Chapter 106

It seemed the news had spread that far in just a single day. Theo, looking annoyed, sent Blaine inside first. Aslan’s gaze trailed after Blaine as the younger man moved hesitantly toward the entrance. While Aslan didn’t want to blame Blaine, he couldn’t help the look of resentment in his eyes.

Once Blaine was out of sight, Aslan’s focus shifted back to Theo. His gaze, still thick with bitterness, seemed to ask, “Why him and not me?” However, he merely beat his chest in frustration, keeping his words to himself. He knew that if he opened his mouth, a flood of pathetic and unsightly words would pour out.

They stood in a silent standoff for several minutes. Theo, who had been waiting for Aslan as he struggled to suppress his emotions, finally swallowed a sigh and spoke first.

“I get that you’re upset, but you know I don’t necessarily owe you an apology, right?”

Aslan’s brow furrowed slowly. He avoided Theo’s gaze without answering. He couldn’t bring himself to meet those eyes. Theo was right. He knew he was right, but the feeling of being wronged and slighted was unavoidable.

Seeing Aslan stubbornly avoiding his gaze with his lips pressed into a firm line, Theo shook his head.

“Aslan.”

He called his name in a soothing tone. Aslan’s shoulders, which had been stiff with tension, slumped slowly at the gentle call, as if the strength had been drained from them. A suppressed voice, sounding as though it were being squeezed out, drifted over faintly.

“I know…”

Coming here to demand an explanation was nothing more than his own one-sided, immature fit of jealousy. As a friend, he had the right to ask out of curiosity, but he had no right to demand an accounting out of spite.

Aslan slowly raised his head. He saw a face that looked indifferent to the world. It felt unfair, as if he had been pushed out into the realm of things Theo didn’t care about. Aslan clenched and unclenched his damp palms several times. Finally, he forced out a question.

“Are you two dating?”

Theo’s face crumpled instantly.

“No.”

“Then… are you going to?”

The word “Crazy?” almost shot out of Theo’s mouth instinctively. However, his brain seemed to stall as if overloaded. His deeply furrowed brow smoothed out, leaving his face looking somewhat dazed.

Could he say no with absolute certainty? If he had been asked this a week ago, he would have answered “no” without a second thought. But could he say that now? Theo couldn’t bring himself to answer. He couldn’t declare it wasn’t so, nor could he be certain it wouldn’t be.

Seeing Theo unable to answer, a hurt expression crossed Aslan’s face.

“You… you have to understand why I feel so bitter about this, right?”

“?”

“Are you being dense, or are you just pretending not to know? I like you.”

“…Until I heard it just now, I wanted to keep pretending I didn’t know.”

He didn’t deny it. He didn’t claim to be ignorant. Perhaps finding some small comfort in that, Aslan let out a hollow laugh. “You’re too much,” he muttered, reaching out to mess up Theo’s hair.

“…Still, I’m not giving up on being ‘friends.’”

“What?”

“Life is long. If I stay by your side as a friend, surely you’ll look my way at least once.”

Aslan turned and walked away with a face that looked relatively refreshed. Though his shoulders slumped as he walked, Theo pretended not to notice. Theo stood rooted to the spot, watching Aslan’s back until he disappeared into the crowd, before letting out a low sigh and entering the Guild House. But the moment he stepped inside, he jumped in surprise.

Blaine, whom he had sent in earlier, was crouching beside the main entrance with his face buried in his knees.

“What are you doing here?”

When Theo asked while clutching his startled heart, Blaine snapped his head up and looked at Theo with eyes shaking pathetically.

“Hyung…”

The voice calling Theo’s name was trembling violently as well. He had likely been anxious about Aslan’s visit.

His insecurity was almost palpable. Theo felt his own shoulders grow heavy, as if he had been drenched by a sudden downpour of unbridled emotion. Yet, the weight wasn’t unpleasant… and a laugh escaped him naturally.

“Let’s go in.”

When Theo smiled and reached out a hand, Blaine’s eyes went wide. The damp sense of anxiety that had made his fingertips tremble dried up instantly. That single smile, which seemed to tell him everything was okay, felt like a clear sky breaking through a gloomy, depressed heart.

As the two of them walked up to the central hall, everyone poked their heads out, pretending not to look while staring directly at Theo. They clearly knew Aslan had come to the Guild House. They looked like they were dying to know what had been discussed, but they knew Theo wasn’t the type to give a blow-by-blow account. They were all just glancing at one another, hoping someone would break the ice…

“What did you talk about?”

Daize broke the ice.

The moment Theo and Blaine sat down at the central hall table, Daize rushed over, sat across from Theo, and asked with a face full of curiosity. Taking that as their cue, everyone else’s gazes locked onto Theo with persistent intensity.

Theo simply ignored Daize. He had no intention of answering, but Daize didn’t seem to expect a response anyway, as he began prattling on about whatever was on his mind.

“Oh, right! I’m planning on selling my house in Ratteon too! It’s way too cramped, and I don’t really like the village… I originally wanted to get a place in Lucilvania, but I only picked Ratteon because I heard Blaine-nim lived there.”

Daize started explaining himself without being asked, constantly glancing at Theo and Blaine. It was as if he were seeking permission to move to Lucilvania.

When neither of them said a word, Daize’s expression relaxed significantly. He seemed to take their silence as consent—even though, in reality, Theo and Blaine couldn’t have cared less whether Daize stayed in Ratteon or moved to Lucilvania.

“But it’s such a shame. I really wanted to be partners with Blaine-nim, too.”

Daize grumbled, leaning his elbows on the table and pouting. It was his usual behavior, but Blaine felt a strange sense of discomfort. The target of Daize’s gaze and words seemed to be subtly bypassing him. It felt as if he were actually aiming more toward Theo than himself.

However, the other two didn’t seem to notice. This only made Blaine more confused. He couldn’t tell if he was picking up on something as a third party, or if he was just being overly sensitive.

“Where is your house? Is it nice? Can I come over?”

Daize continued to chatter like a magpie. Theo, meanwhile, showed his blatant disapproval. Did this guy think I was crazy enough to tell him? Especially after what happened back in Ratteon?

Theo looked at the man sitting across from him, smiling away, and thought to himself:

Should I just go for it? Should I tear into him like a cornered rat until he’s crying and snotting so he’ll never cling to us again?

He was seriously considering it, thinking,

It wouldn’t even be that hard if I asked Father and the kids for a favor…

When suddenly, Blaine, who had been sitting beside him, bolted upright.

Theo and Daize both jumped in surprise and looked at him. Blaine, struggling a bit, yanked Theo to his feet and then snapped at Daize.

“No! I’m not telling you. Don’t come over!”

After throwing out that fledgling-like act of defiance, Blaine grabbed the stunned Theo’s hand and practically fled from the Guild House.

Blaine walked frantically until they were far from the Guild House, then checked his surroundings before slowly decelerating to match Theo’s pace. Up until that point, Theo had been silently going along with Blaine’s lead.

Blaine stole a glance at Theo with an anxious face. He was worried that Theo’s continued silence meant he was angry. However, Theo didn’t look angry at all. Relieved, Blaine’s wolf ears drooped as he mumbled with a dejected face.

“I don’t want to tell Daize-nim where our house is…”

Theo looked at Blaine after hearing the small complaint. He cast a glance over Blaine’s shoulder and said, “I have no intention of telling him either,” before pulling him along.

The place Theo headed for was the Seed Shop.

The two bought seeds to plant in their garden and returned home. They spent the rest of the day tending to the vegetable patch and decorating the porch.

The next morning, as Theo and Blaine prepared to leave the house, they realized the front door wouldn’t open. It was an update. They hoped the Reinforcement State was being lifted, but it remained in effect. Instead, claiming to offer a “small consolation to the bored players,” a new product had been added to the general store.

The item was called a Shuffle Ring. It was a circular ring that looked like a hula hoop.

When they arrived at the Guild House, guild members were gathered, everyone having bought a Shuffle Ring of their own. There wasn’t much of an explanation for the Shuffle Ring, only simple instructions for its use.

You were supposed to place the purchased Shuffle Ring on the ground and have multiple people pass over it.

“Does it work like this?”

While Father placed her Shuffle Ring on the floor, Theo, Blaine, Holanghee, and Noquia stood in a circle around the ring. When Father finished the setup and straightened her back, the five of them were standing in a formation surrounding the ring.

They exchanged glances. Shuffle Ring. Even without a detailed description, the name alone gave them a rough idea of what kind of item it would be. But they wouldn’t know if their guess was right until they tried it.

After making eye contact with everyone, Father took a deep breath and suddenly shoved Noquia, who was standing next to her. Using Noquia—who lost her balance with a gasp and fell over the ring—as the trigger, everyone passed over the ring.

Having crossed the ring and now standing with their backs turned, everyone slowly turned around.

Rotating clockwise, Theo’s eyes met the others one by one. Noquia, Holanghee, and then… himself.

Himself?

Theo stared blankly at himself standing across from him. One second passed, then two, then three.

“Gaaah!”

The “himself” standing across from him pointed a finger at him and screamed. Only then did Theo snap out of it and hurriedly look down to check his own appearance.

At that moment, a lock of fine, silky hair slid over his shoulder. He saw a black see-through skirt and boots that reached his knees.

After feeling his way through his shoes, clothes, hair, and even his hat, Theo looked up again to see “himself” staring back with a face gone pale with shock.

“Holy….”

A curse escaped his lips. He didn’t know which of them was currently wearing his customization, but he was currently in the form of Father.