The city guards arrived shortly after to take the perpetrators into custody, having been alerted by nearby passersby who had overheard the men cornering and threatening a woman in the alley.
Kyla let out a heavy sigh of relief. She had narrowly avoided violating the Hunters' Code, which strictly forbade unprovoked attacks on civilians or fellow hunters. While she certainly had every reason to defend herself, being recorded by that surveillance orb would have undoubtedly twisted the narrative against her. The House of Morgan always played dirty, stopping at nothing to manipulate the law to get what they wanted.
Fortunately, Erus had stepped in right on time. She was still in awe of how effortlessly he had turned the tables—flawlessly walking those arrogance-blinded nobles right into their own trap and stripping them of half their family assets in a single move.
"Thank you again, Captain. I'm both unlucky and fortunate today, but seriously—you saved me big time," Kyla said.
"As I said, I'll take my share of the responsibility for handing you that sword," Erus replied calmly.
Kyla offered a sheepish smile, undeniably flattered by his words. "By the way, Captain... Are you on a hunting quest—"
"What the hell?!"
Erus's outburst cut her off mid-sentence. Before Kyla could even blink, he vanished from right in front of her.
"Did you land wrong?! You should have called me!" Erus's panicked voice echoed from behind her.
Kyla spun around, freezing in absolute shock. A few paces away, a woman was kneeling on the cobblestones, holding a broken vine branch that Kyla recognized as part of her own spellwork from earlier.
But the plant wasn't what made Kyla's heart almost stop.
Solari—their cold, untouchable Captain—was frantically wrapping his arms around the woman in an outright hug. Kyla blinked hard, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her after admiring him from afar for so long.
"No, I landed perfectly," Cana replied, totally unfazed.
"What?! You were crawling on the damned cobblestones!"
Cana straightened her posture and sat cross-legged right there on the ground just to prove she was completely fine, though Erus made zero effort to let go of her.
"I was not crawling," she huffed, holding up the leafy branch. "I was just picking up this amazing vine."
Confused, Erus looked back and forth between Cana and the thorny branch in her hand. It was clearly a piece of the spell Kyla had used. How on earth had she gotten her hands on it when Kyla had already retrieved the vines? Did she leap down after it and end up falling into the position he had just seen? He hadn't even felt her jump from the roof.
He sighed, finally letting go of her.
"See? I'm totally fine," Cana said with a playful smirk. "Though I fear that pretty lady over there is about to pull a Gregory on us. She's giving the exact same face." She pointed toward Kyla with a little pout of her lips—a gesture Erus immediately cut off by cupping his large palm over her face.
"Don't do that," he muttered.
She lightly slapped his hand away. "What?"
"Pointing at people with your lips isn't ladylike."
"Oh? And how would you know?"
Instead of bothering to argue with her, Erus stood up and offered a hand to pull her to her feet, which she willingly accepted.
"Thanks!"
Erus turned back to Kyla, awkwardly reaching up to rub behind his ear since his dragon mask blocked him from reaching his temple. "Oh, please—not you too, Kyla. I've had more than enough of this from the others."
"Ca... Captain, what do you mean?"
Still in complete shock, Kyla didn't even know what she was supposed to feel right now. Was she supposed to cry because her ultimate crush was openly holding another woman? Should she get rid of the girl? No, she was way too beautiful to even get mad at. Should she just run away right now and start a new life somewhere else? Did she even feel heartbroken, or was she just utterly bewildered?
"That look," Erus grumbled. "We've been getting it from literally everyone since day one. Just get used to it, alright?"
"That is one task I don't think I can ever accomplish," Kyla fired back without hesitation.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Erus asked, growing irritated.
"I mean, hello?!" Kyla threw him a deeply dramatic look. "You've been completely aloof around women for as long as we've known you! Even though we're on the same team, none of us ever dared to even touch you because who knew which limb we'd lose—or worse, if we'd get incinerated on the spot! And now? I walk over to see you casually hugging a woman in public, and you're telling me not to react like everyone else? That's completely insane!"
She blurted the whole tirade out at light speed with dramatic hand gestures, ending it all with a bombastic side-eye straight at Erus.
Watching Kyla's explosive reaction, Cana tried her best to suppress a laugh. This was the first time she had seen anyone speak so plainly to Erus—straight from the heart, without a single shred of hesitation or fear.
"Oh? So you've actually incinerated a woman before just because she tried to lay a hand on you?" Cana joined in, turning her eyes toward Erus. "That's not very gentlemanly of you." She threw his own logic right back in his face with a smug grin.
Erus merely gave her a dull, unbothered look.
"Yeah, he really did," Kyla chimed in. "Luckily, Glecy was there to save that bitch, or he would've been targeted by her so-called noble family."
Cana burst out laughing. "That's terrible, Erus."
Kyla froze on the spot the second she heard Cana casually drop their Captain's forbidden real name.
"You're laughing?" Erus asked, casting a side glance at her. "Shouldn't you be mad?"
Dumbfounded, Kyla wanted to interject and ask Solari if he shouldn't be the one mad that his name was just tossed around like that.
"Mm... She just said that woman was a bitch," Cana replied easily. "Who knows what my own hands would've done if I were there?"
Kyla almost dropped to her knees, hearing this woman so casually enable his brutal side. Were these two actual partners in crime?
This is bad, Kyla thought, her mind spiraling. No wonder Solari gets along with her. This is very, very bad!
"We have something urgent to handle. We're leaving," Erus told Kyla, gesturing for Cana to follow him.
Kyla nodded, feeling a mix of skepticism and subtle disappointment that Erus hadn't even bothered to introduce the woman at his side.
But just as they were about to leave, they stopped in their tracks.
"Captain!"
Before they could take a single step, voices chimed in from the entrance of the alley. Four people stepped into view.
Erus furrowed his brow, casting a sharp look in their direction. What on earth was going on today? Why was his entire squad suddenly converging in this exact alley?
"Oh, Vice! Good thing you're fine," Akiro chirped, a visible wave of relief washing over him upon seeing his sister Kyla standing unharmed. Besides, seeing their Captain right beside her instantly erased any lingering fears of Kyla getting caught in the nobles' dirty tricks.
Kyla just gave her brother a bored wave. Her mind was far too occupied processing the absolute absurdity of the situation to care about Akiro's sudden burst of dramatic concern.
"Cana!" Glecy squealed, sprinting toward her like a long-lost child.
Kyla was left completely stunned by the sight. Glecy knew her? And they looked ridiculously close!
"Oh... Hi, Glecy," Cana greeted her with a warm smile.
"Is she the one you were talking about?" Verna asked, nudging Akiro.
"The one and only," Akiro replied with a playful smirk.
"Wow! Captain, is she for real? She's not some mana-crafted illusion?" Verna asked Erus directly, filter entirely absent.
"See for yourself," Erus answered coldly, though a vein was practically throbbing near his temple.
"Really? I can touch her?"
"She's real. I thought the exact same thing when I first met her," Glecy added happily.
Without waiting another second, Verna marched straight up to Cana and scanned her from head to toe, her mouth agape and her eyes wide with wonder.
"Her skin looks just like yours, Captain. Is she your sister?" Verna blurted out. "Amazing! It's so flawless."
Cana looked at Verna and offered a slight smile.
"What is your name?" she asked Verna.
Erus glanced back at them, instantly catching Cana's tone. He couldn't tell if she was being casual or sweet, but why did she sound so bizarre?
The others, especially Verna, hadn't noticed a thing.
Verna looked straight at Cana with a bright smile. "I'm Verna!" she said enthusiastically, extending her hand.
Cana accepted it, another slight smile gracing her face—one that appeared completely shy. "Verna. That is a pretty name."
"Thanks! Oh, your hands are so smooth!"
But then, Ryden cut her off.
"Don't you think you've been touching her for too long?"
Both Glecy and Verna looked at Ryden with confused expressions until their eyes landed on their Captain's quiet, lingering demeanor.
Glecy immediately unclasped her arm from Cana, and Verna dropped her hand without another word.
"How come you are all gathered here?" Erus asked after the fuss settled down.
The newcomers exchanged wary glances with one another.
"The three of us were planning to buy stuff for school," Akiro said, gesturing toward Glecy and Ryden, "until we ran into Verna at the eating house. Then someone told me my sister was being harassed here."
Erus nodded slowly, understanding the whole situation.
"Okay. Continue with your business. We're leaving first," he told them.
They all agreed without questioning him.
"Can I have this?" Cana asked Kyla, gesturing to the branch she had picked up before leaving.
"Y–yeah, no problem!" Kyla answered, caught off guard by the request.
"Thanks," Cana said with a sweet smile that left Kyla instantly stunned.
How could a woman smile so sweetly and still give her goosebumps?
As Cana and Erus walked ahead, the squad exchanged silent glances, all sharing the exact same thought. Cana was walking side by side—far too close beside their Captain—and he wasn't reprimanding her or showing a single trace of irritation.
"I have something to tell the Captain. I'll catch up with you later," Ryden said, leaving them behind as he hurried after Erus and Cana.
"What?" Glecy reacted. "How about we go with them, too?"
"Yeah," Verna agreed.
"I don't think the Captain would like that. He was clearly irritated seeing us all on his day off. He definitely has something important to deal with today, and it doesn't include us."
"Aki is right," Kyla joined in, her voice sounding a bit drained of energy. "They were just about to leave when all of you showed up."
Akiro, Glecy, and Verna stared at Kyla. Remembering how deeply she cared for their Captain, a sudden wave of worry washed over them. Was she hurt seeing Solari with another woman—one who was casually allowed to break all of his strict rules? Was she heartbroken right now?
"Are you okay, Vice?" Akiro asked gently.
"Of course I am. What do you take me for?" she replied, laced with sarcasm, before turning her eyes onto Glecy. "And Glecy, when did you become so close to her? Why haven't I heard a single thing about... Cana? Solari didn't even bother introducing her to me. What a jerk!"
"Oh!" Akiro quickly covered his mouth.
It was the first time any of them had ever heard his sister curse at Solari. That was definitely new.
So, was she really jealous this time?
"Captain brought her to the guild a few days before the mission," Glecy said, answering Kyla's question.
"And you were busy swatting flies at home back then," Akiro chimed in, stretching his lips in that pseudo-smile mannerism of his.
Kyla shot him a glance, then rolled her eyes.
On the road, Ryden caught up with Erus and Cana right before they turned into a narrow alley, stopping them in their tracks.
Analytical as always, Erus leveled a heavy, serious look at him.
"This isn't the way to the school supply store," Erus noted.
"No. I just wanted to inform you that the beast will be handed over to the palace this afternoon. The guild Elders agreed that it should be turned over soon before it creates further chaos for our guild," Ryden stated, knowing Solari had every right to know.
Erus didn't say a word. His heart thrummed like a wild beast's charge. Was it already too late to correct the mistake he had made? His fists clenched until his knuckles turned pale, his teeth grinding together in silence.
His mind reeled, torn over whether he should tell Ryden what he had learned. But how could Ryden even help him? This wasn't some minor infraction—they could be branded as traitors to the kingdom if they dared try saving that fox. He couldn't afford to endanger Ryden and his entire family.
What if he snatched the beast back himself? But where would he even hide it? Moreover, would the fox even trust him, knowing he was the very person who captured it in the first place?
"Captain?" Sensing the dark, turbulent aura suddenly leaking from Solari, Ryden grew deeply concerned. Why was he reacting like this? Hadn't Solari himself told the Grandmaster to hand the Teumesian fox over to the palace, explicitly stating their squad had no interest in claiming credit for its capture?
"Erus," Cana called out, but he was drowning so deeply in his thoughts that he barely heard her.
Ryden, meanwhile, flinched slightly at the sound of the name Erus. It still sounded foreign and strangely lethal compared to what they were used to calling him.
"Erusiel!"
Erus snapped out of his trance, startled to hear Cana blurt out his true name again. He looked at her, stunned. Beside them, Ryden swallowed hard, frozen in shock at the sharp authority in Cana's voice—and the absolute weight of the name she had just uttered.
"Is this the cause of your distress?" Cana asked him, hitting the nail right on the head. "Are you trying to save it?"
When he didn't answer, she narrowed her eyes and let out a small sigh. She had known the moment Erus rushed out earlier upon learning the history—that those foxes were actually the victims.
"Don't sweat it. Saving one life won't make up for an entire generation."
"What? Do you even know what you're saying?" Irritation flared in Erus's voice. "You know as well as I do that the truth isn't what everyone has been led to believe!"
Ryden stood frozen, witnessing the two of them bicker with the exact same terrifying intensity. He had no idea whether he should try to step in and stop them or just find the nearest place to hide.
"Do you even know the exact consequences of what you're about to do?" Cana fired back, hitting him with cold reality. Her voice remained surprisingly calm despite Erus's rising outburst. "Trying to right every wrong is not always the best solution."
"I don't know, but I can't just stand by! I don't want to repeat my mistakes!"
Erus's mind flashed back to when he was barely clinging to life in the Abyss during his knighthood trial—disobeying his mother and following his own desperate urge to seek out his father and win his favor. That choice had almost cost him his life, and would have destroyed his mother's happiness if not for the miracle that saved him—giving him a second chance at life so Uruja wouldn't be left to live in desolation and sorrow forever.
But the Teumessian fox was a completely different matter. Any move he made now would ripple out, endangering the lives of everyone he valued.
Cana stepped directly in front of Erus, her back turned to Ryden. She reached out, taking both of Erus's clenched fists in her hands, and locked her eyes onto his.
"Whatever you did in the past was not a mistake. Everything happens for a reason. And failing doesn't mean it's the end. It is just the beginning."
Living on Earth had proven those exact words to her every time she messed up at work. But with every mistake she made, she learned and grew from it.
"Let it happen," she whispered—though even she felt a flicker of confusion at her own words.
And Erus was no different.