Hate, hate, hate.
Her body scorched by hatred, the mere thought of that person filled her heart with an inky blackness.
And yet... she understood full well that as someone who was neither an adventurer nor anything of the sort, she could never win against them, no matter what she did.
She had heard rumors that the person was a womanizer, and she had considered using that to lure them into letting their guard down. But the other party already knew her face.
If that was the case, then simply getting close would be enough for them to realize she was plotting something.
Failure was not an option.
Until she quenched the hatred searing her from within... until she avenged her family, she absolutely could not allow herself to die.
She did not mind losing her life after achieving her revenge, but that was strictly a consideration for afterward.
To avenge her kind father and mother, and the brother she had loved so dearly, she intended to use any means necessary without hesitation.
But... her target was an adventurer.
Compared to that, she—despite being somewhat better-looking—was ultimately just an ordinary woman.
She had tried training her body for the sake of revenge, but talent was a cruel thing.
Even as she trained, those who became adventurers after her surpassed her one after another.
It did not take long for her to conclude that she had no talent for combat.
Even so, being an adventurer was a convenient profession for moving between various villages, towns, and cities in search of her enemy.
And so, after years of searching... the woman, who continued to burn with hatred yet still could not find them, happened to overhear something in a certain village.
"Gilm, you say?"
"Yeah. Word has it that a lot of adventurers are gathering in Gilm right now. Not just adventurers, either—apparently regular folks are flocking there looking for work, too."
"Gilm is out on the frontier, isn't it? Wouldn't only skilled adventurers be able to make it there? Let alone ordinary people..."
"Yeah, I was worried about that too. But it seems the Knight Order and adventurers in Gilm are providing escorts, or people are traveling in large groups... There are apparently all sorts of ways to manage it."
"Gilm..."
Her enemy was not necessarily in Gilm.
But if many adventurers were gathering there, then perhaps... she could not help but think so.
With no leads to go on, her only option was to head somewhere that drew a larger crowd of adventurers.
Making that decision, the woman eventually departed from the village.
Her destination: Gilm.
Precisely because it was a place where many adventurers gathered, she set out on her journey thinking her enemy might be there.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been extremely difficult for an F-Rank adventurer to reach Gilm.
Fortunately, however, she managed to join a group in Sablusta that was heading there. Though they were attacked by Bandits and monsters several times along the way, she somehow arrived in Gilm safely.
"Alright, everyone. We disband here. You can head straight to the Guild to look for work, find an inn for tonight, or go visit anyone you know... Let's all do our best and make a living in Gilm."
The man who had led the group this far made the announcement, and the party that had traveled together to Gilm disbanded.
Originally, the group had no particular connection to one another.
They had banded together for the same reason that small, weak creatures travel in numbers.
Naturally, once the objective of reaching Gilm was achieved, they scattered to go about their own business.
The woman was no different. She needed to get to somewhere with a crowd—a tavern, a restaurant, the Guild—anywhere she might pick up information about her enemy...
"Wait a minute, Ilse!"
Hearing the voice behind her, the woman—Ilse—stopped in her tracks.
"What is it, Jade? I don't know anyone in Gilm, and I'd like to get moving as soon as possible."
As Ilse turned to face him, the man called Jade watched the sway of her green hair, cut even at her shoulders, and stammered as he spoke up.
"Well, you see... what are you planning to do from here, Ilse?"
"What do you mean...? I told you, didn't I? I don't know anyone in Gilm, so I want to get moving. I hear the inns are pretty crowded, so I'd like to secure a room while it's still daytime."
Ilse was an F-Rank adventurer, but she had a decent amount of money.
Not from anything underhanded—it was savings she had built up from requests that didn't require combat, like gathering jobs.
Ilse had little talent for combat, but fortunately she was reasonably blessed when it came to gathering... the ability to distinguish medicinal herbs, poisonous plants, and all manner of other vegetation in the wild.
Also, knowing she lacked combat talent, Ilse had been considering poison as her means of revenge.
In any case, for those reasons, Ilse had a respectable amount of money for an F-Rank adventurer.
...Though that was strictly relative to other F-Rank adventurers.
Even so, she figured she could at least manage a night at an inn.
In reality, most of the inns in Gilm were already fully booked.
"Um... well... if you're willing, would you like to stick together with me?"
Jade's words, spoken with every ounce of courage he could muster.
What they meant was obvious from the red staining his cheeks.
But whether Ilse noticed his demeanor or not, she shook her head without a trace of hesitation.
"I'll pass. I need to move around a lot in Gilm, and I'd probably just be a burden on you if I were with you."
"I wouldn't mind any trouble you bring me!"
At Jade's outburst, several of the others who had traveled with them let out teasing whistles.
It was common knowledge among the group that Jade harbored feelings for Ilse—and not the friendly sort, but genuine romantic interest.
Jade himself thought he was hiding it, but given his straightforward personality, it was only natural that others saw right through him.
And Ilse knew how he felt about her, too.
But with no room in her heart to think about her own happiness until her revenge was complete, she naturally had no intention of reciprocating.
She offered a smile and shook her head.
"I'm sorry. Unfortunately, that's just not possible. ...Well then, I'll be going. Let's meet again if the chance comes up."
Her words were gentle, but the intent behind them was an unmistakable rejection.
Jade must have understood that, because he fell silent without pressing any further.
"See you around."
With only that, Ilse walked away.
What remained behind was Jade, reeling from the sheer ease with which he had been rejected, standing there in a daze—and the companions trying to drag him off to a tavern to comfort him.
"I'm sorry. Unfortunately, we're fully booked. No vacancies."
"I see... I understand."
Turning Ilse away with those words, the inn's proprietress watched as the girl quietly stepped back, visibly disappointed.
This was already the fifth inn to turn her down.
She had felt disappointed at first, but after being rejected at so many places in a row, she was getting used to it.
"Um... do you happen to know of any inns that might still have vacancies?"
"Hmm, let me see... A little earlier and there might still have been some room."
Wiping sweat in the midsummer heat, the proprietress spoke.
In a normal year, this inn would still have had a fair number of rooms available at this time of season.
But the expansion construction in Gilm had drawn a flood of people, and as a result there were no vacancies to be had.
The proprietress thought for a moment, then spoke with visible reluctance.
"Well... there are some inns that use large shared dormitories rather than private rooms. You might find a space there, but... that's really not the sort of place a beautiful woman like you should be staying. Something... unfortunate could happen."
Ilse considered this for a moment, then nodded.
"I see. I'll try looking around a bit more, and if I really can't find anything, I'll consider one of those. Could you at least tell me where to find one?"
"...Are you sure?"
Under normal circumstances, a woman—and not one traveling in a group, but a single woman with striking features—would never stay at such a place.
There was the danger of someone losing their senses in the middle of the night and assaulting her. Sleeping surrounded by strange men was the kind of behavior that would make anyone question a woman's judgment.
The proprietress even thought she might be better off sleeping rough than staying at such an inn, so she pointed Ilse toward a few spots on the outskirts where people were less likely to gather.
Of course, if some miscreant happened to find her sleeping outdoors, it could end badly—but as long as she stayed hidden, she would be safe.
At the very least, it would be more reassuring than sleeping shoulder-to-shoulder in a room packed with what could only be described as a pack of wild beasts.
"Thank you. I'm not sure yet where I'll end up spending the night, but this is better than having no information at all."
"I see... I'm sorry. I'd love to put up a girl like you if I could..."
"No, it's fine. ...Well then, I'll try my luck at the other inns."
With that, Ilse stepped back outside.
The moment she did, she wore an exasperated expression at the sunlight pouring down from a sun that seemed to be asserting its presence with almost aggressive intensity.
"Was coming to Gilm a mistake?"
After all, there was no guarantee her enemy was even in Gilm.
Since adventurers were gathering there, it was certainly plausible—but there was even a chance they had already left the Kingdom of Mireana entirely.
Thinking along those lines, a knot of anxiety tightened in Ilse's modest chest.
(Calm down.)
But Ilse knew how to deal with that anxiety.
Her target was an adventurer.
That was precisely why Ilse had become one herself.
In any case, the life of an adventurer was fraught with danger.
There was even a possibility that her enemy had already died.
That thought was always somewhere in the back of her mind, and precisely because of it, she had learned how to keep the anxiety at bay.
She recalled the final moments of her parents and brother, gathered the hatred within her, and used it to crush the impatience.
Several seconds passed. Once the anxiety had settled, Ilse looked around once more.
People, people, people.
More people crowded the streets than she had ever seen in her life back in her village.
It would not have been strange to wonder if there was some kind of festival going on.
But Ilse already knew that was not the case.
This was simply everyday life in Gilm... or at least, in Gilm as it was now, in the midst of the expansion construction.
"Anyway, I need to find an inn. I can check the taverns once it gets dark."
Naturally, a tavern was at its liveliest after work was done—from evening into the night.
Coworkers knocking back drinks together after a long day.
And when they did, tongues loosened.
Of course, if a woman like Ilse sat alone in such a place, she would get approached—but she had enough experience to brush that off without a second thought.
...In the early days, she had caused her fair share of scenes—angering someone badly enough that she had to flee a tavern, and things of that nature.
Now, she could easily manage a smile and pour someone a drink if she had to.
Being groped was not something she welcomed, of course.
In any case... Ilse tried several more inns, but as expected, every single one was fully booked.
She was genuinely starting to think she might have no choice but to sleep outdoors or take a bed in one of those dormitory-style inns... when—
"Oh, looking for a room? Luck's on your side. Someone just headed out to Abuelo a moment ago."
That was the answer she received at an inn tucked near a back alley.
"Eh? Really?"
Having been turned away so many times already, suspicion came before joy.
But the Hobbyist Shop Owner, well aware of the current situation in Gilm, did not take offense at her doubt. He simply nodded.
"Yeah. So, what'll it be?"
"Please. Ten nights to start. I'm not sure yet whether I'll extend after that."
She paid in advance, and as relief washed over her at having finally secured a room, she noticed someone push open the inn's door and step inside.
Ilse was not the only one who noticed—the Hobbyist Shop Owner did as well.
Unlike her, however, he showed no surprise and casually called out to the man.
"Melan, you're awfully early today. Work already done?"
"Yeah, Vihera caused a bit of an incident. ...Well, it was the other side's fault, though. Hmm? Who's this?"
"A new guest."
At those words, Melan approached Ilse with an easy, likeable smile.
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Melan Canning. Since we're staying under the same roof, let's get along."
"...I'm Ilse."
Somewhat surprised that the man was a Surname Holder, Ilse gave a polite bow.