But no matter how much time passed, Kieran couldn’t believe it like no one else. He didn’t know the source of his certainty, but it was never his sister.

So Kieran continued to wander around the Daneb Mountain Range. From the mountaintop to the entrance, he wandered back and forth up to ten times a day.

And when the sun set, he inevitably headed to this place.

Kieran looked down at the dizzyingly high cliff.

If he had fallen from here, even a sturdy adult male would have died instantly. In fact, when he arrived at the scene, there was fresh blood on the rocks below the cliff.

Moreover, even if he miraculously survived, he would be an easy prey for monsters roaming around.

Despite knowing that there was virtually no chance his sister was alive, he still couldn’t accept it. He continued to entertain fanciful thoughts.

Certainly, he thought his sister had successfully cast a flying spell. He thought of the magic book his sister had carefully examined, filled with unreadable formulas.

He thought that if his sister had miraculously implemented the magic successfully at that time, maybe she could have survived. He thought that she might be waiting somewhere, seriously injured and unable to return, waiting for him to find her.

He knew it wasn’t rational thinking.

Secretly releasing people and thoroughly searching surrounding villages, he tried. The result was always the same.

Moreover, it had already been over two and a half years. If his sister were alive, she would have come back.

“Sister. I came back again.”

Nevertheless, Kieran always came here when the sun set and quietly inquired about her well-being.

Unable to admit the fact that he could no longer see his sister, he futilely spoke to the vacant space where there was no response.

“I miss you.”

Terribly.

“Ah, Ante!”
The pickpocket boy who rushed into the office found me right away. His hands and knees were covered in scratches, indicating how urgently he had run.

“Big trouble!”

I didn’t need to ask what had happened; I already knew.

I sighed deeply.

“Is Pablo causing a ruckus at the gambling den again?”

Matt’s father, even after being treated roughly by the thugs, couldn’t pull himself together. Although he had declared he would destroy the gambling den that accepted Pablo as a guest, he couldn’t resist occasionally causing a scene when heavily drunk and entering the gambling den.

As Matt, who had turned pale, nodded, I pulled down the hood I had taken off.

“Ugh. Guide me there.”

With a spellbook in one hand and a branch in the other, I set off with firm steps.

Sure enough, as soon as I turned the corner of the street filled with illegal gambling dens, I heard Pablo’s loud voice.

“It’s me! I’m paying! I said I would do it properly! What’s the problem?!”

I headed straight to the gambling den where Pablo’s voice resounded.

Inside the gambling den, the air was filled with the acrid smoke of cigarettes and the sound of poker chips clashing. Although the dazzling lights made my eyes squint, I could easily spot Pablo.

“Do you not know that I’m a guest?!”

Pablo, whose nose had turned red with intoxication, was clearly out of his mind.

“Who are you to touch my body?!”

However, no matter how much Pablo shouted and stamped his feet, the two bouncers silently dragged him away.

“Let go of this! Won’t you let go?!”

“Hey, guys, get him out quickly.”

The gambling den owner gestured to the bouncers with his long pipe.

“Sigh, thinking about almost ruining my business because of this guy still raises my blood pressure.”

“I’m a VIP! VIP!”

However, despite all his efforts, Pablo was dragged away. Frustrated, he bit the bouncers’ hands.

“Argh!”

“Ugh!”

In an instant, as the bouncers lost their grip, Pablo quickly went back toward the table.

Thud!

“Ouch!”

The owner, mercilessly striking Pablo’s head with the pipe, clicked his tongue.

“A son should be embarrassed in front of his father.”

At the mention of his son, Pablo flinched.

Thud. Striking Pablo’s head once again, the owner shook his head.

“Get lost. Before Mr. Ant comes.”

“I’m already here.”

With clenched fists, I appeared in front of them. Seeing me, the owner raised his pipe again.

“Shh. Ha… Thank you. Don’t worry. Pablo won’t touch the cards in my establishment.”

My rigorous training had paid off.

“Sigh. Yes, thank you. I’ll take Pablo with me.”

“Dad!”

Matt immediately approached the sprawled Pablo on the floor.

“Did you get hit a lot?”

For his trashy father, Matt carefully examined him for any injuries here and there.
At that moment when Matt, even feeling sorry for him, tried to gently comfort Pablo by lifting him up with one hand…

“The police are here!”

The entrance became chaotic.

“Hey, you can’t come in here!”

Although the gambling den bouncers rushed to block the entrance, it was not enough when the police officers poured in.

Gamblers hiding under chairs, dealers hastily covering tables with cloth, bouncers wrestling with the police officers— the gambling den turned into a chaotic scene in an instant. However, only the owner casually filled his pipe with tobacco and nonchalantly exhaled smoke, saying, “Sigh…”.

“Owner.”

A person who seemed to hold a relatively high rank in the police approached us.

“To enter someone’s private residence so freely is considered trespassing.”

I silently watched the owner, who was tapping the police chief’s shoulder with the pipe. I already knew he was crazy, but he turned out to be even crazier than I thought.

“The Crown Prince has arrived. Please cooperate.”

Note: The gender-neutral term “police officer” was used for “치안대원,” as the gender is not specified in the original text. If you have specific gender preferences, please let me know.