He was being watched.
"For the still‑young Tris, joining the Adventurers' Guild—especially as a Mage—inevitably drew the attention of others.
He had anticipated this early on.
What Tris had not anticipated was that the guild receptionists and female adventurers seemed especially fond of approaching and chatting with him, especially Coris.
Because of this, Tris had to endure many jealous, resentful looks from the men around him. But in any case, this was not a major issue worth worrying about.
If the hostess Rina were here, she would probably say something like:
"Just a bunch of defeated male side characters, not worth paying attention to (〜￣▽￣)〜"
This time, however, the watching was different.
By instinct, Tris sensed a gaze filled with malice directed at him.
That gaze followed him in secret, yet Tris could faintly perceive it.
Tris trusted his intuition. Or more precisely, in situations like this, it was better to believe and act cautiously than to deny it outright.
Tris began to reconsider all his recent actions: had he done anything that might have created an enemy intent on harming him? Had he left behind any corpse without properly disposing of it after killing?
After thinking for a while, Tris was fairly certain he had always cleaned up thoroughly. There should be no evidence pointing to him.
And as some strange creature once said: "It's not a crime if no one finds out."
Tris had always paid close attention to this matter.
'If it isn't because of my own unclean hands being exposed, then what is the reason for this malice?'
Tris thought for a long time but still found no clue.
'No good. If there are no clues, then I can only create my own.'
Tris rose from the dining table and headed toward the Adventurers' Guild mission hall.
Since reaching rank E, it had been quite a while since he had accepted any quest.
Today, he decided once again to enter the forest to hunt.
Would he catch any prey? Tris felt both anxious and a little expectant.
* * * * * * * * * *
'A whole week has passed, and that damn brat hasn't left town once to take on a quest. No, not even leaving town—his trips outside the inn could be counted on one hand.' He thought angrily.
Just as he was about to reconsider his plan, he spotted the child heading once again toward the Adventurers' Guild.
After a short time there, the child returned to his inn.
A while later, he saw the boy leave the inn and head out of town.
Seeing this, he was pleased that his patience had finally paid off.
He shadowed the boy with quiet stealth.
What he did not see was a bird perched on a nearby rooftop, carefully observing the entire scene below.
Another thing he did not notice was that after he had left, a figure slightly taller than the boy stepped out of the same inn.
That figure wore a black cloak covering him from head to toe, even a mask on his face. The cloaked figure also walked toward the outskirts of town.
* * * * * * * * * *
This time, he saw firsthand how the boy hunted and the magic he wielded.
With a round shield in his left hand and a short staff in his right, the boy mainly attacked with his "Stone Bullets."
Though the bullets were neither powerful nor numerous, with accurate aim, he easily and quickly defeated low‑level Magical Beasts.
'Indeed, a Mage—even with a simple spell, combat becomes much easier.'
He concluded that the boy had already proven himself to be a capable adventurer at rank E.
In a few years, perhaps he could be strong enough to hunt rank D Magical Beasts alone.
But of course, at present, the boy posed no threat at all to him, a seasoned rank C adventurer.
As soon as he saw the boy resting after a battle with Magical Beasts, he quietly approached. Moving silently, he crept up behind the boy. When close enough, he struck suddenly at the boy's right flank.
The blow to the liver made the boy collapse, clutching his body in pain. His breathing grew heavy and labored.
Taking advantage, he immediately pulled out the sedative he had prepared beforehand, intending to use it on the child.
But before he could act, he suddenly heard a noise from behind him to his right.
Reacting quickly, he drew his sword from his side and assumed a defensive stance.
What met his eyes was a dark‑feathered bird landing on a nearby branch.
The bird ignored him and preened its feathers.
Seeing it was just a foolish animal, he relaxed, lowered his sword, and sheathed it.
But at that moment, he felt sudden pain in both arms and below his legs.
"Aaargh!" he screamed in agony and collapsed.
The bones and muscles in his arms seemed shattered by something.
Rolling on the ground, he looked back and saw the boy—who had been lying down—now standing calmly, unhurt.
In his hand was a knife drawn from his belt. Fresh blood still clung to the blade.
Looking down in horror, he realized the boy had severed his Achilles tendons.
Witnessing this, he felt anger, confusion, disbelief, and then fear.
What had he done wrong to suddenly end up like an animal on the chopping block, awaiting slaughter?
The boy observed him and asked:
"Who are you? Why did you attack me?"
"Please spare me. I was just overcome by greed, wanting to steal the items you carried. I never intended to take your life."
"So you're just a random bandit passing by? No connection to me, right?"
"Yes. I truly apologize—I couldn't control my greed."
The boy nodded as if understanding, while stepping closer. In his left hand, a long, sharp stone spike had appeared. It looked like a giant nail.
With an expressionless face, the boy drove the stone spike through the man's right palm, pinning it to the ground.
"Aaah!" he screamed again in pain.
Ignoring the cries, the boy continued in the same calm tone:
"Life would be so much better if people could be honest with each other. Don't you think so?"
"I don't know what you mean," he gasped, struggling to breathe.
The boy immediately stabbed down with the knife, severing one of his fingers, then asked: "What do you think?"
Grinding his teeth in pain, he realized his lie had been exposed.
Anger, confusion, disbelief—but now more than anything, fear of the cold existence interrogating him.