Chapter 82

After returning the Retai Powder to Holanghee and leaving the workshop, Theo found that Father and Noquia were already seated at a table in the central hall, though it was unclear when they had arrived. Instead of greeting them verbally, the two simply waved at Theo and Blaine as they came out. Theo stared at Father for a moment, then glanced up toward the second-floor lodgings. After thinking it over, he walked toward Father. Holanghee also came out of the workshop and joined them at the central hall table.

“Father.”

Theo called out as he reached the table. Tapping the tabletop lightly with his finger, he hesitated for a moment before asking,

“What are you doing today?”

“Huh? Today? I don’t really have any plans. Why? You want to run a dungeon?”

“No, not a dungeon…”

Theo trailed off and glanced at Blaine. Blaine, Father, Noquia, and Holanghee all looked back at him with puzzled expressions.

“If you don’t have anything going on, can you keep an eye on Blaine today?”

“…?”

A brief silence fell at the completely unexpected request. Father looked between Theo and Blaine, then tilted her head with a forced smile.

“Keep an eye on him?”

Blaine wasn’t a child—asking someone to “keep an eye on” him was absurd. Seeing Father’s reaction, Theo realized his mistake and hastily corrected himself.

“No, that’s not it…. I misspoke. Not ‘keep an eye on’—watch him. Like, monitor him.”

Father stiffened even more.

Monitor him?

Father wasn’t the only one thrown off. Holanghee, Noquia, and Blaine all felt the same way.

“H-Hyung?”

Blaine, completely lost, cautiously called out to Theo. Theo turned to him and pointed toward the second floor.

“You’re sleeping in the guild lodgings today.”

“…What?”

Everyone looked up toward the second-floor guild rooms, then back at Theo. The only one still staring at the lodgings was Holanghee.

Unable to make sense of the situation, Father furrowed her brow and crossed her arms.

“Hey, can you explain this? Why are you suddenly telling Blaine to sleep here, and why are you asking me to watch him?”

But the answer didn’t come from Theo. It came from Holanghee.

“Sweetie hasn’t been sleeping.”

“?”

Father and Noquia both turned to Holanghee at the same time. Holanghee, who had still been looking up at the second-floor lodgings, slowly lowered her gaze. Then, fixing her eyes directly on the Blaine who couldn’t even lift his head, she said,

“He’s been taking the Retai Powder I gave him and not sleeping for months.”

At her words, Father and Noquia jerked in shock and whipped their heads toward Blaine, eyes wide as lanterns. Under their intense stares, Blaine turned pale, cold sweat breaking out across his face.

Looking at Blaine, who now looked like a mouse cornered by cats, Holanghee let out a long sigh.

“So I’m all for Blaine sleeping here. If Father doesn’t want to watch him, I will.”

The moment Holanghee finished speaking, Father sprang to her feet and rolled up her sleeves aggressively.

“Months without sleep? That’s completely insane. I at least try to sleep once every three days, but you? No, this won’t do. Hey, grab him. Let’s lock him in the guild for a few months and make him do nothing but sleep.”

She was clearly speaking to Noquia and Holanghee—but as if they’d been listening all along, Yorkshire, Red Snapper, and Leather Flute Hip Song all rushed out and grabbed onto Blaine as well.

Startled, Blaine flailed his arms and legs, but when he realized it was useless, he looked at Theo with pleading eyes, desperate for rescue. Theo, however, had no intention of helping him. In this, Theo was clearly an accomplice.

Watching the firmly restrained Blaine with satisfaction, Father suddenly turned to Theo and asked,

“But why ask me to watch him? Couldn’t you just do it yourself?”

“I need to go farm materials for the ship expansion.”

“…In this situation, the ship is more important to you than Blaine?”

“…….”

Theo silently looked away. Father muttered “cold-blooded bastard” under her breath with a dazed expression, while Blaine looked utterly shaken.

“Don’t you have to run dungeons to farm?” Noquia asked. “From what I know, most of the materials needed for the ship have to be farmed from high-level dungeons.”

Theo nodded in agreement and answered as if it were no big deal.

“Yeah. I was planning to ask Aslan, actually.”

At that, Father, Noquia, and Holanghee all stiffened at once, their gazes naturally shifting to Blaine. Blaine’s face looked far more shattered than before. He swallowed hard and stammered,

“I-I want to go too…. Hyung, take me with you.”

It was an earnest plea, his voice trembling, but Theo didn’t even look at him as he replied flatly, “Just sleep.”

“I was wrong. I’ll sleep properly from now on. I won’t wait in front of your house anymore, please take me with you. I’m sorry, Hyung.”

Blaine begged in a rush, barely stopping to breathe, but Theo gave no response at all. Blaine wanted to rush to his side, but other guild members were still holding him in place.

“Hyung, please, I’m really sorry. I’ll sleep. I promise I’ll sleep properly now. Hyung, Hyung! Please!”

His voice began to waver. Blaine hated the thought of Theo and Aslan being together. The very idea of the two of them spending time together somewhere he wasn’t made him feel sick. But Theo didn’t pay him any attention at all, likely already whispering with Aslan through a private message.

“Then can’t you go with me later? Hyung, please!”

Apparently finishing his conversation with Aslan, Theo waved at Father and the others, signaling that he was heading out. Seeing that, Blaine panicked and screamed as if in despair.

“If I go with you, the drops will be better! Hyung! Don’t go, please! Hyung, go with me later! Hyung!”

“Behave and get some sleep. I’ll be back,” Theo said.

“I don’t want to!”

With a shout, Blaine seemed to muster some hidden strength as he broke free from everyone holding him and threw himself around Theo’s neck.

“Take me with you, or go with me later! Hyung, please!”

“Ghk.”

He clung on so tightly that Theo nearly choked. Startled guild members rushed to pry Blaine off, but Blaine hung on like a drowning man clutching a lifeline, showing no sign of letting go.

“B-Blaine, behave and listen to me!”

Strained by the grip on his neck, Theo’s voice came out hoarse and metallic. He tried to push Blaine away, but instead of loosening his hold, Blaine pressed in even closer, burying his face into Theo’s shoulder and shaking his head violently.

“No, no! Stay with me too, Hyung!”

“I told you, I’m going farming!”

“Then go with me later!”

“No! I don’t want to! I’m going now!”

“I don’t want to either! I don’t want to!”

Unable to suppress his boiling frustration any longer at Blaine’s childish tantrum, Theo finally snapped. He hoisted Blaine up in one smooth motion, princess-carry style, and headed straight for the second floor.

Before Blaine could even react, he was already in Theo’s arms. Confusion and excitement flooded his face, and his cheeks instantly flushed red. While Blaine froze in Theo’s embrace, at a complete loss for what to do, everyone else could only stare blankly up at the scene. A big “princess” cradled neatly in the arms of a smaller knight—it was quite a sight to behold.

Theo opened the nearest room on the second floor and placed Blaine onto the bed. The moment he was set down, Blaine tried to sit up, but Theo pressed a hand on his shoulder, pushed him back down, and even pulled the blanket over him before issuing a warning.

“If you get out of this bed, I won’t come get you later.”

Blaine immediately froze mid-motion and put on the most wronged expression imaginable, his brows drooping helplessly.

“That’s unfair…”

“Just wait here quietly.”

“Do you really have to go?”

“Yes. But I’ll bring you something tasty when I’m back. Anything you want to eat?”

“There’s nothing…. I just hope you come back soon.”

“…Alright. Try to get some sleep.”

Blaine clung to Theo until the very end, asking if he really had to go, but Theo ultimately left for the dungeon with Aslan.

Left alone in the small guild lodging room, Blaine couldn’t bring himself to lie down properly. He curled up at the corner of the bed instead, knees pulled up, face buried as he waited, wishing desperately for Theo to return quickly.

Father, who had been watching Blaine with pity from outside the door, let out a sigh and entered the room, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“If you can’t sleep, want to come downstairs? I’ll make you something good to eat.”

“No…. He said if I leave the bed, he won’t come get me…”

“I’ll tell him you didn’t.”

Blaine silently shook his head. If he lied again and got caught, he felt like Theo might truly start to hate him.

“Then is there anything you want to eat? I can make it.”

Blaine shook his head again. Father felt stuck. She told him to sleep and left him here, but instead of sleeping, he was curled up, waiting for Theo with single-minded devotion. Like a painfully well-trained, loyal dog. She began to wonder if forcibly separating him like this had really been the right call.

“Then at least try to sleep a little. When you wake up, Theo might already be back.”

“I can’t sleep…”

“Good grief…”

“Um… do I really have to sleep here for months?”

“…Just today. If you sleep well today, I’ll let you go.”

At Father’s words, Blaine fiddled with his fingers and muttered with a deeply disappointed expression,

“…If it’s just one day… he could’ve waited and gone to the dungeon with me…”

“He’s just blinded by greed for his ship. You know how much he likes ships and fishing.”

“Even so…”

“Hmm… ah. The same way you like Theo, Theo likes ships and fishing just as much. You know best how strong that feeling is.”

“…I wish I came before ships or fishing…”

“Can you put Theo second?”

“…….”

“You can’t, right? Then you can’t force him either. Still, I’d say you rank higher than Aslan.”

“Really?”

Father answered with a silent smile. It was a smile full of certainty.

While the two spoke quietly, Holanghee and Noquia entered the room as well. Holanghee was holding a cup of warm milk mixed with sugar.

Like Father, Holanghee sat on the edge of the bed and handed the milk to Blaine, while Noquia leaned against the doorframe.

“If you drink this, it’ll help you sleep. If you want, I can mix in a bit of sleeping medicine too—just say the word.”

Holanghee shook a small potion bottle, but Blaine shook his head in refusal. He thanked her and took small sips of the warm milk.

Father and Holanghee watched him drink with affectionate eyes. They were already wondering if, should this fail, they should call Leather Flute Hip Song to sing him a lullaby—when suddenly, Noquia spoke up.

“By the way, what did you mean about not waiting in front of Theo’s house anymore?”