Side: Lena

Nina loudly exclaimed without any regard for the people around her.

Normally, I would admonish her a bit, but today I simply didn’t have the energy for it.

“Indeed. I just want to soak in a hot bath and rest as soon as possible today.”

Even the usually composed Fana-san seemed worn out.

“Yeah, after all that happened――”

Just recalling the day’s events was exhausting…

In the morning, before Shin woke up, a guild staffer we barely knew visited the inn with an urgent matter and summoned us. We left Shin asleep and headed to the guild, which seemed fine at first.

However, upon reaching the guild and asking the familiar receptionist, we were told there was no such matter, and the staffer who had summoned us wasn’t even supposed to be on duty today.

We could have accepted a communication error, but the real issue came after that.

We were disappointed and headed back home quickly, but on our way, we got involved in an unexpected trouble.

――A purse snatcher.

In a crowded main street filled with shoppers before noon, a woman dressed in black bumped into me. The next moment, Fana-san noticed my staff was missing, and Nina saw the woman who had bumped into me running away, holding the staff―the chase was on.

We hurriedly pursued her, but the thief was quite fast. She ran out of the town and into a forest, speeding along unfamiliar animal trails and finally reaching a dungeon.

Running through a strangely pink-tinged dense fog, the thief seemed to give up due to our persistence and threw the staff away before fleeing further. We decided not to pursue any deeper and retrieved the staff.

And when I picked up my recovered staff―the ground lit up, and a magical circle appeared.

It was then that Nina whispered softly in a changed landscape that was no longer the forest.

“Where are we…?”

“We’ve ended up in the neighboring town. It seems we’ve accidentally triggered a teleportation trap,” Fana-san explained, perplexed.

“Teleportation trap!? I couldn’t detect it with my skills?” Nina, who is usually upbeat but takes her responsibilities seriously, was visibly troubled, glancing nervously at Fana-san and me, her eyes wide like a small animal, which made her quite adorable.

“Nina, it’s okay. Neither Fana-san nor I are blaming you… right?”

“Uhh… yes.”

As I stroked Nina’s red hair, Fana-san gave us a loving smile.

“Yes, probably an inhibition to detection or recognition. I should have been more cautious about that odd fog… It was my mistake.”

Teleportation magic exists as traps in dungeons, and normally, Nina’s thief skill “Trap Disarm” would neutralize them. However, when detection is hindered, even a thief like Nina can do nothing.

“Isn’t it too coincidental that there was a teleportation trap right there, along with fog that blocked detection or recognition?”

Nina’s question was met with a heavy silence.

As I was drowning in my thoughts, a sharp snapping sound brought me back to reality. Looking over, Fana-san clapped her hands together and spoke brightly.

“Both of you? I’m just as curious. But let’s head back to the inn for now. Besides…”

Her brow furrowed in worry, she hesitated before continuing.

“Unfortunately, it’s quite a walk from here back to the inn. We’d be lucky to get back by evening.”

Nina and I exchanged glances and sighed deeply.

And now, this evening.

Exhausted, we finally reached the inn.

(I can’t wait to see Shin…)

Dragging our screaming legs with the fuel of anticipation, we opened the door to our room.

“Shin! We’re back! Sorry we―”

Entering the room first, I felt something was off.

(Huh? There’s no sign of him… Did he go out?)

As expected, the living room was empty.

“Huh? That guy Shin, going out carelessly while we went through all that trouble!”

Nina grumbled unhappily.

“It can’t be helped since we returned late. I’m sure he’ll be back soon…”

I said, trying to reassure Nina and myself.

“Yeah. Right! When he gets back, I’ll make sure he makes up for our exhaustion!”

Watching her chuckle mischievously, I looked over at Fana-san, who seemed lost in thought, her hand on her chin.

“Fana…san?”

“Eh? Oh, I’m sorry… Yes, let’s just wait for Shin-san to return.”

Fana-san forced a gentle smile, but the expression on her face deepened the unease stirring in my heart.

As it turned out, Shin did not return.

Even as the evening passed and the town sank into darkness, there was no sign of him. To avoid missing each other, Nina stayed at the inn while Fana-san and I went out to look for him.

Minutes later, we sat back at the inn, still without Shin.

“I asked at the guild, and they said he came looking for us just after noon but left soon after. Also…”

Fana-san, who had been searching around the guild area separately from me, spoke.

“――I received a letter addressed to us from the receptionist. Please, read it.”

She laid out the letter, contained in an envelope, on the table, and Nina and I leaned in as if trying to peer through it. The message was brief:

“To the three of you. I am leaving the party. Shin.”

“Shin…?”

Neither the situation nor the meaning of the words made sense to me. A sense of despair as if the world had suddenly gone dark threatened to crush me.

“This letter… A woman dressed in black delivered it to the guild around the evening,” Fana-san’s voice echoed emptily in the room.

“We have to search for him.”

The room had fallen silent, unable to grasp the situation, but the voice that spoke was unmistakable.

“What?”

Both Nina and Fana-san asked in response.

“We must find him! Shin must be in danger!”

The voice was my own.

I spoke with an uncharacteristic harshness, as if directing my aimless anger.

Surprised by my tone, both of them stared at me wide-eyed, but the strange occurrences of the day, coupled with the abrupt letter, made it clear that this couldn’t possibly be Shin’s true intention.

“That’s right.”

“Absolutely.”

Their brief replies set our course. With small nods, Nina and Fana-san met my gaze. We stood up, left the room, and ventured back into the night, determined to find Shin.

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