A wordless tension spread through the ruined little house.
Selina crouched in the center of the floor etched with array patterns, slowly tracing the wavy lines with her fingertips. Her long blue-green hair fell from her shoulders, its tips almost brushing the grooves in the floor.
The silence did not last long, however. Soon, Selina's fingers stopped at the end of the final ring of waves, and she spoke in a voice slightly lower than usual:
"Yes, this is a special magic circle. It can communicate with my people in the ocean and send messages..."
Renato stood beside her, committing each feature of the array's layout to memory without rushing to question her.
Only after confirming that it was indeed a type he had never seen before did he follow up on the Sea Elf's words:
"So you mean this magic circle is why you're looking for your people? You can use it to send a message to your community in the sea and have them come get you?"
"More or less..."
Selina's answer was so vague that she almost seemed to be muttering to herself, yet [Quest] still had not been marked complete. Renato glanced at the [Adventurer's Guide] interface out of the corner of his eye. That meant Selina's objective was nowhere near as simple as she claimed.
But Renato did not expose her lie to her face. He needed to preserve his hidden advantage in information and let Selina believe he knew nothing about this place. Only then would she inadvertently reveal more details worth his attention.
Watching the Sea Elf nod lightly as though she did not know what to say, he deliberately continued:
"Since you've achieved your goal, there's no need to keep looking for anyone, right? Activate the array and send a message to