The road was peaceful.

Too peaceful.

That was usually a bad sign.

Seraphina walked ahead with her hands behind her back.

Kael walked several steps behind.

Watching.

Not the road.

Her.

Because whenever Seraphina looked relaxed, reality usually started preparing something unpleasant.

The morning sun warmed the path.

Birds sang from the trees.

The breeze carried the scent of wildflowers.

Everything felt suspiciously normal.

"I don’t trust this."

Seraphina nodded.

"Neither do I."

Good.

At least they agreed.

---

Several hours later—

The problem finally appeared.

Not monsters.

Not assassins.

Not bandits.

Money.

Or more specifically—

The lack of it.

They stopped beneath a large tree.

Seraphina emptied their pouch onto the grass.

The results were disappointing.

A few silver coins.

A handful of copper coins.

A random button.

And somehow—

One decorative spoon.

Kael stared.

"You kept the spoon."

"It survived."

"That’s not a reason."

"It survived my financial decisions. That’s impressive."

Kael couldn’t argue with that.

---

Seraphina counted the coins.

Then counted them again.

Then a third time.

The number refused to increase.

An unfortunate personality flaw.

"We’re poor."

"We’re not poor."

"We’re approaching poor."

"That’s not better."

"It sounds better."

"It doesn’t."

Tragic.

---

The road eventually widened.

Travelers became more common.

Merchants passed them.

Adventurers rode by.

Carriages moved between towns.

Civilization slowly returned.

Then a small town appeared on the horizon.

Not a city.

Not a kingdom.

Just a busy traveler town.

The perfect place to rest.

Or cause problems.

With Seraphina present, both options remained possible.

---

Their first purchase was food.

Their second purchase was regretting the first purchase.

Seraphina stared at the lighter coin pouch.

Then at the bread.

Then back at the pouch.

Betrayal.

Pure betrayal.

"Kael."

"No."

"I haven’t said anything."

"You were about to."

Fair.

Very fair.

After several seconds, Seraphina pointed at the bread.

"Food is expensive."

"Food costs money."

"A criminal system."

Kael continued walking.

He was developing immunity.

---

The town itself wasn’t particularly remarkable.

Wooden buildings.

Travelers everywhere.

Adventurers coming and going.

Nothing unusual.

Which was exactly why Seraphina noticed it immediately.

People.

Lots of people.

Different clothes.

Different accents.

Different cultures.

Different fashion.

Her eyes narrowed.

Dangerously.

Kael immediately noticed.

"No."

"I haven’t said anything."

"You looked interested."

"That’s discrimination."

"It’s pattern recognition."

Unfortunately, that was true.

---

By evening, they found an inn.

A cheap one.

A very cheap one.

The kind of establishment where the chairs looked older than history itself.

Seraphina dropped into a seat.

The chair groaned.

The chair understood suffering.

Kael sat across from her.

The inn’s common room was crowded.

Most of the customers were adventurers.

Their equipment varied.

Their stories varied.

Their volume did not.

Every table seemed louder than the last.

Normally Seraphina would’ve ignored them.

Tonight she couldn’t.

Because one thing kept appearing in every conversation.

Money.

Rewards.

Payments.

Bounties.

The sweet language of survival.

---

An adventurer slammed a heavy pouch onto a nearby table.

Coins jingled.

Several heads turned.

Including Seraphina’s.

The adventurer immediately moved the pouch closer.

Wise.

Very wise.

---

The conversations continued.

"...three silver for the wolf pack."

"...not worth the injuries."

"...western hills are dangerous."

"...heard something bigger moved in recently."

"...reward doubled yesterday."

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Seraphina slowly looked at Kael.

Kael looked at Seraphina.

Silence.

A familiar silence.

The kind that usually preceded disaster.

"Seraphina."

"Yes?"

"No."

"I didn’t ask anything."

"You were about to."

Again.

Fair.

Very fair.

---

Hours later—

The common room had mostly emptied.

Rain tapped softly against the windows.

The fire crackled quietly.

For once, nobody bothered them.

Nobody recognized them.

Nobody worshipped them.

Nobody feared them.

It was strangely peaceful.

Seraphina sat by the window.

Looking outside.

Thinking.

Kael noticed immediately.

That was concerning.

Because thinking Seraphina was often more dangerous than acting Seraphina.

"What are you planning?"

"Money."

"That’s not a plan."

"It’s the foundation of a plan."

"That doesn’t count."

"It should."

---

Seraphina looked toward the distant hills beyond town.

Dark silhouettes beneath the moonlight.

Monster territory.

Dangerous.

Unpleasant.

Profitable.

Most importantly—

Profitable.

A memory surfaced briefly.

The clothing stall.

The woman.

The dresses.

The forgotten dream she’d remembered.

A fashion shop.

Designs.

Creating something of her own.

Not now.

Not yet.

Dreams required money.

Money required work.

And work required monsters.

An unfortunate chain of events.

---

Kael watched her carefully.

"You’ve decided something."

Seraphina smiled.

Not her villainess smile.

Not her chaotic smile.

Something calmer.

More focused.

The kind she rarely showed.

"We’re hunting monsters."

Kael sighed.

He’d seen that coming.

The surprising part?

He agreed.

They were simply broke.

And tomorrow—

They would fix that problem themselves.

Unfortunately for the monsters.

Very unfortunately.

Because while the monsters were preparing for another ordinary day—

Seraphina Valois was preparing for a very profitable one.

Before dawn, the inn was already awake.

Adventurers moved in and out of the common room.

Armor rattled.

Boots thudded against wooden floors.

Someone was arguing about a missing dagger.

Someone else was arguing about breakfast.

A surprisingly similar level of intensity.

Seraphina descended the stairs with Kael.

Her expression was serious.

Focused.

Determined.

The innkeeper immediately became nervous.

He had only known her for one evening.

That had been enough.

---

"Aina."

"Yes?"

"Before we enter the guild."

Kael paused.

"Promise me something."

Seraphina narrowed her eyes.

"That sounds suspicious."

"It isn’t."

"It always starts like that."

"Aina."

"What?"

"Please act normal."

Silence.

A long silence.

Then—

"No."

Kael wasn’t even disappointed.

He had expected that answer.

---

The Adventurer Guild sat near the center of town.

Large.

Busy.

Loud.

A massive wooden building filled with warriors, mages, scouts, mercenaries, and people who clearly made poor life decisions for a living.

Seraphina stopped outside.

Looked up.

Then nodded.

"Excellent."

"What?"

"This place looks like consequences."

Kael already had a headache.

---

The moment they entered—

Dozens of conversations filled the hall.

Quest boards covered entire walls.

Groups gathered around tables.

Guild workers rushed between counters.

A giant stuffed monster head hung from the ceiling.

Seraphina immediately pointed.

"I want one."

"No."

"I haven’t even explained."

"No."

---

Several adventurers glanced toward them.

Not because of Seraphina.

Not yet.

Because they were newcomers.

Nobody paid much attention after that.

Which felt strangely refreshing.

For about ten seconds.

Then Seraphina spotted the quest board.

And everything went downhill.

---

She marched forward.

People moved aside instinctively.

Not because they feared her.

Because her walking speed suggested she had already chosen violence.

The board contained dozens of requests.

Escort missions.

Gathering missions.

Delivery work.

Monster extermination.

Bounty contracts.

Seraphina’s eyes landed on the rewards first.

A perfectly reasonable priority.

---

"Five silver."

"No."

"Eight silver."

"No."

"Twelve silver."

"Aina."

"What?"

"Stop choosing quests based entirely on money."

"Then why are we here?"

An annoyingly fair question.

---

A guild employee eventually approached.

Young.

Professional.

Already tired of life.

"Can I help you?"

Seraphina pointed at a monster quest.

"I would like money."

The employee blinked.

"...Through the quest?"

"Yes."

That was apparently the correct answer.

---

Several minutes later—

Paperwork happened.

A tragic experience.

Seraphina hated paperwork.

Paperwork hated Seraphina.

The feeling was mutual.

Kael ended up completing most of it.

Naturally.

---

Eventually, they received temporary adventurer badges.

Bronze rank.

The lowest rank.

Seraphina stared at hers.

Then looked offended.

"I have been insulted."

"It’s a rank."

"It is a low rank."

"We started five minutes ago."

"Details."

---

Nearby adventurers laughed.

A few shook their heads.

One particularly large man snorted.

"Everyone starts at bronze."

Seraphina looked at him.

Then at his silver-rank badge.

Then back at him.

"Congratulations."

The man blinked.

"What?"

"You have successfully been here longer than me."

Several nearby adventurers immediately started laughing.

The man’s expression darkened.

Kael quietly stepped away.

Experience had taught him to avoid blast zones.

---

Fortunately—

Before the argument could continue—

The guild doors burst open.

A man stumbled inside.

Covered in dirt.

Panting.

Bleeding from a cut on his arm.

The guild immediately went silent.

Every adventurer turned.

The man’s voice shook.

"Western hills."

Silence.

"The reports were wrong."

A bad sentence.

Very bad.

Experienced adventurers immediately stood.

Guild workers exchanged looks.

Something had changed.

Something unexpected.

Something dangerous.

The injured adventurer swallowed hard.

Then said the words that froze the room.

"There aren’t supposed to be that many."

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

No jokes.

No laughter.

No casual conversations.

Only tension.

Real tension.

The kind adventurers recognized immediately.

Seraphina slowly smiled.

Kael saw it.

And immediately knew they were doomed.

Because whenever normal people heard:

> "Something is wrong."

They became cautious.

When Seraphina heard:

> "Something is wrong."

She became interested.

And interest was far more dangerous.

The injured adventurer continued.

"The wolves aren’t acting normally."

A guild master stepped forward.

"What happened?"

The man’s face paled.

For a moment—

He looked genuinely afraid.

Then he answered.

"There was a crow."

Silence.

A strange silence.

Most people looked confused.

Some looked skeptical.

But for reasons he couldn’t explain—

Kael felt something tighten in his chest.

And across the room—

Seraphina’s smile slowly disappeared.

Because somehow—

That single word felt important.

A crow.

Watching.

Waiting.

Again.