Aster was left alone in the room he shared with his master.
Sensing that an opportunity had presented itself, he began searching through Valorant's belongings.
'What Ned mentioned has to be here.'
When Ned made his proposal, he had asked for only one thing.
"Bring me a book—that's all. When your master went to the duke's estate, he took a valuable book with him. Bring me that book, and in return, I'll tell you who you were in your past life."
Suspicion had filled Aster's eyes.
"Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"Believe me or don't. That's your choice. Either way, we'll obtain that book.," Ned had said before slipping out through the window.
Now, as Aster searched through Valorant's belongings, he found various clothes and personal items—but no sign of any book.
After rummaging through the bag and finding nothing, he carefully put everything back in place.
'Where could it be?'
Suddenly, he remembered something.
When they had lived together in the cabin, his master used to keep journals about elves hidden beneath his bed. The memory struck him immediately. He dropped to the floor and looked underneath the bed.
'There's something here.'
He reached inside and pulled out the hidden object.
It was an iron box.
Aster lifted it and shook it lightly. Something inside hit against the metal walls with a dull sound.
There was definitely something in it.
He tried to open it—but it was locked. A key was required.
'How did Master carry this around without anyone noticing?'
For now, he concluded that waiting might be the wisest choice.
But he had no intention of sitting idly.
He began searching for the key.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed outside the room.
Realizing someone was approaching, Aster quickly slid the iron box back under the bed, returned everything to its original place, and lay down on his own bed as if he had been resting the entire time.
The door opened.
Valorant entered.
Outside, the sun had long since set. Night had already fallen.
Valorant lay down in his bed and soon drifted into sleep.
Hearing his master's steady breathing, Aster silently rose from his bed and approached him.
He carefully examined Valorant, searching for any sign of a key.
That was when he noticed something hanging from his master's neck.
A key.
'How do I remove it without waking him?'
Aster slowly extended his hand and gently pulled on the string around Valorant's neck.
The key slid between his clothes and skin, brushing against him. Valorant stirred slightly, lifting a hand and scratching his chest over his clothes before settling back into sleep.
After a few careful movements, Aster managed to free the key from beneath the fabric.
Now only the string remained.
He gathered mana at the tips of the fingers holding the string.
[Flame Mana]
The string snapped instantly, and the key fell into his palm.
Valorant didn't seem to notice.
Aster reached under the bed, retrieved the iron box, and unlocked it.
He looked inside.
'This is it.'
He lifted the book from the box and examined its exterior. At first glance, it looked no different from an ordinary book—aside from its thickness and weight.
Holding the book in one hand, Aster stood and fastened his sword to his belt. Then he approached the window.
He intended to leave through it.
If he used the door, the men stationed downstairs at the inn would see him. And leaving alone at night would look suspicious.
As he neared the window, he began gathering mana throughout his body, concentrating it—preparing to soften his landing when he jumped down.
'Wait… who are they?'
On the rooftops of nearby buildings and in the darker corners of the street, figures were hidden.
Aster could sense that the mana emanating from them was far from ordinary.
Realizing something was wrong, he concealed the book inside his clothes and hurried back to his master.
"Master… Master," he whispered carefully, trying not to startle him.
Suddenly, shouts erupted from outside.
It sounded like people were fighting in the streets.
The noise forced Valorant awake instantly. He opened his eyes wide, quickly assessing the situation.
"Aster—" he began.
But a sudden explosion outside the window cut him off.
A deafening blast and a violent shockwave hurled both Aster and his master across the room, slamming them against the entrance door.
Pain spread through Aster's body. It wasn't life-threatening—but pain was still pain.
Valorant, however, seemed unaffected. He rose to his feet immediately and moved without hesitation.
The explosion had destroyed the wall between the two rooms, the wall facing the street was completely gone—merging the two rooms into one open space.
Moments later, Aster followed after his master into the next room.
There, they saw a man dressed entirely in black.
On the back of his cloak, the symbol of a half-open eye was visible, was the symbol of a half-open eye.
In his arms—
Anna lay unconscious.
The moment the intruder saw them enter, he leapt from the second floor down into the street below.