(Now I don't have any money,) Picky thought, leaving the arena and the depression overcame her.

  Pondra followed her before she left and said, "You look sad," in a sympathetic tone.

  Picky, who was walking with her head down, was startled and asked, "Who are you?"

  "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. My name is Pondra, and by the way, you fought well there," Pondra said.

  Picky noticed Jacob and Jacha looking at her from a distance. She blushed a bit and thought, (Are they fans of me?) Then she said, "Thank you, Pondra."

  "I don't want to interrupt your day, but I'd appreciate it if you could help us with something," Pondra said.

  (So they're not my fans,) Picky thought. (Anyway, maybe if I offer them some help, they'll give me enough money to eat today.) She said, "I'd be happy to help."

  "That's nice of you," Pondra said. "My friends and I, those two dark-skinned people standing behind me, plan to enter the forest. But we know nothing about this region, and you seem to have extensive knowledge about monsters."

  "So, you basically want to know what kind of monsters you might encounter in the forest, right?" Picky asked.

  "Yes," Pondra said. "Currently, we can offer you $200."

  "$200? Only for this information?" Picky said loudly, shocked. "Oh, sorry, but are you sure? This is invaluable information."

  A few minutes later, Pondra, Jacha, and Jacob took Picky to a nearby restaurant with outdoor tables overlooking the tournament from the hill. They sat at the furthest table to avoid the noise and ordered a meal that Picky had only dreamed of having only if she won.

  "Actually, this region is filled with Fauns. You won't encounter any other monsters than them, because these monsters act as guardians of the forest, and harmful beings are forbidden to cross its borders," Picky explained.

  "But how do they know if someone is harmful or not?" Jacob asked.

  "Great question, boy," Picky said. "Fauns can produce melodies that human ears can't hear. These melodies evoke the spiritual energy inside all creatures and reveal their true nature."

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  "Wow, that's magical," Jacob said.

  "Right?" Picky replied excitedly.

  "Which means the rumors about the Owl Man are false then," Jacha said.

  "The Owl Man?" Picky said. "That poor creature is misunderstood by the villagers."

  "Creature!" Jacob and Pondra said, slamming the table and leaning closer to Picky's face.

  Picky raised her hands, as a pose for surrendering, and said, "W...what?"

  "We have to save Zoeske right now," Jacob said determinedly.

  "Wait," Jacha said. "Let's hear more about the Owl Man from her."

  "His name is Odd," Picky said. "He's just a normal Faun who can repeat a few words like us, but people find it terrifying. But perhaps what scares them most is his appearance. Unlike other Fauns, Odd doesn't have horns, and his face is closer to humans than regular Fauns."

  "What makes that not terrifying?" Jacha asked.

  "Fauns share almost the same biological makeup as us, but their brains are a bit closer to goats' brains. I said 'closer' so their brains can still perform better than goats. They can perform more complex behaviors, and repeating sounds they hear isn't that surprising."

  "That makes sense," Jacha said. "But you said he looks closer to humans than Fauns. Why is that?"

  "I don't know the reason, but I believe nature is taking its course to evolve these creatures," Picky said.

  (She might be right, but we can't rely on one assumption that solely believes in evolution,) Jacha thought. (Not after what we've seen from the goblins. In addition, this creature was walking in the village as normally as humans do, which contradicts the evolution idea. A sudden change in one of many Fauns in his generation is far from natural evolution; it suggests something more complex led this creature to intellectually grow faster than his peers.)

  (Jacha looks too quiet; he's deep in thought,) Jacob thought.

  (There's a mystery hovering over this village, and something about it makes me think it's related to me and Pondra's real mission,) Jacha thought.

  (Jacha probably already figured out that this creature's evolution is unrelated to the goblins' evolution,) Pondra thought. (But for god's sake, who is causing all this mess?)

  "We'll go to the forest in one hour," Jacha said. "Jacob, you're staying here in the village. We need someone to keep an eye out in case Zoeske returns for any reason. Pondra will come with me."

  "Do you need my help with anything else?" Picky asked.

  "You can join us if you want," Pondra suggested.

  "I've never been to the forest before, but I think I can be helpful," Picky said. "But what are we going to do in this hour?"

  "You can all do whatever you want," Jacha said. "I have to do something before we enter the forest."

  "But wait, in case you guys don't show up sooner than expected, what should I do?" Jacob asked.

  "Talk to my twin, Nicky," Picky said. “She can save us.”

  "No need for that. I meant where I should meet you after you're all finished," Jacob said.

  "We'll be there before the villagers extinguish their streetlights," Jacha said.

  "Okay," Jacob said.