It was already morning
Everyone had gathered around the inn's bar
Rikka walked in while rubbing his head
"Morning, everyone"
"Morning" the others replied
"So? Feeling any better?" Gill asked with a grin
"Well… my head still hurts a little..."
"Good. At least you're alive" Gramm chuckled
"We'll wait for Veyn first, he still not coming yet"
Rikka looked around the room
"...Huh?"
He frowned
"Where's Sylffie? Isn't she usually the first one here?"
Helen and Ashley exchanged glances before looking away
"…"
"What?"
Nobody answered
Then he sat close to Auel and whispered
"Hey what happened last night when I got drunk? Did something happen to Sylffie?"
"I don't know" Auel said
"What actually happen last night?"
Rikka frowned, but before he could ask again, everyone returned to waiting
Morning past…
Noon past…
Afternoon past…
But there was no sign of Veyn at all
Rikka finally slammed his head onto the table
"Aww man… where is he?" Rikka Groaned
"Did something happen to him last night too?"
Gill shook his head
"Nope, nothing happened to him last night"
"That's weird, Veyn didn't come" Gramm said
"He never mentioned he had something to do today"
"Maybe there was something important happened in the Royal Library and they need him to do something about that" Ashley said
"But all day? I don't think so" Gramm folded his arms
Helen suddenly remembered something
"… Wait"
She looked toward Gramm
"Last night you said that you got this strange chill and its coming from the Cardinals, right?"
"Maybe they already know that we went to the Dark Elf village?"
"What If something happened to Veyn?"
The table immediately became quiet
Gramm scratched his chin
"Hmm… That's weird, if they really wanted to silence us…"
"Why only Veyn?"
"Why don't they just kick us out or worse?"
"Wait, hang on, chill? What are you talking about?" Rikka asked
Gill looked at him
"Yes, we felt some strange chill after the dragon appeared during the festival, like someone was watching"
"And somehow the direction came from the Cardinals"
Rikka blinked
"Chill? That's weird I didn't feel anything"
"So, it just the three of us then" Gramm said
"Three?"
"Yes, Auel also felt that sensation too"
Rikka immediately stared at Auel who was silent all this time
"Hey, why haven't you said a single word"
Auel just silent
"Hey, did something bad actually happened when I drunk last night?"
Everyone was quiet and seems didn't want to remember what happen last night
Helen finally spoke to change the mood
"So, now there is something weird with the Cardinals, right? Maybe we have to investigate them"
"I think so" Gramm said "But we can't just walk into the palace"
"The only one who can arrange that is Veyn"
"Then why don't we check his house?" Ashley suggested
Gramm glanced outside
"But it's almost night already, let's wait tomorrow, maybe he was busy today and could come"
"Then if tomorrow he could come again, then we search his house"
Then Helen immediately stood up
"Well, that's settled, come on girls"
Ashley and Erin followed Helen outside
"Wait, where are you going?" Rikka asked
"Sorry man… Girl's business"
Before Rikka could complain, the three girls had already left the inn
It was morning again
Everyone was already gathered at the inn's bar again, waiting for Veyn
Morning past…
Noon past…
But again, Veyn didn't show up
Then Helen sighed and finally spoke
"Hey we've been waiting too long, should we check his house now?'
"Yeah, I think she is right, it's weird for a person like Veyn didn't show up and not inform us a single thing" Ashley added
"Fine…" Gramm replied "I'll ask the inn keeper for his place first"
Before he could stand up someone open the inn's bar
"Veyn!"
Everyone immediately turned
Veyn stood at the entrance
"Sorry"
He gave them an apologetic smile
"Hey where have you been yesterday? We've been waiting here all day you know?" Rikka said
"I'm really sorry I couldn't come yesterday"
"Then what made you unable to come here?" Helen asked
Veyn scratched his cheek awkwardly
"Well… something bad happened in the Dark Elf village, and I have to help them"
"Something bad?" Gramm asked "what happened?"
"Umm… the Dark Elf village got attacked again and some of the young got kidnapped"
Everyone was shocked
"What!"
"Yeah, some bandits came during the night"
"They kidnapped several of the children and I have to help them to chase after those bandits"
"So how were they, are they fine right now?" Rikka asked
"Yeah, luckily the Royal patrol arrived and able to get those who got kidnapped"
"But there were no fatalities in this incident so it was fine"
"But you said it attacked again?" Rikka asked
"You already saw their village right"
"They barely have anything"
"No walls"
"No guards"
"They've always been easy targets"
"It's an easy target for bandit"
"Some of the Dark Elf got kidnaped last time"
"But it's fine"
"Everything is under control right now"
A sigh of relief escaped the table
"...Thank goodness"
Rikka leaned back
"You scared us"
Veyn smiled bitterly"
"Yeah… again I'm sorry that I couldn't come here yesterday, and I didn't tell you anything"
"There wasn't any time"
Gramm smiled
"Then you did the right thing"
"Forget about us"
"You should get some rest"
"Wait are you sure, I can still help with today's investigation"
Helen immediately shook her head
"No"
"You spent all night chasing bandits"
"You need sleep"
Ashley smiled
We're not going anywhere.
Veyn hesitated before nodding
"Well… thank you, again I'm really sorry that I didn't inform you anything"
After saying goodbye, he quietly left the inn
"Sooo… another free day" Helen said while stretched her hands
"Yeah, I think so" Rikka replied
"But if you think about it, the Dark Elf Village is really easy to be attacked by bandits, right?" Ashley asked
"You're not wrong, they don't have any guards and they don't seem to have anything to protect them" Helen said
"And he said that the incident last time couldn't be handled properly" Helen added
"But why did the bandit kidnap them?" Erin asked
"What do you mean?" Helen said "of course they sell them to be slave"
"Yeah, some high-ranking people like to have slave from other races" Ashley added
"Y-yeah, I know that, but I've never saw a bandit with Dark Elf as their captive?"
"I don't get what are you talking about?"
"I think I get it" Rikka answered
"So, the three of us usually took the bandit quest"
"And from our experience, we never saw a single Dark Elf as their captive"
"Y-yes, that's what I mean"
"So, if the bandit didn't kidnap Dark Elf, then why are they attacking here?" Helen asked
Silence fell
Gramm looked toward Auel
"You've been thinking ever since Veyn came back"
"Find anything?"
Auel remained silent for several seconds
Then he finally spoke
"I guess the bandit know the secret about the Dark Elf aura"
"That's why they never kidnap the Dark Elf"
"They afraid that their aura could harm them and the other slaves"
"They don't have any power to fight the bandit, but their aura alone can scare the bandit"
"But what about the attack that Veyn said?" Helen asked
"I don't know"
"I just have a wild guess"
"What is it?"
Auel silent for a moment
"I have to verify something, so let's talk again tomorrow with Veyn"
Rikka let a sigh out
"Well… so today's just another waiting day huh?"
"We couldn't do anything else, Veyn was tired" Gramm said
"Just take a rest and prepare for tomorrow discussion"
Then everyone went to do their own activity
Just as Erin was about to leave
"Erin"
She turned around
"I need to ask you something"
She blinked
"...Now?"
"Yeah"
Without another word, she followed him
Inside the room, Auel quietly closed the door and checked outside before locking it
Erin tilted her head
"...What is it?"
"Do you remember what happen 3 years ago?"
Her expression stiffened
"3 years ago?"
"Yeah, the day your village got attack, do you remember it?"
She nodded
"Do you remember the people that attack your village?"
"Do they wear heavy armor?"
Erin thought carefully
"Umm… I don't really see it clearly but I think no"
"What about banner? Do they bring any banner?"
Erin shook her head
"Horses?"
Again, she shook her head
Auel lowered his gaze
"Can you say that they are bandits?"
"…I-I think so"
"But I don't know, it happened at night and I was really scared back then"
"No, it's enough, thank you"
"Is, it has anything to do with the king investigation"
"I don't know, but there is someone who can verify that"
He reached for the doorknob
"W-wait"
Auel stopped
Erin looked at his back
"I want to ask something"
Without looking back Auel asked
"What is it?"
"How do you know that attack happened 3 years ago?"
The room fell silent
For a long moment, Auel didn't answer
Finally, without turning around
"...Just a guess"
He opened the door...
...and walked out, leaving Erin alone with even more questions