“Is this really safe?” Ophelia asked in a whisper, watching the burly fishermen preparing their boats.

  The day was nearly over, but for them, work was just starting. Fishing at night, especially over a river that was so busy during the day, was much more likely to produce a good catch.

  With winter ending sooner, the men were likely eager to catch as much as they could from the river before the floodwaters changed the environment too much and made fishing harder.

  “We’re safer here than in the forest,” Orion replied, curiously looking around. “And even then, there wasn’t much danger. Mom is more than capable of handling anything these men might try.”

  After giving the people a quick glance with his glasses, he was fairly confident he could handle them too, not that he thought they would cause trouble. These men didn’t seem to care about them as more than a curiosity.

  Ophelia shook her head, walking a little closer to him, “I’m not talking about them.”

  “Ah,” Orion said, “well, they probably suspected we would come here, but we’re taking this roundabout route precisely to avoid the most obvious paths.” There was a real danger that Ophelia’s hunters might find them before they could get on a boat. Still, considering how vast the river was and how swiftly its waters flowed, Orion wasn’t eager to cross it without the best transportation available.

  They had to reach Valderun somehow, and it was either this, the main road, which was undoubtedly monitored, or a long detour south through the elven lands, which they wanted to avoid as much as possible due to the ongoing fighting.

  At least, his mother seemed to know her way around the piers. She confidently walked ahead, eyeing anyone who crossed her path with narrowed eyes before dismissing them as a non-threat.

  “Keep up!” Asteria said as she turned away from the riverfront and started walking deeper into the rows of wooden and stone houses.

  Considering how poor the people out and about looked, Orion would have thought that their dwellings would be more ramshackle, but either they had access to some magic to build, or the cost of putting together a solid house was much lower here than on Earth.

  Ophelia and he hurried to follow her, barely avoiding getting caught in a huge net that was being checked for holes by two fishermen.

  “Sorry!” She called, only to get a dismissive grunt. She blinked in surprise, and Orion took it as another sign that she was more than just the daughter of a merchant.

  Sure, some, like those who belonged to the Crimson Wheel Consortium, were powerful and wealthy enough to live like true aristocrats, if not better, but she hadn’t claimed to belong to such a family.

  Her supposed background as the daughter of a small-time merchant in the northwest who had gotten lucky and bought up weapons supplies at a low price was unraveling more with each passing hour, but Orion kept that to himself.

  I will have to get the truth out of her when we finally reach Valderun, especially about this mysterious grandfather, who supposedly is powerful enough to protect her from pursuers that have followed her across half the country and organized a very detailed operation just to find her.

  The sheer number of guards protecting her in the stagecoach alone made her claims seem ridiculous, but he could understand why she felt the need to hide.

  Although the Voidwalkers had saved her life, they remained essentially strangers.

  She does seem determined to change that. If he thought she was coming on to him before the debacle with the wolves, it was nothing compared to now. Ophelia was never more than half a step behind him; she always put on a smile when he looked at her, and he was pretty sure she had been trying to get him to hold her hand for the past ten minutes.

  It would have been less frustrating if he hadn’t known it was all a facade. He could understand her need for secrecy, but they had already protected her more than once. Is there really a need to ‘capture my heart’ to keep her safe?

  But then again, he knew from her class that she was probably an important asset for a major faction. It would make sense to her to stack the odds in her favor to give herself the best chances when her true identity was finally revealed.

  It doesn’t mean I have to like it.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Fortunately, he was spared further awkward flirting because Asteria slowed down. They had arrived at their destination.

  Their contact apparently lived in a two-story wooden house reinforced with iron for added support.

  Considering how almost every other house used stone for that, it was clear something was different about this place.

  The old man sitting on the deck, smoking a pipe while he used a needle and thread to work on a fishing net, didn’t seem like anything special at first glance.

  He had a long, greying beard, and his skin was rugged from the elements. That, along with his missing pinkies on both hands, made it clear he hadn’t had an easy life.

  [Paul Aconite - Lv 88] [Master Harpooner - C-Rank]

  Fortunately, Orion wasn’t limited to judging people by their appearance, and his glasses quickly indicated that he was much more experienced than most other fishermen.

  His class, at least, didn’t seem out of place, but that didn’t mean much. Orion could picture many ways a harpoon could be used on humans just as easily as on large fish.

  Even more interesting, the whole house seemed to be covered in multiple layers of magic. To [Verification Principle], the first layer seemed aimed at keeping unwanted attention at bay.

  Normally, a simple spell like that wouldn’t have blocked his sight, but the magic’s very nature made trying to look deeper into it a pointless effort, and Orion had to step back before he got a headache.

  “Marge! Someone’s here for you!” The old man shouted as soon as Asteria stepped up to him. He barely glanced at her but seemed to know exactly who they were.

  Well, our clothes lack the Sanctum’s symbols, but they are of much higher quality than anything you’d find around here, and Mom carries a certain aura.

  It didn’t take long for an equally old woman to shuffle out of the house.

  [Margareth Aconite - Lv 128] [Moonlit Shadow - B-Rank]

  What the hell? This is someone strong enough to be a Magistra.

  Margareth, like her apparent husband, didn’t look like much. Her hair was thinning and pulled back in a loose ponytail. Her clothes, although clean, were clearly worn and old. Her skin sagged, and her back was stooped.

  And yet, this elderly woman was probably the most powerful person in the entire city of Last Thaw.

  The moment her eyes landed on Asteria, her entire demeanor shifted. Her posture straightened, and a mischievous smirk curled her lips, as if she had come alive anew.

  “I see we have august guests tonight. It’s a good thing I’m always ready,” she said, turning around and puttering back inside the house.

  The old man also stood up, groaning, “Better follow her. If she has to come get you, she’ll box your ears, and she hasn’t cut her nails in a year!”

  “I can hear you, you sack of lies!” Margareth’s croaky voice reached them, and Paul grinned, chuckling to himself as he hurried back inside.

  “That’s not what you said yesterday when I was explaining the difference between yellowjacks and orangejacks!” He called, earning a burst of laughter.

  Orion looked at his mother, silently asking if she was certain this was the right place, but she simply smiled in amusement and followed the two elders inside, motioning for him to follow.

  He did so, though not before glancing at Ophelia. As expected, she seemed fascinated with the house, casting curious looks at everything, from the rocking chair to the spools of net at the entrance.

  Not quite what you’d expect from the daughter of a merchant whose business was on the seas.

  It wasn’t conclusive proof, as she might have simply been extremely sheltered, but he doubted that was the case. She had adapted pretty quickly to the sudden circumstances, especially considering her plan to ingratiate herself. If she were truly that naive, she wouldn’t have been this unconcerned about what was happening.

  Inside, the house was just as oddly well-kept, yet dingy, as it was outside. However, there were more signs that the occupant was a witch, starting with the sleek broom hanging above the leather couch and the small cauldron in the back of the kitchen, which could be seen from the back.

  Soon after, Orion found himself sitting at a table made of what appeared to be salvaged wood and being served ladlefuls of fish soup.

  A glance at his mother reassured him that it was probably safe. He saw no sign of magic in the soup, and if there had been poison, she would have detected it.

  Not that he expected Margareth to try, given that she was clearly a witch from the Sanctum, but he’d become a bit paranoid lately.

  “Well then, it looks like you are in a spot of trouble, aren't you?” The old woman asked, settling into the chair at the head of the table.

  It would have felt strange in a different situation, but watching Paul sit down on her right, acting as if nothing was wrong with the arrangement, helped Orion relax. It was a small detail that made him more confident they were who they appeared to be.

  I still don’t know exactly what was happening with the adventurers who were supposed to guard the carriage. Clearly, they were in on the plan to transport Ophelia, but at least two of them had classes that wouldn’t seem out of place in the Sanctum, so I believe my paranoia is justified.

  “We need passage to Valderun,” Asteria said after she was done with her soup. “Our transport was attacked by bandits on the way.”

  Orion took that as his cue to hurry and drink it before it got cold.

  It was surprisingly creamy, almost like a chowder, but without any milkiness, probably made with starchy vegetables sieved to a very fine texture. The fish chunks were tasty and tender, despite this being old soup, and the pieces of cabbage and carrots were cooked just enough to be soft but not mushy.

  For an improvised meal, it was really good—especially after spending the previous day and a half in the wilderness.

  “Girl, don’t play games with me,” Margareth scoffed. “Do you think I wouldn’t recognize a Magistra? If that were true, I would have heard about a bandit camp being destroyed. Instead, you sneak into my city as if you were being hunted and come to me instead of the temple where official business is conducted. So, what’s really going on?”

  Ophelia tensed beside him, clearly worried that Asteria was about to reveal the truth.

  “If this was something that threatened the peace of your town, Magistra Aconite, I would have told you,” Asteria replied frostily, staring down the old woman. “That I didn’t should tell you everything you need to know. We need passage to Valderun, and you will grant it.”

  For a moment, Orion feared things might escalate into a fight. The tension in the room was definitely intense, and he nervously watched the old man, suddenly very aware of how muscular his arms appeared despite the sagging skin, and how easy it would be for him to lean across the table and grab him.

  Fortunately, Margareth didn’t take offense. Instead, she burst into cackles, grinning widely, “Ah, it’s good to see you have some steel in your spine. Very well, you shall have your passage and keep your secrets. I just hope this secrecy doesn’t turn against you, girl.”

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