The pickpocket stopped walking after passing through winding alleys.

Then he took out a black cloth from his pocket and handed it to Nigel and her companions.

“Cover your eyes with that cloth.”

“What, all of a sudden?”

“Young masters and ladies must cover their eyes to enter our hideout safely. If outsiders discover the location, both the guide and guests will be killed immediately.”

Allen, who had been looking down at the suspicious cloth with displeasure, hastily picked it up. The rest of the group followed suit, taking the black cloth and tying it tightly behind their heads.

“Let’s depart now. Hold onto the person in front of you tightly if you don’t want to get lost before we arrive.”

Noah, Allen, Yeni, and Nigel lined up in order behind the pickpocket and began walking.

Nigel closed her eyes and focused in the pitch-black darkness where she couldn’t see an inch in front of her.

She heard various sounds – mocking laughter directed at who knows who, the sharp wind that had picked up in the evening, the dull clinking of two wooden cups colliding, and more.

Though she couldn’t be certain if the pickpocket was really leading them the right way, or if the person in front of her was truly Yeni, Nigel didn’t stop walking or lose focus.

After walking for quite some time, when the loud cries of cicadas and the songs of crickets became equally audible…

“We’ve arrived at Ater. You can take off your blindfolds now.”

Half disbelief, half anxiety. To turn an uncertain situation into certainty, Nigel untied her blindfold.

Unlike Obelius with its uniform architectural style, a dense cluster of buildings with no consistency in floors, shapes, or sizes sprawled before her eyes.

And at the entrance was a large, tattered sign that read ‘Ater’, looking like the letters might fall off at any moment.

Nigel’s mouth fell open involuntarily at the exotic scene that seemed like it couldn’t possibly be in the same city.

The pickpocket approached Nigel as she looked around.

“Hey, miss. Let me give you some advice. If you meet the leader, it’s best to keep your mouth shut and just smile quietly except for absolutely necessary words. The leader never participates in fights they can’t win.”

“What do you mean…!”

Nigel tried to object, but he had already vanished as soon as he finished whispering.

“Hey, Shanty! Not content with just picking pockets, you’re snatching up youngsters too?”

“I heard your old dream was to be a teacher. Taking the kids on a field trip, are we, teacher?”

The two guards standing at the entrance holding long spears approached the pickpocket and sneered.

The pickpocket called Shanty paid them no mind and spoke.

“I’m here to see the leader!”

At that, the laughter around them doubled.

“Did you hear that, brother? This debt-ridden nobody just mentioned the leader?”

“His head went crazy from gambling, and now pitifully his mouth’s gone mad too.”

Shanty waited without reaction until their laughter died down, then spoke again.

“Tell the leader that the girl from Jaan has come to make a deal.”

Shanty swiftly extended his hand. Beside him was Nigel, blinking her purple eyes as if bored.

Their facial muscles expanded at once as they rudely approached Nigel.

Noah moved to stop them, but Nigel lightly grabbed his sleeve, and he immediately halted.

The guard held up a light stone and examined Nigel’s eyes from various angles.

“Hey sister! Didn’t you say you used to be a magician?”

Not satisfied with just that, they brought a magician to check if Nigel’s eyes were fake, made with magic or magical tools.

“These are perfect natural eyes without a trace of magic used.”

“Then quickly contact the leader!”

One of the guards hurriedly ran off.

“No need for that~”

Just then, a husky female voice was heard from afar.

Step, step.

The owner of the voice approached Nigel and her companions at a leisurely pace, showing no signs of hurrying.

“I wondered why the entrance was so noisy, was it you lot causing a commotion again?”

“L-Leader! It’s not like that!”

A sharp-featured woman with short hair wearing a crisp pantsuit that fit her figure perfectly raised the corners of her mouth fiercely as she surveyed the surroundings.

Then, her gaze met Nigel’s.

She stared at Nigel without blinking once.

She was a woman with a strange aura that drew one’s gaze despite knowing it was dangerous.

Blink.

When she closed her eyes once, Nigel realized she had been staring at her in a daze as if enchanted.

The woman smirked slightly.

“An interesting young lady has come after a long time. Follow me!”

Nigel and her companions followed behind the leader at her words.

“I only permitted one person, why are there so many tails?”

Their steps halted in unison.

“Then… I’ll be back.”

Nigel nodded once to her companions and then turned her back.

The place Nigel arrived at following the leader was the top of the largest building located in the center of Ater.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a guest, I should offer a cup of tea, shouldn’t I?”

Drip.

The leader personally poured tea for Nigel.

She didn’t know what might be in it. But an old habit overcame suspicion, and she put the tea to her lips.

Nigel’s eyes widened for a moment.

“The aroma is quite nice, isn’t it? It’s a very precious tea that only produces a small amount each year.”

The woman smiled and took a sip of tea, tilting her cup like Nigel.

“So, why has our pretty young lady graced this dirty place that doesn’t suit her lovely face?”

“I came to purchase the stolen goods that came in today.”

Nigel raised the corners of her mouth, remembering the pickpocket Shanty’s advice.

Even if there was nothing wrong with the tea she just drank, it was a situation where it wouldn’t be strange if something happened to her alone here. Nigel slowly spoke while clenching her fist tightly to stay alert and collect herself.

“Reuben.”

A man in a pristine white suit without a single wrinkle emerged from the darkness and handed a ledger to the leader with precise, no-nonsense movements.

“So, what is it that the young lady is looking for?”

“One top-grade mana stone the size of a human fist and one ring.”

Rustle. Rustle.

The sound of flipping through the ledger filled the large room.

“Ah, it’s written here. A mana stone and a ring came in fresh just two hours ago.”

The leader waved the ledger in front of Nigel’s eyes as if teasing her. It fluttered enticingly like a flower trying to lure a butterfly, almost but not quite visible.

Nigel narrowed her eyes and maintained her silence.

“I like that look in your eyes trying to restrain desire. Young lady, do you want to see this ledger? If so, what can you give me in return?”

Nigel fell into contemplation at the playful yet serious tone, as if posing a riddle to a child.

The standard answer would be money, but the woman’s strangely favorable gaze seemed to want something other than money or jewels.

After thinking and thinking about how to get her hands on the ledger, Nigel chose what to offer to the leader.

“I will give you these two.”

Ha ha ha!

The leader burst out laughing loudly. It was closer to laughter at a cute child’s antics rather than admiration for wit.

“Young lady. They say I’m obsessed with purple eyes, but even I don’t have a hobby of gouging out people’s eyeballs to display. You’ve come to the wrong shop…”

“No.”

Nigel cut off her laughter without showing any emotional fluctuation.

“I’ll sell you two experiences that these eyes have seen, heard, and felt so far.”

At Nigel’s words, the leader’s eyes, which had been staring greedily at Nigel’s eyes until now, revealed her desire without hiding it.

That sparkling gaze resembled that of a starving beast that had found its prey – a primal, thirsty look that couldn’t be hidden even if she tried.

Goosebumps rose all over Nigel’s body trapped in that gaze, but it was just two things after all. Just two questions whose truth or falsehood couldn’t be verified.

“Well, well, I thought you were a well-behaved young lady, but I’ve been thoroughly fooled. Young lady, have you ever thought about joining our organization? You have a clear talent for accurately grasping others’ desires, which would certainly be useful on our side.”

“I’ll ask one question first, and after you show me the ledger, I’ll let you ask one question.”

Nigel, who had a record of rejecting dozens of previous offers from Roneh and Cledian, routinely refused the Ater leader’s job offer.

At times like this, it was best to completely ignore it as if she hadn’t heard, because adding unnecessary words could give the other person something to latch onto.

Tch. The leader clicked her tongue.

“Alright. I’ll accept your terms. I’m not one to back down, but I like that look in your eyes, so I’ll give you a pass this time. The fastidious Reuben here will be our witness.”

Reuben, who had appeared at some point, nodded slightly.

“…However, if you lie to me, you won’t be able to leave Ater unless you die with my mark on you.”

The leader shook her teacup cheerfully.

For a moment, Nigel’s heart seemed to stop, and her vision blurred.

She thought she had succeeded in hunting her prey, but instead she had stepped into the other’s trap.

…This damned habit. Nigel clenched her fist tightly.

‘Damn it, so that’s why Shanty told me to just smile and keep my mouth shut except for necessary words.’

Though she regretted it belatedly, nothing could be changed now.

“Well then, I should ask a question. Since I have two chances, shall we start with a light one?”

The leader’s facial muscles relaxed into a grin as she saw Nigel’s composure completely crumble.