"Such an impolite gaze. Besides, I still haven't received an answer." The child spoke as he cut off another of his fingers.
Realizing that delaying his reply was not permitted, he was forced to open his mouth:
"Sorry for lying. In truth, I saw you back in town and had already planned to rob you then."
"After that?" — the child pressed further. Its emotionless eyes stared into him as though piercing his soul.
"That really is all." Another of his fingers was severed.
"Beyond your remaining fingers, you still have toes, teeth, eyes, flesh, and bones. We have plenty of time for you to remember everything you need to say slowly."
At the sound of that flat, indifferent voice, fear surged through his mind.
Grinding his teeth in pain, just as he was about to speak, a sudden agony erupted from within his body. He vomited a large amount of blood, then suffocated, losing his life.
* * * * * * * * * *
Seeing the miserable state and sudden death of the man before him, Tris immediately understood that the hidden problem behind this was absolutely no small matter.
Taking up his knife and beginning a post‑mortem examination, Tris discovered that an unknown cause had destroyed the man's heart.
'Clearly, this one was only used as a pawn, silenced at any moment. There must be someone else behind him. Moreover, his earlier actions seemed like an attempt to kidnap me. What exactly are these people plotting?'
Tris's analysis reached a dead end, for the enemy had prepared too thoroughly against betrayal.
A figure in a black cloak approached. This was the one who had launched the long‑range strike at the dead man's arms.
The cloaked figure removed his mask, revealing Tris's own face beneath.
The "Tris" whom the unknown man had followed from town and confronted afterward had been nothing more than a puppet controlled remotely.
Taking a blank sheet of paper from his spatial ring, Tris used magic to record the dead man's appearance on it.
Finished, he began burning the body and erasing all traces around.
Removing the black cloak, changing shoes, and reclaiming the equipment his puppet had worn—backpack, shield, and staff—Tris once again appeared exactly as when the puppet had left town.
Retrieving the puppet, Tris silently returned, his mind filled with calculations about what needed to be done next.
* * * * * * * * * *
Three days had passed since dealing with the stalker, and no second replacement had appeared. During this time, Tris was not idle or passive in waiting.
At first, he considered whether to immediately leave Dorn to avoid unknown danger here.
But fleeing without any response left him feeling uneasy. Thus, Tris began a secret investigation.
From the corpse, Tris learned the man had also been an adventurer, and rank C. Accordingly, each day Tris stayed at the Adventurers' Guild tavern, secretly listening for any information.
The rank C adventurers in the guild could not be many. If one suddenly disappeared, rumors might arise, indirectly giving Tris clues to his identity.
Not stopping at passive investigation in the guild, Tris also sent "Feathers" to observe the entire town.
The focus was on the slums, where crime rates were high.
What Tris sought was to see whether any kidnappings or child trafficking were secretly occurring, thereby catching the tail of those hidden behind the scenes.
Coris: "Lately, I often see you sitting here reading, don't I?"
Tris: "I quite like the atmosphere here."
Coris: "Yeah, I also enjoy the lively feeling. Everyone is so… how to put it? Full of energy?"
Tris nodded in agreement with this remark.
After a pause, he asked: "By the way, does our guild have many adventurers who've reached rank C like you?"
Coris: "Because of the nature of the work, people come and go quite often. But as far as I know, there are about twenty."
Tris: "That seems like quite a lot, doesn't it?"
Coris: "Really?"
Tris: "More than I expected at first. And among them, are there many female adventurers like you?"
Coris: "Not many, only three others. They usually form hunting parties with me."
'So that leaves around sixteen men. Narrowing down exactly which one I dealt with earlier will be difficult.' — Tris calculated silently.
Of course, if he carried the image and asked around, he would quickly get information.
But Tris wasn't foolish enough to draw attention to himself that way.
He could also hire someone to investigate the image, but he worried that might stir the grass and alert the snake.
???: "Let's go, Coris."
Coris: "Oh, my friend's calling. I'm off to hunt, see you later."
Tris: "See you later."
After Coris left, Tris remained, reading while keeping half his attention on his surroundings and the town.
He brought the cup to his lips, only to have his attention snagged by something unexpected.
Through the eyes of "Feathers," Tris saw a brawl in the slums—or more precisely, a group beating.
Fights were common there, as he had observed these past days, so this was not unusual.
What drew his attention was that this time the victim was a small child, and the attackers seemed to have gone too far in inflicting injury.
After a brief thought, Tris finished his drink, stood, and went to pay for his food and water.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Remember this: if next month you don't hand over enough money, we'll give you another beating like this," the thug threatened the child lying collapsed on the ground.
"Come on, let's go. You went too far—you'll kill him." Meanwhile, his companions realized they had inflicted excessive harm, so they dragged away the thug who was still cursing angrily.
After the gang left, only the child remained in a dilapidated hut.
Lying on the ground, he struggled to pull out a hidden piece of bread.
It was just cheap, hard black bread. But to the child, it was the thing that kept him alive in this harsh world.
Slowly raising the bread to his mouth, he tried to chew and swallow, but failed.
Pain in his stomach made him vomit bitter bile mixed with blood.
Yet despite the agony, the child did not give up, continuing to put the bread into his mouth and trying to eat it.
A figure suddenly entered the hut and watched him.
Seeing the newcomer, the child immediately clutched the bread tightly, as if protecting his very life.
Looking up, the child seemed to glimpse a faint light piercing the darkness of his hut.