Return to the inn.

The sun is starting to set. You make your way inside, and just like before, the catfolk is behind the counter. Though she appears to be getting ready to leave. You came at a good time. She catches you almost immediately, and after putting on a coat, she starts walking past the tables and towards you. She gestures out a hand, and beckons you towards her.

"I'm glad that you decided to show up," she says.

"So what's this thing you need to tell me specifically?"

"Not here." Bella puts a finger to her lips. "Follow me, hero."

She leads you back the way she came, and through the door behind the counter. It leads to a kitchen in the middle of cleaning up. Nobody seems to pay you any mind, and you continue to follow her past the stoves and shelves of ingredients. Then, there's another door. She opens this one, and a cool breeze wafts inside. It leads straight into a narrow path between this building and the one next to it. You can see roads not far away in both directions.

You hesitate at the doorway though. It's still a dark, isolated alleyway.

"I'm not here to kill you, Kyle. And we use this exit all the time," she explains.

Though she doesn't seem to have any weapons, and her points are valid, you're not a fool either. You keep a hand near the pummel of your sheathed blade and step carefully through the door, and as it shuts behind you, the two of you are left in complete silence.

The black-haired catfolk looks into your eyes with a serious expression.

There's a long silence. You can only hear the sound of the breeze whistling between the narrow gap--a wall behind you, and another not far in front. You aren't sure if you're meant to say something first, but finally, she speaks up.

"When I first saw you, I didn't really know what to make of you. On one hand, you were ignorant and strange, though on the other, you were certainly unique. I just assumed you to be some sort of travelling bard, or just an insane homeless man."

"Thanks."

"But then you started making more of a name for yourself. You've done some extraordinary things. Tell me. What were you doing the last time you left the city?"

I can't tell her we took out the Vampire Queen. As heroic as it sounds, I can't bring myself to trust this lady. "Questing, like usual."

"I see. And did you really **** the great Mistress Dajy?"

She knows about that? Of course she does. The Queen knows it, and those in the castle too. Surely it could have gotten out.

"Quite the feat," she adds.

"Oh yeah. Well, it wasn't just me."

She takes one step close, and you one step back. "I've been watching you for awhile now," she says. "And I'll continue to do so."

"Why? Who are you exactly? And I don't mean your name."

"I'm not sure how to answer that question. I'm me. Though you could also say I'm the eyes of somebody else. I wouldn't say your enemy necessarily. If Dajy fell, it was her own fault, and she already wasn't the most trustworthy. But now we need to make sure you don't do anything else. You wouldn't get in the way of anybody's plans, would you, Kyle? Surely you only slew Dajy as any adventurer would."

She's not wrong. We didn't go there to slay her. "That's right."

Bella eyes you over closely. "Interesting. I admit, I was worried there was more to it. You really are just an adventurer. I imagine when you found a certain necklace, you did so by accident as well."

"Yeah... and then a vampire took it from me."

"Of course."

"How do you know all of this? You're the eyes for who?"

"I have yet to actually deliver the message. It's one best sent not by letter, but directly. I want you to know I'm watching. I want you to hear my words in your head. If you do turn out to be more than a typical adventurer, and you are trying to intervene in the plans of the Demon King, you will regret it. We'll make sure of that. And no, I don't mean we'll come attack your home. We have something much more convincing."

"D-Demon King..."

"Shh. You'll want to hear this. It concerns a Niki Vakila."

"What about Niki?"

"You know, her family still lives. They reside in a town within the Oraang Desert. It's called Althudiyu. She may have been banished, but her mother and father still care greatly for her. Her brother too. And I imagine, whether she says anything or not, Niki cares greatly for them as well."

"Tell me how you know these things, damn it!" She isn't answering any of my questions.

Bella smiles. "Because we're watching them too." She begins walking towards you, and you quickly tense up. Though you then notice she's actually walking past instead. As she reaches your said, she whispers, "And you wouldn't want anything to happen to them, would you?"

You shiver. When you turn, you don't know how to reply, and she's already departing. You're afraid to reply.