The train ride toward Tigan was quiet. At least way quieter than Aren had expected.
Well, technically, they weren’t heading to Tigan just yet. The train would only take them to a nearby city. From there, they’d have to hire a car—Tigan itself was small enough that no proper transit line bothered to connect to it.
Which, in itself, said enough on how far and tucked away the place was.
Miu had taken the window seat almost imdiately, pressing her face against the glass as the cityscape blurred past and gave way to the countryside view.
Stella sat beside her, phone in hand, scrolling through sothing quietly. Other than that, she hadn’t said a word.
anwhile, Aren himself stared at the small tal card within his hands. It contained his na as well as sothing else—his rank.
Two Stars already, huh?
He only vaguely rembered how it happened, mostly from sothing Daniel had ntioned in passing.
Apparently, the commission he took from Miu when she was an idol got re-evaluated. What was originally a One-Star request was bumped to Three-Star difficulty after everything that unfolded.
And Aren, who was the one who prevented disaster, was quickly promoted to a Two-Star Hunter.
He looked around and found his eyes on Miu, specifically the sa small tal card peeking its head out of her pocket.
Miu herself also registered recently and beca a One-Star Hunter.
Well, now that she’s a real Hunter, we need to be serious about this job. No matter how inconsequential it might be.
"...So," Aren finally spoke, breaking the silence and leaning forward in his chair. "What exactly are we dealing with?"
Stella opened the folder on her side once more, pulling out a piece of paper before handing it to Aren.
"That should be the first recording and testimony of the case. Read it and tell if you spot anything strange with it."
Aren glanced at Stella briefly. The once inexperienced and quite frankly reckless girl that he’d t in the Wildlands was no more.
Instead, she looked a lot more mature, and...tired, even.
Ti really does change people...and lost.
Aren sighed slowly before finally scanning over the piece of paper that Stella had given him. Miu scooted closer imdiately, leaning in to read along with him.
"Alleged missing person..." she began, reading aloud. "Identified only as ’Uncle Shen.’"
"Due to Tigan’s distance from central registries, the family claims they never formally recorded a last na...actually—"
She squinted a little, "They don’t even know what their last na is."
Aren’s eyes lingered on the line for a mont longer before shifting down the page, scanning the rest of the report in silence.
"That’s not right..." he finally muttered.
Miu blinked. "Huh? Why not? It’s not that uncommon."
"Distance doesn’t really erase identity," Aren replied calmly. "Even smaller cities keep so form of record. Trade logs, certificates, property ownership, just anything..."
He tapped the paper again. "For an entire family to not have a last na...or not even know it?"
Aren looked up at Stella, giving the paper in his hand for Miu to hold temporarily.
"...Does he have any form of records?"
"If he’s living here," Aren continued calmly, "he has to be sustaining himself sohow. So kind of inco or business...or at least so tax-related papers provided by a company."
Stella nodded once, already reaching into her folder.
"I figured you’d ask that."
She pulled out another sheet and handed it over. "This is the only thing that ca up."
Aren took it, his eyes moving quickly across the docunt. "Restaurant license...permission to prepare and sell food safely."
Miu leaned in again, reading over his shoulder. "Oh, so he runs a restaurant? That makes sense then, right?"
"...No."
"No?"
Aren tapped the bottom corner of the docunt. "This wasn’t filed in Tigan, but instead in so city called Misarck. Which I assu is a city close by?"
Stella’s eyes flicked toward him before nodding. "You’re right on the mark. I really should hire you as my right-hand."
Aren flinched but otherwise sat back up straight. "Thanks, but I’ll have to decline. I’ve got other things going on."
Miu took the paper from his hand, looking at it closer until she eventually gave it back to Aren.
"Does it make any sense? Why would Shen...or I guess anyone from that family, go all the way to Misarck to get this paper?"
"No, it doesn’t," Stella answered the question for her. "For a small city like Tigan, local certifications are easier, faster and cheaper. There’s no reason to go out of your way."
She nudged her head a bit at the paper once more, before asking, "Aren, check the paper a bit more closely. See if there’s anything else wrong."
Aren lowered his eyes back to the page, this ti tracing each line more carefully instead of just skimming the larger details.
The restaurant certificate itself looked ordinary enough at first glance. But that’s when he caught the anomaly—the tiline.
"...There was a local one before this," Aren said slowly.
"There was?" Miu shifted in her seat, leaning over again.
He nodded, already reaching for the previous sheet Stella had handed him and laying both papers side by side on the small tray between them.
"This one was filed in Tigan," he said, tapping the older line in the report. "With the sa business and the sa na they gave."
"But this new one..." Aren trailed off. "The original local license they had expired three years ago."
...
Miu frowned. "Okay...so maybe they just forgot to renew it?"
Aren didn’t answer imdiately.
Instead, he kept reading.
There was no closure filing, declaration of bankruptcy or notice of relocation. Worse of all, there were no records or instances of the restaurant being shut down, fined, or suspended.
It’s almost too perfect on the outside. No wonder no one bothered to look any deeper.
"...No," he said at last. "Soone with their only inco being the restaurant wouldn’t be so careless with their license."
Miu’s expression shifted. "But what does that even an? Did they just vanish from the system?"
"Pretty much," Stella remarked.
Aren looked back down at the newer certificate.
"And then," he continued, "they suddenly reappear, not in Tigan, but in Misarck. Filing for a completely fresh restaurant certification."
For a second, silence passed by, only with the slight hum of the train which filled in the void.
Miu sat back slightly. "...That’s weird."
"It’s worse than weird," Aren replied. "There are only two explanations that make sense."
"Either they were selling food illegally for three years," he said, "which would an operating without a valid license and sohow never drawing complaints..."
"Or they just up and vanished...reappearing three years later like nothing ever happened.
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