"Is that the help you brought, Rykard?" the white-haired woman asked, gesturing at Vincent.

  "What?" Rykard turned, his expression shifting from determination to confusion as he saw Vincent behind him. "Why did you follow me?"

  "Figured we were headed the same way."

  "Wait." The hero stepped between them, her tone shifting from curiosity to mild exasperation. "Rykard, I told you to bring two people for this." She pointed at Vincent. "If he's not one of them, then where are they?"

  "I didn't hear you say that," Rykard replied, shrugging.

  The mage, Meryl, studied Vincent with her vivid purple eyes. "Are you strong?" she asked directly.

  "One could say so."

  "Then it's settled. Rykard and you will join us."

  "I'm here to accept a different quest," Vincent countered.

  "What's your rank?"

  "C."

  Meryl’s eyes gleamed with pragmatic calculation. "We're the Hero's party. We can put in a good word to get you to B-rank after this. You'll also get a good share of the reward."

  The offer cut through Vincent's hesitation. Ranking up was a concrete step forward, more valuable than his fleeting curiosity about the wolves. The notice would likely still be there when he returned.

  Wait. The Hero's party?

  "Why is the Hero's party taking a C-rank quest?" Vincent asked, a note of skepticism in his voice.

  "Because a goblin settlement can become a true catastrophe for the surrounding villages if left unchecked," the Hero answered, her tone serious.

  "Not to mention, this one's a little... weird," Rykard added.

  "Is that so?"

  "Time is of the essence," Meryl interjected, cutting off further questions. "We'll do proper introductions on the way. Do you have a horse, Mister...?" She left the question hanging, finally asking for his name.

  "V. And yes, I have a horse."

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  "Good. I'm Meryl, he's Rykard, she's the Hero. Let's move."

  ***

  Once they were on the move, Vincent guided his horse alongside the mage, Meryl. "Back at the guild," he began, "when you said 'Rykard and you will join us'... it sounded like he wasn't already part of your team. I was under the impression he was a member of the Hero's party."

  Meryl glanced at him, a flicker of understanding crossing her features. "Ah. A poor choice of words in the moment," she admitted. "Rykard is our strategist. He's vital, but he operates from the rear—gathering intelligence, securing resources, planning our routes. He's not a front-line fighter. His presence on a field mission is... unusual. So, in a sense, he was 'joining us' on the actual venture, even if he's always part of the cause."

  "I see."

  "Here's a question for you, 'V'," Meryl said, turning her gaze from the road to him.

  "What?"

  "Why do you pretend to be a swordsman?" As soon as she asked, the attention of the other two shifted to Vincent.

  "Is it that obvious?"

  "You're really bad at hiding your mana."

  "Yet you're the second person to notice."

  "Well, it's considered rude to probe another's mana. Most mages take offense."

  "Why?"

  "Because checking a mage's mana is like sizing up their strength in a glance. It's... intrusive." She studied him more closely. "Who did you learn from, to not know these things?"

  "I'm a sorcerer," Vincent said simply. "So, no one."

  Meryl's eyes narrowed slightly, as if re-examining the ambient magic around him. "I see. I did wonder why your mana had such little active circulation, despite your pool being so deep."

  "Is that so? Back to the topic—can you teach me to hide it?"

  "No."

  "I see." Vincent kept his voice neutral, masking his disappointment.

  "Don't misunderstand," Meryl said, having apparently sensed it anyway. "It's not that I won't. It's that I can't."

  "You can't?"

  "Correct. First, you'd need a foundational understanding of magical theory, which you clearly lack. Second, I'm a terrible teacher."

  "Hmm." Vincent turned his attention to the party's leader. "What's the plan, Hero?"

  "The plan is simple," she replied, her tone all business. "Meryl and I will eliminate the goblins. You and Rykard will locate and extract the hostages."

  "And you're just going to bring a random guy you've just met with you just like that?" Vincent asked.

  "It's not like we're expecting you to fight," the Hero replied. "Just to pull your weight and rescue the hostages. Besides, if Meryl says you're good enough, then you're good enough."

  "You seem to trust her quite a bit."

  "I trust both my teammates."

  "Is there a story behind that?"

  "It's a long one."

  "We have time."

  She did not answer.

  Vincent shifted topics. "Well, what about these goblins? You said they're different. How so?"

  "Goblins are normally... dumb creatures." Her expression soured slightly at the memory of the reports.

  Vincent waited, urging her to continue with his silence.

  "Even the leaders—the supposedly smart ones—are still pretty dim. They attack any human they see without strategy. At most, they conserve and grow their numbers until they're bold enough to hit a village."

  "And what's unusual about this colony?"

  "They were only discovered because a villager spotted a few of them hunting a deer. That alone should never happen." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "Experts were sent. They found a settlement at least three months old. The goblins weren't raiding. They were selecting—targeting beggars, drifters, and mostly weak women. People no one would report missing quickly."

  Vincent's jaw tightened. "So we're dealing with smart goblins?"

  "Not just smart..." She glanced at her teammates. Both gave small, solemn nods. "...We believe they're Lost."

  "Lost..." Vincent muttered, the word settling in his chest like cold water.

  "You know of them?" The Hero's brow furrowed slightly.

  "Not really. Just... fairy tales."

  "Many believe the Lost are a form of demon," Meryl cut in, her clinical voice taking over. "But that's unconfirmed. What is confirmed is that any creature that becomes Lost gains power and intelligence far beyond its natural limits. When it happens to a creature already strong to begin with... an entire nation can be thrown into chaos."

  Eerily similar to those half-dead wolves I fought before, Vincent thought. They were smarter than they should have been. Stronger, too. And they didn't stay dead.

  "If the leader is truly Lost," the Hero continued, "we need to find out how it happened. What it's planning. And we need to act immediately."

  "A Lost goblin leading a settlement..." Rykard muttered, his usual bluntness replaced by something quieter. Grim. "Yeah. That's nightmare material."

  "That truly does sound horrible."

  "Shush."

  The Hero raised her hand, halting her horse. The others stopped instantly.

  "We're close," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "From here on out, we go on foot. Tether your horses. And only whisper."