Chapter 201: Phonia in Danger
“Thank you very much.”
“No, no, thank you!”
It seemed I had overstayed my welcome at Ruigentz’s workshop, so I decided to take my leave. Ever since we established telepathic communication, things had progressed quickly, and I had certainly made some good headway. Perhaps it would be a good idea to focus on crafting my katana at the inn for a while.
“Feel free to come again.”
“Yes, if anything comes up, I’ll be sure to visit.”
“See you later!”
As I patted Phonia’s head, who was energetically wagging her tail, I stepped outside the workshop. The sun had already set, and the surroundings were cloaked in twilight. Now that I thought about it, I had forgotten to ask about Mithril and magic steel, but I could always return.
“I got more out of this than I expected.”
“Indeed. I didn’t think he would so readily show me a katana made of Adamantite—”
Just as I finished speaking, a prickling sensation surged through my mind, a warning that danger was near. Instantly, I activated all my detection skills. Information about everything around me—people, animals, insects, terrain, and space—flooded my mind, processed in parallel.
I sensed something flying toward us and quickly moved to Phonia’s side, reaching out my hand.
“Shuu?”
At almost the same moment as Rio’s voice, an arrow landed in my palm.
“Yikes!”
It appeared to have narrowly missed Phonia’s neck, and she stared at the arrow in shock. I turned my gaze toward the source of the shot, catching a glimpse of someone turning to flee. I marked the culprit with Spatial Magic, ensuring I could track them later.
“W-What…?!”
“Huh? W-What’s going on?!”
Rio and Ivan seemed just as bewildered as I was. Why was Phonia targeted?
“I don’t really know… but we can always go ask the culprit later.”
“The culprit?”
“Exactly.”
Just to be safe, I decided to have Nil track the scent of the arrow.
“Nil, can you track the scent for me?”
I called out, holding the arrow in front of her nose. After sniffing it, she let out a cheerful “Wafuu!” and dashed off, her paws pounding against the ground.
“If Nil is on the case, we can trust her.”
“Right? I marked the person who shot the arrow, so once we identify their hideout, we can confront them.”
Honestly, whoever it was had some nerve targeting Phonia. I doubted that arrow could harm her, but I would definitely return it with interest, so they should be prepared.
“Are you okay, Phonia?”
I gently patted her head, and her dazed expression returned to normal.
“I’m fine, but… why was I targeted…?”
She tilted her head, looking puzzled but not particularly frightened. Ivan was anxiously scanning the area, but I didn’t sense any more threats nearby. The shooter had already fled, and there were no other suspicious individuals around. The fleeing culprit crossed the river and continued upstream, but soon their movements came to a halt.
“Shall we go after them?”
“Yes. For now, let’s head back to the inn.”
“Y-Yeah, got it.”
With Phonia nodding in agreement, the four of us made our way back to the inn. We passed through the Blacksmith District and crossed the river, just as Nil returned.
“Wafuu!”
“Welcome back!”
I crouched down and showered her with affection. There’s nothing cuter than a small dog-sized creature. After giving Nil a thorough petting, I stood up, ready to move.
“Nil says the culprit went into that building over there.”
“Is that so…? Then let’s go.”
“I’m coming too!”
Just as I was pondering who to take with me, Phonia’s voice rang out, translating for Nil.
“Phonia should—”
I started to tell her to wait at the inn but fell silent.
“I want to know why I was targeted.”
With her earnest gaze fixed on me, I found myself at a loss for words. Being targeted by a human was a different kind of fear than facing a monster, but perhaps Phonia could handle it.
“Alright. Let’s all go together.”
“Eh?”
“Yes, if Phonia-chan wants to go, then we should all go.”
Ivan was the only one looking surprised, but he seemed to recall that he was the weakest among us and let out a deep sigh before nodding.
“Wafuu!”
With Nil leading the way, the four of us followed her toward the building. We passed through the inn and headed upstream, but the person I had marked showed no signs of moving from their location. Eventually, we entered a residential area, and Nil stopped in front of a building. There was a sign out front, and judging by the illustrations, it looked like a bar?
The building was narrow but deep, appearing to be two stories tall, yet I sensed the culprit’s presence coming from underground. There seemed to be ten people on the first floor, five on the second, and another five below ground.
“Either way works. Let’s just storm in and catch the culprit.”
“Okay. I’ll keep watch outside.”
“Got it. I’ll make the marker I placed on the culprit more visible.”
I sent a pulse of Magic Power toward the marked individual, causing the marker to flicker with varying intensity. It was a subtle change in Magic Power, but Rio would likely be able to sense it.
“I’ll go around back.”
Ivan spoke in a low voice, his tone laced with barely contained anger. He had been panicking earlier, but now that Phonia was in danger, his resolve had solidified. I could feel his determination to not let anyone escape.
“Yeah. Be careful.”
“I know.”
After receiving a buff spell from Rio, he dashed around to the back.
“Alright, let’s go.”
With my resolve steeled, I slowly opened the entrance to the building.