Pao walked through the quiet halls of the inn, her steps slow and her mind clouded with thoughts. She clutched her bag of blank papers tightly, her fingers curling around the edges as if holding onto them would steady her emotions. As she turned a corner, she nearly bumped into Bral, who was heading toward the stairs. He looked much better than he had the previous evening.
"Oh… hey, Pao," he greeted, his cheerful tone contrasting with her subdued demeanor. He immediately noticed the sadness etched on her face, though she tried to mask it.
She quickly forced a smile. "Oh… Bral. Hey. You look better! Did you rest well?"
Bral furrowed his brow, his cheerful expression shifting to concern. "I did, but… are you okay? You don't look fine. Is something bothering you?"
Pao bit her lip, raising her hands defensively as she let out an awkward laugh. "No, no, it's fine! You're just imagining things. I'm totally okay."
Her forced response only deepened Bral's concern, but before he could press further, Pao stepped around him, her pace quickening. "I'll see you later, Bral!" she called over her shoulder as she disappeared down the hallway. Moments later, he heard the soft thud of her door closing.
Bral stood there for a moment, staring at the closed door with a puzzled look. He scratched his head, yawning. "What was that about?" he muttered to himself. Shrugging, he turned toward the stairs. "Well, it's time to eat something."
Bral made his way to the market just outside the inn. He stopped at a familiar stall, exchanging a few coins for a hearty meat pie and a bottle of ale. The vendor, a cheerful older woman, handed him his food with a warm smile.
"Thank you!" Bral said as he took the pie. "Smells great, as always."
"You're welcome, dear. Enjoy!" the vendor replied.
As he made his way back to the inn, savoring the aroma of his meal, Bral spotted Bao in the corridor near the entrance. She was leaning casually against the wall, flipping through a small notebook. When she heard his footsteps, she glanced up, her expression neutral.
"Hey, Bao," Bral said, approaching her with a grin. "What's up?"
Bao gave him a slight nod, tucking the notebook into her pocket. "Hey. You're awake? Good. That means tomorrow we can take on a quest."
Bral chuckled. "Yeah, I think I'm back to normal. Shouldn't be an issue. But… Pao doesn't seem right."
Bao's expression shifted immediately to concern. "What happened to her?"
Bral shrugged, taking a bite of his pie. "I don't know. I ran into her in the hall just now. She looked upset, so I asked if something was bothering her, but she just laughed it off and darted into her room before I could get anything out of her. You should talk to her."
Bao frowned with worry. "I hope nothing's wrong."
Bral smiled at her reaction, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "What's with the sudden concern? Usually, you're so cold, but when it comes to your sister, you're super cute."
Bao's cheeks flushed red, and she glared at him, standing up straighter. "You're ridiculous," she snapped, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Bral held up his hands in mock surrender. "Just calling it as I see it. Anyway, see you later."
Bao rolled her eyes, turning away with a huff. "Idiot," she muttered under her breath as she walked toward the stairs. Still, her steps quickened as she made her way to the room she shared with her sister.
When Bao reached the door to their room, she hesitated for a moment, her hand resting on the doorknob. She took a deep breath, steadying herself, then pushed the door open. Inside, Pao was seated at the small desk by the window, her papers spread out in front of her. She looked completely at ease, humming softly to herself as she scribbled something down.
When she noticed Bao entering, she turned with a bright smile. "Oh, hey, sis! How was your training?"
Bao narrowed her eyes slightly, watching her sister carefully. Pao's demeanor was light and cheerful, a stark contrast to the sadness Bral had described. She decided to ease into the conversation. "It was good," she said cautiously. "What about you? Any progress with the spell?"
Pao chuckled, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. "Not as much as I'd hoped. I got a little distracted—my pen ran out of ink, so I had to buy a new one."
Her laugh was natural, her tone casual, but Bao's brow furrowed slightly. Is she pretending? she wondered. Or was Bral exaggerating?
For now, Bao decided to play along, nodding as she closed the door behind her. "I see," she said, her voice calm but watchful. "Well, at least you're back on track now." She walked over to her bed, but her gaze lingered on Pao for a moment longer, trying to read her sister's expression.
Bao sat cross-legged on her bed, and after a moment she bagan sharpening her arrows. From time to time she was glancing at her sister to see whether something wasn't right, like Bral said. Eventually, Bao noticed her sister's distracted behavior, her sharp eyes catching every glance toward the window, every fidget of her fingers. After a while, she sighed and set down her arrow.
"Something's bothering you," Bao said.
Pao jumped slightly at the sudden interruption, snapping her head toward her sister. "No, no!" she said quickly, waving her hands in a defensive gesture. "Why do you say that?"
Bao raised an eyebrow, her expression unimpressed. "That's exactly why. You're distracted, you can't focus on something you actually enjoy, and you're acting weird."
Pao froze, her hands dropping to her lap. The forced smile on her face faded as she realized she couldn't fool Bao. She lowered her gaze, her lips pressing into a thin line as her sister's words sank in. Finally, with a heavy sigh, she slumped slightly in her chair.
Bao's eyes softened. She leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees. "So? What happened?"
Pao hesitated, biting her lip. She glanced out the window one more time before finally speaking, her voice hesitant and unsure. "Do you… do you think Amukelo has a girlfriend?"
Bao blinked, taken aback by the question. "What?" she said. "Why would he?"
Pao fidgeted with the edge of her grimoire, avoiding her sister's gaze. "I just… I saw him with some girl today."
Bao tilted her head slightly, narrowing her eyes in thought. "Wasn't he doing quests today? Are you sure that wasn't just part of the quest?"
Pao paused, her fingers stilling. "Maybe," she admitted reluctantly. "But they were walking together, laughing. And… he called her by her name."
Bao stared at her for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then she let out a sigh, shaking her head. "I don't know, Pao. You'll have to ask him if it's bothering you that much. But honestly, I think it's really unlikely that they're close or anything."
Pao's gaze snapped to her sister, her brows knitting together in confusion. "Why do you think that?"
Bao leaned back, crossing her arms. "Think about it. Amukelo said himself that he's never been to another town before we started adventuring together. How could they have gotten close? It's not like he's had much time to build that kind of relationship while we've been out doing quests. You're probably just overthinking it."
Pao stared at her sister, turning the words over in her mind. Bao's logic made sense, but the uneasy feeling in her chest didn't fully subside. Finally, she nodded silently and said, "You're right, I must be overthinking it." She then turned back to her grimoire. Bao watched her for a moment longer before picking up her whetstone and arrow, resuming her sharpening with a faint sigh.
Meanwhile, Amukelo entered the inn. He made his way through the hallways, carrying the cloth-wrapped wooden sword under his arm. The faint warmth of satisfaction still lingered from the day's events as he approached the room he shared with Bral and Idin. When he stepped inside, Bral was seated on his bed, finishing off a meat pie. His color looked better, and he appeared fully rested.
"Oh, hey, Amukelo," Bral said, setting his food aside. "I can see you're back. Feeling good?"
Amukelo grinned, setting the sword against the wall. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was going to ask you the same thing. Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah," Bral replied with a nod. "I think I'm back to normal. Tomorrow, we're back to questing."
"Good to hear," Amukelo said, sitting on his bed and leaning back against the wall. He glanced at Bral, noticing the curious look on his face.
"What's that?" Bral asked, nodding toward the wrapped wooden sword.
Amukelo glanced at it and chuckled. "Oh, this? I got it during one of the quests I did today. I didn't want to take a payment, so they gave me this instead."
Bral frowned, tilting his head. "Why didn't you want the payment? Isn't that the whole point of doing quests?"
Amukelo shrugged, his grin turning sheepish. "I don't know. It just felt like the right thing to do. There was this older lady having a party, and I helped her granddaughter prepare for it. But instead of taking the money, I told them to use it to buy the grandma a present."
Bral raised an eyebrow, leaning forward. "And they gave you that sword instead?"
"Yeah," Amukelo said, gesturing toward it. "The granddaughter insisted. She told me that they weren't using it, so I accepted. And she showed me a place where I can practice, too. Honestly, the sword and the practice space will help me more than the money would've."
Bral leaned back, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Well, that's nice of them. And of you. Not many adventurers would've done that."
Amukelo laughed softly. "Maybe. But it felt good, you know? Helping out like that. My mother always told me that kindness pays off."
Bral nodded, and gave him a warm smile. "Well, good for you. And she was right. She must've been a great mother."
Amukelo grinned. "She was." He leaned his head back against the wall, and then he murmured thoughtfully. "The best one."