Three days after the duel, I was finally allowed to leave the guild infirmary.
Walking still hurt.
Breathing hurt.
Even sitting down hurt.
But at least I wasn't lying in a bed anymore.
Daniel leaned against the tavern counter while watching me slowly lower myself into a chair.
"You look terrible."
I grabbed the mug of water in front of me.
"I feel worse."
Daniel snorted.
"You challenged a Rank B adventurer."
"What exactly did you expect?"
I shrugged.
"I expected to lose."
He crossed his arms.
"And yet you still did it."
"Yeah."
Daniel stared at me for a moment.
Then he sighed.
"I don't understand people like you."
Before I could answer, the tavern door opened.
The evening noise from the street drifted inside.
Several adventurers glanced toward the entrance.
Then they immediately looked away.
Mira stepped inside.
Her armor was gone.
Instead she wore a dark cloak and simple traveler clothes.
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
"Oh."
He leaned closer to me and whispered.
"You have interesting visitors."
Mira walked directly toward our table.
"Kazu."
Her voice sounded calm.
"You look better."
"Barely."
She sat down across from me without asking.
For a moment neither of us spoke.
Then she leaned forward slightly.
"I heard the healers say you were lucky."
"They say that a lot."
She studied my face carefully.
"Why did you really fight Darius?"
I took a slow breath.
"Because I was angry."
Her eyebrow lifted slightly.
"Angry?"
"He left me to die."
She nodded slowly.
"And you wanted revenge?"
"No."
I shook my head.
"I just wanted him to admit it."
For a moment Mira looked thoughtful.
Then she smiled faintly.
"You really are strange."
Daniel cleared his throat loudly.
"Well."
"This is fascinating."
"But some of us are trying to run a tavern."
Mira glanced at him.
Then she looked back at me.
"I need your help."
Daniel laughed immediately.
"Of course you do."
I frowned slightly.
"Help with what?"
Mira lowered her voice.
"There is something I need to retrieve."
"What kind of thing?"
"A document."
Daniel groaned.
"Oh no."
He pointed at Mira.
"Absolutely not."
"What?"
"You are not dragging this idiot into trouble."
Mira tilted her head slightly.
"It's not dangerous."
Daniel stared at her.
"That sentence alone means it's dangerous."
I looked between them.
"...What kind of document?"
Mira hesitated for a moment.
Then she answered.
"A sealed archive document."
Daniel immediately slapped his forehead.
"That's a royal archive."
Mira smiled faintly.
"Correct."
I blinked.
"You want to break into a royal archive?"
"Borrow."
"That's worse."
Daniel pointed at me again.
"No."
"This conversation is over."
Mira ignored him.
Instead she looked directly into my eyes.
"You survived the southern forest."
"You moved quietly during the Crimson Goliath hunt."
"And you climbed a cliff with broken ribs."
I frowned.
"You remember that?"
"Of course."
Her voice softened slightly.
"I was watching."
Something about the way she said that made my chest feel tight.
Daniel muttered,
"This is a terrible idea."
I leaned back in the chair.
"...Why me?"
Mira answered honestly.
"Because no one will suspect you."
Daniel stared at her.
"That's the worst compliment I've ever heard."
I thought about it for a moment.
Then I sighed.
"...Alright."
Daniel slammed the counter with his hand.
"WHAT?"
I shrugged.
"I need money."
Mira smiled faintly.
"I'll pay you."
Daniel shook his head slowly.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
The royal archive building stood deep inside the inner district of the city.
Tall stone walls surrounded the structure.
Torches burned along the perimeter.
Guards walked regular patrols.
I stared at the building from the shadows of an alley.
"This is insane."
Mira crouched beside me.
"Relax."
"Easy for you to say."
She pointed toward the back wall.
"There."
A narrow section between two guard towers.
"We climb there."
"You say that like it's normal."
She smiled slightly.
"Adventurer work."
Climbing the wall with injured ribs was not fun.
Every movement sent pain through my chest.
But somehow we made it over.
Inside the courtyard, the air felt strangely quiet.
We moved quickly between the shadows of the stone buildings.
Eventually we reached a heavy wooden door.
Mira handed me a thin metal tool.
"Open it."
I stared at the lock.
"You think I know how to do that?"
"You survived the forest."
"This isn't the forest."
She crossed her arms.
"Try."
After several attempts—
CLICK.
The door opened.
Mira stepped inside immediately.
The room was filled with wooden shelves.
Scrolls and sealed documents stacked everywhere.
She moved directly toward a small chest in the corner.
Inside was a single sealed scroll with a red wax mark.
"There it is."
She picked it up carefully.
For a moment she simply stared at the seal.
Her expression looked… satisfied.
"We should go," I said.
She nodded.
"Right."
We escaped the archive the same way we entered.
By the time we reached the empty streets again, my heart was still pounding.
Mira suddenly laughed quietly.
"That was easier than I expected."
I leaned against a wall.
"I'm going to die because of this."
"You worry too much."
She stepped closer.
Her hand touched my shoulder lightly.
"You did well."
Her voice sounded softer now.
"Better than I thought."
She studied my face carefully.
Then she smiled again.
"You deserve a reward."
"A reward?"
She pointed toward a nearby inn.
"You look exhausted."
"I'm injured."
"Exactly."
Before I could argue, she walked toward the building.
Inside the inn she rented a small room without hesitation.
When the door closed behind us, the room became quiet.
Too quiet.
I sat on the edge of the bed.
My body felt heavy.
Mira sat beside me.
For a moment we just looked at each other.
Then she spoke softly.
"Kazu."
"Yeah?"
"Where are you really from?"
I hesitated.
Then I sighed.
"...You won't believe me."
"Try."
I stared at the floor.
"I wasn't born in this world."
The room became silent.
"I woke up in the forest one day."
"No explanation."
"No magic."
"No summoning circle."
"I just appeared."
I laughed quietly.
"Sounds crazy, right?"
For a moment Mira didn't answer.
When I looked up—
Her expression had changed.
Just slightly.
Her eyes looked sharper.
Like she had just heard something extremely important.
But the moment she noticed me watching her—
She smiled again.
"Yeah."
Her voice sounded calm.
"That does sound crazy."
But something about the way she looked at me now…
Made the room feel colder than before.