Chapter 5: The Misfortune of a Greedy Beast
It wasn't a matter of his alertness being too low—that was impossible.
He had personally watched the magical beast crawl into his sleeve earlier.
Illiya turned to Darius, silently asking with his gaze: "Did you sense anything?"
Darius understood the unspoken question instantly.
A delayed sense of dread crept over him as he realized the true problem.
If he hadn't happened to glance down just now and see the little beast that had stolen his lunch, he wouldn't have even noticed its existence.
Thinking back, he realized that throughout their journey, the creature's presence had been nearly undetectable.
Its aura was so faint it was practically nonexistent, to the point that it had naturally slipped from their awareness.
As a seasoned swordsman who had experienced countless dangers, there was no way he would normally fail to guard his own lunch.
It simply shouldn't have been possible.
And yet, here in the relatively safe forest near the town, something like this had happened.