"It's really been a long time, Nirrnir," said the slender figure.
It was an elderly man, with hair and beard both already white.
He wore a neatly pressed brown suit, and his beard was immaculately groomed—clearly trimmed by a professional.
Standing over 1.8 meters tall, he leaned on an exquisitely patterned cane held in his gloved hand.
His first impression was that of an old gentleman.
Under the yellow name marker, the name "Bardun" revealed his identity—Bardun Korloy, the head of the Korloy family.
"You're already this old, and still look so vigorous. I'm honestly happy for you, Bardun."
Nirrnir strolled up to him and said coldly.
The sunlight was blocked by the wall beside them, and under the shadow, her face looked even colder and sterner.
"This… This Bardun doesn't look at all like what Nirrnir described—that kind of man desperately making money just to cling to the last few years of life,"
Akimi murmured to Kirito in disbelief after seeing Bardun.
Kirito nodded in full agreement.
Bardun stared at Nirrnir and slowly said,
"I apologize once again for our mistake, Nirrnir."
But Nirrnir responded with a hint of mockery,
"Be sure to keep your men in check next time. After all, when it comes to things like getting drunk—if there's a first time, there'll be a second."
Indeed, Bardun's explanation for the death of the monsters was that one of his subordinates had gotten drunk and accidentally mixed up the feed—with one that was lethal to wild hounds.
Before Bardun could speak, a short, plump man beside him—dressed in a black tailcoat and looking somewhat ridiculous—spoke up with a dissatisfied look:
"Hey! What kind of talk is that?! Are you saying our Korloy family can't manage our own men?! That's a baseless insult! You owe us an apology!"
His name was shown as Menden, a short and stout NPC with the appearance of a butler, wearing a very serious expression.
"Mr. Menden, Miss Nirrnir didn't mean it like that,"
Kio stepped in front of Nirrnir and added,
"More importantly, isn't starting the stable inspection the priority here?"
Menden's face darkened further in anger.
He growled,
"This has nothing to do with you, you blonde little errand girl! What do you mean 'inspection'?! This is merely Lord Bardun showing mercy and allowing you to take a look at the Korloy family's stables! If it weren't for—"
"That's enough, Menden."
Bardun raised his hand to stop Menden.
Then he lightly tapped his cane twice on the ground, stroked the mustache on his lips, and said mildly:
"This was indeed our fault. Let them look if they want."
"…Yes, Lord Bardun."
Menden shot a glare at Akimi and the others, gave a cold snort, and said gruffly:
"Go in, then."
Upon hearing this, Kio gently clapped her hands.
The members of the Nactoy family immediately gathered tightly around her, standing so close that their chests and backs were practically pressed together.
Akimi and Kirito looked on in confusion, stunned and unsure of what to do.
"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and get over here."
Standing at the rear of the group, Huazo frowned and called out to them.
"O-oh, right."
The two responded and quickly moved to stand behind Huazo.
"Closer," Huazo muttered, glancing sideways at them.
After squeezing in tightly against Huazo, Kirito, still confused, said, "Isn't it really hard to walk like this?"
Huazo shot him another glare and said, "Don't ask questions. Just follow orders."
And so, a human wall formed on Nirrnir's left side, completely blocking the sunlight.
They passed through the sunlit stretch of path as quickly as possible.
Even without looking, just from the mocking laughter coming from the Korloy family's direction, Akimi and the others could easily imagine the expressions on their faces.
"Nirrnir has been walking in the shadows along the wall ever since we left, hasn't she?"
Akimi noticed Nirrnir moving in the shadowed area on their right side, maintaining almost the same pace as them, and his face took on a thoughtful look.
The moment they stepped into the shadowed area past the gate with the red dragon emblem, Nirrnir suddenly stumbled, prompting Kirito to instinctively reach out and support her small figure.
"Miss Nirrnir, are you alright?" Kirito asked with concern.
Nirrnir leaned against the wall and slowly shook her head.
Fine beads of sweat were visible on her delicate nose and forehead, and her once rosy lips had turned a sickly pale.
Her HP had dropped by about one-tenth, and a black sun status icon appeared beneath her HP bar, indicating a debuff.
Kio, alarmed, quickly pulled a small black vial from her belt pouch and handed it to Nirrnir.
But Nirrnir refused, saying, "It's not necessary, Kio. I'll be fine after a while."
Kio had no choice but to take the small bottle back, a worried expression on her face.
After resting for about half a minute, Nirrnir slowly straightened up and began walking toward the interior of the building.
As they entered the house, Akimi suddenly felt a chill down his back.
He frowned and glanced behind them, noticing that the Korloy family guards and that man, Menden, were all staring at them with cold, menacing eyes.
Standing at the center, Bardun had a slight smirk at the corners of his mouth.
His expression seemed mocking, even pleased, but in the depths of his sunken eyes burned a venomous glare that was impossible to ignore.
It felt as though he were staring at Nirrnir with the eyes of someone looking at a corpse — chilling and full of malice.
After turning his gaze away, Akimi became even more alert.
"I'll leave the guiding to you two," Kio said softly as she stepped in front of Akimi and Kirito.
The two nodded silently in response.
They moved to the front of the group.
After exchanging a glance, they gave the warehouses a quick scan but didn't notice anything unusual.
Then, they proceeded to the spiral staircase that led down to the underground stables.
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