"Ooo! The number of guards prowling about has increased by a lot. I wonder what happened while I was sleeping…"
Raki commented, his voice trailing as he looked through the inn's window, watching as the large group of knights prowled the streets of Rabona.
"Ah, that might be because of something we did last night."
"Eh? But weren't you guys just going to meet the priest? How come that led to security tightening? Nevermind that…"
He slowly only turned back to his two companions, teeth gritted and veins thickening on his forehead as he pointed—specifically at Seth as his voice rose.
"What I want to know is… Why are you still in that position?!"
On the bed, Seth and Clare lie… way too comfortable for his little heart.
They were laid out in a spooning position, looking as if it's the most natural thing in the world.
Seth was behind her, still in nothing but his boxers from last night, completely unbothered by the presence of another male in the room.
One of his arms casually draped over her side and onto her stomach resting it there like it belonged while his other propping up his head, looking straight at Raki shamelessly.
Something like this could've never happened in his previous life—touching a woman I mean.
Within his whole 21 years of life, other than his female family members and a few classmates, he had never interacted much with the opposite gender let alone touching.
But with no social pressure from his old life and cheats with a better looking appearance, his confidence skyrocketed through the atmosphere allowing him free thinking.
Now here he was, cuddling with a woman and flaunting it to another guy.
Heh, I'm living the high life.
Seth smiled, thinking to himself.
Throughout all this, Clare just laid there. Her face completely neautral like she in any being used as a body pillow.
If someone who didn't know them saw this scene, they would naturally think they were a couple.
"H-hey Clare," Raki turned to Clare, his voice shaking. "You guys didn't do anything, right?"
His voice sounded small. Faint hope in his tone.
"Anything…?"
She thought, remembering their planning from last night before nodding.
CRACK!
Raki felt his heart shatter into a million pieces as his eyes lost their highlights and body went stiff.
"It seems we have broken him." Seth commented.
Clare had no idea her response had broken the spirits of the young man.
Both her and Seth slowly got up from their position as his previous black top and metal footwear formed over his body as she changed into her black gown and robe.
"All that aside, we're heading to the cathedral to get any updates on the yoma and confirm whether it's still there. You coming?"
Raki recovered and said yes.
Soon the three of them traveled to the first floor of the inn and saw the innkeeper conversing with two knights at the counter.
Hearing their footsteps, the three people turned towards Seth's group.
"There they are," the innkeeper smiled, calling out to them. "Over here. These knights want to speak with you a bit."
Seth raised an eyebrow as they came forward.
"What seems to be the problem?"
"Are you the head of the family?" One knight suddenly stepped towards Seth, his voice cold.
Seth was a bit taller than the knight, so his intimidation tactic had no effect so he just casually answered.
"Yep, that's me. Is something the matter?"
"We're looking for yoma. Last night, we found half eaten bodies in the cathedral so we'd like for you to come with us."
The knight stared straight into Seth's face, his voice commanding, giving the impression there was no room for refusal.
"I must ask, do you think we have something to do with their deaths?" Seth asked, smiling, totally ignoring the man's words.
Knight #2 then joined in. "We have a reasonable suspicion that you may be connected. You would be wise to come with us."
His hand rested on the hilt of his sword. Hearing these words from the knight, Seth straightened slightly. A subtle pressure began exuding his frame.
Biological signals and traits gained from the various predatorial animals began resurfacing slowly.
"Is that a threat?"
Everyone sweat dropped as nervousness creeped in slowly.
The air grew tense as Seth and knight #1 stared at each other. With every passing second, the pressure from Seth grew stronger, weighing the man down.
At this moment, direct eye contact with Seth is no different than having a gun pointed at your head.
"Honey… let's not get into trouble, please."
The atmosphere was swiftly broken by Clare who held Seth's arm tightly to her chest, soft pleading in her voice.
Seth was caught off guard, he turned to find her looking up at him, eyes slightly watery, ready to burst.
The inn fell silent as everyone's eyes were on Clare.
Ah, I forgot we're playing family…
The pressure from Seth dissipated slowly as he scratched his head and smiled wryly.
"Forgive me, soldiers… it seems my rude behavior might've caused my fiancé distress."
The knights' shoulders eased as knight #1 shook this head.
"N-no, forgive us. It was our behavior that caused the tension." Knight #1 sighed as he turned to knight #2. "Let's go. We're done here."
"Y-yea."
They quickly left the inn, leaving the three and the innkeeper's eyes trained at the door.
Seth then turned to the innkeeper. "We'll be leaving now. Be back in a jiffy." He waved him off.
"Y-yea."
Once they too passed the door frame, the old innkeeper fell back into his chair and sighed heavily as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"It felt like I was gonna die there… That young man must've been through a lot for his family."
He totally thought the dangerous feeling Seth gave was from his need to protect his family.
….
"Hey, what was that back there? I didn't know you could act like that. Do it again."
On the streets, both guys turned to Clare with fascination in their eyes as they remembered how she acted a minute ago.
By now, she had dropped the act and her face had already returned to its usual state but the contrast between the two were jarring.
It's like a whole different personality.
"Covert operations are part of our job. We learned to carry ourselves so we can blush like an aristocrat or smile like a prostitute."
Clare dropped those words like a bomb.
"P-prostitute?"
"Eeeh…"
"Are you interested?" Clare asked Seth as she saw him rubbing his chin in thought.
Seth nodded swiftly but he leaned down to her ears and whispered something.
"Ok. I'll do that then." She responded to whatever he might've told her.
"Thanks. I'm looking forward to it!"
"Hey! What did you say to her?!"
"Nothing kiddo. Grown up stuff."
"Com'on!"
"Hahaha!"
Like that, they reached the church, met father Vincent and received the update before they went back to the inn.
And so, time quickly flew by…
***
"Nngh…"
Inside a small room in the knight's barracks, a young man lying on a bed suddenly began moving.
His eyes slowly opened, seeing the familiar ceiling of his quarters, he turned to find it's already dark out.
"How long have I been out…" he wondered groggily, rubbing his face as he emerged from under the covers.
Glancing down at himself, seeing that he was still wearing the clothes from before, he headed for the door.
Stepping out into the corridor, he saw a few guards stationed inside the barracks to keep watch over it while the others were out.
One of them immediately spotted him and called out.
"Oi, Sid! You're finally awake!"
Sid turned to the knight.
"Yea, I'm up. How long have I been out?"
"Been out since last night. If you're wondering where Galk is, he's in his room. Though he's not in great shape."
Tch!
He thanked the person and headed for his friend's room.
Galk, like him, is a soldier of the holy city of Rabona and a very close partner to him.
The two of them had caught a pair of suspicious individuals on the roofs of the buildings before and engaged them before they were knocked down.
Sid quickly spotted Galk's room.
He didn't bother knocking. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"…Damn."
Galk was lying on the bed at the far corner of the room wrapped up like a mummy.
Bandages covered most of his torso, especially around the chest where the armor had taken the hit.
Sid clicked his tongue and walked over, dragging a chair beside the bed before dropping into it.
"You look like shit."
Galk let out a weak breath that was probably meant to be a laugh.
"Yeah… feeling like one too."
Sid crossed his arms.
"…You alive at least?"
"Barely," Galk muttered. "But better than before."
Sid nodded. "Good."
Silence sat between them for a moment.
"…So," Sid said, leaning forward a bit, resting his elbows on his knees. "What do you remember?"
Galk's eyes shifted slightly, staring up at the ceiling.
"Not much. One second I was behind them… next thing I know, I was lying on the road."
He winced slightly, his hand twitching over his bandaged chest.
Sid nodded in understanding. He himself couldn't keep up with what happened.
Galk let out a slow breath.
"It didn't even feel like I got hit by a person… felt like I got slammed by a damn battering ram."
Sid's expression darkened.
Galk turned to Sid and asked. "…What about the other one? The girl, I mean?"
Sid shook his head.
"Too fast. I didn't even see her move."
Sid leaned back again, staring at the ceiling now.
"…So basically, we were no match."
"Pretty much."
Another pause.
"…You think they're the ones?" Sid asked quietly.
Galk didn't answer immediately.
"…I don't know," he said finally. "But… they didn't feel normal."
Sid let out a small scoff.
"Yeah, no shit."
He rubbed the back of his head, thinking.
"…Captain's already on edge about the yoma," he added. "And now this happens."
Galk turned his head slightly toward him.
"…But something's off," Sid muttered.
"Hm?"
Sid's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I doubt they were yomas… they didn't finish us off."
Galk didn't respond.
Because he was wondering the same thing.
Sid stood up after a bit, stretching slightly.
"…Get some rest," he said. "Try not to die before I come back."
Galk snorted
"No promises."
Sid smirked faintly and turned toward the door.
But before he stepped out—
"…Hey, Sid."
He paused, glancing back.
"…Be careful."
Sid waved him off casually.
"Yeah, yeah."
But his eyes said otherwise.
Because whatever they ran into last night—
It was definitely them.
And tonight, something told him they might run into each other again.
Chapter 22 end.
———————————————
Clare not sensing the yoma fully is a plot hole on my part.