Chapter 84

Theo, still half-asleep, furrowed his brows at the faint noise drifting in from outside. He was so exhausted that he could barely open his eyes, trying to ignore it and drift back to sleep, but once the noise had caught his attention, he couldn’t dismiss it.

“Isshh…”

Finally forcing his eyes open, Theo blinked several times at the unfamiliar scene before him, as if trying to discern dream from reality. His gaze swept the room, and recognition dawned on him—this was the guild house dormitory. It had to be; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been lying next to Blaine, sharing a pillow and even holding hands while asleep.

“Why am I holding hands…?”

Theo muttered in his still-hoarse voice, listening again to the faint sounds coming from the hall—likely the guild members bustling about downstairs.

He released Blaine’s hand with a grunt and sat up. The narrow bed had cramped two grown men, leaving his body stiff. Stretching to loosen his joints, he heard the door open and a familiar voice call out.

“Awake?”

Turning, he saw Father standing there. She glanced first at Theo, then at the still-sleeping Blaine, before nodding toward the doorway.

“Wake Blaine and come down. Breakfast is ready.”

With that, she left, as if she had no further business. Theo nodded toward the empty doorway and gently shook Blaine’s shoulder.

“Blaine, wake up.”

After calling his name a few more times, Blaine stirred, one eye squinting groggily at Theo. Realizing who it was, he suddenly jumped upright, startled as if burned.

“Ah, Theo… good morning! Did you sleep well?”

“You too? Was it uncomfortable, sleeping squeezed in with me all night?”

Blaine shook his head vigorously, as if on a motor.

“Not at all.”

“Sorry. If I had woken up in the middle of the night, you could’ve moved to another room.”

Theo scratched the back of his head awkwardly and got out of bed, with Blaine following suit. Both silently thanked their luck that Theo hadn’t woken up earlier.

After roughly straightening the rumpled bedding, Theo gestured toward the door.

“Let’s go down. Father said breakfast is ready.”

In the central hall, they spotted Noquia and Holanghee seated at the table. Waving in greeting, the two returned the gesture, and as they moved forward, Theo noticed Mastar standing in a corner. He froze in surprise.

Mastar’s half-absent expression and tattered rags were a stark contrast to the fancy maid uniform he had worn yesterday. In his hands, he clutched only an old straw broom.

“?”

Theo’s puzzled gaze flicked to Holanghee and Noquia, silently asking what had happened. Holanghee, careful of Noquia’s eyes, shook her head to indicate it wasn’t worth worrying about. Meanwhile, Father emerged from the workshop with food.

“What are you waiting for? Sit quickly.”

She guided Theo and Blaine to the table. The breakfast laid before them was samosas—triangular fried pastries. As plates and mugs were set, Theo’s curiosity got the better of him.

“Why is Mastar like that?”

At his question, both Father and Holanghee froze, subtly checking Noquia’s reaction before proceeding.

“?”

Theo and Blaine sensed the tension as both glanced at Noquia. Something unusual was clearly in the air. She sat with a face that seemed to be holding back words, not uttering a sound. Instead, Holanghee spoke up.

“You know… that rumor about ‘you went too far’…”

“?”

“That… it wasn’t Noquia—it was Mastar…”

The revelation left Theo and Blaine’s mouths agape. They whipped around to look at Mastar. He, staring vacantly into space, shrank his shoulders and quickly lowered his gaze when he noticed their attention.

Theo, incredulous, then asked about his tattered attire.

“By the way… why is he dressed like that?”

“…All the clothes he wore were made by Noquia. She got so mad she took everything away.”

“Huh…”

As Theo let out a disappointed sigh, Noquia stuffed a samosa into her mouth and glared at Mastar with fiery eyes, muttering under her breath.

“This is why you don’t let black-haired beasts run wild. I took him in, let him join the guild, even had clothes made for him, and he dares to betray us?!”

Holanghee, elegantly portioning samosas onto her plate, calmly added,

“You might have more people who’ve betrayed you than he has.”

“How dare you slander me!”

Noquia ignored the comment and continued to express her indignation. Father, having downed her beer in one gulp, nodded in support.

“Not slander—it’s just that, usually, your behavior’s terrible, so the fallout landed on you.”

Noquia, face red with fury, alternated her gaze between the two and slammed her trembling fists on the table.

“Whose side are you on?!”

Her voice, like a train whistle, made Theo and Blaine furrow their brows. But Holanghee and Father cheerfully replied, “Yours.”

Satisfied, Noquia grinned mischievously, letting her playful side take over, and hummed as she resumed eating samosas.

“Simple… so simple.”

Theo muttered to himself in exasperation, watching her antics, but she seemed unstoppable, her mischief having no brakes.

As laughter and chatter filled the table, a sudden thud from behind Theo made everyone turn. Startled, they saw Mastar flat on the floor. The meal paused; everyone’s eyes met in silent confusion.

Then, Mastar’s voice rang out, louder and more desperate than Noquia’s train-whistle fury.

“Brother, sister, friends! It’s all my fault!”

Before anyone could react, Mastar, as fast as a cockroach, crawled over and clung to Theo’s leg.

“Brother, I misspoke! Tear apart this sinful mouth if you must, but please, forgive me!”

“Eek!”

Theo shook him off and climbed onto the chair, but Mastar quickly scuttled again, this time clinging to Blaine’s leg.

“Friend! Have I caused you so much worry with my reckless behavior? I am truly sorry! I beg your forgiveness—just once, will you forgive me?”

“Uh, um…”

Blaine flailed his hands helplessly in the air, unsure of what to do. Before he could speak, the little cockroach—Mastar—scurried toward Noquia.

Clinging to Noquia’s foot, Mastar wailed pitifully:

“Sister! I—I was wrong in every way! I deserve death! If you command it, I’ll die; if you order that my treacherous three-inch tongue be plucked, I’ll comply! I will atone for every inconvenience I caused you… so please, I beg you…!”

Everyone swallowed hard, anticipating his next words—hoping for “please forgive me” or “don’t banish me from the guild.”

“Please! Return my outfit!”

The desperation in his plea was genuine. Mastar, finally regaining the maid uniform from Noquia, once again offered heartfelt apologies to Theo and Blaine, who in turn forgave him.

With the recovered maid outfit, perhaps wanting to savor its value, Mastar flitted around the guild, tidying and cleaning with renewed vigor. Theo watched, exhausted, yet curious.

“But how did you find out Mastar was the culprit?” he asked.

Holanghee shrugged. “Nothing special. He was caught trying to secretly manipulate the guild members after I asked them to keep it a secret.”

Theo frowned, thinking that was all it took, while Noquia puffed out her chest and crossed her arms smugly.

“I was already investigating the rumor source, and caught his red-handed conspiring.”

Theo shook his head in disbelief at Noquia’s arrogance and Mastar’s utterly sloppy cover-up.

Several days passed since Blaine’s sleepless nights fueled by the Retai Powder were discovered. In that time, the two of them had run countless dungeons to gather materials for Theo’s ship expansion, though Blaine’s luck proved insufficient to yield the necessary resources easily.

By the third day, materials were still scarce, but dungeon loot had stocked the warehouse quite nicely. Meanwhile, Blaine made sure to sleep properly at his own home every night, which eased one of Theo’s worries.

After escorting Theo home, Blaine confidently returned to his own house, entering the darkened interior without turning on the lights. He shrugged off his cloak and let it drop anywhere, moving to the sofa with familiar, practiced steps.

Collapsing onto the sofa, he rested his head against the back and stared blankly at the ceiling, letting out a long, slow sigh.

After some time in darkness, Blaine slowly opened his eyes. Exhausted, yet unable to sleep, he retrieved a small leather pouch from his inventory and ate a single piece from it.

Then, he sat awake, waiting for morning to come.