Chapter 05
The drowsy winter sunlight tickled her eyelids.
“Mm.”
Mayna let out a pleasant sigh, savoring the soft touch of the blanket.
Today, she felt unusually refreshed.
Feels like I’ve slept for two days straight.
The unpleasant stomachache was completely gone.
Her body felt as light as a feather.
…But something felt a little off.
…Ominous.
What time is it now?
“Gasp.”
She shot up like an ancestor rising from a coffin.
Mayna checked the wall clock.
Realizing she was bare-eyed, she quickly grabbed her glasses and put them on.
The sharpened hands of the clock pointed to 6:50 a.m.
“7 a.m. Solodome Region, AA-class dungeon.”
Ten minutes left until work.
“I’m screwed.”
…
Mayna tumbled down the stairs like lightning and flung open the front door of the guesthouse.
Still in her pajamas, she dashed across the central garden toward the palace where Kalif’s bedroom was.
Thump thump thump.
Thump thump thump thump thump!
She rushed up the stairs and threw open the bedroom door.
Sunlight streamed into the room.
The window was open, making it as chilly as the outdoors, and the curtains billowed wildly.
It was because of Kalif’s hot-blooded constitution.
Perhaps due to the massive flow of mana in his body, especially when sleeping, he radiated so much heat that his skin felt like dough in an oven.
Anyway, just as she expected, Kalif was asleep like a bear in hibernation.
He was lying facing the window, his bare back rising and falling in steady rhythm, showing how deep his slumber was.
“Sir Lennox! Wake up!”
Mayna, unusually loud, startled Kalif into jerking upright.
“What? What’s going on?”
“It’s five minutes before work!”
“What? Sh!t! Why are you only waking me now?”
He cursed, flinging the blanket aside, and Mayna quickly averted her eyes from the sudden naked assault.
“Get ready and come down!”
Leaving his swearing behind, Mayna ran to the kitchen.
She needed to make his special health juice.
It was her routine on his workdays, a concoction of more than ten ingredients.
Fresh apples, pears, lemons, and seasonal berries.
Home-grown rosemary, herbs, lavender.
Cabbage, broccoli, kale. (This was where the “disgusting taste” began, according to Kalif.)
Roots of medicinal plants. (This stage he described as “poison flavor.”)
And finally, one teaspoon of diluted red potion at a 9:1 ratio.
“What are you doing!”
Kalif’s voice thundered from outside the kitchen.
“Coming!”
Mayna poured the ominous green liquid—like monster slime—into a glass bottle and ran out.
“The world won’t end if I skip that poison for a day, will it?”
Kalif was already dressed for work.
His messy hair was slicked back, his fitted combat gear covered by a silver-gray tunic.
He wore heavy boots to withstand thorns and poisonous plants, and at his side hung one of the Empire’s three legendary swords, Lennox’s Wave.
“Drink it. Don’t leave a drop.”
Mayna firmly handed him the bottle.
Grimacing like a condemned man drinking poison, Kalif accepted it.
Gulp.
Guuulp.
Mayna watched his throat bob as he swallowed.
Though she never once heard praise despite the time and effort, she didn’t mind.
It wasn’t something she did for compliments anyway.
“Ugh.”
Kalif handed back the empty bottle, face twisted.
Even after drinking it daily, he never got used to the bitter taste.
Mayna passed the bottle to Hoji, who had just stepped outside.
“I’ll be back.”
“Yes, Counselor!”
Kalif had some bad habits, one of which was insisting Mayna accompany him to work.
As a regular human, she couldn’t pass through the gate, but he always insisted on taking her to the entrance.
Like a keychain or comfort toy, perhaps.
Once, when she asked why, he said,
“It’s boring to go alone.”
When she countered logically,
“But it only takes one second by portal,”
He replied,
“It’s boring to wait for the guild members at the entrance.”
Another nonsense answer.
“You’re going dressed like that?”
“Huh?”
Following his gaze, Mayna looked down at herself.
Instead of her usual plain cotton dress, she was in a pale pink silk nightgown worn only indoors.
The neckline was deep, and the sleeves and hem fluttered in the late-winter breeze.
“…”
Kalif clamped his mouth shut, lost in thought.
He didn’t look pleased.
He was probably embarrassed at the thought of his counselor being seen outside in pajamas.
“Hm.”
His reaction was unsettled.
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
“…”
“Sir Lennox. Unless it’s something serious, we should depart. It’s already 7:05. We’re five minutes late.”
Still frowning, Kalif finally looked away with resignation.
Then he opened a portal in the middle of the garden.
“Come back safe, Sir Lennox! And Counselor!”
With Hoji’s hearty send-off behind them, the two headed for the Solodome region.
***
At 7:10 a.m., heavy fog blanketed the harbor city of Solodome in the Empire’s far north.
It was usually sustained by active trade, but for the past week, grotesque monsters had roamed the streets, paralyzing the city.
“Late fee, 100 terso.”
“Shut up.”
“Some guild leader you are. Late on top of it. Show some discipline.”
Gamri Humblefoo, a B-class knight from Guild 928 and Kalif’s close friend, swung his axe.
The twenty awakened ones at the gate burst into laughter.
Though they laughed, the air was tense.
Because this was an AA-class dungeon, three guilds had joined forces: Kalif Lennox’s Guild 928, Sera Parker’s Guild Jaguar, and Narcitan Shovatam’s Guild Imperial.
Narcitan, heir to House Shovatam, was an S-class knight with lemon-colored hair and yellow eyes.
He considered Kalif his rival, though Kalif couldn’t care less.
“Deployment in ten minutes.”
Rob Hugentia, Guild 928’s AA-class mage, rallied the group.
As an offensive caster, he was Kalif’s perfect partner.
“It does feel eerie.”
Indeed, the area was filled with a sinister energy.
“Those footprints look deadly. Get stepped on, you’d be pulp.”
The voice was bright yet laced with a metallic, sexy edge.
Mayna gazed absentmindedly at Sera, who was adjusting her gear.
True to the guild name Jaguar, their uniform was a black bodysuit that showed every line of the body.
And in that suit, Sera was nothing short of a jaguar herself.
Tall, athletic, with cropped black hair and blood-red eyes.
A beauty fierce enough to bewitch monsters.
Yet ironically, she was not a dark sorceress but a healer.
“The gate’s unstable, troubling the citizens.”
“We’ll have to check inside, see if it’s a mana issue.”
“They say there could be thousands of mana stones in there. Tempting, isn’t it?”
While the awakened ones exchanged talk as they prepared, Mayna listened from a step away.
Gate, mana, mana stones.
Things she had picked up while working at Kalif’s side.
Stories of a world that had nothing to do with her.
“Let’s head in.”
At that signal, the awakened ones lined up.
The gate opened, and with loud shouts, they charged in.
I’ll be back, Counselor.
Rob mouthed the words with a smile, bowing his head.
Mayna bowed back.
Kalif, as usual, didn’t even spare a glance.
The gate shut silently, leaving her alone in the quiet.
Now it was time for her own duties.
Book the dinner venue.
She planned to head to the tavern at Gillingham Square, which Kalif had mentioned in passing.
Without portal magic, the trip would take her over five hours by train.
***
Twelve hours later.
The twenty awakened ones who had successfully completed the hunt gathered at Gillingham Square.
Downer’s Grill, a newly opened tavern on the main street.
Run by Downer, a chef formerly of the Imperial Kitchen, the place was famous for its dishes, especially the insane flavor of its roast turkey.
“There are plenty of seats, spread out.”
Counting the growing number of awakened ones filling the tables, Mayna glanced at the door.
Kalif hadn’t arrived yet.
Neither had Sera.
“Food’s ready.”
Downer himself brought out a massive roast turkey.
After finishing the first roast, he skewered the meat onto the central grill.
The hungry, weary heroes whistled and cheered.
Clink.
Gamri, already seated, downed three glasses of amber whiskey like water and slammed the empty glass down.
Then he waved at Mayna.
“Hey, Counselor.”
“Sir Humblefoo. Do you know where Sir Lennox is?”
She asked quietly.
Gamri gestured toward the door.
Following his gaze, she froze.
…What the.
Kalif and Sera had just entered.
Both looked disheveled, their faces scratched, clothes wet from the rain outside.
They stopped mid-conversation as they came in.
“Hey! Sit down already!”
Gamri’s booming voice cut through the noise.
Kalif gave a half-hearted wave and sat with Sera at the center table, not even glancing at Mayna.
“Counselor, please join us.”
Rob kindly pulled out a chair for her.
Mayna tried to look natural as she sat.
The drinking resumed.
Glasses passed hand to hand, boasting filled the air.
Mayna sat quietly, holding her glass, staring into space.
No one paid her any mind.
An hour later, the rain pounded harder outside, and drunken voices grew louder.
“Health juice?”
Sera’s voice reached Mayna’s ear.
She nodded.
Kalif smirked faintly, brow furrowed.
“Pfft!”
Sera tilted her head back and burst into laughter.
Others turned their attention to the pair, curious about the joke.
“Counselor, share the health juice recipe with us.”
Sera, chin resting lazily on her hand, addressed Mayna at the table’s end.
Everyone’s eyes shifted to her.
“…”
Mayna froze, overwhelmed by a feeling she couldn’t put into words.
“Apparently, our counselor here makes Sir Lennox a fresh health juice every morning.”
Sera’s cheerful explanation drew more laughter, free of mockery.
That made Mayna feel even more miserable.
“Wow, that’s some devotion.”
“Sir Lennox, you’re a lucky man.”
Voices chimed in, teasing Kalif.
Mayna held only her glass of non-alcoholic drink.
“Forget health.”
Kalif finally spoke.
“As I said, I need something bad for me.”
With that strange remark, he turned to Sera.
She smiled knowingly, brushed back her cropped hair, and downed her half-finished whiskey.
Then she rose, circled the table, and walked out.
Smirking faintly, Kalif spun his empty glass.
Then he followed her.
Everyone watched the two leave, confused.
Mayna set down her glass.
Then she tied her hair back tight.
Not a strand out of place.
Firm.
