By noon the next day, a heavy pall hung over the city.
Large numbers of soldiers patrolled the streets. The once-bustling avenues now seemed eerily deserted, with only the occasional figure in adventurer's gear passing by.
Residents kept their doors tightly shut, peering cautiously through their windows at the soldiers outside.
In the latter half of last night, a murder had taken place. The largest apothecary in E-Rantel had been subjected to a horrific attack.
The owner, Lizzie Bareare, the city's most renowned pharmacist, had been killed. Rumor had it the murderer was so cruel that they had even ripped out her heart.
As for her grandson, Nfirea, his body had not been found. He was missing.
The incident had thrown all of E-Rantel into panic. Most residents chose to stay indoors, planning to wait and see how things unfolded.
Some even began questioning whether the soldiers were truly capable of protecting them, complaining that the taxes they paid every month were for nothing.
The garrison soldiers were left with a serious headache. To calm the public's fears, they had no choice but to increase patrols throughout the city.
...
The Spinning Bird Inn felt more like a tavern than an inn.
Laughter and conversation rose and fell without pause, and the air was thick with the scent of ale.
The turmoil outside seemed to have little impact here. As if cut off from the rest of the world, the patrons remained immersed in the simple pleasure of drinking.
The owner, Ajjie, slightly plump with a faint smile on his face, quietly wiped wooden cups with a cloth.
"Naohara, aren't you going to the Adventurer's Guild today?"
Glancing at the silent figure seated at the bar, Ajjie asked curiously.
"Naohara, come have a drink!"
"Last time didn't count. Today I'm definitely getting you drunk!"
"Cheers! Cheers! Ugh..."
The group nearby, locked in a drinking contest, immediately started shouting as well. They shook their wooden cups enthusiastically, urging Naohara to join them.
"Not today. Next time. Definitely next time."
Naohara chuckled and shook his head. He didn't mind going wild with them once in a while, but drinking like this every single day was another matter. He wasn't a drunkard.
"Then next time..."
The group sighed in disappointment but didn't press him further. After agreeing to drink together another day, they threw themselves back into their revelry.
"Where are your companions?"
Ajjie set down the wooden cup, pulled out a piece of bread from behind him, hesitated for a moment, then grabbed a glass of milk as well and handed both to Naohara.
"One's reading. The other's sleeping."
Naohara accepted without hesitation and took a bite of the bread. The firm crust paired with warm milk had its own simple charm.
He spoke leisurely between bites.
Ever since acquiring the ability to accelerate magic learning, Momonga had been using every spare moment to read and study the fundamentals of magic.
As a magic fanatic who had mastered over seven hundred spells in the game, his enthusiasm for studying was astonishing.
Aside from handling daily adventurer commissions and chatting, he usually shut himself in his small room, poring over books. He wanted to become a true Skeleton Mage—not the kind who could cast spells yet knew nothing about how they worked.
As for Herohero, he was genuinely asleep.
With his innate devouring ability, Herohero could quickly grasp magical knowledge by browsing through others' memories. There was no need for him to study like Momonga, so most of his days were spent either sleeping or eating.
"Wait… am I the one dragging everyone down?"
Midway through chewing his bread, Naohara froze. Somehow, without realizing it, he had already fallen behind.
He slowly put down the small bread roll, his expression shifting uncertainly.
This quiet, unspoken competition had caught him completely off guard.
Just as Naohara was debating whether to cheat by using the Cash Shop Item [Shooting Star Ring], a figure quietly approached from behind him.
Seeing that Naohara was lost in thought and hadn't noticed her at all, Clem's eyes lit up with mischief. She quietly stepped behind him and slowly covered his eyes with both hands.
The brightness vanished into darkness, snapping Naohara out of his thoughts. Before he could speak, a voice whispered by his ear.
"Guess who~"
Warm breath brushed against his ear as she spoke. Off to the side, Ajjie took one look at the scene and tactfully made himself scarce.
With his vision blocked and her breath tickling his ear, a strange sensation crept up his nerves. Naohara felt a little helpless. What was this supposed to be, flirting?
"Clem-san."
"Eh? You figured it out already!"
Naohara gently removed the hands over his eyes and turned around with a resigned look. Clem stood there, smiling at him with narrowed eyes.
They held each other's gaze for several seconds before Clem was the first to look away.
"So boring. Not fun at all."
She muttered under her breath, then sat down openly on the stool beside him.
"Want a drink?"
She glanced at the rowdy crowd around them and tilted her head at Naohara.
"Sure. But let's skip the ale. I've got something better."
"You brave enough to try it?"
Naohara smoothly took out two cups from beneath the counter. Instead of reaching for any of the bottles behind the bar, he produced a gourd from somewhere and poured out a crimson liquid, filling both cups to the brim.
It looked like blood.
Clem frowned slightly at the sight.
The liquid was a clear, deep red, carrying a faint fragrance. But years of fighting told Clementine one thing—this really did resemble fresh blood.
Naohara smiled at her reaction. He lifted his cup in a silent toast and downed it in one gulp, wordlessly assuring her it was safe.
Clem hesitated for a moment before picking up her own cup and taking a sip.
She would trust him this once. She didn't think he would harm her.
"Hmm? This tastes pretty good. And…"
To her surprise, the mysterious drink was better than any alcohol she had ever tasted. It looked like blood, yet the flavor was light and fragrant.
As soon as she swallowed it, a warm sensation spread through her body, like soaking in a hot spring. Her entire body felt lighter, as if some unseen weight had been lifted.
"Pretty good, right?"
Naohara lifted the gourd with a proud grin as he watched Clem's cheeks flush red.
This wasn't an ordinary drink. It was [Dragon Blood Brew], something only a level 70 production profession could create. It greatly restored health, cleansed toxins from the body, and slightly boosted all attributes.
For Naohara, it was just a regular beverage. For Clem, though, it was a powerful tonic—enough to raise her about two levels.
He had prepared it specifically because she had inhaled the corrosive gas released by Blackie last night. Even if it was unconsciously emitted, Blackie's corrosive gas wasn't something a level 30-something like Clem could truly withstand.
Although she seemed to have recovered after chugging large amounts of healing potions, Naohara could clearly see that her blood had already been tinged with black.
If he hadn't intervened, she would have had at most a week left to live.
When the time came, she would have dropped dead without warning—her blood turning black, her organs corroding from within.
"Ahem."
Sensing the change in her body—and noticing the way Naohara was looking at her—Clem quickly coughed twice, trying to shift the focus elsewhere.
"If you like it, it's yours."
Naohara gave the gourd a small shake, then placed it directly into Clem's arms.
"This must be something valuable. Why give it to me?"
Clem looked down at the gourd in her hands, confusion flickering across her face.
Naohara raised a finger to his lips in a quiet gesture. Under her puzzled gaze, he spoke slowly.
"Everyone has their own secrets. But when it comes to friends, I'm not stingy."
He wasn't joking. Those were his honest thoughts.
Whether she was Clem or Clementine didn't really matter.
The fact that she hadn't run, and had instead come to find him today, was enough for him.
At some point, the noise around them had faded. In the sudden quiet, only Naohara's voice could be heard.
Clem fell silent.
Friends?
That word felt impossibly distant to her.
She was nothing more than a murderer, a fugitive doomed to live on the run. Friendship was something she had never dared to hope for.
And yet, as she looked at Naohara, she felt something she had never experienced before.
She could tell he meant every word. There wasn't the slightest hint of deception. This man truly saw her as a friend.
"I…"
Clementine stiffly parted her lips, but no words came out. She could only stare at him blankly.
Originally, she had only intended to chat for a bit, persuade Naohara to leave E-Rantel, and then depart on her own. But now, she had no idea how to steer the conversation back.
"Clem, you have your secrets. That's fine. I have plenty of my own."
"You need some time to think. Let's meet tonight in the small grove outside the city gates. There's something I want to talk to you about."
Seeing her completely freeze up, Naohara reached out and gently ruffled her short golden hair, calming her visibly tangled emotions.
After setting the time and place, he gave her a light smile and walked away under her complicated gaze.
Around them, the onlookers who had somehow gathered to watch the scene stared at Naohara's retreating back, then at Clem standing there in a daze. They couldn't help but suck in a breath.
Damn. Just a few lines, and he already got her to meet him in the woods tonight.