Kano took a deep breath and stepped across the threshold of the guild. Immediately, he felt the weight of dozens of eyes on him. Some glanced discreetly from behind tables, others openly smiled, and a group of adventurers near the bar desperately tried to stifle their giggles. One of them even covered her mouth with her hand, but her shoulders trembled with suppressed laughter.
Kano quickly shifted his gaze to the floor.
"It's fine. It's just my imagination. They're not looking at me. Just... a coincidence."
But as he took a few more steps, a girl deliberately laughed loudly. The others immediately joined in, and now the laughter echoed throughout the room.
"Shit... No, this is definitely not a coincidence!"
He marched toward Naira's counter, still avoiding eye contact. It felt as if the guild's floor was the only safe place to look.
— "Hello, hello, pervert!" — Naira suddenly called out loudly, clearly, and provocatively, crossing her arms over her chest.
Kano froze, as if struck by an arrow to the heart. A second of perfect silence fell over the room, before the laughter intensified. Even a few men in the far corner, who had been quietly watching, now snickered approvingly.
— "I-I…" — Kano stammered, searching for words, but his thoughts turned to mush. He felt his face flush, but there was no turning back.
— "Oh, sorry, I guess you wanted it to be a secret?" — Naira smirked wickedly. — "So, how was last night? Did you enjoy it?" Her eyes narrowed, and her voice took on a more dangerous tone.
Kano felt a wave of nausea rising within him.
— "I... I didn't even want to look at anything!" — he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.
Silence.
Naira blinked, her smile fading.
— "What?" — she leaned forward, resting her hands on the counter. A dangerous spark flashed in her eyes.
Kano immediately realized he'd crossed a line.
— "So you're saying we're not attractive enough for you?" — Her voice darkened, and her muscles tensed.
— "No, no! It's not that you're not attractive, I just... uhh..." — Kano began backing away, trying not to make any sudden moves.
But his eyes briefly flashed to his memories: the gleam of skin under the magical light, water trickling down smooth shoulders, those gorgeous bodies...
And that was it.
Kano froze, a sweet, dreamy smile creeping across his face.
— "Honestly, it was the most beautiful sight of my life..." — he said almost automatically, unaware that he had spoken aloud.
— "WHAT?!" — Naira's eyes flared, and her fist clenched.
Kano snapped back to reality, realizing death was fast approaching in the form of a massive punch. But before he could be buried under the rubble of the wall, a voice rang out from the stairs.
— "Well, looks like you're having fun here!" — The calm, measured voice of Lenor immediately made everyone turn their heads.
Naira halted mid-step, turning to Lenor.
— "Lenor! Just in time! Give me the go-ahead to smack this idiot right here!"
— "Oh, don't be so hasty, Naira," Lenor waved his hand soothingly. "Actually, it seems like you were quite curious yourself, whether he liked what he saw."
Naira froze.
— "WHAT?!" — Her voice suddenly shot up an octave.
Lenor smiled and tilted his head.
— "Well, you did see him in all his glory, right? So it seems like you're both on equal footing here. Aren't you?" — His voice was so calm and nonchalant that it only served to rile Naira up more.
Kano nervously clenched his fists. "No, no, no, no, not this!"
Naira turned red before Kano's eyes. She glanced at him, then at Lenor, and back at Kano again.
— "I... What?!" — she clearly didn't know what to say.
— "Oh, come on, don't overthink it," Lenor continued with an innocent smile. "Are you trying to tell me he didn't interest you at all? Not even a little?"
— "HE'S TOO SMALL FOR ME!" — Naira snapped, crossing her arms over her chest, but her voice didn't carry the usual confidence she liked to project. — "He's... I... I just..."
She suddenly turned away and started feverishly flipping through some papers on the counter, pretending to sort through documents. Her ears burned with embarrassment.
— "Uh-huh, uh-huh, sure, Naira," Lenor teased, waving his hand dismissively. — "Alright, everyone back to work! The show's over."
Kano almost melted with relief, but then he caught the soft mumble from Naira.
— "But he's cute..."
Kano froze. Did I hear that? Did I really hear that?!
He nervously cleared his throat, deciding it wasn't worth risking his life just yet.
The circus was over, but the whispers and glances continued for a long while. Adventurers exchanged knowing looks, some still chuckling quietly as they eyed Kano.
The atmosphere in the guild slowly calmed after the morning spectacle, but laughter and murmurs still flared up occasionally among the adventurers. Kano tried to ignore them, hoping that in a day or two, everyone would forget about his "adventure" in the bath.
But just as he thought things were settling down, the doors of the guild creaked open, and a man in a black cloak stepped inside.
He moved fluidly, almost soundlessly, as if his presence dissolved into the shadows between the lanterns. His face was hidden beneath his hood, but the faint light from the magical lamps caught a few sharp features — a defined chin, high cheekbones, dark eyes that seemed to pierce the space around him.
He didn't even glance at anyone. His goal was clear.
— "Lenor Vilerian," — his voice came low and calm, like the whisper of a shadow.
Lenor, who had just been pretending to flick through some reports, immediately raised his head, his gaze sharply locking onto the stranger. A tense silence fell over the room — even those who had been joking a second ago instinctively fell quiet.
The man stepped closer without hesitation, holding out a small envelope sealed with wax.
— "This is for you."
Lenor silently took the letter. His fingers briefly tensed around the edges of the envelope, as though sensing something unsettling.
Kano had a strange feeling, though he couldn't place why. The look on Lenor's face and the mysterious stillness hanging in the air made it feel like something important was about to happen.
The man in black bowed slightly.
— "Tell my master that the message has been received."
After those words, he turned and, just as silently as he had come, left the guild.
Lenor stood still for a few seconds, as if contemplating something, before quickly breaking the seal and reading the letter.
His expression changed instantly.
The relaxed, slightly mocking look vanished. His eyes sharpened, and his lips pressed into a thin line. He slowly turned his gaze to the candle flame on the bar counter.
Without hesitation, he held the letter up to the fire.
The flame instantly engulfed the paper. The black, crumbling edges began to curl, and soon only a handful of ash fell to the floor.
But Lenor didn't stop there. With a flick of his right hand, he summoned a magical gust of wind, scattering the ashes in all directions.