Aesphyra brushed aside her bangs and took the lead, walking out of the serpent cave. Vinny silently followed behind her.

This trip had shown him just how professional Aesphyra truly was. Just for detection alone, he’d already seen her use two types of alchemical potions—plus another with unknown effects—all personally formulated, reinforced, and refined by her.

Vinny felt like he’d spent the entire trip as a decorative accessory. He didn’t understand anything, wearing an expression that screamed “What is she saying? What is she doing? What’s the point of this?”

He had thought about helping somehow. After all, if he really did nothing, wouldn’t that make him completely useless? What difference would it have made whether he came at all?

Sure, getting paired with Aesphyra for this Practical Exam meant he couldn’t contribute much—but even freeloaders had their roles, right? But if he freeloaded too hard, even he started to feel bad. He wanted to at least do something, so he could justify it to himself.

Also, if he didn’t actually do anything, how the hell was he supposed to write the report? What would he even submit to earn Practical Exam points?

Well... it wasn’t completely hopeless. He could write about how he tanked the most damage, attracted the most aggro, and selflessly drew attention away from Aesphyra.

You tell me—is that not the truth? Did he or did he not attract aggro?

By the time the two exited the cave, night had completely fallen. They could only feel their way back toward the village in the dark.

As much as he didn’t want to say it, the village next to Lake Village was true backwater—by every definition. It was absurdly far from any major city-state of the Tyrell Empire, practically at the outermost edge of imperial territory. So poor even bandits didn’t bother visiting. These rural villages usually operated semi-independently from their local lords—if they saw a tax collector once a year, that was probably the highest-ranking official they'd ever met.

Which tells you just how underdeveloped this place was. Streetlights? Forget it. There weren’t even torches along the way. The road was a mess of holes and bumps—so rough that even walking was a pain. Carriages? Out of the question.

Aesphyra summoned a crimson flame into her palm, and the gloomy countryside instantly lit up like it was daytime.

Raising a flame in unknown territory was a risky move—it exposed their position to any hostile units in the vicinity. But with Aesphyra around, those concerns were meaningless. Any monster or bandit dumb enough to try their luck would very quickly find themselves kicking solid diamond.

Vinny hadn’t dismissed his weapon either. He carried Frostfang on his shoulder as he followed Aesphyra through the dark.

Neither of them spoke. Once Aesphyra got serious, she rarely made small talk. But Vinny figured the silence had gone on long enough—he should probably say something.

“That potion you poured in the cave earlier—what was it?” he asked, holding his spear.

“A detection potion,” Aesphyra replied, still clearly deep in thought, her words sparse.

“I meant the one after the detection potion.”

“You’ll find out in a few days. And if you don’t... then it means you didn’t need to.” Her voice was as cryptic as ever.

Vinny stared blankly. Same as always—speaking in riddles no one could understand.

What did she mean by “you’ll find out”? Was she telling him or not??

Ah. This white-haired goblin really loved speaking in damn riddles.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, the two of them made it back to the village. The road was so dark that it had taken them longer than expected.

Once they returned, Vinny’s mood dropped significantly. Not because of the riddles he couldn’t understand, nor the uncertain progress of their investigation, but because... tonight, he’d be sleeping on the grass.

Alright, he wasn’t that fragile—it wasn’t that he couldn’t physically sleep on the ground. But how long were they staying here? At this rate, it’d be days. Multiple nights sleeping on bare grass??

And it looked like it was going to rain tonight.

Not only would he be sleeping on grass—he’d be soaked, too. And in the morning? Everything would be wet and muddy. He’d be sleeping in mud sludge.

No, that was just too damn miserable.

But who could he blame? Aesphyra had warned him—it was his own lack of wilderness experience. He’d assumed they’d be staying at an inn, so he hadn’t brought a tent. But out here, in a village so remote even the locals barely lived here, what kind of inn could possibly exist? This wasn’t some tourist destination!

As for the idea of squeezing into Aesphyra’s tent? ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Hah. Not a chance.

He didn’t even dare entertain that idea. Let alone the sheer gall it would take to suggest it, he could already picture the outcome: Aesphyra would greet him with a smile, toy with him for a while, and then...

Well, if he really had the guts to step into that blue-hating, green-eyed girl’s tent, his new concern wouldn’t be about staying dry, but about staying alive.

So, once they were back in the village, Vinny started scoping out roofs.

Whose house had the biggest eaves he could crouch under to avoid the rain? He’d have to make do somehow.

Aesphyra glanced at the sulking Vinny beside her and smiled without a word.

This idiot seriously thought she only brought one tent.

But...

Ever since nightfall, Aesphyra had been feeling it—that subtle, strange atmosphere lingering over this village.

“You two are the students from Carillian Academy who came to the village earlier, aren’t you?”

A familiar old voice called out from the side just as Vinny was deep in thought.

He turned to look. It was the same village elder who’d spoken to them earlier about the local situation.

“Oh, hey, old man! Out for a late-night stroll? Walking off dinner?” Vinny greeted first, recognizing him.

“Why are you still in the village?” the old man asked, a trace of hesitation in his tone.

“Uh? Didn’t we say we’d stay and investigate the serpent infestation? We’re doing a thorough check,” Vinny explained, frowning slightly.

The elder fell silent.

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? The serpent issue here has already been resolved,” he said after a pause.

“Sure, that’s what we heard. But we found a few lingering suspicions,” Vinny replied, glancing at Aesphyra.

“Lake Village has no inns. You won’t make it back to town at this hour. Where will you stay?” the old man asked.

“Well, as you can see... we’ll probably have to rough it out under the sky,” Vinny said helplessly.

To be more accurate—he would be roughing it.

“It’s going to rain tonight. Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?” the elder sighed. “If you don’t mind, how about staying at my place?”

“Really?! I mean—are you sure?” Vinny lit up at the prospect of not sleeping soaked in grass.

“Come on. It’s just me and my grandson. We’ve got a few rooms sitting empty. Better to have guests than let them go unused.”

“Oh—thank you so much, sir! Honestly, we were worrying about that exact thing!” Vinny quickly bowed in thanks.

Aesphyra didn’t say anything. She simply stared at the old man, her thoughts unreadable.

“What do you think, shor... uh, Aesphyra?” Vinny turned to her for a decision. He knew his approval didn’t count for much here—Aesphyra was clearly the one leading this team. He couldn’t undermine her judgment.

What if she’d picked up on something off and thought staying there was a bad idea?

“In that case, we’ll be imposing on you for a few days, sir,” Aesphyra said politely, lifting her skirt in a graceful curtsy.

“No trouble at all. It gets lonely with just me around anyway,” the old man chuckled as he led them through the village to one of the few enclosed courtyards.

The yard was surrounded by a wooden fence. The old man hunched forward and opened the gate.

“Grandpa, you’re back!” a small figure ran out from the house. “Today, those uncles and aunties—eh? Who are these two pretty big brother and sister?”

The boy looked at Aesphyra and Vinny with wide, round eyes full of amazement.

To villagers around here, young people dressed this finely and looking this good were a rare sight.

Oh ho?

Vinny’s ears perked up at the word “pretty.” His lips curled in smug satisfaction.

Finally, someone with taste! This kid’s got promise. Gonna be a genius when he grows up—sharp from the start.

“These two are just travelers passing through. They’ll be staying with us for a while. It’s late, so off to bed you go. Grandpa’s got guests to entertain.”

“Oh... okay.” The boy nodded obediently, cast another curious glance at the two, and headed back into his room.

“That’s my grandson. I’ve been raising him ever since his parents passed away,” the elder said, a rare smile crossing his face.

“Yeah, he seems like a good, well-mannered kid,” Vinny commented.

“You can take those two rooms. They used to belong to my son and daughter-in-law. One’s a guest room. They’ve been empty for a while, so you may need to clean them up.”

“We’ll handle it. Thank you for your hospitality,” Aesphyra gave a slight nod.

“Mm.” The old man nodded back.

Aesphyra had just turned to carry her bag toward the rooms when her brow suddenly furrowed—and with a flick of her finger, a razor-sharp ice spike shot toward the top of the wooden fence.

It missed—but the sheer cold of it instantly froze the entire section of the fence solid.

“Who’s there? Show yourself,” Aesphyra said coldly.

“...Huh?” Vinny froze, then turned toward where she had aimed—his expression shifting warily. But there was no one there.

Still, his face turned grim.

Aesphyra’s instincts almost never failed. Vinny trusted her judgment completely.

If she thought someone had been watching them from the top of that wall...

Wait a second.

Vinny’s expression darkened.

The fence was taller than a full-grown man. Not easy to climb. Who could even reach that spot—let alone cling there in the dead of night to watch them?

A chill crept down Vinny’s spine. He instinctively stepped closer to Aesphyra.

Fear was born of the unknown—and at moments like this, nothing beat the sense of safety exuded by the main heroine of fate.

“What’s wrong?” the old man asked, turning around.

“Apologies, sir. I accidentally froze part of your fence. The ice will melt soon,” Aesphyra said with genuine remorse.

“No worries. I’ve seen magic before. Though—did you see something earlier?” he asked.

“No, I didn’t catch a glimpse in time,” Aesphyra replied, eyes fixed on the now-frozen spot.

“Little miss, are you saying someone was spying on you? Probably just your imagination. This village’s so poor, even robbers don’t come here. Aside from the serpent trouble, the worst we’ve had are a few wild beasts,” the old man offered.

“...You’re probably right,” Aesphyra said with a meaningful tone. Whether she actually believed it was another matter entirely.

Vinny didn’t think Aesphyra was the type to overreact or imagine things for no reason.

It was becoming clear that his naive optimism was falling apart—this Practical Exam was already veering into something far more complicated and strange.

He couldn’t help but think back to the serpent nest. Could this be connected?

Was there something lurking in this village... something that noticed them, realized they’d gone to investigate the serpent den, and now wanted to watch them to protect its own secrets—only to be noticed by Aesphyra right away?

Thank goodness Aesphyra was here. Otherwise, Vinny might’ve been watched for who knows how long without ever realizing it.

He exchanged a glance with her.

“Apologies, sir. My companion’s probably just exhausted—might’ve imagined things. We’ll turn in for the night. You should get some rest too,” Vinny said, his expression unreadable as he calmly addressed the old man.

“Alright. I won’t keep you any longer.”

With that, the elder turned and returned to his own room.

Aesphyra and Vinny entered one of the rooms and shut the door. Aesphyra retrieved a magic scroll from her bag. It burned to ash in her hand, activating a soundproof barrier around them.

When it came to serious matters, Aesphyra was incredibly meticulous—thorough to the last detail. Despite her petite frame, she gave off an overwhelming sense of safety.

“Something nasty was watching us, huh? So there really is something hiding in this village? Think that priest Farkas knows about it?” Vinny finally let loose now that the soundproofing was active.

“Don’t you think... we might’ve been targeted the moment we stepped into the serpent den?”