Maddy’s eyes locked onto a single, weathered parchment that had been overlooked in the frenzy. It sat pinned to the corner of the A rank section, its edges slightly curled as if even the paper was trying to pull away from the board.

She reached out and snatched it before anyone else could.

"Retrieve a special bloom from the Active Forest," she read softly, her voice muffled by her hood.

Johnn, who was hovering over her shoulder, repeated the words with a sudden drop in his boisterous tone.

"The Active Forest? That forest? Whoa, okay, now I get why this one is still hanging here. Maddy, that place isn’t just a bunch of trees. The name is literal—that forest is freaking alive! Every root, every branch, every patch of moss wants to eat you before you can even say ’botany’."

Maddy didn’t hesitate. She turned on her heel and marched straight toward the reception desk, the A rank flyer gripped firmly in her hand. The receptionist looked up, her face still a mask of lingering spite, but Maddy didn’t give her a chance to speak.

"Register this under our names," Maddy commanded, slamming the paper onto the counter. "This is a special request from an individual, isn’t it? There’s a reason this flower is needed, and there’s a reason no one else is brave enough to go get it. We’re taking it."

Johnn watched her from behind, his jaw dropping as a new wave of admiration washed over him. He had seen adventurers take quests for glory, for blood, or to fill their pockets with platinum, but Maddy didn’t even mention the reward.

"She’s... she’s incredible," Johnn whispered to himself, a goofy, proud grin spreading across his face. "She’s not just some monster hunter. She’s taking the jobs no one else will touch because she knows the people are suffering. She’s doing it for them."

He hurried to her side, puffing out his chest as the receptionist reluctantly began to stamp the paperwork.

"That’s my partner for you! Always looking out for the little guy! We’ll get that flower, Maddy! We’ll show that forest who’s boss!"

Maddy just stared at the stamp as it hit the paper with a final punch. She didn’t correct him. If Johnn wanted to believe she was a selfless saint, that was fine. It was the perfect cover.

As Maddy and Johnn arrived at the client’s location, Maddy stopped in her tracks. The establishment was familiar—it was the very inn she had been frequenting since she arrived in the city. However, the atmosphere inside had shifted from bustling hospitality to heavy, suffocating desperation.

The man behind the counter wasn’t the usual cheerful host. He was pale, his eyes rimmed with red and fixed on the entrance with a haunting intensity. Every time the door creaked open, he leaned forward, his hands gripping the wood so hard his knuckles were white.

When a group of armored adventurers entered just ahead of them, the man scrambled around the counter, nearly tripping.

"Is it you?" he begged, his voice cracking. "Please, tell me you’re the ones! Did you take the quest for the Active Forest? W-will you find the bloom?"

The adventurers looked at him with pitying eyes.

"Easy, friend. We’re just here for a room and a hot meal. We aren’t crazy enough to step foot in that forest."

The man’s shoulders slumped, and he let out a jagged, broken breath as he retreated back to his post. By the time Maddy and Johnn stepped inside, the man was hunched over the ledger, silent tears dripping onto the parchment.

"I’m running out of time," he whispered to the empty air. "She’s running out of time..."

Maddy felt a familiar pull in her chest. Through her heightened senses, she could feel the thick, stagnant grief radiating off him. It was a weight she knew all too well. Beside her, Johnn’s boisterous energy vanished, replaced by a rare, solemn gravity. He looked at the man, then at Maddy, his hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his sword.

"That’s him, Maddy," Johnn said softly, his voice devoid of its usual theatrics. "He’s the one who put out the call. Look at him... he’s at his limit."

Maddy didn’t say a word. She walked up to the counter and placed the stamped A rank flyer directly over his tear stained ledger. The man looked up, his eyes widening as they traveled from the paper to Maddy’s hooded face, and then to the golden Hero standing behind her.

"We took the job," Maddy said, her voice low but steady.

"You... you did?"

The man gasped, a spark of frantic hope igniting in his eyes.

"The Active Forest... you’re really going?"

The man fell to his knees, his hands trembling as he reached out to grasp the edge of Maddy’s cloak. Tears flowed freely now, soaking into the fabric as he stammered out his gratitude.

"Thank you... oh, gods, thank you! My daughter... she just won’t wake up. It’s like she’s trapped in a dream she can’t escape. I’ve tried everything! No doctor in the city has a name for it, and no potion can stir her." He choked back a sob, his eyes wide and hollow. "This special bloom... I know it’s—it’s—"

"It’s a rumor," Johnn finished, his voice unusually quiet.

Maddy felt a cold spike of shock. She turned her head sharply toward Johnn, her hood shifting.

"What? You mean we’re heading into an A rank quest for an object that might not even exist?"

The man buried his face in his hands, his voice muffled by despair.

"I know how it sounds! But I had no other choice! My wife... she died from the same thing years ago. I watched her fade away, and now my daughter is experiencing the exact same symptoms. That rumor is the only thing left in this world for me to hope for."

Johnn sighed, his golden aura dimming as he looked at the man with a painful honesty.

"Sir, I have to be truthful with you. I’ve been to the edge of the Active Forest before. Many have gone looking for that ’Miracle Bloom’ to save their... loved ones. None of them ever found it. Most of them didn’t even come back. You’re asking us to chase... nothing."