At the smell of burnt smoke brushing the tip of her nose, she lifted her head and answered a beat late.
What she saw was a tired-looking middle-aged man with a sparse beard wearing a worn tunic.
The man holding a tobacco leaf looked quite shabby at first glance.
His clothes were sloppy, his belt was loose, and his eyes were languid.
Perhaps finding it bothersome to cut his hair, the short ponytail he had roughly gathered the unruly strands together looked uninspired.
He seemed like a heavy smoker, looking quite accustomed to inhaling strong tobacco.
Roselyn's eyes widened ever so slightly. She knew this man.
"Yes?"
“I see.”
Roselyn answered, tensing her face and hardening her expression to keep her agitation from showing.
He glanced down at Roselyn and lightly waved his hand.
"Well, then that's a relief."
Solid muscles were visible through the tunic.
He scratched his head as if annoyed, waved his hand lightly, and tucked his other hand into his pocket.
He casually walked past her.
Even as he brushed past, the man's gaze did not leave Roselyn.
She rubbed her arms against the goosebumps that had subtly appeared and went down the stairs.
As the man was out of sight, she shivered once on the landing.
'...Arsonist.'
He was the most wanted criminal, whose composite sketch was only barely revealed years after the arson incident occurred.
Whether he possessed an abyss related to fire or not, wherever he passed, only acrid ashes remained.
'Still, death is a possibility.'
'Lavis' kills him after tracking him down.
'Lavis' was a Dark Knight that revealed itself only at the Emperor's summons and was not subject to any legal judgment.
Roselyn didn't really know who they were either.
However, according to what is known, 'Lavis' is said to be composed entirely of those who possess the Abyss.
Conversely, it could be said that, unlike ordinary knight orders, it was an organization established to deal with Abyss criminals.
'...Why am I here?'
Roselyn took a deep breath.
Unlike her calm mind, her breath grew hotter little by little.
Roselyn went downstairs and headed toward the owner who was settling the ledger at the counter.
"Owner, if you happen to have any newspapers saved up, could I get all the recent ones?"
At Roselyn's words, the owner let out a loud "Eek!" and looked up. She looked quite surprised.
"Oh dear, isn't that you, Lady? We do have newspapers, but if you mean recent ones, just how recent are you referring to?"
"I wish you would give me everything you have from the last month or two."
Roselyn took a few gold coins out of her pocket, placed them down, and said.
"I needed a newspaper that I hadn't seen while I was in Kaluta."
One gold coin was worth about 100,000 olang. So, it would be more than enough to cover the value of a few bundles of expired paper.
Sure enough, the owner nodded with delight, ran off somewhere, and brought back a large bundle of papers.
"It might be a bit empty since I used it as kindling here and there, but it’s roughly a two-month supply!"
Roselyn paused at the mountain of paper, which was higher than she had expected.
'Should I have brought someone?'
She took out another gold coin and placed it there.
"I'm sorry, but could you move these to my room? I have somewhere to go for a moment."
"Of course! I'm incredibly strong, so I'm perfect for this kind of work."
The owner quickly stuffed the gold coins into her pocket, grinned broadly, and nodded willingly.
Roselyn left the inn as she watched the landlady pick up the newspaper and stride toward the second floor.
She was thinking of going to buy some food while reading the newspaper.
When she went outside, the Kalutains were gathered among themselves, talking about something.
"Huh? Where are you going, Miss?"
"I'm going to buy something to eat for a bit."
“Ah~”
Their arm muscles were quite thick, befitting their pride in being technicians, and the sight of five of them together was quite intimidating.
They exchanged glances, and two of them approached Roselyn.
“Let’s go.”
"I can go alone."
"Ah. Who do you think you are, Miss? Besides, I heard that in the Empire, when distinguished guests go somewhere, they are always accompanied by guys who know how to fight."
Kalutain waved his hand.
'Naryan and Batar are missing.'
One of the Kalutains spoke up, perhaps sensing Roselyn's doubts.
"Batar and Naryan said they were going to take a nap."
Roselyn nodded lightly.
Since it had been a long journey so far, they planned to stay in Landarin for a few days to let the horses rest.
However, the atmosphere in Landarin was not very good.
"I feel quite uneasy for some reason."
"I know, right. I've heard that it happens quite often that not only the villages around here, but some villages are completely consumed overnight..."
"Haaaam," Kaluta yawned deeply and giggled.
"I don't know who that bastard is, but if I catch him, I'm going to split him in half. Damn it. Do you have nothing better to do than pull off such a fucking stunt?"
He muttered fiercely.
As Roselyn let out a light chuckle at the crude insult, the man glanced at her.
"Was it too rough for an outsider to hear?"
“No, it doesn’t matter.”
"Is that so? Ah. I am Sanja. That fellow is Nergui. Well, please feel free to call me whatever you like, Miss."
“Sure.”
Roselyn answered briefly.
"Wow, actually, it's been a while since I've stepped outside of Kaluta's territory."
As if to prove the living's words, surprised eyes fell upon them wherever they went.
"The situation is very volatile, so it might be better to enter the capital as soon as possible."
Nergui, who looked a bit more serious than Sanja, added a remark.
"Ah, since you are frail. We don't know when you might collapse; it might be better to get over to where the Emperor is staying as quickly as possible."
Sanja said.
Roselyn lightly agreed, saying she would think about it, and went into a sandwich shop.
She bought several items of food, including light sandwiches. It filled two paper bags completely.
"Huh, did you come to buy this?"
"Yeah, I was trying to do something in my room, but I tend not to move much once I focus on one thing."
"Why didn't you have someone else do it?"
"I wanted to fix my hair. Anyway, thanks for the security."
She returned from a quick shopping trip and handed one of the bags she was holding to Sanja.
"You must be hungry, so don't stay too long and catch a cold while we share. Just come in when it's time to leave."
Roselyn went into the accommodation.
Sanja, who had taken the bag in a daze, stared at the bag full of sandwiches, then turned to look at Nergui.
“What is a cold?”
"There is such a thing. It is a condition where you keep coughing when it gets too cold."
"...You're telling me to be careful of that? The Empire is dying of heat!"
At these words, which he had never heard before in his life, Sanja dug his fingernails into his chest and scratched it vigorously.
"Ugh, but is the way outsiders talk usually this itchy?"
Sanja muttered softly, the corners of his mouth swaying subtly.
***
"Ah. I found you. I found you. I was wondering where you went... Miss."
The person who greeted Roselyn when she returned to her lodgings was the man she had bumped into earlier.
He was waving his hand with a spoon in his mouth, as if he were having a meal alone in the first-floor restaurant.
As Roselyn paused, he approached, waving his hand with great joy, as if he were meeting an old friend.
"Um, what is it? I just remembered what I wanted to say earlier at the last."
The man murmured in a languid, flat voice that sounded tired.
"Miss, I have a pretty good intuition for this kind of thing, you know..."
With his hands in his pockets and standing with one leg bent, he looked quite like a loafer.
A man who had approached before anyone realized pulled Roselyn into an empty hallway, grabbed her by the shoulder, and laughed.
“You know me, right?”
The man leaned his upper body close, pressed his lips against her ear, and whispered softly.
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