The afternoon sunlight spread everywhere as Raijin stood by the window of his room. The light fell across his face and illuminated the entire room.
His room wasn't very large, but it wasn't small either. To the right was a small wooden bed covered with a white sheet and a brown blanket.
Beside the bed stood a round table with a clay lamp and a water jug on it. Under the window was a chair and a small table, against which Raijin was leaning.
A glass and a small plate rested on the table, with a few bits of food still stuck to it.
Raijin quietly looked outside. He was completely calm.
He had already made his plans.
He muttered softly,
"I just need to find out everything about these kidnappings. Who's behind them?"
His intentions were clear. If he could attract the king's attention and the Adventurers' Guild's attention through this case, he could easily become an adventurer again.
He took a deep breath.
"This won't be as easy as it seems. I can only hope that I find some clues as soon as possible."
He divided his task into three parts:
1. Find clues.
2. Reach the kidnappers.
3. Use all the information to reach their leader and report everything to the Guild.
He immediately tied his Katana to his waist and left the room.
He didn't even wait for lunch; he had eaten his breakfast close to noon.
After stepping outside the hotel, he looked around.
He was searching for the woman he had met that morning, but unfortunately, she was nowhere to be found.
Raijin felt slightly disappointed, but he walked down the road in front of the hotel.
He had no intention of asking Fins anything. He never knew when someone might become an obstacle in his path.
Two goals were clear in his mind:
First, the person who had written on the wall, "Don't go outside at night."
Second, the little girl whom he had escorted home that morning.
However, he needed to find the girl first because he knew nothing about the mysterious writer.
After being lost in thought for a while, Raijin arrived at the place where he had met the girl that morning.
But no one was there.
The corners of his lips twitched.
Now, whether he wanted to or not, he would have to go near the girl's house.
He was honestly worried that someone might mistake him for a child kidnapper and beat him up before even listening to his explanation.
After passing through several narrow alleys, Raijin arrived in front of a house.
The house was simple. The lower floor was entirely made of stone, while the upper floor was made of wood.
Controlling his pace, Raijin looked around carefully but found no one.
Reluctantly, he narrowed his eyes and tried to peek inside the house.
With disappointment, he moved on, his gaze sweeping the surroundings.
As he continued walking, he noticed an open area where many children were playing.
He stopped and carefully observed them, hoping to find the girl there.
But suddenly, all the children ran away in different directions.
It was as if they had seen a ghost.
Raijin immediately drew his sword.
He thought there was someone nearby whom the children were afraid of.
After looking carefully, he found no one.
A few moments later, he realized—
the children had run away because they were afraid of him.
Making a strange face, Raijin sheathed his Katana.
He was about to leave when he heard a voice.
"Uncle, what are you doing here?"
Raijin turned around.
It was the same little girl.
She was wearing yellow clothes and had a piece of cloth wrapped around her face, completely hiding her ears.
The girl asked once more,
"Uncle, how did you get here?"
Her voice pulled Raijin out of his thoughts, and the corners of his lips twitched oddly.
Do I really look like an uncle? She could have at least called me big brother.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he said,
"Can you tell me more about your brother?"
A trace of pain appeared in the girl's eyes.
In a low voice, she said,
"My brother is ten years old. He's two years older than me, and his name is Louie."
"Can you tell me where he used to play, who he played with, and whom he met?"
"I don't know much, but my brother used to go play behind Vanguard's mountain every day with his friends."
"Can you take me there?" Raijin asked.
The girl, who had finally introduced herself as Eli, gestured for him to follow her.
After passing through several roads and narrow paths, they finally arrived.
Before them stood an enormous mountain.
Surprised, Raijin muttered to himself,
"How strange... a mountain this large exists inside a major city like Vanguard."
He looked at Eli.
"Did your brother come here?"
Eli shook her head and led him behind the mountain.
The sight there made Raijin's eyes widen.
A stream of light-blue water fell from the mountain, creating a large pond below.
Huge stones surrounded the pond.
It looked as if someone had built the entire place with their own hands.
Seeing it reminded him of a Japanese hot spring.
Except the water here seemed much colder.
Raijin walked toward the waterfall and looked behind it, searching for a hidden passage.
Unfortunately, his fantasy-inspired ideas didn't work.
As he stared at the waterfall, a question kept circling in his mind:
Where is all this water going?
He looked at Eli and asked,
"Who used to come here with your brother?"
"My brother didn't have many friends, but he often brought two of them home. He spent the most time with those two."
"One's name is Noeir, and the other's name is Rufus."
Raijin's brows furrowed.
He quickly knelt down and asked,
"Was Rufus from the Panther race?"
Eli became nervous.
In a trembling voice, she replied,
"Yes... but how do you know that?"
Raijin remained silent for a few moments.
Then he said,
"Because he's been missing since last night too."
The pain on Eli's face was obvious.
She was about to scream when Raijin gently placed his hand on her head, calming her down.
After composing herself, Eli asked,
"Rufus... is he missing too?"
Raijin didn't answer.
Instead, he took Eli's hand and escorted her home.
As they walked, he asked her everything he could about her brother.
After dropping Eli off at her house, Raijin deliberately changed routes several times before returning to the waterfall.
He stood there, staring at it with complete focus.