The sensation of the stone door from last night still lingered in the palm of his hand. That warmth. The heat that had existed only in that moment of contact. He still didn't know what it was. Only the certainty remained that it hadn't been his imagination. Tsubaki Shinji boiled water in the kitchen while opening and closing his right palm several times. (Maybe I can go a bit deeper tonight.) The moment that thought crossed his mind, he heard light footsteps from the garden. "Good morning, Master!" A girl with short blonde hair and feathered ear ornaments bouncing with each step. Seraphim Yulia stood proudly on the board covering the sunken hole in the garden, waving a piece of paper in her hand. "Here's tonight's exploration route. I took the memo you were writing yesterday and rewrote it." Shinji brought the water down from the fire and stepped outside. He took the paper and unfolded it. The layout was familiar, but the handwriting was completely different. Yulia's round script, with diagrams drawn at each fork in the path. Complete with scale. Arrow directions corrected too. (…She rewrote the whole thing herself?) "You're planning to cover all of this tonight?" Yulia asked. "I don't see a problem," Shinji replied. "Master, I have two legs. I'm not a horse, you know." "Then I'll cut it in half." As Shinji began folding the memo, Yulia stretched out both hands to stop him. "That's not the point! If you cut it in half, there's no point in me rewriting it!" "But physically speaking——" "I'm sturdy, so it's fine! Isn't it you who'll get tired first, Master?" Shinji started to argue back, then stopped. It was true that his knees had been shaking on the way back last night. "…I'll consider it." "That's the response people give when they have no intention of considering it." Yulia pouted. Shinji didn't answer, just returned the memo to his pocket. Neither of them knew that this morning exchange would be the last time they laughed together that day. ―― He arrived at the guild branch—the Feria branch of the Twin Blades Flame Alliance—fifteen minutes before his shift started. He sat in his usual spot at the right end of the reception counter, where his elbow fit perfectly into the worn groove, and opened the ledger. Just another ordinary morning. But there was a stack of administrative notices placed at the edge of the counter. Papers he'd forgotten to collect when leaving yesterday. As he flipped through them, one sheet stood out from the rest. It bore the same official seal he'd seen last night. "Kingdom Information Bureau (Geheimwache)—the agency responsible for the kingdom's intelligence and public order—will send one investigator to visit the Feria branch today. Please prepare for reception." The date was today. Shinji stamped the document and moved it to the shelf. His movements didn't change. The pen's motion didn't change. Only the speed at which he turned the pages of the ledger slowed, just slightly. (They're coming.) The discrepancy in the archive report. The advance notice of an external investigator. Two points that had been separate since last night were now connecting into a single line. Outside the window, the stone pavement of the main street reflected the morning light. A shepherd's cart passed by, and the smell of baked wheat drifted from the bakery. Just another ordinary morning in Feria. Shinji turned back to his ledger and let his pen move across the page. ―― The man arrived before noon. The moment the branch door opened, the air changed. A tall man in a black coat. Silver short hair slightly disheveled, thin face wearing silver-rimmed glasses. A faint scar below his left eye. He was a full head taller than Shinji, with a slender frame, yet his posture carried an odd weight. An apprentice adventurer organizing documents near the reception simply shifted sideways the moment their eyes met. No sound, no change of expression—just clearing the way. There was a pressure that the body understood instinctively. The man approached the counter slowly. "Are you Tsubaki Shinji?" Zeno Lax asked. His voice was low, calm, and utterly devoid of emotion. "…Yes," Shinji replied. "I need to speak with you about something." Shinji reflexively pulled out a stack of documents from the shelf beneath the counter and offered them. "If it's regarding procedures, please fill out these forms——" "That's not it," Zeno said quietly, shaking his head. Someone in the back stifled a laugh and turned it into a cough. Probably Yulia. (…That was a very bad instinctive response from a clerk right now.) Shinji withdrew the documents and stood up. ―― The conference room was a small stone chamber about six tatami mats in size at the back of the branch, with one window, one table, and four chairs. It was rarely used. The air smelled dusty, mixed with the old scents of ink and mold. The man closed the door. He placed a thin stack of documents on the table. Silently, precisely. "I'm Zeno Lax, investigator for the Kingdom Information Bureau," he said, placing a business card on top. Shinji confirmed it. The official seal of the Kingdom Information Bureau. It was genuine. "I have several things I need to confirm." Zeno flipped through the documents. He placed the first page facing Shinji. It was a material purchase record from Akatsutsubo—a specialty shop on the main street that bought and sold light-element tools and materials. Dates and items were listed. Insect shell powder, four transactions. Eight insects' worth in total. The amounts were exact. Shinji's hands tightened slightly on his lap. "Next." The second page. Purchase records from Feria's pharmacy and general store. Bandages and disinfectant. Six times over nine days. "Next." The third page. Shinji's work record and activity log. Clock-in times, clock-out times, confirmation of his return home after leaving. Seven consecutive days marked "did not return directly." All of it was accurate. (How long have they been investigating… How much do they know?) "Are you familiar with the Ruins Management Ordinance—the law requiring discovered ancient ruins to be reported to the town office within seven days, and prohibiting entry into the interior without permission from the Gray Wing Bureau?" Zeno asked. "I'm aware of it," Shinji replied. "Did you file a report?" "…Yes." "No investigation permit has been issued by the Gray Wing Bureau since then." Zeno touched the edge of his glasses once with his fingertip. An old silver ring glinted. "Ruins Management Ordinance, Article Eight. Unauthorized entry into ancient ruins constitutes a violation of the ordinance. Additionally, if there is suspicion of prohibited materials among the extracted items, the Kingdom Information Bureau has independent investigative authority." "Insect shell powder is rated E-class material. It's not designated as a prohibited substance," Shinji said. "Correct. However," Zeno paused slightly, "confirmation of the intended use of materials extracted by a non-luminous civilian from ancient ruins can be conducted at the bureau's discretion. Whether to include it in the report is entirely my judgment." It was close to fabrication—a gross overextension of authority. Shinji understood that. And he understood he couldn't argue against it. The Kingdom Information Bureau's authority was broad. If an investigator from that agency—also called Geheimwache—said there was "suspicion," the Gray Wing Bureau and town office would move. Especially in a remote place like Feria. Once his name appeared in a report, he could be banned from the adventurer's guild. He could lose his job. Shinji's hands on his lap slowly clenched into fists. (I can't say anything back.) That was the reality. "That's all for today," Zeno said, gathering the documents and standing up. "There's one more person I need to confirm with. Seraphim Yulia—the apprentice registrant, correct?" "…She has nothing to do with this," Shinji said. "I need to verify that." The door opened and closed. Shinji was left alone in the conference room. He looked up at the stone ceiling. Afternoon light slanted through the window, and he could see dust floating in the beam. It was quiet. From the front of the branch, he heard someone asking for confirmation on a request form. The usual scene before noon. Shinji couldn't stand up. He remained in the chair for a while. ―― When he stepped into the hallway, Zeno had already taken Yulia to a separate room. Shinji didn't know exactly where they'd met—Yulia must have been passing through the hallway with some documents when they encountered each other. An empty room's door was now closed. No sound came from inside. Shinji returned to the counter and opened the ledger. He looked at the page. The words wouldn't enter his mind. (What is he saying to Yulia?) Zeno emerged from the door fifteen minutes later. He left without making eye contact with Shinji, walking straight toward the branch entrance. His coat tails fluttered. His footsteps faded from the stone pavement. A short while later, Yulia came out of the empty room. Her gait was different from usual. Her footsteps were lighter. Yulia always walked through the hallway with a patter. But now there was almost no sound. When she passed in front of Shinji's counter, she looked at him once. Her emerald green eyes were darker than usual. Her mouth opened as if to say something, then closed. She continued outside. (What was she told?) Shinji couldn't ask. ―― Night fell. Five minutes before the appointed time, Shinji stepped into the garden. He held the exploration lamp in his hand, standing before the board. Clouds covered the sky, and no stars were visible. The air felt heavy. He waited thirty minutes. Yulia didn't come. Shinji continued waiting alone. The pale blue light of the exploration lamp illuminated the garden's stone pavement. A night bird called somewhere. It was a quiet night without wind. (Zeno said something.) He'd already sensed that much. He didn't know specifically what Yulia had been told. But he'd seen the darkness in her eyes. Forty minutes passed. Shinji extinguished the lamp's light. He left the board as it was and went back inside the house. ―― When he arrived at the branch the next morning, D-class adventurer Gram was just bringing his request completion report to the counter. Gram was a man in his twenties, younger than Shinji, and a native of Feria. He always said "Thank you, Tsubaki," after submitting his reports. It had been a three-year habit. Today, Gram placed the documents on the counter. He didn't meet Shinji's eyes. He only said "Thank you," and turned away. He walked toward the exit without looking back. (…Ah.) Shinji took the documents and stamped them. His processing motions were unchanged. At midday, he stopped by Pail's Tool Shop—a general store on the main street—to buy repair leather cord. The cord had been on the same shelf for the past week. Pail saw Shinji and paused for a moment. "We're out of stock today," Pail Mundack said curtly. Shinji looked at the shelf. The leather cord that had been there yesterday was indeed gone. Only the shelf board's color had changed slightly—the unfaded mark where something had been placed until just moments ago. He left without saying anything. In the evening, he stopped by Akatsutsubo. The shop owner, Harne Klyus, processed his material purchase as usual. A woman in her sixties with exploration lamp samples hanging from the eaves of her shop. As he was leaving, Harne stopped working. "Shinji," she said, her voice slightly lower. "Strange rumors are going around. Be careful." That was all she said before returning to her ledger. Shinji thanked her and left the shop. Walking down the main street, he thought. Feria had a population of twenty-eight hundred. It was small. One round trip down the main street and you'd see half your acquaintances. Rumors spread in le