Dangerous Curiosity
Georgia's eyes widened in shock as he asked in disbelief. His voice carried an uncontrollable excitement.
"You saw a unicorn!? When? Where!?"
His sudden reaction caught me off guard for a moment, but I forced myself to keep a calm expression. Ellison, standing beside him, quietly interjected.
"Lord Georgia, please calm down first."
Only then did Georgia realize he'd gotten too worked up. He sheepishly caught his breath and bowed his head.
"Ah... right. My apologies."
For someone who'd just casually claimed not to have seen a unicorn moments ago... that was an awfully intense reaction. He seemed extremely interested in unicorns.
It's not like he wants to provide information... more like he wants to get it.
But if what they're looking for is...
Sillandria?
I needed to stay on guard. "To clear up any misunderstanding, I didn't see the unicorn myself. And I can't tell you who told me the story either."
Georgia stared at me for a moment, then nodded and replied as calmly as he could. "...Understood. Could you tell us more details, then?"
With that, the real conversation began.
"...So... he saw the unicorn about two months ago, on a night when it was pouring rain."
"Where did he see it?"
"He only said it was in a forest near Dublin."
"Did you hear what kind of unicorn it was?"
"As I mentioned, a male adult unicorn."
Georgia fell silent, lost in thought, before speaking again. "...Two months ago, rainy night... male adult unicorn..."
A small wrinkle formed on the stern man's forehead, tinged with disappointment. After a long moment of contemplation, he continued heavily. "I'm sorry, but it doesn't ring any bells. I don't think we can be of much help."
That meant they were turning down the request.
... .. .
"Something's suspicious..."
"Even I could tell... they were hiding something."
"Right?"
"Even if they don't want to spill info easily, outright refusing the request means they have no intention of sharing anything."
On the way back to the carriage, Ellison and Marie were whispering in low voices.
"Why would they hide something about unicorns, though?"
I quietly joined their conversation. "I have a few guesses."
Ellison paused and turned to us, choosing his words carefully. "First possibility: it might be connected to our Howard family."
"Connected to the family? What are you talking about all of a sudden, Ellison!?"
Marie blinked in surprise. Ellison hesitated, as if reluctant to say more, then asked cautiously. "You heard about the big theater fire recently, right?"
"...Ah, yeah... I know about it."
Marie swallowed hard and nodded.
"Actually, that theater had a hidden side where nobles held secret auctions."
"..."
"And lately, rumors started circulating that unicorn horns were up for auction there."
"Wait! Unicorn horns... on auction!? That means..."
Marie trailed off, unable to finish.
"It's not confirmed yet," Ellison said, filling in what she couldn't. "But..."
"We don't even know if real unicorn horns were actually auctioned, or if they came from the unicorn you're looking for. It's too early to jump to conclusions."
Still... an ominous feeling lingered inescapably.
"But what do you mean it might be related to our family?"
"Well... Lord Reginald participated in the auction, aiming for a unicorn horn."
"...Uncle!?"
At that moment, Marie's face hardened, her eyes darkening.
A moment later, Mira spoke up. "So... you think they refused the request because they suspected the Howard family was hunting unicorns for their horns?"
"It's possible. Just speculation, though."
Marie looked visibly shocked at the idea her family might be involved.
"Ugh..."
I stepped in for her, questioning Ellison. "Any other possibilities?"
"Another one... the guild might have smuggled the unicorn themselves."
"The Adventurer Guild smuggling a unicorn?"
"Unicorns fetch a huge price. People go blind with greed or turn into monsters for money."
I couldn't argue with that.
As we exited the guild, the coachman who'd been waiting outside approached with a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head.
"All done with your business?"
Noticing his uneasy demeanor, Ellison narrowed his eyes. "Yes. Where's the carriage?"
"...Well, just a bit ago... some drunk parked his cart in front of the guild and picked a fight, so I had to pull ours into an alley real quick."
"I see."
"Give me a moment, and I'll fetch it right away."
Marie raised a hand lightly to stop him. "No need to bother. We'll go to it. Lead the way."
"Ah, yes, miss. This way."
Following the coachman into the alley... the surroundings were dank and dim, giving off an unsettling vibe, but it was close enough to the main street that a shout would bring people running—adventurers, no less—which oddly put me at ease.
The carriage was parked in the alley behind the guild building. As we climbed in and the coachman reached for the reins, footsteps and muffled voices echoed from deeper in the alley.
"Find anything?"
"...Nah, struck out too."
Their faces were shrouded in shadow, but their disheveled gear marked them as adventurers.
"No need to beat yourself up... finding a unicorn ain't easy."
I couldn't believe my ears.
Unicorn?
The three of us in the carriage exchanged glances instantly. Marie and Ellison had clearly heard "unicorn" too—their eyes widened in tension.
Ellison signaled the coachman not to move yet.
"Seriously, if we've looked this hard and nada... maybe it doesn't exist?"
"Tell me about it. I'm starting to worry we're being played by that poacher."
The adventurers' shadows faded toward the alley's end.
In that instant, I knew we had to tail them. Can't miss this chance.
I opened my status window first to check the blessing's remaining time.
(Ena)
Effect: ...
Duration: 2 hours
Two hours... plenty of time.
Then I turned to Marie and whispered. "Marie... wait here a sec."
"What're you planning?"
She eyed me anxiously.
"Gonna follow them."
"Teresa?"
"Yeah."
"No!"
Marie raised her voice firmly. "It's dangerous."
Ellison added sharply. Both opposed my plan.
Of course they would.
I sighed softly, steeling myself. "It's fine."
Then I glanced at the system window.
["Moon's Blessing" to enter stealth?]
→ Yes
⟨ Entering Stealth State ⟩
I felt my body gradually turning transparent. Marie and Ellison flinched in surprise.
"Ter...!?"
As Marie started to cry out in confusion, I instinctively covered her mouth.
"It's okay, I'm still here."
I took her hand. Feeling my familiar touch, she calmed a bit, sensing I was right beside her.
"How did you...?"
Ellison followed up, unable to hide his astonishment.
"Sorry. Can't explain that."
"I see... honestly, I'm impressed. I know you're there, yet I can't sense a thing. That's stealth technique beyond what most pro assassins can pull off... truly remarkable."
He'd called it basic stealth in his explanation, but if it's that impressive... well, the praise felt good anyway.
"Hehe... it's not that big a deal."
No... not the time to get happy about compliments!
"Alright, I'll be back!"
As I moved to hop off the carriage and chase them, Marie grabbed me one last time.
"...Don't do anything dangerous..."
"Yeah, no dangerous stuff."
Even though what I was about to do was already pretty risky...
"If it gets dangerous... run back right away..."
"Got it..."
"If you can't escape... we'll come help, so signal like last time... okay?"
"Okay..."
I gave her anxious head a quick pat, then slipped out of the carriage and hurried after the shadows that had vanished moments ago.