By the time Van returned to the tavern with his thoughts weighing on him, night had fully fallen.
The tavern was already empty. Only Sati remained, finishing the last of the cleanup.
"Get some rest, Sati. I'll handle things here."
"Forget it, Van. You're tired enough already…"
Sati did not look back and kept gathering the cups on her own. Van said nothing more and simply walked to the bar to help.
After a short stretch of quiet, Sati was the first to break the silence.
"You won't leave us, right?"
"Hm?"
Van paused mid-task and set down the cup he had been washing.
"What's gotten into you?"
"Those two topsiders. I don't think either of them has good intentions!"
Sati also put down the cup in her hand and looked straight into Van's eyes, her expression indignant.
"Especially that square-faced idiot. He almost got you killed! And that topside woman… Even if she looks… Anyway, I just think she's up to something. She's only pretending not to be!"
Van raised an eyebrow and could not help laughing.
"You're getting this worked up over that?"
"This isn't a small thing! It's important! The most important thing! Do you even know how important you are to us?"
Sati grew agitated again, her voice rising before she could stop it.
"Of course I do. So for now… I'm not leaving. The Lanes are my home."
Van patted Sati on the shoulder and comforted her softly.
Sati took a few deep breaths and gradually calmed down.
"Sorry, Van. I just… I'm sorry. I got too worked up just now."
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
He wiped the table while casually reassuring her.
Van truly did not take it too seriously. If it had been any other member of the Firelights acting like this, he might have taught them a lesson, but with Sati's face… Van felt it was normal for her to be a little temperamental.
"I just wanted to say… I… We all need you…"
Sati spoke softly. Slowly, she reached out and rested her hand on Van's hand, which was braced against the table.
Under the tavern's dim night lights, the atmosphere seemed to turn faintly ambiguous.
Only seemed to.
"You should get some rest, Sati."
Without changing his expression, Van pulled his hand away from the table and picked up his pipe.
Sati hurriedly took a lighter from her pocket, but Van had already picked up a match, struck it against the table, and lit the tobacco.
Seeing Van act as if nothing had happened, Sati froze with the lighter still raised in midair.
"Van, I…"
"I said go rest."
"…"
Sati silently put the lighter away, lowered her head, walked out from behind the bar, and headed for the tavern door.
Van watched her red-haired back disappear into the distance. His gaze turned a little unfocused, but he quickly looked away and let out a deep sigh.
"I really spoiled her…"
Van continued cleaning the tables with practiced hands. It was not time to rest yet. He still had something very important to deal with.
…
…
Caitlyn had only just gotten off the cable car when she saw someone unexpected at the station.
"Caitlyn! Thank goodness! I was just about to go find you!"
Jayce squeezed out of the crowd with a ticket still in his hand. When he saw Caitlyn, he clearly let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Jayce? What are you doing here?"
"I was about to go to Zaun to look for you. Councilor Kiramman said she hadn't seen you all day, and I guessed…"
"You told her?!"
"No… No, I wasn't sure, so I was planning to go to the Undercity first and ask around myself."
Caitlyn sighed in relief. If her parents found out she had gone to the Undercity, she might not be allowed out of the house again.
Jayce sniffed the air, then frowned.
"You were drinking?"
"Mm-hm. Just a little… two glasses."
"With who?"
"Van. Torvan."
"How did you end up with him?!"
Jayce looked anxious, and Caitlyn found his reaction baffling.
"What do you mean? What's wrong? Aren't you friends?"
"We are… but he's from the Undercity! And he isn't as simple as he looks…"
Jayce could not help remembering being pinned to the floor of the Last Drop, surrounded by those eyes that looked ready to kill him.
He had no doubt that if something had truly gone wrong, they would have torn him apart.
"In short, he's far too dangerous for you!"
"Jayce, it isn't good to speak badly about someone behind their back… He praises you all the time in front of me. And Viktor is from the Undercity too!"
Caitlyn's face seemed to frost over. She was clearly angry.
"That's not what I meant. I… Sorry. I was panicking. I'm not saying he's a bad person."
Jayce sighed, rubbed his chin, and tried to organize his words.
"He's a decent man. I also think he would be a very suitable research partner. But that's only for me, for the Academy… For you, Caitlyn, being around someone like him is a little… unsafe."
"What exactly is unsafe about it? I can make whatever friends I want, and you don't even understand him!"
"That's exactly why I'm worried about you, Caitlyn…"
After so many years together, Jayce had gradually come to see Caitlyn like a younger sister. Now he was starting to understand Councilor Kiramman's helplessness whenever Caitlyn acted stubborn.
"You're the only daughter of the Kiramman family, the daughter of a councilor. Getting involved with someone like that… with some gang boss from the Undercity is dangerous in itself. If anything, following me into Zaun was already dangerous enough!"
"So what? Is there a law saying topsiders can't go to the Undercity? Is there a law saying I can't make friends from there? Just because I'm a Kiramman, I'm supposed to stay topside, go to dull tea parties, and make nice with a pack of stupid, arrogant young lords, is that it?"
"That's not what I mean, Caitlyn…"
"And he isn't like what you're saying. People respect him in the Undercity. Everyone who sees him shows him genuine respect… You're judging him by appearances! And Undercity people are honest. They aren't as bad as you think!"
Although her trip to the Undercity had included being kidnapped, nearly getting shot, and being splashed with water, Caitlyn felt those people were not bad. There had only been a few misunderstandings.
"Caitlyn, I…"
"Enough! I don't want to hear it. I need to hurry home and calm my parents' nerves before they snap."
"But you smell like alcohol…"
"Then say you found me in a bar… a topside one. I was excited about taking on the glorious duty of guarding the Academy District, so I celebrated with a few drinks. Sounds reasonable, right?"
Caitlyn narrowed her eyes at Jayce, and Jayce shook his head helplessly.
"You want me to help you lie to Councilor Kiramman?"
"So? Are you helping or not?"
"I…"
Looking at Caitlyn's expression, which clearly said she would cut him off if he refused, Jayce could only let out a long sigh.
"Just this once…"
[End of chapter]