It was a normal busy day in the guild hall of the Castle of Lions. Everyone was busy doing their own things while others were relaxing from their tiring hunt.
Kyla arrived at the hall, her lips pouting and her eyes showing how stressed she was.
"Hey, Vice!" Verna called as she spotted Kyla entering the hall.
Kyla saw Verna waving at her. She was having lunch with the rest of their party members. She walked toward them, and Akiro immediately grabbed an extra chair for her.
"Thanks," she said with very low energy.
"Something happened? You look very stressed," Akiro asked her.
"Some old bunch of rotten penis on the road."
Glecy, who was about to shove food into her mouth, wore a look of pure revulsion. Ryden just looked at Kyla with pure disbelief, while Akiro and Verna also showed grimaces of disgust.
"Ah, sorry," Kyla retorted when she remembered they were eating.
"You got into a fight with tiny eggplants," Ryden said, and he was serious about it.
"Ah, yeah. Sort of," Kyla agreed with the term being used. She sighed. "Those rotten—I mean, tiny eggplants were trying to persuade and recruit me to join their egg party."
"What? Those assholes!" Akiro muttered, controlling his burst of anger. What those tiny eggplants did was a total disrespect to his sister and their party. They definitely knew she had her own group but still tried to snatch her.
"What is an egg party? Do we have something like that now in the Kingdom?" Glecy asked. She took Kyla's words literally, which made the entire group look at her.
Ryden shook his head.
"Just focus on your food. I'll tell you the details later," Akiro told her.
Glecy nodded. "Okay. And if you guys are joining, I'm joining too."
Verna covered her mouth and looked away. She wanted to laugh, but they all eyed her.
"Just because they knew you had the holy sword and received the title of the hero. They wanted to ride your popularity," Akiro said while gritting his teeth.
"Hasn't father told you? There was a letter from yesterday asking for my hand."
"What?" The whole group reacted, except for Glecy, who was startled by their sudden on-point chorus. She even looked at Kyla's beautiful hands.
"I just saw father's irritated face last night while reading a letter, but he didn't say a word."
"Do you have any idea who sent that letter?" Verna asked.
"Viscount Derail."
"Oh, I know that Viscount!" Glecy chimed in. "But isn't he the so-called horny rabbit? Why would he need your hand? Does he need another hand squeezing his little penis?"
Akiro and Ryden snapped, faking loud coughs, while Verna completely lost her cool. She laughed her lungs out while slamming her hand against her chair's armrest. Kyla's jaw dropped at what Glecy had just said. Suddenly, their table became so noisy that even the other groups in the hall noticed them.
Glecy, who had no idea she had just dropped a bomb on the table, continued munching on her food.
"Keep your mouth shut, Glecy. You're spouting nonsense," Kyla said with a grimace on her face. They totally knew how Glecy thought. She was the literal brain cell. Idioms did not exist in her vocabulary.
"I think I'm taking Glecy's words. I mean, that Viscount doesn't have any children," Ryden said. "So who was he trying to betroth to you other than himself?"
"Ryden, never! As in, yuck. No!" Kyla hyperventilated with matching hand gestures. "You're not helping me, guys. Where's Captain?"
The whole group laughed, while Glecy let out a more menacing chuckle.
"Nope, Glecy. Not a word from you. Just finish your food," Kyla warned her.
"I just want to ask why you're looking for Solari?" Glecy didn't listen and blurted out her thoughts quickly.
"That's because he is more worth talking to."
"Oh?" Glecy's menacing smile widened even more. "Why not ask him to marry you instead?"
"That's—stop your nonsense."
"Hmph!"
Kyla shoved a spoonful of rice into Glecy's mouth. Her ears went completely red at what Glecy had said. Kyla silently wished she could just do that—if only their Captain would look at her as a woman and not just a partner in leading their party.
"He hasn't come back yet. He said he'd be gone for days because he had something important to tend to. But he didn't mention what it was," Akiro explained.
"Of course. Where else could he be but hunting monsters? He hasn't even told us a thing about what went on in the Knighthood Trial. Even our grandfather was asking about what had really happened back there."
Ryden massaged his nape. "Just let him be for a while. He'll be back in no time."
It was not that they didn't care about their leader. They just knew how terrifying he was even more than the monsters— whenever he got serious. Worrying about him was tiring and useless.
Kyla sighed again, her chin resting on her palms.
"Did you have your lunch?" Akiro asked.
"Really? You just asked me now? I've been ranting here for minutes already," she snapped.
"Sorry. Your news was too exciting, I forgot."
Verna and Ryden laughed at how these siblings dealt with each other every day. One moment they would be all-knowing and sympathetic toward one another, then in just one hour, they would become enemies.
"Your usual then?" Akiro stood up to make up with his sister.
Kyla nodded, her chin still resting on her palm.
"Guild Master!" Akiro greeted Nick when he saw him coming down the stairs.
"Hey, Aki! Good thing you're here. Where is the rest of your team?"
"Same spot."
"Going somewhere?"
"Ah, no. Just hunting food for K," Akiro answered the Guild Master, which made Nick laugh and gesture for him to go about his business.
Akiro watched him walk toward their group while he went to the counter and ordered food for Kyla. He wondered what the Guild Master could need from them. Did he have something for them to do?
"Is Nikolas brooding over his win in the Knighthood Trial? I haven't seen him since the event," Nick asked the Grand Abyss party.
"Hi there, Guild Master," Verna said, trying to offer Nick a seat, but he just waved her off and rested his hand on his hip.
"He just told us he had something to do," Ryden added.
"Tch! That brat," was the only reaction Nick could manage. He wanted to wring Erus' neck so badly— the guy had run off right after winning the trial.
"Guild Master, aren't we having a celebration for Solari's win?" Someone from a nearby table shouted. He belonged to a different party, but they were loyal supporters of the guild's top team— The Grand Abyss.
Nick scratched his head as if there were ticks on it, while the crowd who heard him suddenly had hope on their faces. They wanted a celebration. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and this was the first time the winner was from their own circle.
"Hey! Whoever can bring him here today will have unlimited wine for the rest of their life from this guild!" Nick announced, his voice echoing through the hall.
The hope and expectations suddenly died out like a fire. The people went back to whatever they were doing before that certain someone had asked about the party. They all pretended they hadn't even heard Nick's announcement.
Meanwhile...
While the Castle of Lions guild was searching for the missing winner of the Knighthood Trial, Erus was standing outside Uruja's hut. His eyes were gloomy, and his shoulders were slumped. He looked like a defeated soldier, despite holding a basket filled with various spices.
Uruja was startled to see him. She had thought he was still out there hunting beasts.
"Oh, my gosh! I thought you were a ghost! Why are you standing there like a lost pup? Why not just come in?" Uruja gave him a mouthful. "And what's with that look? Did you lose a fight?"
"Were there things I needed to know that you chose to hide from me?"
"Ha?" Uruja didn't get what he meant. "Will you get inside first and change your clothes," she told him. "Then, tell me what happened," she added.
Erus sighed, but he followed what she said. He placed the basket on the table, then went straight to the bathroom. He almost collided with Cana. Good thing she paused at the critical line. He just gave her a glance, then went inside.
Cana's brows furrowed as she stared at the closed bathroom door. She felt unease at how Erus was behaving. She could feel him being worn out and gloomy. Then, she found the basket of spices on the table.
"He got so many. These would last for a year," Uruja said while shaking her head. Her son went too far again.
"Mm... what has gotten into him? He looks super gloomy," Cana asked.
"I don't want to guess. I will ask him later. Would you help me in sorting these spices? He just tossed them in the basket at random."
"I can do it myself. Better talk to him first."
"Thanks," Uruja smiled, though she was hesitant and calculating Cana's movement. The way Cana stared at the bathroom where Erus was caught Uruja's attention. She felt that intimidating gaze, like it could read a soul.
"I'll do this outside so you two can talk. Don't worry, I'll stay far enough that my ears can't hear you," Cana said.
She was about to lift the basket when Erus stepped out of the bathroom. He was shirtless again, with only a towel hanging over his shoulder.
"Where are you going? It's getting dark already," he said.
"I..." Cana stopped. How would she even explain she was heading out to sort spices as night approached? Plus, her brain was kind of not braining at the perfect sight.
"Do you know how to cook?" He asked.
"Of course!" She answered fast.
He stepped closer and pulled all the spices out of the basket. He reached for something at the bottom, wrapped in broad leaves. There were five of them. No wonder the basket felt heavy.
"While we talk, you cook," he ordered.
Am I starting my slave tasks now? Cana thought to herself, though she wasn't complaining. She loved cooking. It was her hobby, after all.
"Got it."
Erus opened one of the bundles wrapped in broad leaves. Inside was meat, neatly cut and cleaned. He plucked a few spices and handed them to her.
"Use these," he said.
"It smells nice, and the meat is soft," Cana commented, running her fingers over the cut.
"That's horned rabbit meat."
"Horned rabbit? Ah, okay. I can handle it." Cana was surprised such a thing even existed in this world. She imagined a tiny unicorn hybrid.
On the other hand, Uruja who was supposed to be the one talking to Erus was cast aside. Once again, she had become a silent audience.
"Do you have any instructions on how you want this cooked?"
"Do it your way."
Cana smiled at his answer. She liked doing things her way, too.
"Copy! You can leave the rest to me."
She lightly pushed Erus to sit, and he just went along with it. Cana removed the spices and the other wrapped meats from the table. She put them all back in the basket before heading to the stone sink to rinse the meat and the spices.
"About what I asked you a while ago, Mom. Is there something I need to know about my past? Is this my first time visiting here?"
"Ah." Uruja gently pulled out a chair and sat across from Erus, the table acting as their only barrier. "Why are you asking me this now? Did something happen in the forest?"
"I asked you first."
Uruja sighed. Her son's patience was short when it came to such matters.
"I'm not hiding anything from you. I don't know what happened either, but you have forgotten your childhood memories ever since that day I almost lost you," she chose to explain. "It's not your first time here. This is your first home— and your birthplace."
"What? And you didn't even tell me about it?"
Erus was about to slam the table when slender fingers touched his fist and raised his index finger. He looked at the owner of the hand— Cana was standing beside him. He thought she was trying to stop him, but she wasn't.
"Fire," she said. She was holding a black candle, its wick pointed at his index finger.
He had no choice but to light it using his fire magic.
"Thanks." She lightly tapped his shoulder before going back to her own business.
Cana's simple gesture made him relax. It was as if the coldness of her hand was a simple therapy.
Uruja was thankful for what Cana did. Otherwise, her heart would have jumped out of her rib cage. But the way Cana tapped his shoulder while her eyes remained fixed on Uruja made her trust Cana. Her look was soft and reassuring.