Nick was still a bit dizzy, and his head felt like it was being hammered from last night's booze. He could not compose himself and was still lying on the couch while Erus spoke about the Teumessian fox that Akiro and Ryden had discovered during their mission. He wanted to react, but all he could do now was nod. He knew it was an important and urgent matter, but with his head throbbing, how could he even give instructions?
Erus was on the verge of losing his patience. He wanted to throw Nick out of the window right now. He felt like he was spouting nonsense because Nick wouldn't even sit up. Erus doubted if Nick understood what he was saying.
Knock! Knock!
He turned his gaze to the door and saw Ryden enter holding the snacks. Cana followed behind, empty-handed.
When did Ryden become Cana's slave?
Erus was surprised when Nick sat up and stared at Cana as if she were some ghost.
"Why? Why is she here?" he asked, pointing at Cana.
"She registered in the guild," Erus simply replied.
"Oh, yeah... That's it. I forgot."
"Seems like you can talk after all," Erus' tone turned more serious. He was irritated that Nick had given Cana his full attention. He thought Nick was still suffering from a hangover.
"I just can't believe that everything from last night was real and that you even brought her here," Nick reasoned, and it was no lie. "What's her name again?"
"She's Cana."
"And her hunter rank?"
"B."
"Did you sign her up for your party already?"
"Hey, Nick. Are you that interested in my apprentice that you even forgot you still have a hangover?" Erus almost lost his cool at the sudden questions coming from Nick.
"Ah, chill, man. I'm only asking," Nick said, but deep inside, he was stunned at how Erus reacted. He was never like this with the other girls on his team.
What did this so-called apprentice do to Erus?
Cana and Ryden stood on the other side, watching the two bicker. Neither of them intended to stop Erus and Nick. Ryden had no standing with these men, and Cana was entertained by how Erus was fuming.
Silence reigned for a few minutes.
"What's your say about that fox? Do we handle it, or will we tell the other guilds?" Erus asked.
Nick sighed. The question made his head throb more.
"They will not believe us until we catch it and show them," Nick answered.
"Then my team will handle it. Do we have your approval?"
Cana looked at Ryden, who was quiet beside her. He looked uncomfortable with how Erus and Nick were talking.
"Shall we eat those now?" she mumbled, whispering to Ryden.
It was then he remembered the food he was still holding. He gave it all to Cana, which left her a bit confused. But she accepted it and walked toward the wooden table between the two couches where Erus and Nick sat. She placed the snacks on the table. Only taking the snack she had ordered, she went back to Ryden's side as if nothing had happened.
Nick sighed again. "Do it your way then." He could not argue much longer, especially when it came to Erus. "Just tell me anything you'll need for it."
"Only Akiro and Ryden are enough. But we will need access to the Holy Library of Forbidden Books," Erus said.
"But it is only accessible to those of royal blood. The palace will definitely force their way into this mission if we inform them just to get a pass."
Erus threw a sharp gaze at the table. He knew the mission would be impossible without the palace mediating. He didn't want to work with the palace people anymore. He preferred wiping them out.
He was startled when suddenly a warm hand touched his left shoulder where the Reaper's mark lay. It was Cana, suppressing his mark. He had not noticed it was acting up again.
The blue flame energy that Cana was releasing was directly absorbed by the mark. Nick and Ryden saw it, but they had no idea about the Reaper's mark. They only saw her placing her hand, wreathed in aura, on Erus' shoulder. Still, they both gasped at the energy they were witnessing.
"Thanks," Erus said, sighing deeply to relax his emotions.
The exchange left Nick and Ryden confused.
"What's her ability?" Nick could not stop himself from asking.
Before Erus could answer, Cana already showed him. They were startled by the intensity of the blue flame, even though it was only palm-sized. But it seemed like nothing to Erus, even with the heat right beside his face.
Nick looked at Erus with a lot of questions in his eyes. The blue flame Cana weaved was not the same as those of other blue flame users. This was far hotter and more intimidating. They knew that Erus liked blue flames, but only the specific ones—the true blue flame.
Could it be...
When Cana closed her palm, the flame faded in an instant.
So, Cana was not some typical girl from the road that Erus had picked up. Nick also came to realize that if Cana was a true blue flame user, her hunter rank did not match. Something was not right. But knowing Erus, he was a master of keeping secrets.
Meanwhile, Erus felt a sudden change in Cana's vibe when she suppresed the Reaper. Her lunatic side had taken over again, acting mighty and somewhat protective.
But why would she do it in front of Nick?
Before Erus could speak again, Cana handed him a pack of sweets. It was not opened yet. He did not ask any questions and simply opened the packaging. It was a bit confusing for those handling it for the first time because the packaging was intended to keep the food from spoiling quickly. There was a magic trick to opening it—the reason why it was sold less often than those without the special wrap.
Erus took one sweet before handing the whole pack back to Cana.
"Thank you," Cana said before returning to where Ryden was standing.
Witnessing Erus' odd behavior yet again when it came to Cana, Nick realized he should not be surprised anymore. It was just a pack of snacks compared to the way Erus had shared his food with her last night.
Ryden also told himself that there was nothing wrong with how Erus was acting, trying to convince himself that everything was normal.
"Why are you guys standing there? You can sit with us while we wait for Akiro," Nick said.
"Are you sure, Guild Master?" Ryden asked, noticing that Nick had been massaging his temples from time to time.
"Yeah. I'll ask Glecy to treat me later. By the way, where is that kid?"
"She went to the meeting room to collect her things, but she did not tell us if she'll be heading here," Ryden replied.
Without a word, Cana sat right next to Erus and invited Ryden to sit beside her. Erus noticed that Cana was not hostile toward Ryden, even though this was the first time she had met him. She spoke to Ryden the same way she casually talked to him.
Ryden, still a bit stiff, took the seat beside her. He glanced at Erus, half-expecting a reprimand for being so close to Cana but Erus remained silent, while he grabbed a pack of spicy chip on the table.
"You like spicy, right? Try this."
Cana looked at the chips Erus had pulled out of the packaging to share with her. It indeed looked delicious, but she could see too many grounded crystals on it—too much salt. She still took it, though, because she did not want to disrespect his kind gesture. She only took a tiny bite, and the salt felt like anesthesia on her tongue. Plus, the chip was not crunchy at all; it was stretchy and hard. It hadn't been cooked or dried at the right temperature. The spiciness was good, but overall, it failed her tastebuds.
Why would they like such a salty snack? Didn't people here get kidney disease from too much salt?
Erus stared at Cana when her brows twitched in dissatisfaction. Her eyes were judging the chip with its tiny bite mark.
"Not to your liking?" Erus asked.
"It's too salty and overheated—or overdried. Isn't this supposed to be crunchy? I mean, I'm not complaining, but this could be improved," Cana replied in her natural tone. There was no hint of irritation or exaggeration.
"Crunchy like the ones in your pub?" Nick butted in, sounding excited. "Would you want to teach the chef here how to make them?"
"Hmm!" Erus cleared his throat. "She has obligations to me, plus her talent isn't something given for free," he said in his casual, stoic tone.
Nick didn't say anything and just scratched his head. He almost forgot—Cana was Erus' responsibility in the first place. Just because Erus was showing his gentle side to her didn't mean others had the right to treat her casually. He acted this way with his other members, too, but never toward just one specific person. He usually treated them equally, but now it seemed a massive change was coming to the Grand Abyss.
Erus turned to her. "What do you say?"
"No objections at all. But could I write a recipe note about these chips? I'm worried that eating a whole pack would be bad for the hunters' health. Also, the chicharon?"
Erus nodded.
Cana was actually pursuing her own self-interest. Knowing Erus was eating those kinds of unhealthy snacks was a red flag for his health. He might seem robust and healthy from the outside, but his internal organs were likely already suffering. Now that she had become his apprentice, there was no way she would let him continue eating such food. As for the chicharon—that was about setting a perimeter between Erus and Nick. If there was good chicharon here at the guild, there would be no more reason for Nick to pester Erus at his inn.
Well, that was what she thought.
Nick was also a hardheaded man. It was difficult for even the top party in the guild to stop him from whatever chaotic plans he wanted to execute. So, how could a mere snack stop him?
Nick smiled. "Thank you, Cana." Though deep inside, he could not believe how fast Erus had agreed with her.
"Anything for Erus," Cana answered, looking Nick straight in the eyes.
She had no idea that while Nick was baffled, Erus was grinning after hearing her say it. Cana was a badass for that, and it was satisfying for Erus to see how shocked Nick was by the blunt rejection.
Even Ryden looked away to hide his smirk. That was a direct punch.
After a few minutes, the door opened and a body was forcefully pushed inside. Akiro followed behind, the clear culprit of the act.
The body belonged to the bulky man Cana immediately recognized by his sour face. He was the one who had tried to hit on her back at the pub.
The man immediately dropped to his knees, his forehead touching the floor. "Please forgive me. I didn't know she was a member of yours," the man said, shaking with fear.
Cana's brow creased as she looked at Ryden, but he simply shook his head. She knew he hadn't reported what happened at the pub to Erus yet. She was just beginning to think this man must have offended another one of Erus' party members when Erus suddenly stood up from his seat. Her eyes followed him.
She was completely confused about what was happening.
"Cana, what exactly did he do? Did he try touching you?"
"Me?" Cana was still surprised, even though she now had a slight hint of what was happening. She stood up and came closer to Erus. "He just offered his token to pay for my order, but there was no touching."
"I didn't like the look on his face when he did it. Should I erase this ugly face of his?"
"W...what?!" Cana was completely dumbfounded. "I mean, you saw it? Wait. What do you mean by erasing his face? I'm okay if you're going to beat him, but nothing more brutal than that."
Meanwhile, the man on the floor had peed his pants because he knew this was his end.
"I want to peel it off. He clearly saw you with Glecy."
Cana saw Erus' eyes turn crimson again. She stopped him by blocking his path with her right arm. She had already seen this exact expression on him when there were bandits on their way to the city—he was ready for a bloodbath.
Erus stopped, completely bewildered by what Cana had just done. She had the audacity to stop him without a shred of hesitation. He shared the same thought with the others in the room.
"What's your name?" Cana coldly asked the man, shocking everyone in the room. Her tone carried Erus' level of pressure.
"W... Warek," the man answered, his voice shaking violently.
Erus was confused. Why would Cana even bother asking this fool's name?
"Which party do you belong to?" Cana added.
The man hesitated for a moment, but he could feel the pressure of an invisible knife pressed against his throat, ready to slit it at any second.
"Pendagram."
Only then did Cana lower her arm, unblocking Erus' path.
"Will you please give him another chance?" Cana's voice sounded pleading, but her eyes were entirely cold when she looked at Erus. Then, she darted a deadly glance back at the man.
Erus, who clearly understood the hidden meaning behind Cana's look, composed himself. "Okay."
Nick, Akiro, and Ryden had no more doubts now about why Erus was giving Cana a pass on the strict rules that governed everyone else. Cana seemed darker than she looked.
"Out!" Akiro shouted at the man, who immediately crawled out, stumbling multiple times down the corridor.
Then, a shadow wolf emerged from Ryden's own shadow—his contracted familiar. Without a word from Ryden, it sniffed the waste left on the floor by Warek and vanished into thin air.
Meanwhile, Erus' eyes returned to normal. He lightly tapped Cana's back. It was a clear recognition that her strategic plan had passed. And Nick had now believed Erus that Cana was his real apprentice.