Chapter 90

After parking the carriage at the stable, they chatted casually while making their way to the shop. They greeted the owner as if it were routine, took their seats, and each ordered what they wanted to eat.

Soon, the table was filled with five dishes. Satisfied with the spread before them, they began a lively breakfast.

As they ate and drank, the previously quiet shop gradually filled with other users. Had they arrived even slightly later, there might not have been any seats left.

Noquia dunked a torn piece of bread into her soup, grumbling.

“This place is great, but it’s too far. Would’ve been better if it were in Lucilvania.”

Father, chewing on her egg hopper, swirled her beer in response, shaking her head.

“Ha, if this were in Lucilvania, we’d be lining up every day just to get a taste. Even though it was our little secret spot, word somehow got out and now it’s like this.”

Father’s gaze swept across the interior, and Noquia followed his lead, nodding in agreement as she realized he had a point.

While the two bickered, Holanghee, watching Theo and Blaine, propped her chin on her hand and asked Blaine,

“By the way, is Sweetie still hanging around Theo’s place?”

Both Theo and Blaine instinctively looked toward Holanghee. Blaine blinked a few times at Theo, who didn’t react, his attention back on his meal as if the question didn’t concern him.

It was an unspoken permission to answer freely. Blaine smiled subtly and turned to Holanghee.

“No, Hyung often lets me stay over. Yesterday, Hyung even slept at my place.”

At Blaine’s answer, Father and Noquia turned their attention to the two.

“You slept at his place?”

“Yes.”

“And you often sleep at Theo’s place too?”

“Yes.”

Satisfied with the answers, Father and Noquia exchanged a glance, then looked back at Blaine.

“Then why not just register as companions…?”

“…Huh?”

“Why bother going back and forth between houses?”

Taken aback by the unexpected suggestion, Blaine just stared blankly at the three of them. He seemed about to say something, but Holanghee spoke before he could.

“By the way, why doesn’t Sweetie ask Theo to register as a companion?”

The gazes of Father, Noquia, and Holanghee fixed insistently on Blaine. He went even more pale than before and frantically waved his hands.

“I-I wouldn’t dare…”

The word slipped out instinctively, and Theo choked. The three immediately froze in shock.

“Wouldn’t dare?”

Their incomprehensible looks naturally turned to Theo, eyes full of disbelief and suspicion. As the three stared down Theo in unison, Blaine realized his slip and quickly stepped in front of Theo, shaking his head vehemently.

“No, that’s not what I meant! I-I could never ask for something like that…”

Theo had previously rejected Aslan’s companion request right in front of him. Even though Aslan seemed friendly, Theo had refused, so Blaine knew there was no way Theo would agree if he requested the same. Besides, he didn’t have the courage to ask.

Blaine’s face darkened noticeably, looking dejected. Father, Noquia, and Holanghee, seeing him so downcast, looked at Theo with sympathy. But Theo, still protecting Blaine, lowered Blaine’s arm and said flatly:

“Listen, I’m telling you clearly—I’m not doing companions. Don’t get your hopes up.”

With the small commotion settled and their breakfast finished, they left the shop, rubbing their full stomachs. As they headed toward the stables to return to Lucilvania, Father, Holanghee, and Noquia huddled in front of the shop, whispering something among themselves.

Theo and Blaine, walking ahead, tilted their heads curiously and approached them. They were murmuring quietly, and as Theo drew closer, he could just make out the words.

“Ten billion if they do it.”

“That’s twenty billion if they do it.”

“Fifteen billion if they don’t.”

It was Holanghee, Father, and Noquia speaking in turn. Theo, frowning at the three giggling conspiratorially, asked, “What are you doing?” They quickly looked up and laughed it off, saying it was nothing.

A nagging sense of unease settled over him. Theo kept his suspicious gaze fixed on the three, but they ignored him, taking the lead toward the stables, Blaine and Theo following.

As the five approached the stables, four users emerged from the shop and began scanning the area. Spotting the group heading toward the stables, they quietly trailed behind.

Once at the stables, the group exchanged casual chatter while Father prepared the carriage. Though the conversation was trivial, laughter came easily, as if they couldn’t help it. Noquia, bent slightly forward against a tree, noticed the four users approaching but dismissed them—they seemed to be just finishing breakfast and leaving.

As Father waved to signal they were ready, the four quickened their pace toward the carriage. Holanghee led, followed by Theo, Blaine, and the dawdling Noquia.

Noquia, trailing the group, sensed movement beside him. But before he could react, someone snatched Theo and bolted out of the village. Stunned, the group could only stare at the empty spot where Theo had stood, until a harsh shout cut through the silence.

“Hey!”

It was Noquia, snapping everyone back to attention. They turned toward the village entrance and saw Theo being dragged helplessly by the four users, with Noquia in pursuit.

“Hyung!”

The second shout was Blaine’s. He immediately joined the chase, with Father and Holanghee quickly following.

Theo, held by both arms, struggled violently but could not break free. The users’ speed was unnatural, and despite seeing their friends chasing, the distance only grew.

Suddenly, outside the village, pain shot through Theo’s back.

“Gah!”

They slammed him to the ground. The crushing sensation made it hard to breathe. Theo coughed and glared at his captors, his body stiff with tension.

Their faces were featureless, like ghostly eggs. They wore faceless masks, their expression unreadable. One grabbed Theo by the collar, and a sharp pain erupted in his side— a dagger protruded from his flank, its hilt held by the one gripping his collar.

“What…?”

Before he could comprehend the situation, his peripheral vision reddened. The tactile filter appeared, the pain gauge spiking uncontrollably. Alarm lights flashed in his mind, signaling danger.

Instinctively, Theo looked at the captor holding his collar. The faceless mask seemed to meet his gaze—and in a flash of agony, everything went black.

The four assailants who had dragged Theo outside the village froze, shocked at the scene before them.

Theo, surrounded by the four masked figures, had been stabbed in the side and neck. The faceless masked men scanned Father, Holanghee, Noquia, and Blaine, unreadable in expression.

Then, suddenly, they released Theo. He staggered, then vanished as if split vertically like static noise. Shocked, the four could only watch as the masked figures fled, leaving an empty void.

Moments felt like eternity. Regaining their senses, they hurriedly opened the guild interface to check Theo’s status.

He was logged out.

Frantically, they tried to contact him, but there was no response. Father and Holanghee searched the surrounding area for the masked figures, but they were gone. After waiting anxiously for hours, with no sign of Theo, the group returned to the guild hall to report the incident and seek help. Despite the collective effort, by midnight they had neither found the faceless assailants nor made contact with Theo.