Kael.
We sat across from each other at the table.
The investigation commission between us. Two pages. Dense script. Clean. Official.
Completely useless.
I looked at Rael.
Rael looked at me.
…
"So," I said, "which part of this do we pretend we understand first."
She stared at me.
"Why are you asking me."
"Because you grew up here."
"That does not make me a detective."
"It makes you less useless than me," I said. "Where I come from, we had people whose entire job was this. You call them. They show up. You wait. You do nothing."
"…And now."
"Now I got hit by multiple trucks and got promoted to 'figure it out.'"
…
Thud.
"So," she said, "you are a noob."
"Elite-level noob."
…
She exhaled.
Then stood.
"We start with Mira."
I straightened.
"She knew something," Rael said. "Not everything. But enough to react."
Her eyes flicked to the empty chairs.
Just for a second.
"Which means she kept something."
She turned.
"We search her side."
The room was quiet.
Not empty.
Wrong.
Everything still in place.
Like they just stepped out.
Rael moved immediately.
Shelf.
Chest.
Chair.
Nothing wasted.
Nothing disturbed more than necessary.
Nothing.
She straightened.
"Nothing useful."
…
I didn't move.
Mira wasn't careless.
And she definitely wasn't obvious.
I looked around the room.
Then—
something clicked.
"…If I were hiding something…"
Rael glanced at me.
I ignored her.
"When I was in school," I muttered, "where did I keep my results so my parents wouldn't find them…"
…
"Not the desk. Too obvious."
I stepped forward.
"Not the bag. First place they check."
I crouched.
"Somewhere close. Somewhere hidden. Somewhere stupid that works…"
I looked under the bed.
"…Under the bed."
"Kael—"
"Hold on."
There.
A board.
Flat.
Placed.
Wrong.
Click.
I lifted it.
…
Papers.
Stacks.
Hidden.
Not stored.
…
I pulled them out.
Rael dropped beside me instantly.
We laid them on the bed.
…
Not notes.
Records.
Dates.
Places.
Names.
Mira's handwriting.
Small.
Precise.
Controlled.
Years of it.
…
Rael leaned closer.
"Kidnappings."
"Yeah."
"Different regions."
"Yeah."
"Same group."
I flipped a page.
There it was.
The Ravine Dogs.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Same pattern.
Take.
Disappear.
Nothing left.
…
"Three years ago," Rael said.
I looked at her.
She tapped the page.
"They stop."
I flipped forward.
Nothing.
More pages.
Nothing.
"They didn't stop," I said.
She looked at me.
"They got smarter."
…
Ba-dum.
…
"At this level," I said, "you don't quit. You hide."
Rael didn't argue.
"She hit a wall," I said. "And kept going anyway."
…
Rael picked up another sheet.
Paused.
Then handed it to me.
"Look."
A drawing.
Careful.
Deliberate.
Silver hair.
Blue eyes.
Every line intentional.
Not imagination.
Memory.
A name underneath.
Celine.
…
Ba-dum.
…
I stared at it.
Mira in the market.
Stopping.
Not reacting.
Recognizing.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
Cold.
"This is her," I said.
"Yes."
"She didn't just see someone."
Rael didn't speak.
"She's been chasing this."
"For years."
…
I looked back at the papers.
Everything led here.
One person.
One name.
"This is it," Rael said. "This is all we have."
I nodded once.
"Then we move."
"How."
"Guild."
…
She froze.
Small.
But I saw it.
"The guild master," I added.
That made it obvious.
"I'm not—"
"I know."
She looked away.
Jaw tight.
"He told me my overflow made me a liability," she said. "In front of other adventurers."
Flat.
Clean.
"Recommended I work alone."
…
Tch.
…
I didn't interrupt.
Didn't soften it.
"So no," she said. "We are not on good terms."
…
I looked at the sketch again.
Then at her.
"We're not going for him," I said.
She glanced back.
"We're going for information."
A beat.
"Mira spent years on this."
Another.
"She didn't hide this so we could hesitate."
…
Silence.
…
Rael held my gaze.
Then looked at the sketch.
At the name.
At everything on the bed.
Her grip tightened.
Just slightly.
Then—
she picked it up.
Folded it carefully.
Held it out.
I took it.
"Leave the pride," I said.
…
She turned.
Walked to the door.
"Are you coming."
I slid the papers back.
Exactly how they were.
No trace.
Like she never left.
Stood up.
"Yeah," I said.
And followed.