Nothing much happened on the way to the inn. Barren and Simon argued over small things twice during the 10-minute walk. Eddy remained quiet the whole time, and Kathleen continued walking with a sad expression. As for me, I was wondering how old friends could fight so much over such trivial matters.
I glanced at Barren and Simon, who were still quarreling over Barren's not-so-funny humor. The flickering streetlights illuminated their faces, highlighting Simon's growing frustration and Barren's smug grin.
"Hey, Eddy, can you please make them stop? People are staring at us," I asked, thinking about how Eddy and Viola used to handle these two.
"Let them be. They'll calm down after a while," Eddy replied nonchalantly.
"Yeah... I don't think so. From the way they're arguing, I think a hand-to-hand fight might break out soon," I said, worriedly watching the two of them.
"Hey, you two! Can you stop already? Everyone is staring at us! Aren't you supposed to be friends?" I shouted, trying to diffuse the situation.
"Friends with this meathead? Never," Simon said, glaring at Barren.
"Don't steal my line, you birdbrain!" Barren shot back angrily.
"Let them be, Theo. You're just making it worse," Eddy frowned.
"Yeah, I think I made it way worse," I admitted, as their bickering grew even louder than before.
When we arrived at the inn, Simon immediately took a single room, just like Kathleen. We paid what we owed to the receptionist, a tired-looking Woman who barely glanced up, and started heading toward our rooms.
"Go freshen up, will you? And cheer up for a change," Barren said to Kathleen, his voice unusually soft.
But Kathleen didn't reply; she stayed as quiet and somber as before, her eyes glued to the floor.
As for Simon, he took off with his keys without even waiting for us.
"I think it's better that he stays away from Barren—they'd just start bickering again," I commented.
"Let's take Kathleen to her room first," I suggested, wanting to support her as much as possible.
"Yeah, let's do that," Barren replied energetically.
---
"What a day," Barren said as he came out of the bathroom, fresh from a shower, his damp hair clinging to his forehead. He plopped down on the single bed, letting out a long sigh of relief.
I kind of agree with him on this one, actually.
"Hey, Barren, why did you say that the commission was a fake one?" I asked curiously.
"Because it's a trap. Don't you find it a little funny that a secretive cult group, one that no one knows anything about since they started operating, suddenly becomes visible? And then, out of the blue, just when we need information about them, a convenient commission shows up? Doesn't that feel suspicious to you?"
As Barren explained, I started thinking about it. It really was happening way too quickly to be a coincidence. And then there were all those fake guild letters sent to bring Barren, Simon, and us together. It does seem suspicious.
Knock, knock.
Someone was knocking on our door. Who could it be? Judging by the way they knocked, I thought it might be Simon—Kathleen didn't seem like she'd recovered enough to knock this energetically.
I was about to get up and open the door, but Barren shouted, "Come in! It's open!"
I was actually correct—it was Simon at the door. Barren might be right; maybe I am getting sharper. Wait, what am I even thinking? I feel foolish for thinking about that.
"So, what's the game plan from here? Are we going to take the commission?" Simon asked as he walked in.
"Let's take it," Eddy said as he sat up from the bed.
"I know it's a trap, but this is the best lead we have on the cult," Eddy continued. "We should go for it now, especially since Kathleen got her guild card. She can officially join us on the commission."
---
About that, what is that card Kathleen received from the guild? I asked curiously.
"We don't have to know that for now. It's not important. The important thing is it has a unique ID, which means she can join us. And because the commission is gold-ranked, we just need two gold-ranked members, which we already have, so her rank doesn't matter. We can find out about that later."
"Do you think the guild is with the cult?" I asked, looking towards Barren.
"No, I don't think so. The guild can't be with the cult. It's impossible for someone to breach the guild's top-notch security. But I think Elina could be working for the cult here," Barren suggested.
"Wait, that sweet girl who talked with us, helped us with our registration and stuff—can she really be a member of the Shade organization?" As I was thinking that, I felt my facial expression tense up. Sensing this, Barren said, "I said she could be involved. Don't get so tense."
Knock, knock.
This time, the knock came at an interval, a slow and deliberate rhythm that sent a chill through the room.
"The door is already open," Simon said since he was the last one who had come in.
But there was no one entering.
This made all of us look toward the door curiously.
"Let me check," Barren said. "If It's not Kathleen who could it be."
The room suddenly felt heavy with unease, as if the air had thickened. The flickering magic lamp overhead cast faint, jittery shadows, adding to the tension as Barren slowly moved toward the door to check.
As Barren opened the door, I tried to look at the doorway to see who it was, but because of Barren's large body, I couldn't see past him.
Barren glanced left and right, as if searching for someone. Seeing no one, he began to turn back towards us but suddenly stopped, noticing something. He bent down, picked something up from the floor, then turned back and closed the door behind him. This time, he locked it from the inside with a firm *click* of the family lock, loud enough to announce its secure state.
"Who was it?" Simon asked, leaning toward him with interest.
I looked at Simon, surprised. Not even an hour ago, they were bickering like they'd never talk to each other again. If I remember correctly, Simon had stormed off earlier, yelling, "I'll never talk to this meathead again!" And now here he was, initiating the conversation.
As I thought about it, I glanced toward Eddy, whose expression clearly said, *I told you they'd be back to normal.*
"No one was actually there," Barren said, holding up a piece of paper. "But I found this on the ground."
"I think someone was listening to our conversation from outside," Eddy said, his expression turning serious. "They followed us."
"Theo, go to Kathleen's room and bring her here," Barren said, worry evident in his voice. "I don't think it's a good idea for her to be alone right now. We don't know what they want."
I nodded, already thinking the same thing. Standing up, I headed towards the door.
---
"They've finally all met, my Lord. Your plan is proceeding very smoothly," the bowing woman said to the man seated on the dark throne.
"And, as you surmised, she also received a black guild card."
"Good," the man said, a cold smile spreading across his face. "Now initiate Phase 3."
---