episode_0008

Upon arriving in Roden, Arina passed through the gates, booked two rooms, tossed one key to Marine, and headed straight into her own.

“Already going in? What about dinner?”

“Sorry, I’ve got things to do. Handle it on your own today.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Relieved that Marine was more compliant than expected, Arina entered her room.

She opened the window, sat on the bed, closed her eyes, and focused. Instantly, the shared visions from her synchronized sight magic flooded her mind.

In the few days it had taken to reach the town, the spell had spread to a considerable number of people, and hundreds of overlapping perspectives poured in at once.

Originally, she had planned to hole up in this inn, gathering intel until the synchronized sight magic was inevitably discovered.

But now that she had a companion who couldn’t stand boredom, staying cooped up was out of the question. To collect information as quickly as possible, Arina rapidly sifted through the shared visions. Most were useless, so she severed the connections one by one.

After releasing the spell from unnecessary individuals and focusing on the remaining ones, useful intel gradually came into view.

The inn’s guests whispered among themselves as they eyed the cheerful, cute, brown-haired girl. At first, they had only glanced at her, intrigued by the rare beauty in their midst.

But as this went on for three whole days, their curiosity shifted from her looks to the question of who she could possibly be waiting for, sitting in the same spot from dawn till dusk.

The girl spent all day sitting in front of a guest’s door, only returning to her own room at night. Just who the hell was holed up in that room, refusing to come out?

Someone even asked the innkeeper if the room was empty, but the answer was clear—someone was staying there, and they had paid for it.

No one cared about the details, but whatever bastard was inside, refusing to show his face while a beauty waited so devotedly, was enough to make the men’s blood boil.

The girl wore a lonely expression, yet she waited faithfully every day. As a result, an odd phenomenon emerged—more and more people began to despise the imaginary man she was waiting for like he was their mortal enemy.

Unaware of the murmurs around her, oblivious to the sound of men grinding their teeth, Marine sat in front of Arina’s door as usual, idly drawing in the dust.

Had Arina seen her, she would’ve scolded her for acting weird. But honestly, anyone stuck in the same spot for three days would’ve ended up doing something similar.

The one saving grace for Marine was that today was the last day of Arina’s promise—no matter what, she had sworn she’d come out and play by the third day.

When Arina first mentioned the three-day wait, Marine had scowled, so Arina reassured her it might end sooner. Marine took this to heart and camped outside her door the entire time—hence the current situation.

The long wait was finally over. The firmly shut door swung open, drawing the attention of every guest who had been cursing the imaginary nobleman inside—and Marine herself.

“What the hell?”

With a single phrase, Arina brushed off the gathered stares and spotted Marine crouched at her feet.

“?? What is this?”

“You’re finally done!”

Whether Arina was baffled or not, Marine beamed with joy and threw herself into a hug.

“The person she was waiting for was a woman?”

One of the guests gasped upon seeing Arina.

“Two women in a relationship? What is the world coming to? Tsk, tsk.”

Someone clicked their tongue, but the jealousy directed at the imaginary man vanished completely now that Arina had appeared.

“Why assume they’re lovers? They could be sisters.”

The man proposing the sister theory had pegged Arina as the older one—though his judgment was based more on her curves than her face.

“Do they look like family to you? Sure, they’re both stunning, but that’s the only thing they have in common.”

“Whatever they are, there are two drop-dead gorgeous women here. …I’m going in.”

One brave soul among the murmuring men stood up—only to immediately sit back down after one sharp look from Arina.

“So, you’re done with everything now, right? What should we do for fun?”

“About that…”

The moment Arina hesitated, Marine’s eyebrows furrowed, and her cheeks puffed out. Thinking fast, Arina racked her brain. Among the intel she’d gathered through synchronized sight, four key pieces stood out.

First, the ones hunting her weren’t just the Hero’s party—it was the entire kingdom. Whether the party had revealed her identity or not, the kingdom now knew Arina and Riel Frost were the same person.

Second, the Hero’s party had left for the south, just as Arina had planned. Without them, most of the pursuers posed little threat—good news for her.

She had to finish her preparations before the Hero’s party returned from the south.

Third, Roden currently housed a significant number of pursuers.

Fourth, the Holy Kingdom was relatively friendly toward Riel Frost.

Though she was now considered indispensable to the Hero’s party, Arina hadn’t originally been chosen for it.

The Hero’s party was assembled by selecting one talent each from the Kingdom, the Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and the Elves’ Great Forest. Naturally, the Holy Kingdom’s pick was their poster girl—Saint Marika.

As a Holy Kingdom native, Arina wasn’t supposed to join the party. But she had volunteered to accompany her childhood friend Marika.

Though affiliated with the Magic Tower, she couldn’t truly call herself a citizen of the Holy Kingdom anymore. Still, having her homeland’s talent hunted as a criminal didn’t sit well with her.

The Holy Kingdom was demanding Arina’s warrant be revoked, arguing that Riel Frost had never been meant to join the Hero’s party in the first place.

If she went to the Holy Kingdom, there was a chance they’d protect her.

For three days’ worth of intel, it wasn’t much—but eavesdropping always yielded more useless gossip than actionable information.

Arina now knew things like which female knight was cheating on her husband with another man, and how said husband was having an affair with his wife’s friend—a fellow party member.

‘I never wanted to know this crap.’

Women really were trash. Arina’s hatred for her own gender deepened.

(Yes, men cheated too—but growing up in the male-dominated Magic Tower had ingrained in her the belief that men were allowed to stray.)

“Arina?”

Marine was still staring at her with expectant eyes. With pursuers swarming outside, even disguises wouldn’t make it easy to move around with someone as conspicuous as Marine.

A way to quietly slip out of Roden while keeping Marine satisfied… As Marine’s expression darkened and her cheeks puffed again, Arina’s thoughts raced.

“How about hide-and-seek?”

“Hide-and-seek?!”

It was a spur-of-the-moment, terrible idea. Two grown women playing hide-and-seek? Who’d enjoy that?

Turns out, someone much closer than Arina thought.

“Sounds fun! Okay, I’ll count! One… two…”

Staring in disbelief as Marine turned around and started counting, Arina quickly pulled up her hood and slipped outside. She blended into the crowd, moving like any ordinary passerby.

“Ready or not, here I come!”

A booming voice rang out as Marine burst from the inn, drawing every eye in the vicinity. Good call not sticking together, Arina thought, hiding herself. Her destination was the city gates—she had no intention of getting caught before escaping.

A quick glance around revealed soldiers clad in armor bearing the kingdom’s insignia.

‘Disgustingly many. Huh, that guy…’

Last night, he’d been muttering the name of some woman he had a crush on while alone. Pathetic.

That one, that guy, that bastard too. Was this the price of eavesdropping on people’s private lives? The soldiers’ hidden sides flashed in her mind, and Arina cursed her own memory. Worse, every single one was sleazy and filthy—was the kingdom’s army really this rotten?

Dizzy from the sensory overload, Arina ducked into an empty alley. Only then did she notice the footsteps behind her.

‘Dammit, I got distracted!’

“Just as I suspected. You’re Riel Frost, aren’t you?”

The woman standing there was no ordinary grunt—she was a veteran knight. From her armor to the sharp glint in her eyes, she was on a different level from the common soldiers.

Taking her down wouldn’t be hard, but having her location exposed to the Hero’s party this soon was far from ideal.

“Couldn’t you pretend you didn’t see me?”

“I’m afraid not. Do you have any idea how many people’s futures rest in your hands?”

“I’m not planning to ignore the world’s crisis. Once I finish my revenge—you…”

Arina’s expression shifted abruptly as cold sweat dripped down her back.

“Is something wrong?”

“You… Your name’s Rosette, right?”

“Well, I’m flattered. I didn’t expect the hero to know my name.”

Arina was just as shocked. Of all people, the leader of the pursuit squad was the same trashy woman cheating with her friend’s husband.

It had taken a moment to recall, given how many people she’d spied on, but staring at her face jogged her memory. The real horror was that Rosette’s husband and friend were also cheating—a perfect love rectangle.

If even the high-ranking knights were like this, the grunts beneath them were no better. Arina closed her eyes briefly.

“If you promise to let me go, I’ll give you some interesting info.”

“That’s not happening. Even if it costs me my life, I’ll capture you for the world’s sake.”

Rosette drew her sword. A noble line, befitting a knight—if it hadn’t come from an adulteress.

‘If you care about your family, maybe don’t cheat.’

“You sure? If you catch me, I’ll have no choice but to retaliate. I’d have to expose your affair with Lloyd.”

Rosette’s eyes instantly wavered.

“H-how do you—?!”

“He must be something special, huh? You were screaming how much better he felt than your husband. Guess that’s why you went after your friend’s husband next.”

“Who’s spreading these lies?! I-I-I have nothing to hide, but I can’t let such disgraceful rumors tarnish my friend’s family!”

She tried to act tough, but her voice trembled. It was obvious she was desperately trying to figure out how the secret had leaked.

‘I made sure no one saw us… Did Lloyd blab? That bastard!’

“World peace is great and all, but shouldn’t you protect your own home first? As a bonus, check the Traveler’s Rest inn if you want to uncover your husband’s other secret.”

“S-secret?! Don’t tell me—!”

True to her adulterous nature, Rosette immediately assumed her husband was cheating. And she was right. If she hurried, she might catch him in the act. Without another word, she sprinted toward the inn.

“One less problem.”

Arina doubted the info would leak now. Rosette would be praying she didn’t get caught.

After that, Arina made it safely to the gates. Just as she finished talking to the guards—

“Got you, Arina!”

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Don’t mind her. She’s with me.”

Waving off the flustered guard, Arina smacked the top of Marine’s head—the same Marine who was still groping her chest with gusto.