The Invitation and Fear

Homi looked at him with an expression that asked if he would accept the invitation.

“I’ve always wanted to meet a Mage. And she’s famous enough to be called the Lady of the Forest. Aren’t you curious what kind of reward she might offer?”

Unlike Eugene, who was intrigued, Homi was scared. She recalled old tales of Mages turning people into frogs or decades passing in the blink of an eye after leaving the forest.

Homi was a Squire who had bravely fought wolves and admirably performed her duties during the Hall War and the grand banquet. But in moments like these, she was still very much a girl from the countryside.

“If she were truly that fearsome, the city wouldn’t have invited her to a banquet. And it’s not such a terrible world that someone writing such a desperate letter would harm a guest.”

This wasn't a Knight's intuition or a mystic's understanding. It was something Eugene knew as someone who had lost a loved one.

This letter was written solely out of desperation to save someone precious. There was no room for any other motive.

*The next morning, Eugene visited the City Guard Captain’s office.*

While Magistrate Panis was nominally the superior, it was the City Guard Captain who was actually responsible for patrolling and defending the city and its roads.

“It is an honor to have you, Sir Knight.”...