**Side Story: Rena**
"—Aaaah! I'm so tired—!"
Nina raised her voice without caring who heard.
Normally I would have scolded her a little, but today I had no energy left for that.
"I agree… I just want to soak in the bath and rest as soon as possible."
Even the usually composed Fana looked exhausted.
"Yeah. After everything that happened today—"
Just remembering it made me realize what a terrible day it had been.
---
This morning, before Jeff woke up, a guild staff member we only knew by sight came to the inn and said there was an urgent matter, so the three of us left Jeff sleeping and headed to the guild.
But when we arrived and asked the familiar receptionist, she said there was no such request, and the staff member who supposedly called us was actually off duty today.
That was still okay. It could have been a simple miscommunication.
The real problem came after that.
We had been stood up and were on our way back when we got caught up in unexpected trouble.
—A purse snatcher.
In the crowded main street full of shoppers before noon, a woman dressed in black bumped into me.
The next instant, Fana noticed my staff was missing, Nina spotted the woman who had bumped into me running away with the staff in her hand—and the chase began.
The three of us hurriedly pursued her, but the thief was incredibly fast. She left the town in no time, entered the forest, ran along unfamiliar animal trails, and reached a dungeon.
We kept running after her through the strangely pink-tinged thick fog until she finally gave up from our persistence, threw down the staff, and fled.
We decided not to chase her any further and retrieved the staff.
The moment I picked it up—
The ground glowed, and a magic circle appeared.
We all cried out in confusion, and the next instant—
"Where… are we…?"
The scenery had completely changed from the forest. Nina muttered in a small voice.
Before us stood the outer wall of an unfamiliar town.
"—It's the neighboring town. It looks like we stepped on a teleportation trap."
Fana explained with a troubled expression. Nina reacted first.
"A teleportation trap!? My skills didn't detect anything like that!"
She tends to take responsibility even when it's not entirely her fault.
She looked back and forth between Fana and me with anxious, cat-like eyes, looking like a small scared animal.
"Nina, it's okay. Neither Fana nor I are blaming you… Right?"
"Uuu… Y-Yeah."
While gently stroking Nina's red hair, I looked at Fana. She gave a gentle, motherly smile.
"Yes. It was probably detection interference or recognition interference. We should have paid more attention to how strange that fog was… This is my mistake."
Teleportation magic. It exists as traps in dungeons, and normally Nina's thief skill [Trap Disarm] would neutralize it.
But if detection was blocked, even Nina couldn't do anything.
"—Having a teleport trap in a place like that, plus fog that interferes with detection or recognition… Isn't that too convenient?"
Nina's pointed observation brought a heavy silence over us.
The same questions swirled in my mind: Why? How? Was someone behind this?
As I started sinking into thought, a sharp clapping sound rang out.
Fana had clapped her hands together and spoke in an unusually bright voice.
"You two? I'm worried too, but for now let's go back to the inn, okay? Besides…"
She lowered her eyebrows apologetically and continued.
"…Unfortunately, it's quite a long walk back to the inn from here. We'll be lucky if we make it by evening…"
Nina and I looked at each other, blinked, and then slumped our shoulders.
---
And now.
By evening we had finally made it back to the inn, completely exhausted.
(I really want to see Jeff soon…)
Forcing my aching legs to move with the fuel of anticipation, we opened the door to our room.
"Jeff! We're back! Sorry we're so late—"
The moment I stepped inside first and called out, I felt something was wrong.
(Huh? No presence… Did he go out?)
Even after entering the living area, no one was there, just as I feared.
"Hm? While we were having the worst day ever, that guy just casually went out?!"
Nina grumbled, clearly unhappy.
"It can't be helped since we came back so late. I'm sure he'll be back soon…"
I tried to calm Nina while also convincing myself.
"Yeah… Alright! When he gets back, I'll pamper him extra to make up for today!"
While Nina laughed with her usual "Nishishi," I looked at Fana. She had a hand on her chin, looking deeply troubled.
"Fana…san?"
"—Eh? Ah, sorry. …Yes, let's wait for Jeff-san to come back."
Her usual gentle smile looked forced. A strong wave of anxiety stirred in my chest.
---
As a result, Jeff never came back.
Evening passed, and even as the town grew dark, he still hadn't returned. The three of us split up to search: Fana and I went into town, while Nina stayed at the inn in case we crossed paths.
After dozens of minutes, we returned to the inn without finding him and gathered around the table.
I had asked around town but found no useful information.
Nina had waited at the inn the whole time.
"—When I asked at the guild, they said Jeff came looking for us around noon, but left right after. Also…"
Fana, who had searched near the guild separately, continued.
"…The receptionist received a letter addressed to us. …Read it."
She placed the letter from the envelope on the table. Nina and I leaned in so close we might burn holes through the paper.
It was short and written in simple letters:
To the three of you,
I am leaving the party.
—Jeff
"Jeff…?"
I couldn't understand the situation or the meaning of the words.
It felt like the world had suddenly gone dark. A crushing despair pressed down on me.
"…According to the receptionist, a woman dressed in black delivered this letter to the guild around evening."
Fana's voice echoed hollowly in the room.
"—We have to find him."
Someone's voice broke the heavy silence.
""Eh?""
Nina and Fana looked at me.
"—Jeff is definitely in danger! We have to search for him!"
The voice had come from me.
As if venting all the anger with nowhere to go.
My unusually loud, harsh tone surprised even me.
The other two stared at me wide-eyed, but—
After the strange events of the day and this sudden letter.
There was no way this was really Jeff's intention.
"…You're right."
"Yeah."
With those short replies, our decision was made.
I nodded slightly, and Nina and Fana responded with their eyes.
We stood up and left the room, heading back out into the night town.