Without realizing it, Erika had backed all the way to the door.

Keeping her eyes fixed on the curtains, she took another slow, deep breath and gently placed her hand on the doorknob.

Stay calm. It'll be all right... He didn't do anything to me...

She reminded herself.

Erika tightened her grip, her breathing growing faster and faster.

Click.

She opened the door. The second floor was well soundproofed, and the place was unusually quiet, so the sound of the door opening came through clearly.

Erika's heart pounded, and her palm was slick with sweat.

The person behind the curtains must have heard the door open, too...

Would he make a move?

...

But the figure behind the curtains didn't move at all.

Erika didn't waste another moment. Biting her lip, she spun around and hurried out.

Bang!

The door slammed shut behind her. She didn't hesitate for a second, and the noise made her heart race even faster.

Then she quickly pulled out her key and locked the door from the outside.

She had no idea whether it would work, but for now, it was all she could do.

Panic gripped her. She hurried down the stairs at a jog and ran all the way to the tavern counter without stopping.

The tavern keeper was wiping a wineglass with a towel. The pristine white cloth was stained red with grape wine.

When a little head suddenly popped up over the counter, the tavern keeper froze for a moment. “Little girl, didn’t I tell you to stay in your room and wait for your mother?”

“I... upstairs...”

She'd run too fast and was out of breath. Erika stretched up on tiptoe, her little hands gripping the counter tightly as she tried to make herself taller.

“What’s wrong? Why are you so flustered?”

The tavern keeper narrowed her eyes. She seemed to sense that something was wrong with Erika, so she set down the towel and wineglass and asked, “Did something happen in that room?”

Breathing hard, Erika nodded as forcefully as she could.

That was more or less what she meant.

The tavern keeper's expression changed when she heard that.

Because of the rumors about strange happenings in the room, the Temple had sealed it off for five whole years. Now she'd finally tried renting it out, only for something to go wrong so soon.

The tavern keeper hurried out from behind the counter and crouched down. “Don’t panic. Take your time and tell me—what happened in that room?”

“There’s someone in there!”

Erika pointed upstairs in a panic. “There’s a strange man in the room!”

“A strange man?”

The tavern keeper furrowed her brow. Erika's guardian had gone out, so there shouldn't have been anyone in the room. But Erika didn't look like she was lying.

Could the stories about the room eating people have been made up by someone?

The tavern keeper was a businesswoman. This world had plenty of strange things in it, but they were still hard to come by—and she'd never believed in stories about haunted rooms.

The moment she heard there was someone in the room, she asked again, “What did he look like? Is he still in there?”

“I don’t know. He was hiding behind the curtains. I could only see his shadow, but I think he was a man.”

Erika answered honestly, her eyes anxious. “But I locked the door from the outside with the key. If he didn’t climb out the window, he should still be in there.”

“Hmph. Then he’s definitely still inside!”

The tavern keeper's eyes sharpened, anger rising in her expression. “The window in that room was specially made by the Temple. An ordinary person couldn’t break it. I want to see who’s in there, playing tricks!”

The tavern keeper quickly ordered the tavern's staff to help, then notified the soldiers patrolling outside.

In no time, the foot of the stairs on the tavern's first floor was crowded with people.

Five soldiers had arrived. They were all strong and sturdy, dressed in light armor with swords hanging at their waists. The four-leaf clover crest of the Yarlan Empire was stamped on the armor over their chests.

The group jogged up to the room on the second floor.

The soldier in the lead looked down at Erika and asked her to confirm once more. “Little girl, this is the room with the stranger in it, right?”

“Mm-hm.”

Erika nodded, biting her lip. “If he hasn’t escaped yet...”

“Don’t worry. We have people watching the windows outside. This window is just glass—it can’t be opened, and no one’s broken it.

“And there are no signs that this door was forced. If what you said is true, that person should still be inside.”

As he spoke, the soldier held out his hand. “Where’s the key?”

“Here.”

Erika obediently handed the key to the soldier. Then the tavern keeper led her back to a spot that was relatively safe.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the soldiers to open the door and see what was inside.

Luca Town really hadn't been very peaceful lately, and the soldiers were doing their best to protect the people.

Click.

The room's door opened.

It was still somewhat dim inside. Silver moonlight slipped through the curtains, faintly illuminating the room. And just as expected, the window hadn't been damaged.

Seeing this, Erika guessed that the person hiding behind the curtains must still be inside!

The soldier in the lead stood at the doorway and watched for a while, his brow furrowing. Then he swept a hand forward.

“Get in there and search!”

“Yes, sir!”

In an instant, all five soldiers, including their captain, charged into the room at almost the same time. They drew their long swords and began searching every corner.

Erika stood at the doorway with the tavern keeper, watching.

Both their hearts were in their throats.

...

The seconds ticked by.

The soldiers searched nearly every inch of the room, but in the end they found nothing—not even a single person.

After their search turned up nothing, the soldier in the lead gave Erika a puzzled look.

“Little girl, where was the person you saw earlier hiding?”

“Right behind those curtains.” Erika pointed.

“Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?”

“I didn’t!”

“Then did you get a good look at what he looked like?”

“...No. He was hiding behind the curtains. How could I have seen him clearly?”

Erika shook her head, but she was sure of what she'd seen: there had definitely been a person's shadow behind the curtains.

The captain looked a little helpless. He waved for everyone to stop searching, then gestured toward the room.

“Little girl, you saw for yourself—we searched the whole room. There isn't a single person in here.”

“Maybe he’s hiding somewhere... or he escaped... But there really was someone just now.”

“We checked every place someone could hide.”

The soldier was getting annoyed. “Look at that window. It’s just a pane of glass. It can’t be opened, and it’s still completely intact. So where could that person have gone?”

“I don’t know...”

Erika's voice grew quieter. “But there really was someone...”

“Where are your parents?”

The captain didn't seem to want to waste any more time talking to Erika. He now just thought she was lying.

“Why are you asking about my parents? You should be looking for the guy hiding in the room!”

“Heh.”

The soldier ignored her and gave a helpless chuckle. “You’re young and don’t know any better. I don’t want to waste time arguing with you. Do you know what happens to people who deceive the Imperial Capital's soldiers?”

“I’m not lying!”

Erika protested, her gaze unwavering, though a hint of hurt showed in her red eyes.

“Enough. We can tell whether you’re lying or not. Tell me where your parents are,” the soldier said coldly. “We need to talk to them.”