Chapter 8 - Liliana

A day before the Monarch Tournament…

"A few thousand?! B…but we could use that to pay off the debt!" Felix protested.

"Keith?" Enteico asked, ignoring Felix.

"I'm with Felix, for once," Keith said, folding his arms. "But, since you asked nicely, I'll go drop it off and head back here, so we can figure out how we can get out of this mess."

"Thank you." Said Enteico.

Keith walked over the dead body, holding his nose shut with his hands to avoid the smell of the corpse. He jumped out the store window instead of using the door again, whistling as he saw a certain douchebag knight in golden shining armor and Liliana.

"Hey Psoli, you should go easy on her! I would tell the two of you to break a leg, but I think Enteico already broke something else!" Keith said, not bothering to halt and speak with the two of them, merely passing by on his way to the barn.

Liliana opened her mouth in shock, extremely offended by Keith's offhand comment. She looked up at Psoli, waiting for the man to stand up for her and give Keith a piece of his mind.

Surprisingly, Psoli simply gave Keith an awkward smile and walked away. Liliana ran to catch up with Psoli, an expression of confusion plastered onto her face.

Enteico smirked as he witnessed the scene. He closed down the shop and turned around to Felix, who was paying more attention to the weapon scans than the dead body still sprawled across the floor.

One thing Enteico had noticed was that the man's shadow had not returned after they had given chase to it. No matter what the light source was, his body simply would not cast a shadow. Enteico sighed and brought out a medium-sized tarp and covered the body.

"What are you doing?" Felix asked, not bothering to look away from his Pokia.

"Covering him up. The body needs to be buried before we get any more unwelcome guests." Enteico said, moving the table out of the way.

"I'm not sure we should do that."

Enteico turned around to look at Felix. "Why not?"

Felix shrugged. "The body's going to disappear anyway. Why bother burying it?"

"We don't know what type of weird voodoo magic the Assassins have when they die. For all we know, the shop could become haunted by shadow ghosts that make weird cow sounds in the middle of the night." Enteico stated.

"I don't think you're talking about ghosts."

"Maybe not. But I'm not taking any risks. Plus, it just feels better to bury the body… you know?"

Felix nodded, pretending to understand. Enteico was strange. Burials were only necessary for public figures, such as heroes or royalty. Common bodies would just disappear and life would go on.

But, out of respect for his wishes and the fact that it would be better to move the body out of the vicinity of their shop, Felix decided to help Enteico out.

Enteico looked outside the window of his shop. There were times in which he was grateful for the lack of customers. Sure, the shop wasn't very well built or successful or even technically up to safety standards. Enteico had to pull some strings to make the safety inspector leave without closing the shop down permanently.

But there was one thing no one could deny. It was one hell of a view from his shop.

He smiled as he remembered his favorite thing to do when he was working late at the shop. He would often take his portable campfire up to the roof of the shop, safely ignite it to avoid the building catching on fire and watch as the moonlight hit the shop.

Enteico was probably one of the few people who didn't run a successful business in Spiti. He was also probably one of the only few people who stayed up until the first glimmer of the sunrise was visible in the night sky.

The night terrified him as a child. But as an adult, it offered him solace. On certain occasions, it would rain, putting out his fire and left him drenched in his soaked clothes.

He didn’t mind it. Quite the opposite, in fact. The sound of the rain hitting the ground, releasing a faint, musky and earthy smell. The way it dripped off the roof, each drop of water hitting the puddles formed below. It all felt so calm. So serene.

He wished he could live in that moment forever.

Enteico sighed as he rested his head upon the windowsill. The number of questions scattered throughout his mind would have driven him past the point of insanity.

He felt bad for sending Keith away on such short notice. But he knew one thing for certain. The Assassins were looking for Keith. Enteico had no clue as to what the item they were looking for was, but Keith was definitely on their list.

And if it wasn't for whomever that woman was…

Enteico looked at the dead Assassin on the floor, the blood from his corpse now soaked into the wooden planks of the floorboard.

They would be dead.

________________________________________________________________

"Why the hell are we walking all the way to the top of this volcano?"

Felix grunted as he adjusted his footing on the terribly built path by the side of the volcano as Enteico held the corpse higher so that Felix could walk a little easier behind him. They had walked past the lush green forest while carrying the body, past the river teeming with marine life.

They had begun walking down a path running along the side of the volcano near their village, as Enteico had suggested it would be wise to leave the body as far away from the shop as possible.

"How far away is this place?" Felix asked, wiping his neck with a handkerchief.

"We're nearly there," Enteico said as they rested for a few minutes, the body covered by the tarp next to them.

Felix clearly didn't like this errand. He desperately wanted to get back to studying the scans of Enteico's weapon. So much to discover…

Enteico, on the other hand, was wondering about Keith and his situation. He knew his friend had experience killing, he clearly showed it in combat, but Enteico didn't care. Keith had helped him since the first day they met. He wouldn't betray Keith for any reason.

But still…

While he was sure Keith was hiding something painful from his past, Enteico chose not to ask him about it. Mainly because it never affected him in any shape or form. But now that the Assassins were actively breaking into Enteico's shop to assassinate Keith, he had to look out for his friend.

So, Enteico sent Keith to Kleise, where hopefully Keith could come up with a plan on how he was going to deal with the Assassins. Enteico also considered the possibility that Keith would leave without coming back. He did have a bad habit of avoiding responsibility.

Felix let out a sigh of relief as they neared the farmlands of Spiti. It was beyond the forests, near the fertile volcanic soil. Enteico often came here to get the best deals on crops and food that he could sell. It wasn't just weapons that he sold after all.

The fields were a pale golden color, every inch covered with wheat, rice and barley ready to be harvested. The farmers stood outside in their shorts, bare-chested as they used a variety of tools to obtain their harvest.

Enteico took the path further away from the town. After all, they were carrying a dead body.

He reached the area covered by a stretch of trees and shrubbery and turned his sword into a shovel, digging a hole in the ground.

Felix whistled. "When did you learn to do that?"

"A bit before you guys got back, actually. Turns out this thing can transform into any weapon I've used or dealt damage with." Enteico explained as his arms fell into a silent rhythm, shoveling dirt aside for the grave.

"Assassins don't deserve graves."

Enteico sighed. "Felix, we talked about this…"

"They don't. They're ruthless, cold-blooded murderers."

"Not all of them are like that. Some of them are just…people."

"So, you're telling me you know an Assassin that hasn't killed someone?"

Enteico was about to answer, but then stopped himself. "They're still human."

Felix grunted in disgust. "They're monsters with no remorse. Don't be so naïve."

"Let's just bury him and leave, Ok Felix?"

Felix looked at Enteico.

It's not necessarily his fault he hasn't been through the shit you've gone through to get here. Yet.

"Sure," Felix replied.

________________________________________________________________

Once the body was buried, Felix walked with Enteico to the farming village nearby. The merchant showed Felix around town, before running his hands through his black hair as he seemed to remember he had to get a cargo of wheat kernels from a house nearby. Felix watched as Enteico sprinted towards a house, emerging a few minutes later with a crate of crops to take back to the store.

A couple of children came running towards Enteico's direction, smiling and giggling as the merchant tossed them into the air before catching them playfully.

"Don't drop them," Felix said.

"Pssht. Who do I look like? Keith?"

The two shared a light chuckle as the kids noticed the sword on Enteico's arm. Enteico grinned as he began an improvised magic show, making the sword turn into a different weapon as the children looked on in awe.

Until they eventually became bored of the trick due to their short attention spans, preferring to run off and dig for gold in their noses instead.

"I didn't know you were so good with kids. Too bad it's not the same case when it comes to women." Felix said.

Enteico looked at his newest employee, his face becoming the very essence of betrayal.

"Oh god. I thought my self-respect would have some chance to heal after Keith left. Now there's two of you." Enteico replied, adjusting his dark blue trench coat.

Felix chuckled as the two of them walked towards town and the sun began to set. There was a small village square, where most of the inns and storehouses were located. Enteico spotted a woman near one of the inns wearing a summer hat as she walked into the inn with a small handbag strapped around her shoulder.

"Come to think of it, I'm not that good with kids."

"Oh really? How come?" Felix asked him.

"Well…there was this one time I had an ice-cream while I came here to collect some Fungoose to sell at my shop. There was this one kid who ran up to me, straight up demanded my ice-cream and wouldn't leave no matter how much I said no."

Felix thought he knew where this was going. "So, did you give it to him in the end?"

Enteico looked at him awkwardly. "Well, you see… he…bitch-slapped me and took it from my hands."

Felix stood still, speechless.

"He…what?" Felix asked, trying to stop himself from laughing.

"Hey! That was a very well-executed slap! He could very well become a slap-contest champion in the future!" Enteico meekly said, his face red.

"Uh-huh, sure. Or maybe you're just a pussy."

Enteico stomped his foot in frustration. "I. AM. NOT. A. PUSSY!"

Felix held his hands up in surrender. "Woah. Woah. Easy there, Bruce Bonger."

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"I'm sorry. I just…don't like people calling me that."

"Why not?"

Enteico took a deep breath. "You remember the woman whose ribs I broke?"

Felix raised his eyebrows in realization. "Ohhhh."

The merchant cleared his throat. "I will now narrate the events of the dreaded Lover's Coral, arguably one of the worst days of my life. And trust me, that list has quite a few contenders."

________________________________________________________________

One year ago…

There was only one woman for Enteico. One of the most beautiful women in Spiti, the angel of the Omada Platoon and one of the only people who acknowledged Enteico's existence in Spiti.

He still remembered that moment, clear as day in his mind, the time when she came into his shop, so beautiful and breathtaking. She twirled around when she entered the shop, looking for supplies as she had a dungeon raid with her platoon the next day.

Of course, she was so busy that she forgot her purse, so she pleaded with Enteico to give her some potions on-the-house. But that was fine. Anything for Liliana.

"Uhh…Li…Liliana?" Enteico finally spoke up one day while Liliana was browsing some of his rare armor sets propped up on a side of the shop.

Liliana was surprised, almost as if she had forgotten about Enteico's presence.

"Oh, hey…uhh…Greg, right?" Liliana asked.

"Hehe. No, it's actually Enteico." Enteico corrected her.

"Ahh, sorry. Your name is really confusing." She said, chuckling.

Enteico laughed along with her, slightly confused. "So…I uh…wanted to ask you…something…"

"Huh? Cool. Hey, could I have this Regen potion for free?" Liliana asked, not bothering to look at Enteico while she spoke.

"Sure, it's on the house," Enteico said, eager to ask her his question.

Regen potions were really hard to find, extremely hard to make and very expensive. But it was all worth it. Anything for Liliana.

"So, we've been friends for a while now…I mean, you're the first person that helped me out when I first came to Spiti and also you visit my shop pretty much every day. That's why I wanted to…" Enteico took a deep breath.

"Would you go out with me? Please?"

Enteico stared at his table, waiting for an answer from her.

"Uhh…I gotta go. Let's talk about this later." Liliana said, grabbing a handful of Regen potions before leaving the shop, not waiting for Enteico's response.

Enteico watched as the door swung close, leaving him alone in the shop once more. The sound of crickets began to grow louder as he began to feel his mouth salivate.

SHE DIDN'T SAY NO!

The merchant began to dance a terrible improvised jig with a huge smile on his face. He knocked over a bottle of Moon Juice that Keith had left open, cursing himself as he quickly tried to clean up the liquid before it stained the rug.

That was Enteico's new daily routine. He would ask Liliana out when she came into his shop, each time she would leave because she was really busy. Enteico understood, so he gave her whatever she wanted from his shop on-the-house.

In one instance, Keith was in the shop when Liliana visited. Enteico was behind the shop, organizing the loot stash they had retrieved from a dungeon raid barely a few minutes ago.

Keith was extremely happy as he had fought tooth-and-nail to clear the dungeon and had managed to get most of the loot without any certain douchebag knights just swiping it for themselves. They had received an extremely rare magic drop from that dungeon; the Nomicon of Psychokinesis.

Liliana observed the object being placed onto the shelf with a gleam in her eye but pretended not to be too interested as she placed the Nomicon on the counter. Batting her eyelashes and staring at Keith with half-lidded eyes, she drew invisible lines with her fingers across the counter. "Hey, Keith?"

Keith blinked.

Liliana tried again. "Keith? Sweetie?"

That got Keith's attention, but not in the way she was hoping.

"Call me sweetie again and I'll dropkick you so hard that no one's going to know which hole of yours is which," Keith growled.

Liliana made a small squeak but played it off quickly by clearing her throat. "Aww, don't be a rude neighbor. Just trying to be friendly." She said, slowly tracing her finger across Keith's arm.

"You're not getting the Nomicon for free." Keith immediately said.

Once again, Liliana tried hard to mask her shock that Keith had figured her motive out on the spot. She then gave Keith a smile that would have sent Enteico into a coma had he witnessed it.

"But come on, Enteico gives me free stuff all the time. You don't want to be more boring than Enteico, right?"

Keith was enraged. Furious. Absolutely hopping mad.

"HE DID WHAT?!"

Liliana watched as Keith called for Enteico, the merchant smiling at Liliana before turning to deal with his white-haired friend.

"I've received some interesting information. This cheap underwear supermodel just told me you gave her stuff. For. Free." Keith said, enunciating the last two words while his nostrils flared up.

As the two men argued, Liliana cleared her throat.

"Sooo…can I have it for free?"

Keith turned around to face Liliana. "If you think that I'm going to give you something worth the mortgage on two houses for free, then you can kiss the ripest, juiciest, most moist and musky corners of my hairy a…"

"OH HEY! I think Yurgen just got loose from the post you tied him to." Enteico quickly interjected.

Keith wiped the spit off his mouth and grumbled. "Stupid alcoholic horse…"

Liliana and Enteico watched as the man slammed the door to the shop shut, drawing sighs of relief from both of them simultaneously. Enteico gave the book to her for a discounted price, slightly terrified of what Keith would say if he didn't get any money for selling the Nomicon.

This continued for a few months.

Each time she came, asked something for free and left before giving Enteico an answer every single time he asked her out when she came into the shop.

Enteico had made up his mind. He was going to get an answer from her today for sure.

"Liliana, let's go out on a date tomorrow."

She didn't say anything, perhaps thinking Enteico would forget about her if she stood incredibly still.

"Look, I know you're super busy these days. But how about tomorrow, the two of us go out to a nice restaurant…y'know? Have a nice night and just hang out? And if you don't want it…if you're not happy at the end of the date…then I promise I'll never bother you again. But if you do end up having fun…just maybe…give this…us a chance. Ok?" Enteico asked, his heart nearly beating out of his chest.

Liliana didn't answer for a minute.

"Sure."

Enteico couldn't believe his ears.

Finally! HAHA YES!

"THAT'S GREAT!" Enteico yelled, before clearing his throat.

"So, I'm free tomorrow at 7. I'll book some reservations for tomorrow and pick the restaurant." Enteico said quickly as if he was almost afraid that Liliana would change her mind.

"I'll pick the restaurant. And yes, I am free tomorrow at 7."

"So, I guess we'll meet at the town square at 7?" Enteico asked her as she was about to leave.

"Yeah, sure. Don't be late." Liliana said, closing the door behind her.

"Wouldn't dream of it! Can't wait for our date!" Enteico said as the door slammed shut.

This is going to be the best date ever.

________________________________________________________________

Enteico was not late. If anything, he showed up an hour early.

As it became 7, Enteico's heart kept beating at a higher rate than usual. A full moon broke through the dark clouds in the night sky. The air had a pleasant chill that sent tingles all over Enteico's body. It was the perfect date night. He imagined Liliana, showing up in a red dress and wrapping her arms tightly around him.

The image was enough to make Enteico drool slightly.

Liliana was a little late. But it was fine. He waited months for this date, he could wait a few more hours for the woman of his dreams.

To pass the time, Enteico began counting the stars in the sky. They were so pretty, sparkling like a window into heaven that could take a mortal man's breath away. Just like Liliana's eyes. She was so perfect, so beautiful, so…

Late.

She was so late.

Enteico ran out of stars to count, so he began to count the clouds instead. When he ran out of clouds, he began to make patterns with the stars. The stars connected in his mind to make a raven, a phoenix and a manta ray.

And a wolf…

The merchant sighed as he looked at his clothes for the date. It was a fairly decent suit with a few stains on the shoulders. He would daresay he looked rather dashing. Even though Keith borrowed the suit a few times before.

He was pretty sure a few hours had passed since he arrived at the town square. It was now approximately almost 9:30 PM and Liliana was nowhere to be seen.

Enteico imagined he was a great warrior. He imagined that he had a 30-foot-long sword that could demolish enemies and make the ladies wet. With his harem wrapped around him, swooning on every ripple of his muscles, which were exponentially larger than his normal figure, he walked across Spiti, strutting proudly.

He imagined he was about to fight a ruthless dragon, drawing his sword. He then screamed his ultimate attack at the top of his lungs.

"Omega Titan Slayer Strike!"

Enteico made whooshing and crashing sound effects with his mouth, imagining the awesome glory of his…

"What are you doing?"

Enteico snapped back to reality, looking at a very puzzled Liliana. He apologized and asked her about her day as the two of them walked towards a more secluded area of the town.

Liliana smiled at Enteico. "Well, today was great! I woke up and went to our Platoon headquarters where I saw Psoli "working out" if you catch my drift."

Enteico was extremely disgusted. "I apologize on behalf of that asshole. It must have been so…"

Liliana immediately stopped Enteico. "What are you talking about? It was so hot…the way he just pumped his arm up and down…"

Enteico screamed to distract Liliana. "Oh, I'm sorry! We seem to have reached the restaurant!"

Liliana shook her head. "This ain't the one."

The two walked further down the street until they reached a very clean, pristine-looking restaurant. The building had fancy designs on the entrance with two expensive-looking statues on either side of the entryway.

"Woah, you got us reservations at the Brimestone Steakhouse? I thought it was super hard to get into this place, it basically costs a kidney to book a table in here. And maybe another two to actually order something…" Enteico mumbled in awe.

"This still isn't the place."

Enteico blinked twice, before looking at Liliana. "Oh…well then, which one is it?"

Liliana smiled. "It's that one." She said pointing.

Enteico gulped as he saw the "restaurant" Liliana had booked reservations at. The building was grimy and smelled like a toddler was continuously belching tremendous amounts of vomit. The sign had a few letters hanging dangerously off the board. Enteico tilted his head to read the name of the restaurant.

"CHARLIE’S CHONKERS."

Liliana looked at Enteico. "Are you ok?"

Enteico smiled awkwardly. "Why did you choose this restaurant? I'm not complaining but I'm just curious."

Liliana giggled. "Oh, you silly little thing. Everybody loves Chonkers!"

Liliana dashed through the front entrance, not bothering to stop and wait for Enteico. The merchant caught a glance of someone smoking a cigarette. It was the Chonkers mascot, Colonel Chunky Chonkers. The mascot had taken off his mask and noticed Enteico staring at him.

The man flipped his middle finger off at Enteico, drawing another long puff of the cigarette, the end glowing red in the night.

As Enteico entered the restaurant to escape the large cloud of smoke around the man, he noticed Liliana sitting down at a table nearby. Coughing, Enteico sat down opposite Liliana at a small plastic table that was missing a leg. The table was a bit off-center, so Enteico attempted to shift it a bit, but then felt a gooey substance when he caught the underside of the table.

He withdrew his hand quickly, finding his fingers covered in yellow-stained bubblegum. He excused himself from the table for a second so that he could wash his hands, but the sink broke and sprayed brown water onto the front of his pants.

Enteico sat down, trying to avoid Liliana seeing the stain on his pants. Of course, she brought it up almost immediately.

"Oh. MY. GOD. I can't believe you actually wet your pants! Were you so nervous that you couldn't hold it in?" Liliana asked him, laughing hysterically.

"Well, it wasn't my fault. I probably needed some new pants anyway." Enteico said, trying to brush his embarrassing moment off.

"Oh yeah. You know who has some good pants? Psoli. You don't see much from all that amazing glittering armor that he dons upon his magnificent physique, but when you see what's underneath…hoo mama." Liliana said, fanning herself with her hand.

The waiter approached the table. He had grey hair on some parts of his head and no hair on the rest. His eyes were more dead than the children in Keith's jokes.

"Hello, welcome to Charlie's Chonkers. The chonkiest place in Spiti. Woo…" The man said in a very monotone voice.

He looked behind him and saw the manager make a gesture. Sighing, he took out a party horn from his pocket and blew on it before muttering something to himself.

"How can I assist you in nourishing yourself at our fine establishment?" He asked in the same deadpan tone, placing the menu on the table.

Liliana went first before Enteico could even ask her what she wanted. "I think I'll have the lobster deluxe mega combo, the ultra-whopper pack and also the essential side starter dish."

Enteico was astounded by how much she ordered. He looked down at his menu and tried to focus on finding something that didn't look like a major health violation. Some of the items on the menu were extremely worrying: -

Chonky's leftover special- Feel more connected with your favorite restaurant with this assortment of our customer's favorite orders! It'll be like you're eating right from their plate! Literally!

The Ultimate Flavor Porridge- A wild delectable Hodge-podge takes you to a world full of different, crazy flavors. Our formula has 0% natural ingredients!

Poison-free snake strips- Our most exotic dish yet! Note- Menu item is extremely rare and can't be guaranteed to be completely poison-free. T&C apply.

"I think I'll just have the Chonkster Burger and some fries," Enteico said, resisting the urge to run for his life.

The waiter bowed and walked towards the kitchen to pass the order. The door opened to release a plethora of…interesting…smells. Enteico was beginning to think it was a better option to stay outside with the grumpy mascot and possibly getting beaten to a pulp than staying inside for a meal.

Liliana then proceeded to narrate the events of the day, taking particular joy in describing the parts of her day when she was around Psoli. Enteico was slightly annoyed, but he was willing to shrug it off.

"Hey, you remember when I first came to Spiti?" Enteico asked her, trying to steer the conversation away from the golden knight.

Liliana stopped smiling. She seemed to be lost in thought for a while as Enteico reminisced about some of their adventures together.

Liliana gave Enteico a forced smile.

"It's a shame that you had to ruin it, huh, Enteico?"

Enteico felt the pang in his chest begin to reopen the old wounds. Wounds which he thought he had moved on from. He was about to apologize, to defend himself...but…

"Yeah. I messed up big time."

No one believed him anyway. No matter how many times he tried to convince them.

Liliana began to smile again. "It's fine. All of us aren't perfect. Except for Psoli. His jawline is just so refined, so strong and mmm…"

Enteico sighed as Liliana began to squirm in her seat.

"Please enjoy your meal. Charlie's Chonkers would also like to remind you that we do not stand responsible for any poisoning, injuries, or death at the establishment." The man said, placing a variety of dishes on the table for Liliana.

Liliana ate a bit of one dish, before moving on to the next, and then the other, never actually finishing anything she ordered, nibbling tiny chunks contentedly.

"Hmm…none of these are any good."

She eyed Enteico's burger, leaning over the table and snatched it before Enteico could react. She wolfed it down, leaving the merchant with an empty plate and a dangerous scowl on his face.

"Is something wrong? It's just that what you ordered was really good." Liliana said, licking her fingers.

Enteico immediately tried to hide his disdain and scratched his head. "No, it's fine. Plus, it's kind of nice that you're comfortable enough to eat from my plate. After all, we are good friends."

Liliana didn't answer and seemed to be more disinterested in talking to Enteico, looking down at her Pokia.

Enteico was about to eat a burger from a dish she ordered, but she "accidentally" kicked the table, making the burger fall to the floor. Enteico sat back in his seat, extremely hungry. He wasn't a picky eater, but there was no way in hell he was eating anything off this restaurant's floor.

The waiter brought the bill for the food and placed it slightly on Liliana's side. Enteico was going to wait and ask Liliana if she wanted to split the bill, but she just lifted it and dropped it on Enteico's side without another word. Enteico was so disappointed with how this date was going. Hell, even the waiter seemed disappointed.

Enteico nearly choked from breathing in too fast as he opened the check presenter and saw the total amount owed.

30,000 Bitma.

Enteico cleared his throat to catch Liliana's attention.

"Hey, Lil?"

Liliana looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Lil?"

"Well, it's what I used to call you back then," Enteico explained.

"That was back then. I don't like nicknames. I have a proper name for a reason."

Enteico winced. "Sorry. You mind if we split the bill?"

"Ohh…well, I kinda forgot to bring my purse, don't really have any Bitma on me right now. Such a pity, I was having such a good time." Liliana said, appearing to be upset.

Enteico's ears pricked up at that sentence.

SHE'S HAVING A GOOD TIME! WITH ME!

"No, no. It's absolutely fine. I'll pay for the entire thing." Enteico said, hastily opening up his inventory.

"Aww, you're such a nice guy Enteico. You remind me of Psoli. Such a wonderful and kind person." Liliana said, going starry-eyed at the mention of the knight's name once again.

Enteico decided to pretend she never said that last part and chalked it up as a compliment. At least she called him nice.

He ran out of cash notes and began to place individual coins into the waiter's hands, the look of disapproval on the waiter's face growing with each coin he slowly received.

After 15 minutes, Enteico was finally done and he decided it was time to take Liliana home. Hopefully, she would finally stop talking about…

"Psoli!"

Liliana ran and hugged the tall knight, still wearing his golden armor in the middle of the night. The man grinned at Liliana before placing his hand on her shoulder, looking Enteico dead in the eyes while doing so.

Speak of the devil…