Chapter 167: A Strange Situation.
Jake paused mid-step.
The moment those words left Barbara’s mouth, his [Instinct] suddenly flared.
It wasn’t the sharp, life-or-death warning he felt in battle.
It was subtler... like a faint, uneasy prickle at the back of his neck.
At this feeling, Jake frowned.
’Strange...?’
He glanced toward the doorway Barbara had just left through.
There was nothing unusual about her asking for Aria.
Aria was part of the guild and a maid.
Someone Barbara would naturally know, or at least have a reason to look for.
So why did that one sentence make his Instinct react?
Jake stood still for a few seconds, trying to pin the feeling down.
"...No. I can’t just ignore that."
The feeling from his [Instinct] was still lingering, faint but stubborn.
If Barbara had really just been asking a casual question, there would have been no reason for that reaction.
He glanced toward Grace.
She was already deep in the weapon section, golden eyes shining as she pulled a thick manual from the shelf, completely absorbed.
Seeing this, Jake didn’t want to drag her along over a vague hunch.
He turned to the attendant near the entrance.
"If the golden-haired girl asks where I went, tell her I followed Barbara for a bit. I’ll be back soon."
The attendant blinked, then nodded.
"Understood, sir."
Jake gave a short nod in return, then quietly left the library.
He picked up his pace the moment the doors closed behind him.
And Barbara hadn’t gone far.
"Barbara!"
Jake raised a hand and waved as he called out to her.
Barbara stopped mid-step and turned around, clearly surprised.
"Hmm, Jake?"
Her brows lifted as she watched him walk over.
"Weren’t you going to accompany Grace?"
Jake shook his head.
"She’s already buried in the weapon section. She’ll be fine for a while."
Barbara studied him for a moment.
"Then why did you follow me?"
Jake scratched the back of his neck, looking a little awkward.
"...Because of my Instinct."
Barbara blinked.
"Your Instinct?"
Jake nodded, his expression turning more serious.
"When you muttered ’that’s strange’ earlier, it reacted. Not like a battle warning... but something felt off. Enough that I couldn’t just ignore it."
He looked at her directly.
"So I decided to ask you properly. What’s strange about Aria?"
Barbara looked at him, confused.
"...That’s it?"
Jake nodded and waited.
Barbara let out a small sigh, then answered honestly.
"Aria is supposed to clean another section of the guild this morning. I went to check, but there was no one there. The place was still dirty."
She crossed her arms.
"That’s why I asked you. I just wanted to inform her."
Jake stared at her for a second.
"...That’s all?"
Barbara raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. That’s all."
Jake’s expression turned a little strange.
His [Instinct] had reacted over... a missed cleaning shift?
He rubbed his temple.
’Seriously?’
Barbara watched him for a moment, then added,
"If she’s in the underground training ground like you said, then she’s probably still there instead. But normally tidying up the underground training ground is simple and fast, so I thought it was strange why she’s been down there for so long."
"Anyway, I was planning on going there to find her and tell her about this, as we have important guests, so we have to prepare that place to be clean."
At those words, Jake fell silent.
The earlier warning still lingered faintly in his chest, but Barbara’s explanation was simple.
It didn’t seem to be any dangerous situation that required his attention.
And yet...
’...No. There must be something wrong. Otherwise, Instinct wouldn’t have reacted.’
And the only anomaly was that...
It had already been more than three hours since he and Grace left the underground training ground.
If tidying that place really didn’t take long, then why was Aria still down there?
Why hadn’t she gone to her other assigned job?
Jake stared down the corridor leading toward the stairs.
Barbara’s explanation sounded reasonable on the surface.
A maid getting delayed and a simple change in duties.
But his [Instinct] didn’t usually flare over something that small.
Jake exhaled slowly.
’Three hours...’
That was far too long for cleaning.
Even if she had been assigned extra work, it still didn’t sit right.
Jake stopped and looked at Barbara.
"...Then I’ll go with you."
Barbara blinked.
"You’re following me?"
Jake nodded.
"You said you wanted to inform Aria anyway. If she’s still underground, we can check at the same time."
Barbara stared at him for a moment, then let out a small sigh.
"...Fine."
She turned toward the stairs leading below.
"Just don’t make it sound like I’m taking you on some secret mission. I only want to tell her to finish her other work."
Jake followed beside her.
"That’s enough for me."
At his firm words, Barbara glanced at him from the side.
"You’re really that bothered by it?"
Jake didn’t answer immediately.
After a few steps, he said quietly,
"My instinct reacted. Even if it turns out to be nothing, I want to see it myself to clear my own doubt."
Barbara smiled and laughed.
"...Haha, what a man you are, Jake."
Despite her words, she didn’t stop him.
The two of them continued down the corridor toward the underground training ground.
_
_
_
By the time they reached the underground corridor, even the faint noise from above had faded away.
Jake’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The air down here felt the same as before... cool, still, faintly carrying the scent of dust and old stone.
But the uneasy feeling in his chest hadn’t disappeared.
Barbara pushed open the heavy door to the underground training ground.
The wide stone chamber came into view.
Jake stepped inside and swept his gaze across the room.
"...Aria?"
His voice echoed faintly.
But there was no answer.
Barbara frowned and walked further in.
"Aria! Are you still here?"
And the underground training ground was still quiet.
Jake’s [Instinct] prickled again, sharper this time.
He slowly looked around the empty chamber, his expression darkening.
"...She’s not here."
Seeing this, Barbara just sighed.
"I thought you said she was here."
Jake didn’t answer right away.
His eyes moved across the empty chamber, from the weapon racks to the far corners of the training ground.
"She was," he said finally.
"At least, that’s where she should have been."
Barbara crossed her arms, scanning the room as well.
"Then maybe she already left?"
Jake shook his head slightly.
"If she left, she should have gone to the place you mentioned. You said it was still dirty."
Barbara’s brows furrowed.
"...That’s true."
After all, despite Aria’s strange behavior, Barbara already knew how dedicated and serious Aria was when it came to her duty and job.
Even if it was hard or painful, she always did it flawlessly, without complaint, and on time, with the same serious face.
Come to think of it, she had never actually seen Aria smile or cry.
All she saw was that earnest and serious face all the time.
Everyone here had already somewhat gotten used to Aria’s strangeness, as she stood out a bit.
Barbara knew how earnest Aria was, so Jake’s words were kinda true, and now she couldn’t help but also find the situation strange.
The two of them stood there for a moment, the silence of the underground chamber pressing in around them.
Jake’s [Instinct] still hadn’t settled.
It wasn’t screaming danger, but it also wasn’t fading.
’Something’s off.’
Barbara glanced at him.
"You’re making that face again."
Jake exhaled.
"Let’s check the place first. If she’s not here, there should at least be some trace."
Barbara nodded.
"Fine. I’ll take the left side."
Jake turned toward the right.
"Then I’ll check over here."
They split up and began searching the underground training ground.
Jake moved along the right side of the chamber, his steps quiet against the stone floor.
Weapon racks.
Training dummies.
A few old crates stacked against the wall.
Nothing unusual at first glance.
But the more he looked, the more the emptiness bothered him.
If Aria had really been cleaning here for hours, there should have been something left behind.
Like maybe a bucket or a cloth.
Even a faint trace of movement.
Instead, the place looked like it had been left mid-task... or abandoned.
Jake crouched near one of the racks and ran his fingers along the floor.
It was dust.
Not much, but enough.
’She was here for sure...’
But then—
"Jake," Barbara called out.
Jake looked up.
Barbara was standing near the far left wall, staring at something on the floor.
"...Come see this."
Jake immediately walked over.
Near the wall, half-hidden behind one of the training dummies, was a fallen cleaning cloth.
Beside it, a wooden bucket had been tipped onto its side.
And the water inside had already soaked into the stone.
Seeing this, Jake’s eyes narrowed.
Barbara’s voice dropped.
"...This isn’t like her."
Jake slowly kneel down to check, the faint warning from his [Instinct] growing just a little sharper... then suddenly grew sharper.
It rose all at once, like a quiet alarm starting to ring inside his head.
Jake froze.
’What...?’
The warning still wasn’t the same as when a blade was about to cut him.
But it was no longer faint.
Something here was wrong.... Very wrong.
He looked down at the fallen cloth again.
At first, it seemed like nothing more than a dropped cleaning rag.
Then his eyes narrowed as he noticed that there was a slight bulge underneath it.
Jake crouched and slowly moved the cloth aside.
Beneath it was a small, strange sword.
The blade was short, dark, and faintly dull.
Even at a glance, Jake could tell it wasn’t a weapon meant for combat.
’Come to think of it... I did hear the maid calling Aria about them finding a strange sword...’
While he was lost in thought, beside him, Barbara’s eyes widened the moment she saw it.
"Oh no...! Jake, get back! That’s an enchanted artifact—!"
Jake blinked.
Before he could fully process her words, the small sword suddenly vibrated, as if it had sensed something.
Crack...!
Crack...!
Crack...!
Suddenly, a brilliant light burst from the blade and swallowed the entire underground chamber in an instant.
And at that moment, Jake’s body moved before his thoughts caught up.
He grabbed Barbara and shoved her hard toward the doorway.
Barbara’s figure was sent flying through the open door just as the light exploded outward.
Thud!
She hit the stone floor hard and rolled once before forcing herself up.
"Jake!"
She turned back toward the underground training ground, heart pounding.
And saw that the blinding light was already fading.
Soon, the chamber beyond came back into view, cracked and dim once more.
Barbara’s eyes widened.
"...Jake?!"
She rushed back in and looked around.
But the place where he had been standing was... empty.
And just like that, Jake was gone.