After finishing dinner and diving into bed, I woke up in the middle of the night to a faint presence. Living in the Demon Forest and camping frequently, I’d grown accustomed to maintaining Presence Detection even while sleeping.

Glancing at the bed beside me, I saw that Rio was still sound asleep, her soft breathing unbroken.

“Rio, wake up.”

I got up carefully, my senses sharp, and whispered to her. Her eyes snapped open, and she silently sat up, alert.

“...Something happened?”

“Two presences. They’re moving stealthily, coming from downstairs toward our room.”

“...Now that you mention it…”

Frowning, Rio’s eyes darted to the door. She seemed to sense the faint presences as well now.

“They’re good at hiding, but they’re definitely headed this way, slowly but surely,” I said.

It didn’t seem like someone casually returning to their room. Anyone innocent would move openly, without bothering to mask their presence.

“Yeah, I agree.”

Rio quickly donned her robe and grabbed her staff. She trusted my senses and didn’t dismiss the warning.

“They’re at the door.”

I whispered, lowering my voice further. If they had Presence Detection, making obvious movements could tip them off that we were aware. The presences paused just outside our door.

Click.

The faint sound of a lock turning reached our ears.

“They’re coming,” I said softly.

Channeling my magic in preparation, I slid off the bed, ready to act.

The door creaked open slowly, and before they could step inside, Rio’s magic activated.

“Gah!”

The room was suddenly plunged into darkness, thanks to Darkness Magic, and then a blinding flash of Light Magic filled the space, disorienting the intruders.

The moment the light faded, I lunged at them, delivering a paralyzing jolt of Lightning Magic to the first figure. I quickly hit the second one with the same before they could recover their vision.

“Phew.”

Taking a moment to catch my breath, I pulled a rope from my Dimensional Box and tied up the intruders, who were still twitching from the shocks. Thankfully, our ambush had worked.

Rio’s flash of light might have leaked slightly into the hallway, but hopefully, it wasn’t enough to wake anyone. The room was otherwise quiet, with no sounds of other guests stirring.

“Tough luck for them,” Rio said, standing nearby with her staff in hand.

“No kidding,” I replied with a wry grin.

Casting Light Magic, I illuminated the intruders and got my first proper look at them.

“...Black cloaks.”

Rio’s expression darkened instantly. Her killing intent became palpable, filling the room.

“Whoa, easy,” I said, placing both hands on her shoulders to calm her down.

“Why are they here?!” she hissed.

It hadn’t been long since we were attacked by similarly dressed figures in the Demon Forest. Could these be the same group?

“Well, we’ll ask them directly,” I said.

I pulled down the cloth covering one of the intruders’ faces and cast Healing Magic to rouse them. Their body gradually stopped twitching, and their eyes snapped open, glaring at me.

“Who… what just happened?”

“That’s my line. Why did you attack us? And who the hell are you?”

I glared back at him, my tone icy. They had broken into our room at night—there was no doubt in my mind they were hostile.

The man didn’t respond, simply staring at me in silence.

“Looks like he’s not going to talk,” Rio muttered, her tone dripping with disdain.

“Yeah, figures.”

I scratched my cheek and sighed, annoyed.

“We just arrived in the capital. So, who sent you? And how did you know we were here?”

The man’s expression shifted slightly, and then he asked, “How did you get from Zain to the capital in two days?”

“What?”

I blinked, caught off guard. He knew we’d been in Zain—and exactly how fast we’d traveled? My mind raced.

“Wait a second. How do you know how long it took us to get here?”

Something wasn’t adding up. The fact that they knew our location so precisely was unnerving.

“...Could it be that brooch?”

Rio’s voice was barely a whisper, but it carried a weight that made my stomach sink. She was right—it had to be that suspicious brooch.

I pulled it out from my Dimensional Box, pretending to retrieve it from my pocket.

“So, you’re saying this little thing let you track us?”

The man’s face twisted into a grimace but didn’t deny it.

“And let me guess—those cloaked attackers in the Demon Forest two weeks ago? That was your group too.”

There was no way they could have found that isolated house in the middle of nowhere without something like this brooch acting as a tracking device.

“Hah, that’s right,” the man admitted. “Now answer me: how did you cover that distance in two days?”

Despite being tied up, his arrogance was infuRioting.

“Well, you’ve already tried to kill us twice,” I said, leaning in closer. “Maybe we should make sure there isn’t a third time.”