The group finally stepped out from the cover of the forest and walked openly toward the settlement, drawing attention almost immediately. People who had been busy carrying baskets, repairing fences, chopping firewood, or tending to small gardens gradually slowed what they were doing, their eyes following the strangers as they entered the village together.

Children paused in the middle of their games to stare openly without trying to hide their curiosity, while adults were far more reserved, choosing to observe quietly as the unusual group walked deeper into the settlement. It wasn’t difficult to understand why they attracted so much attention.

Their clothes looked completely foreign compared to the simple linen garments worn by everyone else, their shoes looked strangely refined, and perhaps most noticeably, their skin was incredibly smooth and well-kept, giving them the appearance of people who had never spent years laboring under the sun.

To the villagers, they looked less like travelers and more like nobles who had somehow wandered into the countryside from one of the enormous cities.

Thanks to Agatha’s spell, none of the strange conversations around them sounded foreign anymore. Every word spoken by the villagers now carried meaning.

They understood the casual greetings exchanged between neighbors, the merchants advertising today’s produce, children arguing over whose turn it was to play, and even old women gossiping quietly outside their homes. More importantly, they now understood exactly what Irina had been carrying ever since Leonid found it near the corpse of the monstrous spider.

It wasn’t simply an energy crystal as Mary had guessed earlier. According to the memories they had borrowed, it was called a Beast Crystal, the lowest possible grade of crystal harvested from magical beasts after death. Although low in quality, it still possessed value because craftsmen, blacksmiths, and alchemists frequently purchased them as a source of energy.

A single low-grade Beast Crystal could be exchanged for one silver coin almost anywhere in the region, and one silver coin was more than enough for ordinary villagers to live comfortably for several days.

Their plan naturally formed around that information. They needed local currency before doing anything else. Once they exchanged the crystal, they could buy clothing that wouldn’t immediately expose them as outsiders, rent rooms where Liam could safely recover, gather information about the surrounding area, and only then decide where to travel next. None of them wanted to wander across an unknown world carrying an unconscious man while dressed like complete foreigners.

Irina walked confidently through the settlement without allowing the countless curious eyes on her to bother her in the slightest. She had always possessed the kind of personality that naturally ignored unnecessary attention. Eventually she stopped in front of a modest wooden stall positioned beneath a faded cloth canopy. Various crystals of different colors rested inside neatly carved wooden compartments, each labeled with symbols that now made perfect sense to them after Agatha’s spell.

Behind the table sat an elderly man on a small stool, his back slightly hunched from age as he carefully polished another crystal with a worn cloth. His movements were slow but practiced, suggesting he had repeated this routine for decades.

Irina reached into her pocket and calmly placed the Beast Crystal onto the wooden counter.

The old man’s cloudy eyes immediately brightened.

He carefully picked the crystal up with both hands as though handling something fragile, bringing it close to his face before slowly rotating it beneath the sunlight. His fingers traced every edge while his thumb gently rubbed across its surface, checking for imperfections. Every few seconds he tilted it at another angle, inspecting how the energy inside refracted the light. It was obvious he wasn’t simply looking at it. He was verifying whether it was genuine.

The inspection lasted nearly half a minute.

Finally, satisfaction appeared across his wrinkled face.

He gave a firm nod.

Without saying a single word, he reached beneath the table, opened a small wooden box, and removed a single silver coin before placing it gently in Irina’s palm. The exchange ended as quietly as it had begun. The old man carefully stored the crystal away, while Irina slipped the silver coin into her pocket before offering him a polite nod. He smiled back warmly, though not a single word was spoken throughout the entire transaction.

Tatiana watched the entire exchange with growing confusion.

As they resumed walking, she leaned slightly toward Leonid.

"That was... strange."

Leonid glanced at her.

"What was?"

"The whole exchange."

She looked back toward the old man.

"Neither of them said anything."

Leonid followed her gaze for only a brief moment before replying quietly.

"He’s deaf."

Tatiana blinked.

"And mute."

She stopped walking for half a second.

"...Seriously?"

Leonid nodded.

Tatiana immediately turned back toward the stall, studying the elderly man much more carefully than before. She watched him continue polishing crystals exactly as he had been doing earlier, but no matter how closely she looked, nothing stood out to her. He simply looked like any other elderly merchant.

She hurried to catch back up.

"How did you figure that out?"

Leonid answered casually, almost like it was obvious.

"When those children were shouting only a few meters away, everyone nearby instinctively glanced toward the noise."

Tatiana thought back.

They had.

Everyone except...

"The old man never reacted."

Leonid nodded.

"His ears never twitched."

Tatiana frowned.

"My ears twitch?"

"They all do."

He smiled faintly.

"Every person unconsciously reacts to sound. Tiny muscle movements around the ears, slight head turns, changes in focus, blinking. He had none of them."

Tatiana listened carefully.

Leonid continued.

"When Irina placed the crystal on the table, he didn’t respond until he felt the vibration through the wood."

Tatiana’s eyes widened.

"I didn’t even notice that."

"He wasn’t listening for customers."

Leonid shrugged.

"He was watching."

Tatiana looked back one final time.

Now that Leonid had pointed everything out, she could vaguely see what he meant, but only barely. Even then, she doubted she would have ever figured it out herself.

She let out a small laugh.

"You really make being a vampire look cool."

Leonid smiled.

"It has its advantages."

He looked ahead as they continued walking.

"Our senses are far beyond what werewolf possess. Smells. Sight. Hearing."

Then his smile faded ever so slightly.

"But there are parts that aren’t nearly as impressive."

Tatiana tilted her head.

"The blood?"

Leonid nodded once.

"The thirst never truly disappears."

His voice remained calm, almost emotionless.

"You learn to control it, but you never stop feeling it. Regular food..." He gave a helpless shrug. "...it isn’t disgusting. It just has no taste. Every meal feels like chewing paper."

Tatiana unconsciously rubbed her arms.

Just imagining living that way sent goosebumps across her skin.

"I don’t think I could ever drink blood."

Leonid chuckled.

"I didn’t think I could either."

A moment of silence passed before Leonid looked at her with genuine curiosity.

"Do werewolves experience something similar?"

Tatiana frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"The urge to eat flesh."

She looked horrified.

"What?"

Leonid remained completely serious.

"I’ve heard stories."

Tatiana immediately shook both hands in front of herself.

"No."

Then she shook her head even harder.

"Hell no."

She almost sounded offended.

"Where did you even hear something like that?"

Leonid shrugged.

"Stories travel."

Tatiana sighed dramatically.

"They’re just that. Stories."

She looked ahead while explaining.

"Yes, there have been rogue werewolves throughout history."

Her expression became more serious.

"The ones who completely lose themselves to violence."

"They kill."

"They even eat people sometimes."

She grimaced.

"But they aren’t normal."

"Our packs hunt them."

"We always have."

"They’re considered monsters by werewolves just as much as they are by humans."

Leonid slowly nodded.

"So your own kind eliminates them."

"Immediately."

Tatiana answered without hesitation.

"If we didn’t, innocent people would die."

She smiled weakly.

"So no... we don’t crave human flesh."

Leonid seemed genuinely relieved.

"Hmm."

Before he could continue the conversation, Irina turned around while flipping the silver coin between her fingers with a satisfied smile.

"We’ve got money."

Everyone looked toward her.

She tossed the coin once before catching it again.

"Come on."

She gestured farther down the village road.

"Let’s go find somewhere to rent rooms."

The group continued walking through the lively streets of the settlement, following the directions they had pieced together from the little boy’s memories. The deeper they ventured into the village, the more fascinated they became by everything around them.

Tatiana gradually closed the distance between herself and Leonid, who still carried Liam effortlessly across his back despite the hours they had already spent traveling. She had been quietly thinking about something ever since their earlier conversation, and the question had refused to leave her mind. After walking beside him for several seconds, she finally broke the silence.

"Do you miss being human?"

Leonid turned his head slightly toward her without slowing his pace. His expression remained as calm as ever, though one corner of his mouth lifted into a faint smile.