"Sorry, that's all I can offer at the moment"

The man said as he placed a glass containing a white liquid in front of us. I honestly didn't know what that liquid was, but I doubted the man would try to poison us or anything like that. So, I just brought the glass to my mouth.

Although the taste wasn't the best compared to what we used to drink at Sylvia's palace, it certainly wasn't bad. The flavor was a bit sweet, but not overly sugary. It was quite similar to drinking tea, although it wasn't exactly tea.

"We appreciate the drink, but we'd like to get more information about the Wyvern. We brought a map, could you show us the exact location where the Wyvern was spotted?"

As I mentioned this, I pulled the map from my storage and spread it out on the table, glancing at the man. He seemed surprised by what had just happened, this magic seemed to be quite rare, as everyone reacted the same way.

Quickly composing himself, the man started studying the map. His eyes moved until they stopped at the village where we were, and then he put a finger on the village, dragging it towards the mountain ranges rising behind the forest.

"In this part of the mountain range, there's an uphill path to the top, but there's also an entrance that leads to a cave, which goes through the mountain range. Before the Wyvern appeared, we used to use this path to go to Anima to sell our products"

The man explained, pointing to the region indicated on the map with a sad expression on his face. Although it was a coincidence, we ended up discovering a way to get to Anima. In the end, the method we would use to go there hadn't really been discussed yet.

While I pondered this, I noticed the man staring at me as if he was about to say something important. To be honest, I had an idea of what it might be, so I gently encouraged him.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

Hearing my words, the man seemed to gather courage before he began speaking. His voice, though calm, carried a hint of desperation.

"I really appreciate your help... But honestly, we don't have money to pay or anything valuable to offer you. Our village is in a difficult situation, and the help you're offering is already more than we could pay at the moment"

Listening to the man's words, I just shrugged, indicating that I didn't care much about this matter. Besides, truth be told, it's not like we were desperate for money. The payment we received from Sylvia for protecting her for a while would probably leave us with a good amount, even if we spent it lavishly.

Stolen story; please report.

"You don't need to worry about that, we're being paid by the royalty of Arclight"

Hearing my words, the man just nodded, showing that he understood; anyway, there was no more reason to stay, so I decided to end the conversation quickly so that we could leave. The sooner we defeated the Wyvern, the better.

But as I got up from the chair, I remembered something and turned back to the man, asking.

"By the way, when was the last time you saw the Wyvern?"

Hearing my question, the man seemed to ponder for a few seconds before finally answering.

"I believe it was four days ago"

After hearing his words, a doubt settled in my mind. For some reason, I felt like something was off.

"Does it usually take this long for it to reappear?"

I questioned, but my words were dismissed by the man who shook his head from side to side.

"I fear this might be the first time this has happened. Normally, the dragon would come every two days when it felt hungry. I know this because we always lost some cattle in the process"

The man's words only confirmed my suspicions. There really seemed to be something wrong. Additionally, considering the time from when Sylvia gave us the mission until our arrival here, exactly four days had passed, the same amount of time the Wyvern had stopped appearing.

(Aurora-sama, do you know anything about this?)

I asked mentally, and after a few seconds of silence, Aurora-sama's voice answered in my mind, accompanied by an additional presence.

"Well, who knows, but be careful, Makoto. This mission probably won't be limited to just exterminating a Wyvern"

Aurora-sama's words raised an eyebrow and my face showed a confused expression. For some reason, Aurora-sama was being strangely enigmatic, although she couldn't hide that there was something wrong with the situation.

(So... there really is something strange, isn't there?)

My question was initially met with silence from Aurora-sama. However, she soon replied, her voice sounding a bit more nervous than usual.

"... I didn't say that"

Aurora-sama replied while seeming relatively nervous, which made a small smile appear on my face, after all, it was a bit unexpected coming from her.

"Well, onee-sama was never good at hiding secrets, after all. But that's also what makes her cute"

The voice that just echoed clearly didn't come from Aurora-sama, or rather, I knew exactly whose it was.

"Artena-sama? Is that you?"

I asked, surprised to recognize the voice.

"That's right. Do you have a problem with that? Don't think I'll leave you alone with onee-sama for too long"

Artena-sama replied, her voice sounding a bit more aggressive than usual, although I really didn't know how her voice normally sounded, as she's always aggressive with me.

"Well... I really don't mind, to be honest"

I said. Hearing that, I heard a "Humph" coming from Artena-sama. Even though we had only known each other for a few days, I felt like I had known her for years, as my first thought upon hearing her voice was how difficult she was to deal with.

After bidding farewell to the man, we headed towards the mountain ranges where the Wyvern was located. Before we left, I noticed the boy who had thrown a stone at me last time, looking in my direction. The little girl who was with him last time was also with him; they both seemed truly inseparable.