This was actually a spell, and an exploration spell at that!
From the back, it looked like a girl, not very tall, probably only reaching up to his chest. As she walked, she kept looking around.
[Exploring~]
This skill was interesting.
Sean curiously followed behind her the whole way. She seemed to be constantly glancing to both sides... not at people, but at the ground, because she always kept her head down.
They walked from the engineering district toward the trade market, and it didn't seem like she had noticed him.
If she had, she would have shown signs of alertness, but she was still in [Searching!] and [Looking!] mode, never lifting her gaze.
Hiss~
What did this mean?
Was she looking for something lost? Sean figured that only when something had fallen on the ground would someone search like this.
She bypassed the trade market's delivery area and ended up in a remote alley...
Sean glanced back outside briefly, just in case he needed to make a quick exit later.
At that moment, a foul stench hung in the air. The alley led close to the city's canal, which was far from clean—every time he passed by, it reeked. Especially near the trade market.
Rotting vegetables, fruits, and the carcasses of diseased animals that hadn't been dealt with in time were dumped directly into the nearby canal, so the area around the trade market always smelled like this.
A few days ago, when Sean saw this, he realized there was a reason the rats were so rampant!
Yet the witch in front of him didn't seem to mind. She slowly approached the spot near the canal with the most garbage and started poking around with a stick she'd picked up.
Uh...
What kind of hobby was this!
Sean watched, utterly baffled.
She rummaged through the trash pile for a while without finding what she wanted, and finally tossed the stick aside in frustration.
Above her head, emotions instantly appeared: [Unhappy!], [Angry!], [Irritated!].
Sean took a closer look at her other stats...
[4000/4000 HP, 1900/2000 MP]
She must have used the exploration spell earlier, so her mana was low. Since they hadn't interacted yet, the affinity level hadn't appeared—it would only develop after Sean met her face-to-face.
"What are you looking for?"
"Ah!!" The girl was startled by the sudden voice, her small frame trembling.
She turned around. Under her hood was a fair, slightly chubby face. She was probably around the same age as Claude, maybe a bit older... there was already a slight curve at her chest, but her small stature and youthful face made her look younger. When she first saw him, she even pouted.
"You scared me..."
Even her voice was the cute type.
Another witch, but completely different from Lucille's seductive style.
"Hey, you're the one sneaking around in this alley, and you're blaming me for scaring you?" Sean retorted.
"I wasn't sneaking around... Oh, you followed me," she realized.
"You were walking down the street, looking around everywhere. As a resident here, I had to check if you were up to no good." He flashed a smile, probably because her expression seemed harmless. Sean even joked with her.
More importantly, when their affinity appeared, it was [Friendly].
Directly friendly right from the start... that was a rare affinity level.
This girl was probably the type who was gentle with everyone!
"I'm not a bad person! You're the one..."
Suddenly, she locked eyes with him, and above her head popped up [Excited!].
"You said you're a local, right? Do you know which alleys the nearby canal flows through?" she asked.
The alleys the canal flows through?
Sean glanced at the canal behind her.
There was a canal in Koga City, and it seemed to wind around many places near Brukan Avenue, flowing between spaced-out buildings... It should have been easy to follow, but some building clusters were huge with no gaps for people to pass, and some sections were underground, so he couldn't trace it continuously.
But if he observed the canal's flow direction, he could roughly figure out where it branched.
Still...
"What do you need those places for?" Sean asked curiously.
The girl lifted her chin with a smug look.
"I have my own reasons. Just tell me, and I'll pay you." She patted the bulging pouch at her waist, making the coins jingle.
"No way. You haven't told me why you're here. As a resident, I can't just give information to strangers."
He watched her state cautiously.
After all, she could use magic—she was a witch, so he needed to be a bit wary.
But when he saw her [Somewhat anxious!] state, Sean wondered if he was overthinking... Could she really be that naive?
"I..."
"You tell me, and I'll tell you, and I'll even take you there. How about that?" Sean pressed.
"I'm looking for a treasure."
"What?"
Sean thought he misheard.
"I'm looking for a treasure!!! Did you hear me?" She raised her voice a few notches, looking reluctant.
"There's treasure around here?"
In a trade market street? Sean had heard of pirate treasure hunts and mountain treasure hunts, but this was the first time he'd heard of treasure hunting in a market. What was she looking for—bargain hunting?!
"Of course there is. I've told you, so you should tell me what you know," she said, dissatisfied.
This girl had principles—one question for one question.
"Fine, but like I said, I'll take you there. Either tell me exactly what kind of place you're looking for, so I can lead you straight there." The canal passed through many alleys in Brukan; without a specific target, it would be hard to find.
But when he said that, the girl looked a bit embarrassed.
"Actually, I'm not sure where it is exactly. I just passed by once and sensed it. But I've searched several times since and found nothing."
"The place you passed by—was it here?" Sean asked.
"Yeah."
She nodded seriously.
Looking at him with hopeful eyes, she wasn't bad-looking—big eyes, a delicate nose, and thin lips that made her face look chubby.
Sean stepped forward to look at the spot where she claimed to have found the treasure...
It was just a garbage dump. Things that hadn't been fully thrown into the river had rotted, filling the air with a pungent stench.