Chapter 622: Who are those people?

’All right... Let’s see what you’re hiding.’

With that thought, Amon carefully approached the window, hoping to discover something that might explain the girl’s strange behavior.

However, when he reached it, he discovered that the window was covered by a pair of closed wooden shutters. "Tch. Of course." He clicked his tongue softly and muttered in low voice.

Fortunately, this wasn’t enough to stop him.

Amon lowered his gaze toward the ground, where his shadow stretched beneath his feet. A moment later, the dark mass began to move.

Like liquid spreading across a surface, his shadow flowed up the wooden wall, creeping toward the window. It slipped through the narrow gaps between the shutters before spreading across the other side.

Amon concentrated, manipulating the darkness that had infiltrated the room.

Slowly and carefully, the wooden shutters began to open from the inside.

Not even the slightest creak escaped them. Once there was enough space, Amon leaned closer and peered inside.

The window opened into a modest living room.

A small couch stood against one wall, facing a simple fireplace. Beyond it was a compact kitchen, where a few utensils hung neatly above the counter. A narrow passage connected the living room to what appeared to be two small bedrooms.

The house was humble, but reasonably tidy. Since Amon could see perfectly well in darkness, he had no difficulty examining the interior.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anything unusual there something that spoke danger..

There were no suspicious objects, strange symbols, or traces of what looked like a witch’s ritual.

’Nothing suspicious here. I should check their bedrooms.’

Amon hesitated for a moment. ’Seriously, am I really going to do this?’

He felt a little guilty at the thought of peeking into the bedrooms of a woman and her young daughter while they slept.

But he had a mission to complete, and this was the only lead they had found so far. ’Sorry, ladies. This is for the sake of the investigation.’

Having mentally apologized to the two women, Amon carefully closed the shutters. He then moved around the house toward the opposite side.

There, he found another window. Unlike the first one, this window had no shutters, but it was still firmly closed.

Amon used his shadow to conceal every sound he made before slowly opening it. Once again, not a single creak disturbed the silence.

He carefully peered inside. The room was small, containing a simple wooden bed, a bedside table, and a few pieces of furniture.

The girl’s mother was sleeping on the bed.

Her breathing was steady, and her face appeared peaceful beneath the faint moonlight filtering through the window.

Amon observed her for a while, looking for anything unusual. There was nothing.

He quietly closed the window and moved toward the other bedroom.

After checking that the surroundings were clear, he carefully opened the next window.

Inside, the young girl was sleeping in her bed.

Her dirt-blonde hair was scattered across the pillow, and her face looked much more peaceful than it had during the day.

Without the constant nervous glances and tense expression, she looked like an ordinary village girl who had finally found some rest.

Amon examined the room from his position outside.

A small wooden table stood beside the bed, while a few simple belongings were arranged neatly around the room.

He searched for anything that might explain her strange behavior.Anything that could connect her to the witch’s story.

But he found nothing. After a few more moments, Amon carefully closed the window.

’Sigh... Nothing at all. Guess it’s another day... and night of we finding nothing.’

He rubbed his forehead. ’There’s nothing suspicious inside the house. Not even anything that resembles the ingredients for a witch’s ritual.’

His investigation had led him nowhere.

Once again Amon returned to the enormous tree he and Arnold had used as a hiding place earlier that day.

He settled down behind its thick trunk, partially concealed by the bushes growing around its base.

The moon hung high in the sky, bathing Leonera in beautiful silver light.

A cold breeze swept through the village, brushing against Amon’s skin.

Although it was summer, the nighttime air was surprisingly chilly.

Amon pulled his clothes closer around himself. He really loved this kind of atmosphere and places. Peaceful and beautiful with such weather.

’There’s nothing here. I should probably go back.’ He glanced toward the house one last time. ’...Or maybe I should wait a little longer.’

After considering it for a moment, he decided to stay.

He had already come all this way. There was no harm in waiting a little longer to see whether anything unusual happened.

Besides, he wasn’t in any particular hurry to return to the inn. So Amon settled into a more comfortable position and continued watching the house.

For a while, nothing happened.

The village remained silent, and the only sounds were the occasional chirping of insects and the gentle rustling of leaves.

But then sound something came to his eays. Thwy were footsteps.

Amon’s eyes immediately opened wider. Someone was approaching this place.

He straightened slightly and peered through a gap in the bushes, careful not to expose himself.

Three figures wearing brown cloaks were walking down the road toward the small wooden house.

Their hoods concealed their faces, making it impossible to identify them from a distance.

Amon narrowed his eyes. ’Who are these people?’

The three figures stopped near the house. For a moment, they simply stood there, carefully observing their surroundings.

One of them glanced toward the road, while another looked at the neighboring houses.

After apparently confirming that nobody was watching, the third figure approached the window.

Amon watched as the person reached for the wooden frame and began trying to open it.

His eyes widened slightly. ’What the hell? Are they thieves? I need to be ready to fight.’

His right hand moved, he send mana signal to his storage ring. A moment later, a sword appeared in his right hand, while a hatchet materialized in his left.

He gripped both weapons tightly, preparing to intervene if necessary.

’If they’re planning to hurt those two women, I’m not going to let them get away with it. We still haven’t found them dangerous... those women might be just normal villagers.’

The cloaked figure continued working on the window. After some effort, the person finally managed to open it.

The window moved inward without making much noise.

The intruder carefully climbed inside while the other two remained outside, watching the surroundings like guards.

Amon’s expression grew serious. ’Damn. What if they’re thieves who intend to rob the place?’

He tightened his grip on his weapons. ’And if they’re not thieves... could they be connected to the witch or whatever evil we’re investigating?’

There was no way to know yet. He couldn’t simply attack them without understanding the situation.

For now, all he could do was watch and wait for the right moment.

Amon remained motionless behind the tree, his eyes following every movement of the two figures outside.

Several minutes passed.

Then, finally, the intruder who had entered the house reappeared at the window.

Amon leaned forward slightly. The figure wasn’t empty-handed. Someone was being carried in their arms.

The intruder carefully approached the window and passed their burden to one of the companions waiting outside.

At first, Amon couldn’t understand what he was seeing.

Then the moonlight fell across the person’s face.

Dirt-blonde hair, freckles on her cheeks and a familiar face.

Amon’s eyes widened. It was the girl. She was unconscious, her head resting limply against the cloaked figure’s shoulder.

For a brief moment, Amon simply stared. Then his expression changed completely.

’...What the hell?! Is this some kind of trafficking...’

The girl had been sleeping peacefully in her bedroom just moments ago.

Now, three strangers had broken into her house and were carrying her away in the middle of the night. Whatever their intentions were, this was no ordinary visit.

Amon didn’t waste another second. After seeing a girl of sixteen years getting kidnapped, someone who might be innocent, how could he stay calm?

Darkness surged from beneath his feet, spreading rapidly across his body.

Shadows crawled over his arms and shoulders, enveloping his clothing and concealing his features beneath a darkness. Only his eye sockets remained visible, faintly illuminated against the surrounding blackness.

He shouldn’t let them see what he looks like. The sword in his right hand and the hatchet in his left were covered in the same dense shadows, their outlines becoming difficult to distinguish in the darkness.

Amon bent his knees. His gaze locked onto the three cloaked figures.

’You’ve got some nerve.’

The moment the intruder outside adjusted the unconscious girl in their arms, Amon pushed off the ground. His body shot out from behind the tree, cutting through the darkness like a black arrow.

He was going to find out who these people were.

And more importantly he wasn’t going to let them take the girl away.

’I need to contact Arnold.’