—Akinashi Domain, Southern Residential District.
"Why the heck is such a ferocious monster in the middle of a town like this, yeah?!"
Linlin Raafan—leader of the Tao Family, her black hair tied up in buns—shouted the same bewildered question for what felt like the hundredth time.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a pack of three-headed hounds sprinting straight toward them.
The beasts spewed blue flames, frost, and violent tornadoes from each of their mouths. To make matters worse, they even called down bolts of black lightning for good measure.
Never in her life had she encountered monsters so utterly savage. If this were some unexplored wilderness teeming with fiends or a forgotten ruin, it would make sense. But this was right in the middle of a town in the Akinashi Domain. In fact, warm light spilled from the windows of the surrounding houses. People were almost certainly living here.
Were the locals actually using monsters capable of overwhelming Linlin and the Tao Family as mere watchdogs? That was completely absurd. It was pure madness.
Yet, if they were truly pulling it off, it meant the residents possessed more than enough power to tame such monstrosities.
(No wonder a deal for a grimoire is going down in a backwater like this, yes!)
They should have proceeded with far more caution.
The sudden rumors of a legendary grimoire being traded in a remote mining town. Princess Rosemary's prolonged stay. And the underworld's Three Great Powers converging on this land as if by prior coordination.
Looking back, every single piece of the puzzle had been abnormal. Blinded by the exquisite bait of a legendary grimoire, she had lost her cool and failed to exercise sound judgment.
Judging by the vicious game underway in the streets, Linlin and her crew had taken the bait hook, line, and sinker.
But who had orchestrated it all? Was it Rosemary Loto Amelia, princess of the Holy Amelia Kingdom? No, there was no way a mere princess could command such extraordinary monstrosities.
"Boss, everyone's reached their limit! We can't keep running!"
Small wonder. Those fiends had been running them ragged for nearly three hours. Even with the Tao Family's proud physical endurance, there was only so much a body could take.
"Take formation, yeah! Brace yourselves, alright?!"
Skidding to a halt, Linlin wiped the sweat from her brow, drew the beloved blade at her hip, and leveled the tip at the beasts.
"Understood!"
With desperate resolve, every member raised their weapons against the approaching fiends.
Sure enough, a dozen monstrous hounds encircled them in the blink of an eye.
"Kneel! Kneel! This is an order from the Great One!"
A small black bird darting overhead shrieked. At the same time, the pack of three-headed dogs parted, making way for a black puppy trotting forward with a scroll clamped in its jaws. With a flick of its head, it tossed the scroll toward them.
The moment Linlin caught it, the monsters surrounding them vanished into thin air, as if they had never existed.
"What is... this, yeah...?"
Unable to keep up with the dizzying turn of events, Linlin stood frozen in shock.
"Boss!"
Snapping back to reality at her subordinate's cracked shout, Linlin unrolled the scroll with trembling hands.
Written upon it was—