“Of course, we must conceal our identities while we are in this area,” DS said, skillfully slicing Evie’s steak.

“If word gets out that we’re here, we’ll attract needless suspicion. In the worst case, Evie’s current situation could be exposed. So, not only must we hide our identities, we must also be careful not to get involved in unnecessary disputes. Law and order in Biss isn’t as wellorganized as in Tienda.”

DS was nagging away in a rather refined restaurant in the southeastern part of Biss.

Evie, sitting by the window on the second floor of the shop, watching the butler’s knife work, chuckled at his excessive admonition.

Discussing Biss’s law and order in front of someone from Biss’s streets.

The meaning was, what are you looking at me now, saying such basic things?

Evie was about to open her mouth with a face that found it quite amusing.

Suddenly, a tumultuous noise came from outside the window.

Turning her head to the sound, she saw a man, quite drunk in broad daylight, causing a scene in the street.

Street stalls were overturned, vegetables and the like scattered everywhere, and shouts were heard.

Thanks to that, Evie was freshly reminded that this was Biss.

The narrow streets, shabby stalls, noisy vendors, plus a drunken rioter. A sight unimaginable in Tienda.

Evie found the Bisslike situation rather fresh and pleasing.

So she watched for a moment, and the man who was overturning the stalls shouted at Evie.

“Hey! What are you looking at?”

“Your disgraceful display!”

Evie shouted back just as loudly. Of course, it was not intentional.

Stunned by the pretty girl’s counterattack, the man hesitated for a moment, his face turning red, then shouted again.

“You crazy, do you want to die?!”

“No!”

Evie’s quick response enraged the man, who charged into the restaurant.

Of course, he was stopped at the entrance. However, the ensuing scuffle greatly disturbed what had been a pleasant restaurant atmosphere.

The sudden commotion made people in the restaurant glance at Evie.

So Evie bowed her head, her face red, and DS repeated his earlier words kindly for the muchdiminished Evie.

“You must be careful not to get involved in unnecessary disputes. Law and order in Biss isn’t as wellorganized as in Tienda.”

“…… You are right. Just in case, I brought earplugs. I’ll put them on you.”

.

.

.

The two finished their meal without further conversation and immediately hired a carriage.

It was to move from this city, where they were meeting an accomplice to break the curse, to the small village where Evie lived.

As soon as they got on the carriage, Evie took out the earplugs and asked.

“How long will it take to get there?”

“About three hours. Fortunately, it’s not far, but the return schedule is a bit tricky.”

“Oh, it’s tomorrow. The night of the new moon.”

Evie calculated the date.

Due to the haste of coming down, the schedule had coincidentally overlapped with the new moon night.

In Biss, the night of the new moon was when the dragon’s curse came.

It was a night when people tried their best to avoid that cruel calamity.

So, in Biss, everyone stayed home from early evening on the new moon night, and this applied to the coachmen who took passengers far away.

“Right. The local coachmen either take the day off or only move around until morning on the day of the new moon.”

Unlike city carriages, those crossing cities face all sorts of accidents.

From the minor issue of the carriage wheel getting stuck in the mud to the serious one of meeting highwaymen on the road.

They often got stuck on roads or in forests for various reasons.

That’s why the longdistance coachmen acted more conservatively as the new moon approached. Encountering the curse outside the city was literally suicidal.

“To avoid the curse, we can only return tonight or tomorrow morning, or only after the new moon, at dawn.”

“Alright, let’s do that then.”

“It’s certainly ambiguous.”

If Evie were to return tonight or tomorrow morning, she would only be able to stay in the village where she used to live for half a day.

If she were to wait until late at night and then depart, she might also be late for the appointment with the ally.

“Then let’s leave tomorrow morning. There’s no need to stay long. Just because we have some time, we’ll go see.”

Evie spoke as if it were no big deal, but DS caught on that she wasn’t sincere.

She was saying that she was going because she had time, but Evie was definitely excited.

It was rare for DS to see Evie, who acted as if she knew everything and was shamelessly weaving, brighten her eyes like this.

So DS, observing Evie’s mood, asked,

“Is the place you’re looking at now the house where you used to live with the astrologer?”

“Yes.”

Evie answered frankly because of the curse, and it was quite embarrassing.

Evie was not used to showing desperation. She didn’t like the old, detailed stories either.

But since she was caught, she thought it would be more ridiculous if she evaded, so she had no choice but to speak.