The room felt quiet when the door opened slowly. A man with firm steps entered the room filled with the soft scent of lavender. It was Sena's room, with its luxurious design and king-size bed dominating the center. On that bed lay Sena.
"Uhh, Toshiro, what's the matter?" she asked in a sweet voice, still comfortably lying among the silk pillows.
Toshiro immediately sat on the edge of her bed. His face showed slight fatigue after the quick journey he had taken to deliver his report.
"What do you mean what's the matter? You're the one who told me to come and give you a report about the situation, weren't you?" he replied with an annoyance he failed to hide. Toshiro wore a black robe and long black pants.
"Ehh, did I say that?" Sena remained lying down, enjoying the softness of the silk sheets covering her body.
Toshiro sighed heavily.
"Stop acting so spoiled. Get up," he said firmly while gently pulling her hand, helping her sit up on the bed. Now Sena sat right beside him, only about thirty centimeters away.
Toshiro was her servant, but their relationship was more than just master and subordinate. He was one of the few people who dared to be straightforward with her.
"So how is the situation?" asked Sena.
"The hero candidates have completed some of their missions and are now heading to the capital of Nivara," Toshiro began to explain. "Their journey has covered almost one hundred kilometers since they arrived in this world."
He paused briefly before continuing in a more serious tone. "But there was a strange incident in the Silvanis forest. A level 2000 demon cobra died there.
"Its death looked like it attacked itself, and two hero candidates died there as well," Toshiro continued. "At the scene, the investigation team found footprints of two unknown people. It seems there are two more people who came to this world but they're separated from the main group."
Toshiro looked serious as he added, "Based on the analysis of the battle remains, it seems the newly arrived people already had powers from their original world. The snake was almost certainly killed by them, and the incident happened less than two hours after the summoning."
"Is that so?" Sena responded with a flat expression, as if the information wasn't too important to her.
Toshiro frowned. "You look like you don't care about any of this."
"Why should I worry?" she answered casually. "Level 2000 snakes like that always die from something, so it's normal."
In truth, incidents like this had happened several times during the summoning processes that Sena conducted. There were almost always one or two people who became separated from the main group. Sena also knew that in their world, some people had powers they kept hidden.
Toshiro looked at Sena with an assessing gaze, and Sena could read his thoughts: *It seems Sena is very confident in her powers. She is indeed strong, but... someone who killed a level 2000 snake when they first arrived... what kind of power does that person have to be able to kill that snake? What's certain is that person must be very powerful.*
Sena smiled slightly seeing the concern on his face.
"Why are you smiling like that? Is there something funny?" he asked suspiciously.
"Uhh, nothing," she answered briefly, shifting her gaze to the window that displayed the palace garden view spanning almost five hectares with various exotic plants and flowers.
Toshiro sighed deeply. He stood up, walked about three steps toward the large window that was wide open, facing east, directly toward where the Silvanis forest was, about one hundred and fifty kilometers from this palace.
"Whatever it is," he said while looking outside, "we must be careful. We don't know what that person with power will do. Maybe we should find out about their abilities."
His firm voice echoed in this eight-by-ten-meter room.
"You worry too much, you know," she said as she got down from the bed and walked over to him. The marble floor felt cold against her bare feet. "But if doing that will make you feel better, just do it, okay."
Sena stood beside him, only about twenty centimeters apart. Outside, the sun was beginning to set, creating a golden panorama.
Toshiro continued to gaze outside with a distant look.
*Because they both arrived in a different place in this world compared to the others, they clearly don't have the System like the others now.* Toshiro thought.
The System was a tool that enabled heroes to increase their status, abilities, and understand this world more easily. Those who didn't receive the System would face much greater difficulties in this world.