That morning, as the sun was almost fully risen, Infori stood leaning against a streetlight, his bag lying on the floor near his feet.
He was alone there, as it was still quite early.
Infori raised his sword and examined the blade.
"It's pretty quiet, huh…" Infori said, his voice low.
Many people were still indoors, but no one had come out yet—perhaps only a few. So the street Infori was on, the intersection of Storm of Road, was very quiet.
Infori then returned his sword to its sheath, which was still hanging from his belt.
"He's taking a long time," Infori complained.
Infori was waiting for someone. It was Flynn Deschain, who had asked Infori to wait at this intersection early in the morning so they could go to Storm Queen City together.
Infori remembered what his friend had said the previous day.
⟨⟩ ⟨⟩ ⟨⟩
Yesterday morning, Flynn and Infori were in the plaza. They were chatting quietly while enjoying the cool morning air.
However, Flynn suddenly said—
"Okay, we're going to Storm Queen City tomorrow," Flynn said to Infori.
"Okay. When are we leaving?" Infori asked.
"Yes, tomorrow, I already told you. Didn't you hear me?"
"No, that's not it. I mean, what time are we leaving?" Infori clarified his question.
"Oh, I didn't understand earlier, sorry. Then, how about you wait for me at that intersection when the sun is almost up?"
"Okay."
⟨⟩ ⟨⟩ ⟨⟩
After thinking about it, Infori felt hopeless. He exhaled a cold breath, one that could even be seen in front of him.
"Haaah…"
Infori continued to wait there, doing nothing but to relieve boredom, like checking each artifact he was carrying—only to discover something he already knew.
He wandered around, his mind blank.
He even tried to fight the wind. "Take this!" he said.
—Unfortunately, no. Infori was just a dazed person, not knowing what to do, until finally, twenty minutes had passed.
Flynn, carrying a backpack on his back, walked along the path of Storm Road. When he finally reached a crossroads, he stopped to check—if he went straight, they would definitely be heading out of the Storm Road area. If he went left, it would lead to the seaside. If he went right, it would lead to the mountainous area not far from Storm Road.
Between all of that, on the side of the road. Flynn saw Infori sitting on a long wooden bench, his body leaning against the armrest. His head was tilted slightly to the left, with her eyes closed. Hus bag was lying on the bench near him.
Seeing this, Flynn chuckled. Then he approached him, then looked at his face and snapped his fingers a few times, urging him to wake up.
"Hey, Infori. Wake up. It's morning already."
Suddenly, Infori's eyes opened slowly. He saw Flynn nearby.
"Oh, you're here."
He then stood up and stretched. Meanwhile, Flynn sighed and asked Infori,
"Haah... Why are you sleeping in a place like this? Shouldn't you be sleeping at the inn in the plaza?"
Hearing that, Infori remembered Flynn's promise to come early in the morning. He looked at Flynn and replied,
"Did you know?..."
"Huh?"
"You know…" his words trailed off for a moment, blending Flynn's confusion into the atmosphere. Then, finally, Infori's answer broke out.
"…I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR 30 MINUTES!"
"…?!" Flynn was a little surprised to hear Infori's rather loud voice. Then, he mustered up the courage to ask. "30 minutes…?"
"YES!"
Infori stomped her foot, sending a fine dust cloud up. His hand pointed straight at Flynn, startling him.
"…?!"
"I've been waiting since sunrise, just like you promised," she said quickly—too quickly—counting the time on her fingers. One… two… three… then she stopped at some unknown number and frowned.
"BUT YOU DIDN'T COME!"
He turned in a half circle, opening his arms wide as if showing off the empty space around him.
"So I decided to do something."
He paused. He looked up at the sky. Nodding slowly.
"What is it? What is it?"
A few seconds of silence ensued. Flynn didn't know what to do now; he simply watched Infori, who was focused on her own thoughts and words.
Then suddenly Infori slapped his own palm against his face, as if enlightened.
"AND IT'S STILL THE SAME!"
"?!"
He dropped his shoulders, then glared back, taking a step too close. "You haven't been here, where have you been, huh?"
Flynn didn't answer directly, only showing a face of utter confusion at Infori's annoyed behavior. Meanwhile, Infori held up three fingers, emphasizing the 30 minutes she'd wasted.
"You know—30 minutes isn't a short time!"
Flynn then let out a small, but awkward, laugh.
"H-Hahaha, sorry, sorry. I had something to do first," she said, putting on a forced smile.
Hearing that, Infori paused for a moment and took a deep breath. Infori asked calmly, but his tone was still angry.
"What business do you have that could take up more than an hour?"
"Well, there were some issues at the Knightley Queen office in the plaza."
Now that Infori's anger had subsided, he instead asked Flynn what the issue was.
"A problem?"
"Yes, and it concerns the bandits who stole the rare artifact from Seraphim."
"…So? Did you get anything out of it?"
Flynn didn't answer immediately; he paused for a moment and then let out a sigh that seemed to convey something unpleasant.
"Haah… I only heard a confession from one of them. They said they stole the gauntlet artifact while they were still in Storm Queen City."
"In Storm Queen City?"
"That's right. And unfortunately, they didn't say when it happened; that's all I could gather from the conversation."
Infori then realized that Flynn's words didn't match the word he'd just said, "problem." A normal conversation or interrogation wasn't a problem. That was work.
"I see. So, what do you mean by a problem with them? You didn't say anything about the issue you just touched on."
"Hmm, more precisely, I haven't told you about that. And now, I'll tell you." Flynn paused, then was about to speak about the problem he'd mentioned. "Hmm, how should I start?"
"You can start anytime, right?"
"Yeah, but this problem has made me a little angrier than usual."
"Huh? What is it?"
Before Flynn could speak, he took a deep breath.
"Haah... Okay, I can tell you now—"