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We used Maxwell’s teleportation magic to arrive near the Evil Dragon’s nest. Then I used my Stealth Gift to sneak closer to the nest entrance… Where I discovered a watchman.

He had his hood completely covering his face, so it made him suspicious for doing that in a place as devoid of people as this.

We took our distance from him and kept ourselves hidden.

“There he is. So what do we do? He is clearly someone suspicious…”
“We can not ignore him now, can we? Given what this place is.”

The Evil Dragon’s nest held big significance for us. That remained unchanged even after we defeated the Evil Dragon. Even if there was nothing there now, this was still weighing on our minds.

“How do we get him to talk then? I don’t think we’ll get anywhere if we just go and ask ‘what are you doing here’ to him.”
“Given the way he is acting, he is already guaranteed to be someone shady. That said, we cannot judge someone with only that much proof.”
“I suppose it would be faster if we sneak through the surveillance somehow and check what they are up to inside with our own eyes.”

With my Stealth, it was easy to avoid the eyes of this single guard and sneak inside. However, Maxwell wouldn’t be able to do that. My Gift couldn’t extend its ability to other people.

“In that case, I shall use Conceal so give me a bit.”

He immediately started chanting as he said that, and his figure disappeared soon enough. We were quite separated from the guard, so he shouldn’t have heard his chanting.

In fact, the guard stood still like a shadow.

“Alright, that should work.”
“Right?”

I heard his boastful remark from nearby.

I moved along the shade of the walls and made my way towards the entrance. I erased the sound of my footsteps, my presence, and approached at a dead angle.

“Maxwell, are you following?”

I asked in a voice low enough to be covered by the rustling of the plants. Maxwell was currently invisible, so even I couldn’t see him. I had to ask him directly like this to confirm it.

If I approached any further, there would be no opportunity to ask it anymore.

“Do not worry. I can keep up as long as you do not hurry too much. Unlike you, I only have to mind my footsteps.”
“In that case, poke my shoulders or back periodically from now on so I know where you are.”
“Understood.”

I heard his voice from behind. After that, I approached the guard to the limit.

If I was certain that they were some ruffians I would have killed him here and now, but aside from the fact that this was the Evil Dragon’s nest, they were simply staying in a cave after climbing a mountain. It was a little lacking as a reason to assault them.

The man stood still and remained vigilant with no change in his expression. I couldn’t find an opportunity to sneak in.

He was observing the surroundings like a doll with no idle movements. Just as I was wondering how to handle this, there was some sound in the opposite direction from me. The man noticed it and looked towards it.

On the other end of his suspicious gaze, a single pigeon peeked its head from the grass. And then, it quickly disappeared back into the grass as if startled.

It was most likely Maxwell’s familiar. Either way, this was the chance I needed to sneak in. Thus, I made use of the small opening before he turned his head back to sneak inside.

I wasn’t invisible like Maxwell, but I was still confident that I wouldn’t get detected as long as I wasn’t directly in their sight.

I used a sliding motion to jump inside. The moment I passed by him, the guard’s gaze returned to its normal location.

I wasn’t sure if Maxwell managed to follow me, but soon enough I sensed a tap on my shoulder. It seemed that he was properly following me.

I silently nodded at his signal and advanced further inside.

The inside of the cave was dark where you couldn’t even see what was at your feet properly. If we used light here, the guard or the people ahead could discover us.

Just as I decided to continue my way carefully, I heard Maxwell’s voice once again.

“Hold on, this would be difficult for you, right? I shall cast Night Sight on you.”

He murmured in a quiet but clear voice. Then he followed it with a barely distinguishable chant and cast his spell.

At the same time, his figure came into sight. Because he was casting a spell it dispelled his Conceal. But as we were quite separated from the guard, he couldn’t detect him.

“Oh, I can see.”
“Good to know. Then I shall make myself invisible once more.”
“Okay.”

There was one guy at the entrance. Maxwell counted three adults and five children. In other words, there should be two adults and five children inside.

We concealed our footsteps and headed deeper inside. Given that it was the nest of the Evil Dragon, this cave was around thirty meters in length and width, and it also had quite a big depth.

Before long, we arrived at the actual nest without running to anyone. That place, unlike the darkness until now, was brilliantly illuminated by torches and Light spells.

“Wha-!?”

Seeing the sight before my eyes, I reflexively let out my voice. I could also sense Maxwell swallow his saliva behind me.

There was a magic circle drawn at the center of the place, with the five children lined up around it.

In the center of that circle was one man. And he was chanting something with intense concentration. The other man stood alert outside of the circle.

It appeared that they were performing some kind of ritual spell.