloved son back to the mansion, you will receive one thousand gold coins.
My apologies for the disturbance.
--
Allen narrowed his eyes as he read the letter. He remained silent for quite some time before finally looking up at Lokkishi and speaking carefully.
"Sorry. When I suddenly ran into you back then, I instinctively hid some things from you. It was also to keep my whereabouts concealed."
Seeing Allen unconsciously raise his brows, Lokkishi blinked, looking a little embarrassed instead.
"Well, um... I can understand adventurers not telling the truth. Actually, you did tell the truth. You just never said what kind of trouble you got into from start to finish. I was the one who imagined strange things. Um, sorry."
Allen looked at Lokkishi, still deeply puzzled, and tested the waters.
"Even so, you didn't have to come all the way back just to question me about this, did you? You could have written a letter. So there must be something else, right?"
Lokkishi hesitated for a moment, then took another sheet of rough, curled paper from her mage robes and handed it over.
Allen reached out to take it. As he unfolded it, his expression suddenly darkened.
It was a wanted notice, written in crude, blunt language that sharply contrasted with James's missing person notice.
--
Night Lion Bandit Group Wanted Notice:
Target: Allen Boreas Greyrat.
Features: Brown hair, gray eyes, and an annoying-looking sour face.
Bounty: One thousand gold coins.
A Water God Style advanced-ranked swordsman. He killed nine capable men under my command at Red Dragon's Jaw. If interested, it is recommended that you arrange personnel specifically to "hunt" him down.
Special notice: Corpse only.
Afterward, contact the local Night Lion Bandit Group. Payment upon delivery.
This bounty remains valid indefinitely.
Night Lion.
--
After staring at it with narrowed eyes for a long while, Allen's lips curled into a cold smile.
So that was it. No wonder Lokkishi suddenly rushed back. A bandit group bounty of one thousand gold coins. Tsk, tsk, James, James. You really never disappointed when it came to being disappointing. Killing someone was obviously much faster than bringing him back to the royal capital, wasn't it? The wanted notice was so blatant. But why hadn't Paul mentioned it? Philip had asked him to help gather information.
Allen looked up at Lokkishi, whose expression was somewhat at a loss.
"Did you find this wanted notice at the Adventurer's Guild too? To be honest, Uncle Paul has been secretly looking into things for me as well, but it seems he hasn't learned that I'm wanted yet."
Lokkishi had repeatedly looked over the two vastly different "missing person notices" on her way back. She had also realized that they had to be issued under the instructions of the Boreas Family in the royal capital. One missing person request and one bounty notice—taken together, it was obvious that James wanted Allen dead. The missing beloved son was merely a facade to preserve a noble's dignity. She did not know how to speak to Allen about a situation where his own family had ordered him killed.
After all, she had run away from her village because she did not understand telepathy and had suffered the villagers' cold stares. But she had only endured cold stares, while Allen's own father had named him directly and wanted him killed.
This child is only nine. I wonder what he did in the royal capital. Murder? Arson? He doesn't look like that kind of person. No wonder he was so careful and anxious all along the way. He probably had some idea of what awaited him. Even so, he gave me all the money he had.
She took a deep breath and answered.
"Actually, I got this while traveling toward Rigette. Three bandits suddenly jumped out of the forest and stopped me. I got it from them afterward. This bounty should only be circulating on a small scale in the gray areas. I only found the missing person request at the Adventurer's Guild and couldn't learn anything else. Come to think of it, the Adventurer's Guilds in the Asura Kingdom are really deserted. There are barely any requests, so I spotted it right away."
Allen's brows twitched violently.
"On the road to Rigette City, bandits suddenly came out of the forest?? Were they searching for me?"
Lokkishi nodded.
"According to them, a group of bandits seems to be searching eastward for your trail through the forests beneath the Red Dragon Mountain Range."
Allen's face turned ugly at those words.
"This... that shouldn't be possible. The trail I left pointed north. Why would anyone be searching along the southern foothills of the Red Dragon Mountain Range?"
Before you continue