‘At the time, I was too surprised to question it, but the timing seemed suspicious.’

Even if they were keeping the “Sparkler” at the tavern before moving it to the castle, Xenon was kidnapped after the “Sparkler” was stolen. If someone had already stolen the “Sparkler,” why would they kidnap Xenon too? And why put him in such a strange state?

‘Ugh. My head hurts. I should check my guidebook instead.’

The more Rudis thought about it, the more her head throbbed, so she headed to the storage shed. At times like this, she needed to clear her mind by matching her inventory with the guidebook.

‘I’ve filled quite a bit.’

Opening the guidebook after a long time was enjoyable. Seeing newly filled entries was Rudis’s favorite part.

The “Lifetime Promise” from completing the winter quest and the “Legendary Mercenary’s Dagger” from the spring festival were the highlights. Plus, with the “Suspicious Seed” growing well, she’d soon fill another slot.

It might not be much percentage-wise…

Just one more entry to complete this section!

Rudis was thrilled to see just one empty slot in the livestock section.

The empty slot was for a Black Sheep, born from breeding two Golden Sheep. Unlike chickens or cows, sheep were difficult to breed, and each progressive stage became more challenging. But after eight years of successfully raising Black Chickens and Black Cows, Rudis had developed expertise.

‘I knew this would happen, so I stocked up on special nutrients!’

Recently, another Golden Sheep had been born, so she only needed to prepare for breeding. Though she’d have to wait until it matured, completing even one section of the guidebook made the wait worthwhile.

‘What’s this?’

While humming and imagining completing the entire guidebook, Rudis’s eyes narrowed.

“Anonymous Gift?”

This was new. She’d never received such an item…

Excited by the unfamiliar question mark box in her guidebook, Rudis turned her storage upside down. Something was strange about an item being registered that she’d never received or acquired. After searching through all five storage sheds, Rudis suddenly had a realization.

‘The birthday gifts I accepted in bulk!’

The birthday presents that villagers gave her every year. They were usually standard items, so after about six years, she’d simply piled them up without looking and completely forgotten about them. Hoping she might be right, Rudis rushed to her storage chest, opened the lid, and eagerly rummaged through the gifts.

Among items whose packaging revealed both sender and contents, an unusually unfamiliar box caught her eye.

This is it!

She grabbed the shiny box and hurriedly unwrapped it. Inside was a square-shaped golden ornament. Its concave sides suggested that other pieces needed to be inserted. Each vertex had a small groove with clear traces showing something had been removed.

Who sent this?

Rudis searched for a letter. The one she found read:

[Sender: Anonymous]

[Message: Hoping your wish comes true]

Anonymous? The content was highly suspicious too.

‘Wish? Did I have something like that?’

As she tilted her head in confusion, a system window suddenly appeared:

[New Quest Generated!

Quest Name: Crossroads of Fate

Quest Description: Collect 4 pieces to restore the ‘Anonymous Gift.’

Piece of the Red Moon 0/1, Piece of the Black Forest 0/1, Piece of the Silver Wind 0/1, Piece of ɖœøɢʊ 0/1

Reward: ???]

‘I knew it. It’s a quest.’

Rudis nodded at the system window. The structure was similar to the “Lifetime Promise” quest she completed last winter. Like the item she finished by gathering three crystals, this one also required finding pieces to restore something. However, this time there were four pieces, and the last one was marked with strange, unreadable characters.

Though quests were becoming increasingly complex and strange, she didn’t mind. In fact, she’d been getting bored with the overly simple tasks. Her eyes sparkled with renewed interest.

These quests always have clues. They might seem unhelpful at first with no hints, but paths gradually open like pieces of a puzzle falling into place. You can’t just blindly poke around everywhere.

Recalling the “Lifetime Promise” quest gave her an insight.

The quests that emerged then were unusually monster-related. She’d thought it strange at the time, but by completing quests, she naturally obtained the “Summer Crystal,” and later focused on monster hunting to get the remaining crystals following a similar pattern.

So this time too… maybe?

Rudis wracked her brain, recalling recent quests—from the strange incident with Xenon in the cave to the recent string of suspiciously adult-themed quests.

Could the event with Xenon in the cave and these recent adult-themed quests all be connected?

After deep contemplation, Rudis glanced at the clock.

Still only 10 PM.

In this world, there are no coincidences; everything happens for a reason. So…

Rudis began running toward the tavern, cutting across the stone path.

* * *

“You’re here? What can I get you today?”

“…The special beer.”

Boldly bursting through the door had seemed like a good idea, but she hadn’t thought about what came next. Seeing Xenon’s face brought back memories of that day, making her cheeks burn. But she couldn’t back down now. Especially not with a quest at stake.

“Here you go.”

Rudis took the lukewarm beer mug and fell silent.

Is it really related to Xenon?

She’d rushed to the tavern vaguely believing it was connected to the quest, but seeing Xenon’s reaction made her doubt herself. Usually, quests naturally progressed to the next stage when you visited the right place or spoke to the appropriate person. But Xenon’s attitude now was completely normal. Had she been mistaken?

“How are you feeling?”

The man leaning casually against the counter directed his gaze at Rudis.

“Fine… Thank you for last time.”

“It was just an accident. No need to thank me.”

Xenon smiled, lifting one corner of his mouth. That smile was strangely relaxed yet seductive. Rudis instinctively avoided his gaze. Noticing her eyes drawn to Xenon’s slightly parted lips, she quickly changed the subject.

“I saw the notice in the plaza.”

“Ah, that. Since you mentioned it, could I ask a favor?”

At the word “favor,” it seemed like a system window was already preparing to appear. Rudis swallowed hard.

“Anything, just ask.”

“Could you find someone for me?”

“Someone?”

“Recently, there’s a person to whom I owe my life. I want to thank them somehow… but they suddenly disappeared before I could ask their name. Even after posting notices, they haven’t shown up.”

Xenon spoke carefully, choosing his words with apparent difficulty.

Rudis had always thought Xenon wasn’t a serious person. But thinking back now, aside from his playful nature, Xenon had always been cautious. The rumors he shared had never been false. Even now, while requesting a quest, he wasn’t telling the whole story—keeping his promise from the cave. Meanwhile, the villagers were desperate to share all sorts of intimate details…

[New Quest Generated!

Quest Name: The Real Beginning 2

Quest Description: Help Xenon find ‘the person’

Reward: Hidden Truth]

Seeing the name on the system window, Rudis became certain.

‘The Real Beginning 2’…

She was convinced this wasn’t a simple one-time event. And that she could no longer avoid it.

“It’s me.”

Having decided to face this head-on, Rudis became bold.

“I helped you. In that cave.”

“…You helped me.”

Surprised eyes turned toward Rudis.

“I heard about a landslide and went to check. That’s when I found you.”

“It was you… You… At that time…”

Xenon seemed flustered, running his hand over his face with a complicated expression. In that moment, Rudis realized why she’d always thought Xenon wasn’t serious. She had unconsciously noticed that his expressions and his eyes never conveyed the same emotion.

“You knew, didn’t you? That I was the person you were looking for.”