Knock. Knock. Knock.

The sound echoed against the wooden door.

"Who's there?" a deep, baritone voice called from within.

The door creaked open, and one of the men Raze had met earlier at the town gates stepped inside.

Seated in the small office was a man wearing a tight shirt stretched across an extremely muscular frame. His face was hidden beneath a thick beard, his hair falling to his neck. His eyes were sharp, narrow,.hawk-like,.as he hunched over the table, scanning through several files.

"What's the issue?" he asked, his voice heavy and commanding.

"Captain… there are four kids in the town." The man stepped forward. "One of them is a noble. It looks like they're adventurers or something, hunters, maybe. They came across the town and decided to rest here after hunting beasts in the forest."

The captain lifted his eyes slowly.

"This town is one of the smallest in the region. There are many other places they could have gone. Why here?"

"I don't know, Captain. Maybe… maybe you should come meet them for yourself," the man said.

"I'm not interested in seeing them," the captain said, eyes dropping back to the papers on his desk. "Whoever they are, just inform them they have to be careful around here."

"So… what about the baron? What if they want to see the baron?" the man asked.

The captain looked up slowly. "And why would they want to see the baron?"

"Well, considering that one of the four is a noble, he may want to pay his respects to the baron," the man replied.

"The baron is sick, as you know, and as everyone in this town knows," the captain said sharply. "We are the ones in charge here for now, until he is back on his feet and until the issue concerning the abominations is handled. Or have you forgotten?"

"Not at all, sir," the man replied quickly.

"Good. Now make sure you keep an eye on these new visitors and ensure they don't do anything they aren't supposed to. And ensure they don't see what they are not meant to see."

The man nodded, gave a salute, and left the room.

Unbeknownst to both of them, just a few houses away, Raze stood behind a wall, God's Eye active, watching and listening to everything being said.

Instantly, he knew something was wrong. The moment they arrived in the town, he had sensed it. Fully armored knights standing at the gates of a town the same size as Raybest? Impossible. These weren't town guards. They weren't the barony's knights either.

So why were they here?

Something was definitely up.

His curiosity flared, and a new objective formed in his mind.

They didn't want him to see the baron.

Which meant he would see the baron.

When night came, he would go searching… and find out exactly what they were hiding.

[.... ]

Raz returned to the inn they had been lodged in and immediately called all four of them into one room.

"So what's up?" Gavin asked. "Why did you call for us?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure you already noticed the group of knights with no crest on their armor in this town," Raze said.

"It is suspicious," Ella replied. "Unless they belong to a baron who doesn't have a crest yet, it makes no sense for knights to move without one. And their armor is way too advanced and well crafted to be from this town. So they can't be the knights of this town. The only way this makes sense is if the baron spends all his money on his armed forces instead of the town, which is very unlikely. They look completely out of place."

"Yeah, and I can tell you for a fact they are out of place," Raze said.

He leaned back, thinking. "I listened in on their conversation. They definitely have some sort of plan here. They're doing something in this town. They mentioned their baron being sick, and that they are the ones in charge for now."

"Hmm. That's very suspicious," Gavin said. "If the baron was down, his family should be taking the reins, not some team of knights."

"Indeed," Raze replied.

"Regardless of what's happening, it's none of our business," Ella said. "We're here to rest, then head back into the forest to hunt abominations. We can't waste time on other people's problems or get involved in a town we don't belong to."

Her words made sense. They had no connection to this place, and nothing to gain from getting involved. Ignoring the situation would be the smartest choice.

But Raze' curiosity wouldn't leave him.

"Well, even though it's none of our concern, I still want to know what exactly is happening," Raze said. "There's no motivation behind what I want to do, just curiosity. Something feels off, and I can't ignore it. So tonight, I'll head to the manor and see this baron that's supposedly sick. Maybe it'll give me some closure. I just can't sit around."

He stretched his arms like he was exhausted. "I'm going to bed. When I wake up at night, I'll head there."

He walked to the bed and lay down, staring up at the ceiling.

The others exchanged glances, silent for a few seconds.

"Fine," Ella said at last. "If you're going, I'm coming along. But we can't get caught or draw attention to ourselves."

"I'll follow too," Gavin added. "If you're going to do something like this, you need someone watching your back."

Emily nodded. "I feel like I have an obligation to know what's happening here, at least." she was a high noble, so if a she saw something wrong in Vermillion, she had to at least put in some effort to fix it.

So when night came, the four of them got ready to leave. The town was a totally normal town, everyone doing whatever they wanted at night, meh drinking at pubs, staggering back home to quarrel with their wives.

But what stood out the most was the knight that walked around the town at knight in routine.

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