“C’mon, I already said I’m sorry...! It wasn’t even my fault!”

  “Give it up, Sin. I could hear your ughter from my room... I doubt she is forgiving you anytime soon.”

  Having finished with their morning training, Sincir is currently on his way to the guild with the girls.

  As expected, Eleanor was slightly upset by what happened... Which is to say, she has yet to look at him since then. Really, she needs to learn how to rex a little...

  Ena, on the other hand, has bags under her eyes, and was spacing out through most of their training. Sincir considered asking how she is doing several times already, only to decide against saying anything, in the end.

  Unfortunately, there is not much he can say that would help her at this point. He wanted to keep things non sexual between the three of them, but since things have gotten to this point, they have no choice, other than seeing things through until the end...

  Ugh, what a miserable view the two of them make together...

  By the time they arrive, Sincir is gd to spot the guild’s open doors.

  “So, any ideas about what we might be doing today...?”

  “Goblins,” Eleanor grumbles, her voice leaving no room for discussion.

  Well, at least she replied this time... After the morning she had, it is no surprise she wants to kill something (and that something being goblins may or may not have to do with the fact they resemble Rez).

  “Ena, are you okay with killing goblins again?”

  Ena opens her mouth, hesitates for a moment, then closes it again, shaking her head.

  “Rez told me about her old tribe. I’m still not sure killing them on sight is the right thing to do, but they’re dangerous if left alone... I can understand that much.”

  “...Goblins it is, then.”

  As they arrive at the guild, Sincir realizes the pce is rather busy, compared to its usual morning traffic.

  “Did something happen?” he asks as he inspects the groups of adventurers around the guild’s lobby, their whispered conversations denouncing their restless energy as they inspect their weapons and gear...

  Something about the pce seems different this morning, but Sincir can’t quite put his finger on it with only a couple days of experience as an adventurer under his belt.

  Ena shrugs, her expression just as confused as his. And since Eleanor is paying them no mind, having already headed toward the contract board, Sincir scratches his head.

  After a moment of deliberation, he decides to approach one of the familiar faces in the crowd, an archer woman who he remembers having spotted a couple of times these past few days.

  “Er... Excuse me?”

  The woman looks up from her bow as he approaches, imitated by some of the nearby adventures, who Sincir quickly realizes are most likely a part of her party.

  “Yes?” she asks, throwing Ena a quick gnce, then settling her gave over him.

  “I was wondering if something happened... I hadn't seen most of the adventurers here before today.”

  “Right... Since you’re new, you wouldn’t know about this,” the woman comments.

  “They’re divers,” one of her friends adds, “The expedition returned st night, so they’ll be buzzing around the guild for a while, before setting off again.”

  Ah... That would expin it.

  “Do they always dive in such rge groups?” Sincir asks.

  The adventures exchange gnces.

  “You haven’t seen a nest up close, have you? Then again, most people haven’t,” the archer woman says, chuckling, “Some people dive in small groups in the hopes of making some quick money, but they keep themselves to upper levels. Real expeditions require a lot of supplies, which means you’ll want enough people to protect said supplies...”

  “I’ve heard of A-rank parties going in by themselves, if they have some sort of artefact to handle the food, and a mage to handle the water,” the friend adds, “But it’s risky... If the artefact breaks, or the mage dies, you might become stranded without supplies; Not the most fun way to go, if you ask me.”

  “I see...” Sincir says, nodding thankfully, “I take it these nests are much rger than I gave them credit for, then.”

  “At least a couple of weeks of diving, for most of them, to reach deeper levels,” the woman says.

  “With those monsters around every corner, progress is painfully slow, and our maps turn useless every couple of years...” the friend adds, “Walls rearranging themselves, paths disappearing... It’s a nightmare.”

  Shit... And on top of all of that, a group of cultists that might be hiding themselves within the pce. Just great.

  “Do you happen to know which nest these guys came from?” Sincir asks.

  “Oh, with how covered in mud they were st night? We don’t even need to ask. Besides, Insect Burrows has been a sughter house these past few years, so it’s rare for anyone to approach the pce, these days.”

  Although their tone is cheerful enough,Sincir can see the tension behind the adventures’ seemingly casual posture. Of course, the nests’ growth might spell doom for the city, so they have a good reason to be nervous.

  That being said, if they are right about the cultists, there is a good chance the demon worshipers are connected to Insect Burrows’ spike in deaths, as they’d want to keep the guild away from the pce...

  After thanking the adventurers for the information, Sincir walks away from them to search for Eleanor.

  There are still questions he’d like to ask, including about the crystal he saw inbuilt in the woman’s bow, but he feels it’d be impolite to ask any more than this, right now.

  His first encounter with a nest creature the previous day made him very curious about the inner workings of those crystals... He’ll have to find the time to inspect one of them from up close, at some point.

  Realizing Ena is looking at him, Sincir throws her a look. “What?”

  “The... Thing we were talking about st night. Insect Burrows is a part of you know who’s property, right?” she whispers.

  Sincir rolls his eyes. “If you know we shouldn’t be talking about it in public, then contain your curiosity until we’re back home... But you’re probably right on your guess about what has been killing those adventurers. I was thinking the same.”

  Ena sighs. “Fuck.”

  “Yeah... Let’s keep this from Eleanor for now, okay? You can tell her about it once our job for today is done... She is already struggling to stay focused as it is.”

  Ena throws him a strange look, then facepalms, pointing over his head at something behind him.

  Sincir closes his eyes. “...Since when?”

  “The beginning,” Eleanor’s says, her voice containing enough ice cold anger to make him flinch.

  “Wait, Eleanor-”

  “Good enough to take your cock up my ass, but not good enough for your trust, is it?” she murmurs next to his ear, leaning against his back as bashes two contracts onto his chest, “Here; Why don’t you go flirt with your precious guild receptionist? I’ll try to stop myself from losing my cool, in the meantime.”

  As she pulls away, then begins to head for the exit, Sincir groans, gring at Ena.

  “You could’ve warned me!”

  “I thought you knew!”

  “Fuck... Just go after her and make sure she doesn't go far, okay? I’ll be out in a minute.”

  Unbelievable. This is what he gets for trying to be considerate of her feelings... The previous day, she was clearly bothered when they realized cultists were behind the disappearances, so he thought it’d be best not to have her worrying over it when they’re about to go goblin hunting...

  Damn it! Why is today, of all days, the one where Mary’s counter is busy?! And by three people, no less...! Stupid nest divers...

  “Hey, kid, it isn’t polite for newcomers to cut the line.”

  Sincir is tapping his foot impatiently behind the st person in line when one of the adventurers nearby approaches him from behind.

  Throwing the rge man a look, he frowns. “Huh? I didn’t cut anyone. Are your eyes-”

  “I was clearly waiting for my turn.”

  “What?! Then wait in the actual fucking line next time! How in the fuck was I supposed to know?!”

  The man grimaces. “Move, kid, while I’m still asking politely.”

  ...Is this guy for real? Even if he did cut the line (which he didn’t), fighting over a three person line it is a bit much, no?

  “Now, now, why don’t you both calm down?” a second man says, smiling mollifying as he approaches the two of them and leans his hand over the other’s shoulder, “I can testify Henry over here was supposed to be waiting in line... Look, he has a contract that hasn’t been stamped yet, right?”

  Sincir throws the rge man’s hand a look, realizing he does indeed have a contract with him... Was he just too zy to wait in the actual line? By all the stupid...

  Sincir sighs. You know what? This is so beneath him, it isn’t worthy stressing over. And as much as the ck of respect bothers him, he has bigger things to worry about at the moment, and as such, after a moment of locked stares, Sincir simply scratches his head and makes way for Henry, gesturing for him to pass ahead.

  “...Should’ve just done so from the beginning,” the rge murmurs grumpily.

  Sincir rolls his eyes.

  Whatever.

  The other man, who interfered, smiles at him. “Thank you... With how things have been going tely, we’re all a bit on edge.”

  Sincir shrugs. “I won’t promise to be this nice if it happens again.”

  Henry snorts, causing Sincir to grimace.

  Should he break a couple of his limbs, after all?

  “Haha, sorry about him... You’re a strange kid, aren’t you? Name is William, by the way. Mind if I join this line...? After you, of course.”

  Ugh. Today really isn’t his day...

  “...Suit yourself. Sincir.”

  The man nods. “I thought as much. Not many kids around the pce...”

  “Don’t call me a kid.”

  William ughs again. “Fair enough. Have you heard of Dexia, Sincir?”

  “Who hasn’t...? You graduated from there?”

  “Ah, so you’ve noticed I’m a mage?”

  “Hard not to, when you’re carrying such a pointlessly huge staff around... You should be careful, or people might start thinking you’re trying to compensate for something.”

  As some of adventurers around start ughing, William blushes, throwing them dirty looks before turning toward Sincir again.

  “Okay, maybe I deserved that one for butting in... But I think we should talk sometime. I couldn’t help but notice you’re a human...”

  “And you’re curious about my magical skills, considering my young age?”

  William scratches his head, then shrugs, smiling at him. “I suppose there is no point in denying it, after coming this far... Does it help if I say I’ll treat you to something nice?”

  Is this how girls feel when some annoying bastard is trying to pick them up...? Because if so, now he feels bad for all of the times he has pyed the role of the annoying bastard in the past.

  “Ah, this feels as if I’m treating you like a kid again, doesn’t it...?” William continues once he doesn’t immediately respond, “Look, I’ll make it worth your time...”

  Sincir sighs. “Are you a part of the dive party?”

  “We actually rotate members, but yes, I dive with them most of the time. I’m an earth mage, so my magic comes in handy often...”

  Sincir considers it... William looks rather young, but his staff carries one of the crystals he is interested in, which means an exchange of information in between the two of them might not be such a bad deal for him, if he menages to come up with a convincing enough lie to expin his skills...

  “Have you ever been to Insect Burrows?”

  William seems to hesitate. “Well... Most expeditions sent there were a bit before my time, but I have visited a couple of times for clean up duty, yes.”

  “...Meaning?”

  “Right, you wouldn’t know about it, being new to the guild; Since the nests are so close from the city, we send extermination parties to clean up the upper floors every now and then, as a way to reduce the risk of an outbreak...”

  Sincir raises an eyebrow. “Even Garden of Fire?”

  “Of course... The elementals are a pain in the ass, but they’re not invincible for our A-ranking members... And Celia is also involved ,whenever they go there.”

  The half-dragon girl, huh? He must’ve missed her these past couple of days... Shame, he wanted to tease her some more.

  Sincir sighs. “Fine, I suppose I can spare you some time ter, though I won’t promise I’ll answer all of your questions.”

  William beams. “Then it is settled! Forgive me for my forwardness, but since I don’t know when I’ll be leaving town again-”

  “Yeah, yeah, just tell me a time and a pce... Dinner would be better, except for today; My schedule is already full.”

  Once he is done arranging a meeting with William, it is finally Sincir’s turn to hand in his contracts, which he does while meeting Mary’s cold blue eyes and smiling apologetically.

  “You’re lovely as usual, Mary... Not wearing your hair in ponytail today?”

  “...Who were you again?”

  “Ouch! You know, I like your hair up... But it isn’t bad like this, either. You should do it more often...”

  Mary grimaces. “I’m feeling like shaving it off, right about now.”

  Sincir pauses, then smiles. “You know, actually, I really like your clerk uniform...”

  As she is about to stamp his contracts, Mary freezes. Then, the corner of her lips goes up, only to immediately become a thin line again as she raises her gaze to meet his.

  “...It was derisive.”

  Sincir snorts. “Sure it was, love. Anyway, what day works better for you?”

  Mary sighs. “Why didn’t you fight him? With how you handled Zarod, I know you’re strong enough to get your point across without raising too much of a fuss.”

  Sincir cocks his head. Does she mean Henry the Stupid? He didn’t know she was watching... Then again, this is the line for her counter, so it’d have been weird if she hadn’t seen it.

  “Well, I thought about how I’d be causing trouble for you if I fought right here, so...”

  Looking utterly unconvinced, Mary crosses her arms, leaning back against her chair. “This is your only chance; Don’t blow it.”

  After a moment of facing her piercing gaze, Sincir clicks his tongue. “Fine; I thought he wasn’t worth the trouble. If it happens again, I’m probably going to break enough of his bones so that he can’t look down on me for a good while without someone to help him stand.”

  Mary rolls her eyes. “Would that prove something?”

  “It’d teach him to stand properly in the fucking line... Also, you can’t tell me it doesn’t bother you when he is causing trouble around here.”

  Mary analyzes him for a couple of seconds, then sighs. “...Fine.”

  Sincir blinks. Is she...?

  “Fine as in...?”

  “What do you want with me, exactly?”

  “Honestly?”

  “I’m begging you.”

  “Sex.”

  Mary blinks.

  “Also, I’m curious about your injury.”

  Mary closes her eyes, her expression one of utter exasperation... Then she chuckles. “I can’t believe it. Gods, I must’ve lost my mind...”

  Sincir beams. “At what time do you leave this junk?”

  Mary points a finger at him. “Hold right there; I want to make it clear-”

  “That you’re not looking for a retionship? Yeah, I get it. How about this: If after our first night together you don’t want seconds, then I’ll use another counter from there on, even if yours is empty.”

  Mary grimaces. “I never said I was having sex with you.”

  Sincir raises an eyebrow. “Neither did I. I meant a second date... What were you thinking about?”

  Mary facepalms, cursing under her breath as she does so. “And I already regret it...”

  Sincir chuckles. “Too bad, but it’s too te now... Do you prefer beer or wine?”

  Mary stares at him from in between her fingers for a moment, then sighs. “Beer... An hour before sundown, if you don’t mind me wearing my uniform.”

  Sincir smiles. “Nah, I told you I like it, didn’t I...? Two day from now works for you?”

  After another sigh, Mary finally stamps the contracts Eleanor picked, before sliding them in his direction as she meets his gaze once more. “I’ll wait for five minutes; I’d be punctual.”

  “I’ll have trouble sleeping until it happens...”

  She snorts. “I’m sure you will. Now scram... I have a job to do, however irritating it may be.”

  Once Sincir grabs the contracts and turns to leave, he realizes William is gaping at him.

  ...Oh, right. He had nearly forgotten he was back there.

  “And you, don’t forget to bring your stupidly rge staff to our date... I’ll wait for five minutes; I’d be punctual, if I were you.”

  William’s mouth finally snaps closed. “I’ll... be there.”

  “Good.”

  Sincir’s good mood st for about two minutes, which is the time he takes to walk outside the guild and spot Eleanor leaning against the building, her eyes closed and her arms crossed.

  Ena, who is standing by her with awkward smile on her face, raises her palms once she sees him, shrugging.

  ...Great help as usual, partner.

  Approaching the two of them, Sincir clears his throat. “I got the contracts approved. We better get going.”

  Eleanor doesn’t move. “What took you so long? Did you finally manege to get the clerk to lower her panties for you?”

  Sincir sighs. “Look, about before-”

  “I know.”

  “...What?”

  “I know what you were trying to do. I’m not stupid.”

  “Then-”

  “That doesn’t mean I forgive you.” Eleanor finally opens her eyes to stare at him, blue irises gleaming coldly. “Sincir, have you forgotten why I agreed to become your subject and pupil?”

  Shit... He was rather hoping she had forgotten about it.

  “No... No, of course I haven’t.”

  “When?”

  “When we... Fuck, I don’t know! It’ll happen eventually, okay?! I haven’t forgotten about it, and I have no intention of going back on my word, so would it kill you to rex a little?!”

  Eleanor clenches her jaw. “I’ll rex once his body is beneath the earth, and his Soul condemned to Hell... Not a second sooner.”

  Sincir groans, throwing his hands up as he does so. “It won’t make you feel any better to kill him...! It won’t bring any of the people he took from you, either!”

  Eleanor pulls away from the wall, sighing as she walks by him. “Maybe so... But I’m hoping it’ll help me sleep better.”

  “...It won’t.”

  She stops, back tensed.

  “It won’t,” Sincir repeats. “It won’t heal you... But it’ll reopen the wound. You’ll feel dirty, angry... But your hatred will no longer have a target. It’ll drive away the people you love... And in the end, however much suffering you cause him, it won’t make up for any of the things you had to give up in order to get there.”

  Eleanor clenches her fists, hands trembling slightly. “It doesn’t matter... None of that matters... You understand, don’t you?”

  ...Fuck. Unfortunately, he knows it all too well.

  Sincir sighs. “Yeah... Yeah, I do.”

  “Then you know I have to do it.”

  “...I’m sorry.”

  Eleanor looks at him over her shoulder, smiling lightly as she does so. “How many times do I have to tell you to stop treating me like a piece of gss?”

  Returning her sad smile in kind, Sincir shrugs. “What can I say? I like my girls happy, and if they’re going to have an obsession, it should be me... My cock is the only other option.”

  “Ew,” Ena murmurs.

  Sincir grimaces. “I’ll admit that sounded better in my head.”

  Eleanor rolls her eyes. “Let’s go... Before the green pests die of old age.”