At last, Orion and I spotted something beyond the trees—a towering wall of stone.
"…A wall?" The words nearly burst from my lips.
My chest stirred with emotion. Since being dragged into this world, this was the first time I had laid eyes on human infrastructure.
I glanced behind us. The path we had taken was littered with the corpses of monsters Orion had left behind. Wouldn't that attract even more creatures? That could be dangerous—
"—Out of the way!!!"
A sharp voice rang out from above. I looked up. "Huh? What's that?"
A figure soared through the night sky, cloak fluttering—clearly a mage. Before I could even process it, their body spun midair and crashed to the ground right before me. An arrow was lodged cleanly in their skull.
"Ehhhhh!?" My jaw dropped.
Slowly, I turned my head. Orion stood calmly, bow still raised.
Another mage swooped down toward us, incanting a fire spell. The fireball fizzled out midair—only for an arrow to pierce his head the next instant.
I screamed inwardly. Stop! I haven't even had the chance to speak yet!
"Orion!" I tried to halt her, but she was already drawing again.
The third one appeared—a woman, sprinting toward us with a dagger in hand. Orion prepared to fire.
"Stop!" I grabbed her hand before she could release the arrow.
She blinked at me, baffled. "Why, Sovereign? She is clearly an enemy."
"Don't just shoot people at random!"
Orion stared at me like I had just uttered the most absurd thing in existence.
The woman reached us. She froze for a moment, glanced at the corpses of the fallen mages, then crouched to examine them. Rising again, her sharp eyes locked onto us.
Orion tried to raise her bow once more, but I tightened my grip. "Hold it."
Her hand trembled, but she restrained herself only because of my command.
The woman was dressed head to toe in black, dagger still dripping blood. Her gaze was razor-sharp. "Are you the ones who killed these mages?"
I swallowed hard. "Y… yes."
She touched her chin in thought. "Hunters from Domeralith? But I don't see any knight's armor on you."
I nodded quickly. "Yes, we're hunters. We just came to track wild beasts in the forest."
She raised a brow. "At night?"
I forced a grin. "Yes… animals are usually more careless at night."
The woman studied me for a long moment, then sighed. "…Very well. My name is Loretta, Inquisitor of Esperalza."
My heart stopped. An Inquisitor!? Isn't that basically a holy police officer!?
Nervously, I introduced myself. "My name is Akira. And this beside me… is Orion."
Loretta's eyes flicked toward her. "Why is she wearing a blindfold?"
I scrambled for an excuse. "She's blind… and ashamed of showing her eyes to others."
Orion stiffened but remained silent, likely only because I was still holding her hand down.
Loretta gave a short nod, then crouched over one of the corpses, touching the arrow still lodged in its skull. "Such accuracy… you're highly trained."
Cold sweat ran down my back. That was all Orion, not me!
Dragging the body aside, she glanced back at us. "I'm grateful you disposed of these mages. However, I'm afraid…"
Her gaze sharpened, piercing into me. "…you'll have to come with me to the Inquisitor's office. There are some questions you need to answer."
I froze. "Uh… y-yes."
Orion leaned close, whispering tensely into my ear. "Why do we allow ourselves to be captured by this mortal insect? I could end her in an instant."
I hissed back under my breath. "Don't! We can't cause a scene. This is part of… the infiltration mission."
Orion bowed her head, trembling with restraint. "…As you command, Sovereign."
I let out a long sigh. Why did everything always spiral into some ridiculous misunderstanding?
And so, we followed Loretta toward the city, leaving behind the forest, all I could do was pray silently. Please… don't let me say the wrong thing at the Inquisitor's office.
I walked behind Loretta as she dragged the corpse of the mage along. The city we entered felt eerily quiet, its dim lanterns swaying in the chill of the night wind.
So silent… Well, I suppose it was already late. Still—this was the first time I had seen human infrastructure since arriving in this world. Somehow… it eased me a little.
That was when I realized I was still holding Orion's hand. She hadn't said a word all this time.
"…Hm?" I glanced over.
Orion's head was lowered, her face flushed red.
Eh—what's with her? Don't tell me… she's embarrassed because I'm holding her hand?
I quickly let go, awkwardness welling up inside me as well. Leaning closer, I whispered, "Don't go shooting people without warning again."
Orion only pouted, giving a reluctant nod.
"You two seem close." Loretta's voice cut in suddenly from ahead.
"Ah… ahahaha…" A forced laugh escaped me. Good grief, what kind of situation is this…?
We walked on until we reached a large stone building—the Inquisitor's office. Loretta handed the corpse to someone else, then ushered us inside.
She sat behind a heavy wooden desk. "Please, sit."
I took the chair in front of her, while Orion remained standing at my side.
"Why don't you sit as well?" Loretta asked.
"Orion prefers to stand, hahaha…" My voice cracked awkwardly.
Loretta eyed me briefly before sighing. "Relax. I'm not interrogating you like one of those mages."
That only made me even more nervous.
She then pulled something out—an arrow. Specifically, one of Orion's arrows that had pierced a mage's skull.
"This arrow… its design is unusual. I can't even tell what it's made of. Do you know?"
My stomach dropped. "It's… a normal arrow. Just plain metal."
Loretta studied it carefully. "No. The craftsmanship is too distinct. More like an ancient artifact."
I chuckled weakly, though my heart pounded in my chest. "Ah… I bought it at a high price, that's all."
She placed the arrow on the desk. "Strange. I don't sense a trace of magic. But there is divinity. It feels similar to the power granted by the gods to Esperalza's knights."
Divinity…? If she realized it was just from Dungeon Forge… we'd be finished.
Loretta's gaze returned to me. "But you don't seem like mages. In fact, I sense no magical aura from you at all. So, I'm not suspicious."
I held my breath before giving a slow nod.
She continued, "Still, you should be cautious. We've detected the sudden appearance of an unknown tower deep in Abythralis. Many mages have been spotted near it. We suspect it's their stronghold."
Ourolith. So they'd already noticed… Luckily, they only thought it was a mage's tower. As long as they didn't know it was ours…
I lowered my head, pretending to ponder, while inside I felt a wave of relief. My decision to descend into a human city myself wasn't a mistake after all.
Loretta then asked, "Do you already have a place to stay?"
I shook my head. "Not yet. We just arrived in Domeralith."
"In that case, allow me to cover your lodging. Consider it payment for helping me."
I let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Thank you very much."
Loretta rose, gesturing for us to follow. We walked toward one of Domeralith's inns—a modest building, with warm lamplight spilling from its windows.
Before we entered, Loretta turned. "I truly am grateful. If you hadn't been there, those two mages might have escaped into Abythralis."
I forced an awkward nod. "Ah… right…"
She then lifted the arrow again. "One more thing. May I keep this?"
Orion immediately opened her mouth, but I clamped a hand over it before she could speak.
"Of course," I replied quickly.
Orion froze, trembling faintly against my hand.
Loretta bowed her head slightly. "Thank you. Tonight, you've been a great help."
I could only return a stiff smile.
At least… we had gotten through the questioning. But was it really safe to let a human keep one of those arrows? …I'd think about that later. For now, the most important thing was not to draw suspicion.