21 Night Patrol

"Never mind, let's leave it at that." She let the old man, who was unwilling to tell the truth, off the hook.

Cen Jiu was completely unaware of the rumors circulating throughout the manor.

Since the old man with the beard refused to speak, she could simply ask someone else; identifying which character was willing to divulge information from a sea of dead-end options was all part of the game.

"..." The butler struggled to maintain the smile on his face; it was his last shred of courtesy.

It was clearly this young person who had asked the question first, yet somehow, it felt as though he were the one in the wrong.

Patience, Banderas, you must be patient. Do not offend her.

The adventurer before him, who was oblivious to her own negative reputation, possessed formidable skills but also carried that specific brand of "carelessness" typical of the young.

If it weren't for the labor shortage, and the fact that she happened to meet the master's hiring criteria, Banderas would never have considered her.

No matter how good one's skills are, it’s not enough!

Still, her character was passable; she possessed the "warm heart" of an adventurer.

Those pirates the master had rejected were the perfect example of truly depraved conduct. Compared to that pack of thieving scoundrels, the young adventurer who had made his blood pressure spike multiple times was suddenly much more agreeable.

Banderas kept his composure and led her to a lounge in the servant's dormitory.

Garcia, the patrol captain in charge of tonight's watch, was sitting on a sofa, chewing heartily on a piece of bread. Several of his subordinates sat nearby, bored, playing a game similar to poker.

"I win! Remember, you're buying!" one of the guards exclaimed, enjoying the game so much that he didn't notice someone had entered, winking and boasting to the others about his good luck.

Garcia slapped him on the back, took a large gulp of ale to wash down the bread, and scrambled to his feet. "Mr. Banderas! Miss Jiu!"

Garcia was the captain of the guard squad that Cen Jiu had encountered when she first arrived at the manor. He had suffered two nights of nightmares after learning that this adventurous guest had killed a notorious pirate captain and frightened several other pirates into a state of nervous breakdown.

He thanked his lucky stars for his good judgment back then; otherwise, he would have been buried in the dirt by now.

"Mm, hello." Cen Jiu had completely forgotten about this background character guard with the "extra" face.

"Miss Jiu, we are currently short on manpower for the night patrol. Garcia is the captain in charge of night watch duties during this period. He will explain the details to you."

He gave Garcia a look that said, *you understand.* "Ensure Miss Jiu's safety."

Banderas turned to Cen Jiu. "Then, Miss Jiu, I shall take my leave."

The old butler's tone turned light; he would soon be away from this infuriating adventurer.

Once he left, only Garcia and Cen Jiu remained to handle the handover.

Garcia made a gesture, and the other guards in the lounge filed out immediately, afraid to move too slowly and invite a scolding.

Once they were alone, Garcia immediately put on a standard, enthusiastic, eight-toothed customer-service smile. "Miss Jiu, let me explain the night patrol to you. Feel free to ask me anything you want to know."

"The night patrol—is it for the security of this place?" Cen Jiu had no objection to the task, but what did this have to do with her previous question? Surely the old man wasn't actually a die-hard fanatic of that "Observer" thing?

Garcia shivered, answering her with a bowed head and a submissive air: "Yes, lately, there have been some things—animals—causing trouble near the manor. But as long as there are enough people, we can drive them away..."

"What kind of animals?" Cen Jiu perked up. She hadn't encountered any large animals in this game yet.

"Uh, well, I... I never manage to catch them. We only find claw marks and footprints at the scene. You can tell they are large animals." Garcia started to stutter.

"Have there been any deaths?" Cen Jiu looked at him sideways.

"No!" Garcia shook his head like a rattle. "It has never successfully attacked anyone. The people are all perfectly fine, and so is the livestock... there’s no life-threatening danger..." The quieter he spoke, the more guilty he sounded.

Cen Jiu narrowed her eyes and frowned. "If there's no life-threatening danger, then why do you need a night patrol?"

Wild animals tearing up a field or two was normal; was it really worth adding extra manpower just to guard against that?

"Miss, Miss Jiu, this thing has been causing trouble for years! It happens every few days, and the master really doesn't like it!" Garcia tremblingly spilled a stream of information.

Faded images flashed before Cen Jiu's eyes: startled maids, damaged outer walls, giant footprints in the fields, and shocking claw marks and fist-sized holes left in the stone walls.

"The thing only appears in front of lone maids. It probably knows who isn't a threat. But it must have realized those maids were prepared, and it hasn't shown itself since... It really isn't dangerous. They are all fine. If you don't believe me, I can take you to ask them!"

Garcia's legs went weak, and he knelt before her. "Every time it appears to cause trouble, it does so silently. We’ve been scolded many times and can never catch it. We heard you are a highly skilled adventurer, so we dared to ask you for your help!"

He was the type to bully the weak and fear the strong; when his superiors told him he had to be the scapegoat and beg this adventurer to serve as bait, he was the perfect candidate.

At the same time, Cen Jiu's quest log updated:

[The Ortega Night Watcher (Optional): What a hassle. You have been assigned to assist the guards in flushing out the troublemaking creature and ending its reign of chaos. Whether you help or not is entirely up to you.]

Garcia's performance was a bit too exaggerated, a bit too fake. Cen Jiu felt like she was experiencing a holographic short play.

Cen Jiu was speechless at his performance and waved a hand. "...Alright, I get it. Get up."

"Yes, yes." He stood up, respectfully waiting for Cen Jiu's next question.

Garcia's movements were a bit like the welcoming statues popular centuries ago. Cen Jiu chuckled inwardly and took a screenshot.

Garcia, who was bowing his head while waiting for the inquiry, shivered. Why did he feel a chill down his back? Was she unhappy?

He didn't dare look up to confirm her expression, only staring at his own shoetips in fear.

Cen Jiu finished the screenshot and closed her notebook. "Take me to talk to the maids who witnessed it first."

...

It was the busy hour of the master's dinner, and most of the maids were in the kitchen preparing ingredients.

Garcia walked in front, head held high, leading Cen Jiu to the main building's kitchen. He shouted inside: "Bella! Bella! Someone needs to talk to you!"

The maid who was called wiped her wet hands on her apron and stood up. "Coming."

Bella's flaxen-gray hair was completely wrapped in a white cap to prevent it from falling into the food. At first glance, Cen Jiu hadn't truly recognized her in this attire.

"Mr. Garcia, is something the matter?" She clasped her hands uneasily against her chest, nodding imperceptibly when she saw Cen Jiu beside Garcia.

Garcia didn't dare displease Cen Jiu. His tone lost the arrogance he had when calling for her earlier, and he smiled fawningly at Cen Jiu. "Miss Jiu, she is the last person to have seen that thing. You should recognize her—she’s the one who settled you in your room for the night. Our servants are just as kind-hearted as the master."

Garcia turned to Bella and puffed out his chest again. "This lady has some questions for you regarding that thing from before."

Having said that, he bowed and scraped toward Cen Jiu once more.

Cen Jiu said softly to him, "Mr. Garcia, could you please excuse us for a moment?"

Garcia stuttered, flustered. "Me? Yes, me?"

Cen Jiu looked at him with a smile.

"Miss, Miss Jiu, I won't disturb your conversation!" Garcia jumped, ran to the far corner, and disappeared.

It was just a private chat between two women; nothing worth listening to. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, still shaken.

"Hahaha!" Once he was gone, Bella covered her mouth and giggled. "Thank you, A-Jiu!"

It seemed she had long disliked that guard captain, who always acted arrogant toward anyone with a lower rank than his own.

Cen Jiu laughed as well. "It's nothing, I find him annoying too."

"A-Jiu, you're going to join the night patrol, aren't you?" Bella asked proactively, a hint of hesitation in her eyes. "I didn't expect them to ask for your help..."

Bella recalled the night from not long ago. "I'm new to the manor. During my first few days, there was a lot of work to get familiar with, so it dragged on until late at night."

That day, Bella had been busy adding oil to the wall lamps along the corridor until late.

She heard the chime of the grandfather clock.

"Ding-dong—ding-dong..."

Exactly twelve strikes. The day was over, and she should head to rest.

Thinking this, Bella planned to cut across the open courtyard between the main building and the servant's dormitory; it was the fastest way.

But the person responsible for the locks that day seemed to have forgotten Bella was still in the main building and had already locked the door leading to the courtyard. She had no choice but to take the long way around and go out through the front entrance.

Outside the front entrance was where she worked during the day. She remembered pruning branches in the garden there and recalled that there were streetlights maintained and lit by guards at night.

But when she went out, they weren't lit.

She only saw moonlight covering the ground, assuming the night guard had been lazy.

The bright moonlight illuminated the paths in the garden as Bella, carrying an oil lamp, walked out of the main building.

When she reached the corner of the path, she felt the lighting seemed wrong. She turned her head and saw a creature beyond human comprehension.

A giant creature was clinging to the outer wall of the main building, with the oil lamp it had swallowed inside its body, flashing and glowing as it writhed.

"...At the time, I didn't dare look at its true face." Bella furrowed her brows, lowering her voice. "But with the experience of escaping on the ship, I didn't make a sound. I stepped lightly and slowly circled away until I left it behind."

"The next day, I explained what happened to Maria—she's the head maid here—and found out that the creature had existed for a long time." Bella lowered her head and gripped her hands tightly. "I asked the maids around me and learned they had all seen this creature."

From her conversation with Banderas, who had come to understand the situation, Bella learned that only the garden lights and the decorations on the outer wall of the house had been damaged that night. The guards weren't injured; they had just been given a good scolding by the butler.

Since then, she had never seen the creature with her own eyes, though damage to items in the manor at night still occurred occasionally.

After hearing Bella out, Cen Jiu had a vague conclusion: the rumor that the creature never intentionally harmed humans was likely true.

Excellent. This fit perfectly with the game's direction of not encouraging combat-oriented playstyles.

"It's fine, I'll be alright!" Cen Jiu said with a confident smile.

Bella naturally believed in Cen Jiu, but being injured and surviving were two different things. She couldn't help but speak with a serious tone: "A-Jiu, be careful. Just because that thing didn't hurt me doesn't mean it won't hurt anyone else."

"I'll be careful, thank you, Bella." Cen Jiu bid her farewell.

As she passed the corner, Cen Jiu patted the shoulder of Garcia, who was leaning against the wall resting. "Where are we going next?"

Garcia was startled by her pat and sprang up like a spring, standing straight with a stiff smile on his face. "Please follow me. I'll take you to the places where it has appeared."