The night deepens.
The last remaining room in the inn turned out to be a single room.
Although it has everything needed, it is just a single bed after all, so it is still a bit cramped for two people to sleep on.
So, ignoring Menchi's 'It's just a little cramped, it's okay', Moses opted to make a bed on the floor, using a thin sheet, making do with what he had.
In the dark room, Menchi made a silent grimace at Moses, who is lying on the floor, then lay on her back, staring at the darkness above, and slowly closed her eyes.
Even if they had unexpectedly encountered a Nen User while checking in, as long as her master was by her side, she could sleep without any worries.
Moses lay on his side, facing away from the bed, staring at the small round window covered by curtains.
At this moment, he was not sleepy at all, so he simply closed all the Aura Nodes in his body and started practicing Zetsu.
After an unknown amount of time, Moses suddenly opened his eyes.
"Hmm?"
In his field of vision, the street outside the inn was half bathed in moonlight and half shrouded in darkness.
It was deep into the night, and the quiet environment amplified the sound of footsteps.
At this moment, two figures accompanied by faint footsteps were walking directly towards the inn along the line where light and shadow met.
Using the shared vision of his shadow and the moonlight peeking through the clouds, Moses could 'see' the appearance of the two figures.
A man and a woman.
The man was tall and slender, with thin eyebrows and wide eyes. A black mark, possibly a birthmark, adorned his left cheek, and he carried a black spike about a meter long in his hand.
The woman was voluptuous, with almond-shaped eyes and a small mouth. Her right cheek bore a white mark that looked like a burn scar. As she walked, she played with a dagger, tossing it up and down.
The shadow Moses had placed outside quietly watched the approaching pair, noting the Aura emanating from their bodies.
'More Nen Users...'
'I actually encountered three Nen Users within half a day, and in such a remote town.'
'To say it's a coincidence is not convincing.'
'Could it be that they are targeting the black-haired girl who looks like Shizuku?'
'Those two people are...'
After seeing the appearance of the man and woman clearly, the wanted criminal information that Moses had memorized before came into play, and he quickly recognized the two's identities.
'B-Class wanted criminals, Twin Wings.'
Moses raised an eyebrow slightly.
According to the information registered on the bounty bulletin board, Twin Wings was a two-person criminal group responsible for several heinous crimes.
The man's name was Regan, and the woman's name was Parme. They were notorious for murder and robbery.
Now that he has confirmed the other party's identities...
In Moses' view, the pair were now walking achievements, and also experience points for leveling up his 'All Extinct' ability.
'Let's observe for now.'
Moses decided to stay put and gently woke Menchi up.
Outside the inn, on the stone-paved street.
Regan and Parme stopped at the inn's entrance.
"Did they really think they could escape?"
Reagan, who had a black birthmark on his face, raised his head slightly and looked at the upper floors above the inn's sign.
Parme caught her falling dagger with her hand and said nothing, but her expression was ferocious and filled with tangible anger.
Reagan glanced at his partner's reaction, then kicked open the inn's door without hesitation.
Bang!
Ding, ling, ring——
The door crashed heavily to the ground, and the bell hanging above it rang loudly.
The sudden loud noise immediately broke the silence of the night.
The lights in the rooms on the first floor of the inn soon turned on, and even the houses on both sides of the stone street outside also lit up their lights, obviously awakened by the sudden noise.
"Who is it?"
The freckled girl, who had attended to Moses and Menchi, emerged from her room and immediately saw Regan and Parme standing inside the inn with ill intentions.
"What... do you want..."
The freckled girl, who didn't recognize Regan and Parme, was terrified. She clutched the clothes rod in her hands tightly against the chest of her pajamas.
Regan ignored the freckled girl's presence, but tilted his head slightly, with a focused expression, as if he was sensing something.
Beside him, Parme glanced at the clothes rod in the freckled girl's hand. Her arm moved slightly, ready to drive her dagger into the freckled girl's head.
This thought of hers, akin to stepping on an ant, showed the contempt with which Twin Wings regarded ordinary people.
"Strange."
Just as Parme raised her hand, a voice filled with curiosity came from the staircase.
The person who spoke was the black-haired girl wearing glasses.
Fully dressed, she stood at the staircase, looking at Parme and Regan with a surprised expression, pressing her index finger to her lips in puzzlement:
"When I was fleeing, I should have already cleaned up all my tracks. How did you find me here?"
"Hmm?"
Upon hearing the girl's words, Regan's expression changed slightly, while Parme's face twisted with barely concealed anger.
"Clean up your tracks? You're about to die and still trying to provoke us, you damn rat!"
Regan glared fiercely at the black-haired girl.
The black-haired girl tilted her head slightly, looking even more puzzled.
"Why do you think I'm provoking you?"
"…"
Reagan frowned, and actually felt that the black-haired girl was really trying to find the answer to her confusion.
"You damn rat, after you stole the 'Black Widow's Tears' from us, you didn't even bother to cover your tracks. And now you're saying you've cleaned up all your tracks? Do you think this is a game?"
"Stop wasting time with her!"
Parme suddenly took action.
Her dagger, enveloped in solid Nen, flew out of her hand, cutting through the air and flying straight towards the black-haired girl's face.
"That's strange. It's common sense to clean up your tracks when you run away."
The black-haired girl muttered to herself while raising her hands as if she was holding something. Then, her Nen surged, and in the blink of an eye, a vacuum cleaner with eyes, teeth and a tongue was conjured.
"Did I forget?"
The girl swung the conjured vacuum cleaner's nozzle and knocked down the flying dagger.
Moses saw everything that transpired in the inn.