[Male POV]

The room the guild had given them was modest, but warm.

After the Reaper Bat mission, that alone felt like a blessing.

A single lamp burned low near the wall, casting a soft amber glow across the little space. Their weapons had been set aside for the night—Lihan’s sword leaned against the bedframe, and Rei’s revolver rifle rested within easy reach near the window. The shutters were cracked just enough to let in a little night air.

It was quiet when Rei stepped back in, a towel draped over her head as she wiped the last of the moisture from her dark hair. The faint warmth of the guild’s baths still clung to her skin, and her mood had clearly improved for it.

“Ah—it feels so refreshing,” she said as she came through the door. “No matter what they say, the facility here at the guild is the best.”

Lihan, still sitting on the bed, only gave a small glance up before looking away again.

Rei lowered the towel from her head and tilted it slightly at him. “Lihan? You should get some rest. The hot spring here is nice.”

He didn’t answer right away.

That made her pause.

For all her dry humor, Rei was good at noticing when something was off. One look at his slumped shoulders and distant expression told her more than enough. He was still brooding over the mission. Still turning over every bruise, every stumble, every moment he thought he’d slowed the party down.

Rei let out a quiet breath through her nose, then walked over.

Before Lihan could ask what she was doing, she leaned in and wrapped her arms around him in a quick, firm hug, pulling him against her bosom with the same easy confidence she brought to everything else.

“Looks like you’re in trouble now,” she said, amusement curling at the edge of her voice.

Lihan froze.

Rei smirked and added, “Do you want me to cuddle with you in bed?”

That did it.

Lihan made a flustered sound and immediately tried to squirm free, face burning red as he scurried out of her grasp and nearly tripped over himself in the process.

“I’m good!” he blurted. “I’m not a kid anymore!”

Rei blinked once.

Then the corner of her mouth lifted.

“Oh,” she said, thoroughly entertained. “Shy boy.”

Morning settled over the guild hall in a haze of warm light, the kind that slipped through tall windows and turned dust motes gold. Compared to the noise of the previous evening, it was almost peaceful. A few adventurers nursed drinks or sore limbs after late returns, clerks moved between the counters with practiced efficiency, and somewhere in the back, someone was already arguing over quest rewards.

Rei sat at one of the long tables near a window, one leg crossed over the other as she flipped through her party’s records.

Profits from recent commissions.

Supply costs.

Repairs.

Lodging.

Ammunition.

Medical herbs.

The usual.

Her expression remained flat as she scanned line after line, making mental notes where needed. Ashe was still finishing up in the women’s side of the baths, and Lihan had yet to drag himself fully into the morning, so for the moment the quiet suited her just fine.

That peace ended when one of the clerks approached with a bright, almost suspiciously cheerful expression.

“Rei,” the woman said, leaning slightly over the table. “Your party still isn’t at full capacity, right?”

Rei looked up from the ledger. “That depends.”

“There’s someone looking to join a group,” the clerk continued. “Young, but apparently capable. His old party dissolved a while back, and he’s been taking solo work ever since. I thought I’d ask.”

Rei’s eyes narrowed faintly. “And you’re asking me because…?”

The clerk smiled in the way guild clerks did when they were about to hand someone a problem and call it an opportunity. “Because you’re the most likely to say yes if I phrase it as a practical necessity.”

Rei stared at her for a beat, then sighed and closed the ledger.

A few moments later, the clerk returned with the would-be recruit in tow.

He was young, just as promised—probably around Lihan’s age, maybe a year older at most. His armor marked him as a warrior, and he carried himself with the reckless confidence of someone who had survived enough bad decisions to start mistaking luck for skill.

The moment he saw Rei, his grin widened.

“It’s my honor,” he said at once. “You really are as beautiful as I heard. Do you have someone you’re seeing?”

Rei looked at him in absolute silence.

Then, flatly:

“Shut up. That’s outright harassment.”

For a brief moment, she considered simply sending him away.

But then she thought of the incomplete party roster. Thought of how many jobs became easier with a fourth body. Thought of the way younger adventurers often either straightened out under decent supervision…or got weeded out quickly enough.

I guess I can take care of him until he finds a new party.

At least, that was the theory.

A short while later, Rei found Ashe and Lihan near the front of the hall and introduced the new addition.

“This is Philip,” she said, already sounding like she regretted it.

Philip waved with the easy confidence of someone completely unaware that his first impression had not, in fact, succeeded. “Philip. B-Rank warrior. Use me as you wish.”

Lihan immediately looked wary.

Ashe, ever polite, offered a small smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

That was all the invitation Philip needed.

His face lit up as he stepped toward her with both arms opening far too wide.

“I’ve never seen a pretty elf like you, Ashe!” he declared. “Let me hug you!”

Ashe’s expression changed at once.

Not frightened.

Not flustered.

Just deeply, immediately annoyed.

She planted a hand against his face and held him back at arm’s length while his reaching arm flailed uselessly in the air.

“Seriously,” she said, voice tight with restraint, “I am really annoyed, so please stop.”

Lihan was moving before Philip had even finished struggling against Ashe’s palm.

“Didn’t you hear what she just said?” he snapped.

Philip, somehow undeterred, twisted enough to grin at him. “Nah—it’s a nice team-building exercise!”

Lihan stared at him with naked disbelief.

Ashe finally shoved Philip back hard enough to make him stumble away, then turned and walked straight to Rei, rubbing at her temple as though she already regretted the entire morning.

“Rei,” Ashe said, exasperation plain in her voice, “I really don’t understand why you agreed to this.”

Rei exhaled slowly, one hand coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose. “Sorry…I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”

“That makes one of us,” Lihan muttered darkly.

Philip either failed to notice the hostility gathering around him or simply ignored it. Both possibilities felt equally plausible.

Lihan looked from Philip, to Rei, to Ashe, and his jaw tightened.

“No,” he said suddenly.

The firmness in his voice made the others pause.

Rei lowered her hand. “No?”

“We don’t need him,” Lihan said, more forcefully this time. He pointed at Philip as though identifying a public nuisance. “We really, really don’t need him.”

Philip looked offended. “Hey.”

Lihan ignored him. His attention stayed fixed on Rei and Ashe, earnest frustration bleeding into protectiveness. “You said we needed a fourth, right? Fine. Then…then let's ask my brother.”

There was a brief silence.

Rei blinked. “Your brother?”

Ashe tilted her head slightly. “You never mentioned he was looking for a party.”

Lihan immediately looked awkward, as though he had spoken a little too quickly and now had no graceful way to recover. “He’s…not, exactly.”

That only made Rei narrow her eyes. “Then what are you suggesting?”

Lihan hesitated, but only for a moment.

“That he’d help,” he said. “If I asked.”

Ashe and Rei exchanged a look.

Neither of them knew what Lihan wasn’t saying. Neither of them had any reason to assume that “my brother” meant one of the most famous adventurers alive. To them, it sounded like a reluctant fallback—some older sibling with enough skill to fill in temporarily.

Rei folded her arms. “And this mystery brother of yours is better than the alternative?”

Lihan shot Philip a pointed glance as the other boy started to open his mouth again.

“Yes,” he said flatly. “Much better.”

Ashe sighed, still clearly irritated from the attempted hug. “At this point, I’m willing to at least meet him.”

Rei was quiet for a second, then gave a small nod. “Fine. We will meet with the brother.”

And so, with the decision made, the four of them set out.

The road to Arcadia took them across well-traveled routes and into steadily busier lands, the countryside slowly giving way to the long outer reach of the capital’s influence. Merchant wagons became more frequent. Patrols wore polished insignia instead of travel-worn cloaks. Even the inns grew cleaner, more expensive, and more interested in reputation.

Philip, unfortunately, remained Philip.

Whenever he drifted too close to Ashe or tried sidling up beside Rei with some half-baked compliment, Lihan was there almost immediately, stepping between them with growing irritation.

At first it was glaring.

Then curt warnings.

Then open arguments.

“Back off.”

“I’m just talking.”

“You were reaching.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“It does to normal people.”

Rei said little during most of it, though her expression suggested she was keeping score. Ashe, for her part, handled Philip with a mix of patience and increasing annoyance.

By the second day, even Philip had begun to grasp that Lihan was not going to let a single thing slide.

By the third, Arcadia finally rose before them.

The capital stood broad and gleaming beneath the afternoon light, all white stone, banners, and high walls carved with the sort of confidence only wealthy old cities possessed. Towers lifted above the district roofs, and the streets leading inward were alive with traffic: guild adventurers, merchants, nobles’ escorts, wandering priests, and more than a few opportunists hoping to make coin in the shadow of power.

Philip slowed, staring openly.

Ashe did too, though with more wonder than greed.

Rei simply glanced at Lihan. “So,” she said, “where exactly are we going?”

Lihan swallowed once, then pointed ahead.

Not toward the public inns.

Not toward the ordinary guild branches.

Toward one of the largest buildings in the district—a structure of polished stone and engraved metal, marked not with royal insignia but with a crest recognized across kingdoms.

A hand extended downward.

Not to seize.

To lift.

Rei’s eyes narrowed.

Ashe’s lips parted slightly.

Philip looked between the building and Lihan in confusion.

Lihan, doing his best to look like this was all completely normal, said:

“This way.”

And led them straight toward the guild hall of Divine Hands.