Upon reaching his new property, Liam stared, wondering how to get to the top floor. Wondering if Nora had any ideas, he looked at her. She shrugged.

Sighing, he walked into the shop on the bottom floor. Ignoring the few customers strolling around, he approached the counter where a woman wearing a dress and apron was finishing an exchange for someone. The woman looked rather comely with long auburn hair and fair skin. When the customer left, she looked at Liam with calm sky-blue eyes, creating a strange disconnect between her hair and eye colors. As their eyes made contact, the woman blinked a few times with a surprised expression.

“Sorry to ask,” the woman said, “but are you related to the Aborinzi family by any chance?”

“I doubt it,” Liam replied. Then, holding up the title deed, he said, “Supposedly, I now own the upper floor, but don't know how to get up there.”

Placing a hand over her lips, the woman said, “Oh. So someone purchased it, already. Well, there is a stairway behind the counter here.”

“There isn't another entrance?” Liam asked, raising a brow.

The woman shook her head, then said, “If possible, please greet my husband when he returns so that he knows who you are, considering we live in this building as well.”

“If it prevents issues, then I'll gladly do so,” Liam replied. “Then it's fine if I just go through the back there?”

The woman nodded.

With that, Liam and Nora walked around the counter, through the door behind it, and into a small hallway. The stairway led upward to the left while a hallway led to a door on the right.

Assuming the door led to the area the woman lived, Liam and Nora ascended the stairway to a small platform. A window straight ahead overlooked the busy street. From there, Liam turned down a short hallway until he reached a door. He unlocked it with the key given to him by the realtor.

Inside, they discovered an empty living room, complete with wood flooring and walls. A window built into the far wall overlooked the back alley. Another door to the right led through a hallway leading to both a decently sized kitchen and a large master bedroom. Passing the kitchen door, the two of them entered the bedroom. A good portion of the front wall contained walk-in closet about as wide as the hallway outside. One rectangular section of the bedroom was walled off and contained a bathroom with an actual toilet and bathtub supplied by rudimentary plumbing.

“Not bad...” Liam muttered, pleasantly surprised since he only expected a roof over his head.

“It's about what you could expect for the price, I think,” Nora said while walking through the closet space, eyeing it eagerly. “I've never lived in a place like this before...”

“I see,” Liam said. Then, he added, “I'm buying beds for us when I get a chance, but that's probably all we need for now besides food.”

“We can share a bed, so you only need one.”

Rubbing his chin, Liam remembered what kind of woman he was speaking with. At least it would save a bit of money.

Moving on, he said, “It seems we can just buy foodstuffs downstairs since it's basically a general store... Actually, that could become irritating during the day.”

“Better than where I was sleeping until now,” Nora replied while skipping toward the bathroom to investigate it.

“Your hideout?”

“Yep. It was at the top of the clocktower in the center of the shopping district.”

“I see. Show it to me tonight," Liam said. "Well, I'm going to head out for a little while. Mind buying some food downstairs while I'm gone?”

“Mmm... I guess,” Nora responded glumly. “Give me money for new clothes and I'll consider it.”

“Use your own money.”

“I can't since it's all at the clocktower.”

Groaning, Liam tossed her a few gold coins from his inventory and said, “Fine, here.”

“Thanks~.”

“Meet back here around sundown,” Liam said.

In response, Nora nodded while leaving the room.

With that, she left, though not before sending a sly grin in his direction. Finally, he was alone. He took a deep breath of relief. The smell of the wood filled his nostrils. Although he invited Nora along, having someone around him all the time still felt suffocating. He needed a break. As a way to blow some steam, he decided to give hunting a shot in the South. Hunting the wolf creatures Cici previously mentioned would be a good test of his increased stats. After all, he did not yet know how much they affected his fighting abilities.

Since he needed to return by sundown, he hurried to the nearby city gate and traveled toward the forest about a kilometer away. In contrast to the area north of town, the land here contained no farmland. Instead, a grassy plain spread out between him and the forest edge.

A little later, while traversing through the undergrowth, he discovered several creatures he had not seen during his last adventure. In fact, he previously encountered nothing besides a few small animals, the myrmekes, and the giant. This time, within the span of an hour, he found a white stag with hundred-point green antlers, gray fox-like animals with lightning-shaped horns on their foreheads, and all kinds of smaller creatures such as jackrabbits, colorful birds, and even raccoons with green and white fur. Besides those, he saw familiar animals like normal rabbits, birds, mice, and a small species of deer.

While taking a mental note to hunt for meat in this area in the future, he began to feel as though he was being watched even though he remained crouched for most of his journey. Keeping his eyes peeled, he traipsed deeper into the woods.

He stopped.

Not far ahead, he saw the gleam of a predator's eyes stalking closer. Then, he noticed another pair of eyes.

Those eyes are pretty high off the ground... Liam thought. However, he did not fall to complacency. If there were two, then more like lurked nearby. Perhaps he found the wolves. In preparation, he drew Bloodeater from its sheath, all the while hoping he did not overestimate his abilities.

Hearing a low growl behind him, Liam spun on his heels, sword at the ready. Another pair of yellow eyes lurked through the shadows.

Then, from his blind spot, he heard a barely audible padding of swift yet light footsteps. He dived and rolled out of habit, easily in time to dodge the snapping of fangs. When he stood again, he observed his surroundings, only to find himself surrounded by at least ten wolves. No, they could not exactly be called wolves. They were too big for such a name. Even the shortest one stood as tall as Liam himself. For the most part, their fur ranged from shadowy black to gray and anywhere in between.

Damn... maybe I miscalculated here... should have asked Nora to read me that bestiary first. Can she even read? Liam thought as he breathed evenly in anticipation of combat.

The wolf that initially charged at him glared with hunger in its glare. Taking a closer look, all of them looked rather emaciated. Although he found it strange, he focused solely on survival.

Then, all the wolves suddenly backed off and sat down. A deep, warm breath of air brushed past the back Liam's skull. Worried about what he might see, he looked over his shoulder and witnessed a wolf more enormous than he ever thought possible. It stared at him with an intelligent gaze as the setting sun cast eerie shadows over the strange spiral patterns of its black and gray fur.

Again, it huffed a breath of warm air onto Liam's head. Raising a brow, he noticed that this one did not seem interested in attacking him. In the back of his mind, he still desired to slice up the wolf that attacked him, but the gaze of the enormous beast looming over him overwhelmed those thoughts.

After a few seconds of warily staring at each other, the beast turned its head, obviously gesturing for Liam to follow. Squinting, he figured the safest course of action would be to follow the creature for now. After sheathing his sword, he followed the beast, all the while keeping a wary gaze on the rest of the pack. Hopefully, he could get away without issue, though he doubted his chances.