Sunlight shone through the window. Birds chirped from the roofs. Slobber dripped on his cheek…

“The hell?” Liam muttered while wiping liquid from his face. He rolled over to see Scath’s enormous head just above him. The Great Direwolf innocently returned the gaze, panting with tongue hanging from his mouth. “What are you doing?” Liam mumbled.

Smirking as much as a wolf can, Scath looked over at the still sleeping Nora before returning his gaze back to Liam.

“Tch,” Liam clicked his tongue and pushed the Direwolf’s head away. While padding away almost silently, Scath growled in a strange way that sounded similar to a chuckle.

Noticing how bright it was outside, Liam rolled out of bed, pulled on his pants, and walked over to the window. Rubbing his eyes, he muttered, “Damn… I overslept. I’ve got things to do today, too.”

Turning toward Scath, who was now lying by the wall across from the bed, Liam wondered if the beast woke him up on purpose. It actually seemed rather likely.

Stepping into the bathroom, he turned on the bathwater in order to wash his face. Unfortunately, the bathroom contained no sink, only a rudimentary tub and toilet. While washing his face, two arms tenderly wrapped around him from behind, and he felt the soft touch of a woman’s breasts on his back. At first, his body stiffened, ready to defend itself, but he quickly calmed his nerves.

“Good morning,” Nora tiredly greeted him.

“Be careful if you plan to do that again,” Liam warned. “I almost punched you.”

“I’m sure I could manage just fine,” she replied.

“Mhm… anyway, since last night happened, I should probably tell you what happened to me in the caves.”

“So all I had to do to gain your trust was mate with you?”

Sighing, Liam stood. He half-expected Nora to hang onto him longer but she let go. Facing her, he began to say something but stopped when he saw her eyes. In a similar way to the previous night, he lifted her head slightly by placing a hand below her chin.

A slight rosy tint appeared on her cheeks as she asked, “Are we doing it again?”

“No,” Liam bluntly answered. A slightly disappointed look flashed across her face until Liam said, “Your eyes look less red.”

“How much less?”

“Almost reddish-brown.”

“My status still says I’m a Catkin,” Nora muttered, her eyes gazing at her invisible screen.

Dammit, Noctis… I need answers… Liam thought.

“So... You’re not human anymore, right?” Nora asked.

“Not really,” Liam answered, letting go of her chin. “Ever heard of something called Ancientbloods?”

“Nope.”

“Hmm… well, the leader, or patriarch, or whatever he’s called, asked me to restart his clan among a few other things.”

Nora blinked. Then she frowned. “Is that why you did that last night?”

“What do you think?”

“I think you’re really hard to understand.”

“The answer’s no. I wasn’t planning on restarting the clan until much later,” Liam said while leaving the bathroom.

Before following him out, Nora peeked through the door and sent a wary glance toward Scath. The Direwolf returned the gaze and his lips curled upward into a smirk, or, at least, the closest thing to a smirk a giant wolf could muster. Shaking away her unease, Nora caught up with Liam while he put his overshirt back on.

“So, since you need to restart a clan, are you planning on mating with other women, too?” Nora asked.

“It depends on whether it’s necessary or not,” Liam answered. “Also, put your clothes on.”

Sighing at Liam’s answer, she asked, “Are we going somewhere?”

“If you have something else to do, you don’t have to come with me.”

“Looks like I’m going with you, then… Are you going to see that guild woman?”

“Yes.”

Nora fell deep into thought while putting her clothes on. Meanwhile, Liam leaned against the wall and watched her. For some reason, it bothered him when she hid her tail beneath her jacket. Rubbing his chin, he thought, I wonder if this is what it’s like to actually feel emotion…

Once Nora finished getting dressed, Liam walked out the bedroom door. At the same time, Scath dived into his shadow. Then, in the shop below, they ran into the woman from the previous day. She smiled and waved for Nora to speak with her.

In response, Nora sent a puzzled glance in Liam’s direction. Raising a brow, he raised his hands so as to say, ‘It’s got nothing to do with me’, and walked around the counter.

Stepping over to the woman, Nora asked, “What do you want?”

“Well, first let me ask your name, dear,” the woman replied, still grinning.

“Nora’sel.”

“Oh? Sounds foreign. Anyway, I’m Naomi.”

“Nice to meet you, I guess,” Nora said while pointing at Liam, “but I need to get going. He’s not the most patient person.”

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“Oh, no problem,” the woman replied. However, she leaned toward Nora’s ear and whispered, “Perhaps you two could try to be a little quieter next time.”

Nora’s cheeks flushed, and she glared at the woman who simply smiled in return.

“Don’t worry. My husband didn’t hear you,” the woman said. “I also feel like your eyes were a different color, but maybe it was just me...Well, anyway, have a good day.”

Honestly, Nora did not know how to deal with the conversation, so she ended up stomping away without saying anything.

When she caught up with Liam, he asked, “What did the lady want?”

“She wants us to be quiet next time…”

“I suppose you were louder than I expected you to be,” Liam muttered while rubbing his chin.

Pulling her hood down past her eyes, Nora mumbled, “I thought humans didn’t normally talk about such things in public.”

“Yes. Humans.”

“You were one a few days ago.”

“I actually feel more human now than before my species change,” Liam quietly replied in order to avoid eavesdropping. “Before then, I doubt last night would have transpired.”

As they rounded the corner onto the main market street, Nora asked, “What were you like before? I only saw you once before your change.”

“More heartless, I think,” Liam answered thoughtfully. A few aspects of his personality changed including the passion he showed the previous night. Overall, he believed his personality remained intact, but only time would tell.

“So you changed a lot?”

“Not much, but enough for your words to make me feel something.”

“Hmm~ So, what do I make you feel?” Nora asked, smirking up at him.

“I’m not very familiar with emotions or feelings.”

“You don’t have any idea?”

“How about irritation or annoyance?” Liam retorted.

“But you’ll keep me around anyway,” Nora smugly replied.

Dammit… This woman… Liam thought, unable to retort.

Shortly before noon, they arrived at the Adventurer Guild. However, a commotion in the courtyard prevented them from approaching the building. A rowdy crowd made a wide circle around the path leading to the entrance. The shouts of more than a hundred adventurers rattled the vine-addled lattice covering the path. Thanks to his height, Liam could somewhat see five people in the center of the crowd with weapons raised toward the sky.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Nora stepping behind him. Honestly, he couldn’t blame her for doing so.

“What are these people even doing?” Liam asked himself while observing the fools up ahead.

“They are shouting about some giant!” Nora yelled over the noise.

She can understand them?

Then, all at once, the crowd parted for the middle group to charge through toward their objective. However, they noticed Liam and Nora standing by the gate and halted.

“Scuse us, mate,” A young warrior clad in golden armor at the front exclaimed, “we’re on our way to kill a giant!”

The crowd roared in support.

That’s… the kid from last night… The one that tried to free a slave, Liam realized.

“Those two at the front are from last night, right?” Nora asked.

“Yeah,” Liam muttered. “Looks like the little shit got luckier than I thought…”

“Now, if you’ll excuse us, kind sir!” the kid righteously exclaimed.

“There’s a pathway for a reason, kid,” Liam replied.

“Ah…” the kid found himself at a loss for words. Then, the young blond girl, perhaps sixteen at the oldest, said, “We must slay the giant for the safety of the townspeople.”

“Good for you,” Liam said, putting on a polite smile, “and I’m sure you are perfectly capable of walking around me in order to get there.”

From behind, Nora whispered, “It would be faster to move to the side, you know… ah, nevermind, I doubt you’ll do it.”

By the looks of things, Liam’s attitude killed the mood for the rowdy adventurers.

“We shall be on our way, then, good sir,” the kid in golden armor said, nodding. Then, he proceeded to lead the group forward while Liam simply walked forward in a straight line. The girl next to the kid glared hatefully at Liam when she passed, but a few of the adventures nodded pleasantly. One even punched his shoulder in a friendly manner and said something about how much of a ‘real man’ Liam was. Most ignored him, however, as they surged past like a river of bodies.

Before the final person left the courtyard, Liam pushed open the guild door. The place looked like an abandoned mansion aside from the handful of employees, including a poor janitor cleaning a ridiculous mess over by the tables. It consisted of food, spilled beer, and random trash. Even Liam couldn’t help but feel pity for the kid.

Noticing who entered, Cici waved him over. On the way over, Liam noticed another hateful gaze originating from the black-haired receptionist to the left. Although he recognized her as the one who gave him the bestiary, he could not recall her name. When the woman saw Nora strutting along behind Liam, she did a double take

When Liam reached the counter, Cici sighed and said, “You wanted to meet my father, right? He said he wanted to meet you, too, so he closed his shop for the day...” She grimaced before saying, “He’s over in the tavern drinking while waiting for you.”

“Thanks,” Liam said. “But, before I go… Actually, what’s with that look?”

Resting her chin in her palm, Cici sighed and answered, “Can’t there be a time where you come here without finding new things to ask each time?”

“Isn’t it your job?” Liam retorted.

“...I can’t deny that, but it’s really tiring when you do it.”

“I was just curious about that kid in golden armor.”

Poking her head over the wall, Cici’s coworker exclaimed, “He’s a wonderful man that would put a shameless one like you to sha- erm… He’s just better than a con-artist like you!”

Cici rubbed her eyes in irritation.

Raising a brow, Nora said, “That woman sucks at insults.”

Ignoring the interruption, Liam said, “I’m acquainted with him but don’t know much about him. I was just curious.”

The black haired woman grimaced and said, “He’d destroy you if you fought each other. He’s like a hero from legends.”

“Shut up, Cass,” Cici snapped.

“Eh?”

“Did you forget where we are?” Cici asked.

Liam rolled his eyes and said, “His life doesn’t much matter to me. Just thought I’d ask.”

“I doubt he could beat Liam, anyway,” Nora thoughtfully muttered.

“He’s just a kid that came in here and somehow obtained a powerful class,” Cici said, glancing momentarily at Nora.

“I see. Did his group leave that mess over there?” Liam asked

“Unfortunately, yes…” Cici muttered.

“Hmm… Well, I guess I’ll go meet your father now,” Liam said, feeling much less interested in the kid now.

“I have a feeling we’ll see each other again soon, though,” Cici said.

“Maybe.”

With that, Cici watched Liam and his hooded companion walk toward the tavern. “By Sanguis, that guy shows up at the strangest times…”

“I don’t get why you defended him,” Cassandra complained while poking her head over the wall again.

“I didn’t. You know you can lose your job over something like that, right? The only one who wins in that situation is Liam.”

“But… um… Well, I guess…”

“Seriously, what is wrong with you? You never get mad at people like that.”

“He conned me into giving him a bestiary a few days ago.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. Isn’t he terrible?”

“What is wrong with you?”