"They must be men from 'Severed Finger'!"
Bosco spoke with absolute certainty.
Then he fell into thought.
"As for who ordered them? I have enemies-not many, but not few either. A handful want me dead, but right now, they're probably all fleeing toward Will County. They wouldn't have time to bother with me, so..."
At that, Bosco drew a deep breath.
He spoke each word distinctly.
"It could only be those invaders from the northwest!"
Once he finished, Bosco gave a bitter smile.
"I thought things were bad enough already, but I never imagined they were even worse than I'd thought. Lerdri has been infiltrated this deeply!"
"This war..."
James VIII's private adviser could not go on.
Worry covered his face.
Although he had prepared for the worst when the Steppe People appeared outside Thunder Fortress, he had never expected a situation like this.
The gang members lurking in Lerdri's shadows were actually taking orders from the Steppe People.
The implications were simply too terrifying.
Bosco looked toward the crowded, slow-moving stream of refugees on the distant street, and traces of despair began creeping across his face.
Qin Ran watched Bosco in silence, then turned to leave.
"L-Lord 2567?"
Bosco froze, calling out instinctively.
"Do what you need to do. I'll do what I need to do!"
Leaving those words behind, Qin Ran vanished into the shadows of the street.
But the Fire Crow took flight from Qin Ran's shoulder. With eyes rivaling an eagle's, the bird surveyed all of Lerdri, searching for anything unusual as Qin Ran intended.
Meanwhile, Qin Ran glanced over the system notifications.
``` [Side quest discovered: Traitors within the city]
[Traitors within the city: Your reunion with Bosco after a long separation was certainly unusual. A sudden assassination attempt has shown you how difficult defending