"This has... Gotten a little out of hand." Lorreabry muttered as she tried to occupy herself with one of the menus.

"Look, I'm sorry, but, I'm going to check on them." I told her as I got up and left the table so I could head out back. At the very least I could ask Liadanann about what had just occurred, but Nin was gone now without a doubt. And given what I just heard, I'd never find him.

"O-One moment... I'll be..." Liadanann struggled to get out as I opened the door and closed it again.

"You want to talk about it?" I asked her with uncertainty as there was a high chance she would try to avoid it. It had just happened, after all.

"Why did you three come here?" she asked me as she wiped her eyes, and, seeing this, I passed her a tissue.

"Nin just wanted something to do for the day." I answered with a shrug before I helped her to a chair.

"D-Did I just make a mistake?"

"It's not my place to say." I told her as I rubbed the back of my head.

"I... I just don't know what to do with him..." she sobbed as her head fell against the table.

"There isn't really anything any of us can do, Liadanann... She just meant too much to him." I tried to explain to her as everything just came to mind for me. If Nin wasn't talking about how to fight Smiling Jhurack, then he was mourning his failure to save Larishazza.

"I've tried to support him, I really have, but, I don't recognise him anymore. He wears the same clothes and has the same voice, but, he's nothing like he once was!"

And I sighed once again as I only ever really got to know Nin after the incident, "People just sometimes change, Liadanann, there's not much we can do about it."

"But I am his friend! Was... Am... I d-don't know!" she exclaimed out of frustration.

"You've done more than enough for him, Liadanann. Since before this place even opened you've been taking care of him."

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"I barely even saw him in all that time and whenever I did see him, it was always when he was covered in blood..."

"I know it's been hard on you, Liadanann, but don't start beating yourself up over this."

"He's angry people are giving up on him because he won't give up on her... I'm not the bad one here!" she cried as she hid her face behind her hands and hair.

"No, Liadanann, you are not bad, evil or anything like that, you were well within your right to tell him to leave."

"But I'm just proving his point, that everyone gave up on him, and even after all of this, he still has not given up on her."

"Again," I shrug, "she just meant that much to him, there's little we can do there."

"D-Do you think he would've done the same for me, had it happened to me?" she suddenly asked as she hopelessly tried to keep her eyes dry.

And I went silent, if she was jealous, now was not the time to comment on it, but I had no answer for her question either way...

"I'll take that as a no..." she quietly wept as her tone steadily lost the life in it.

"Would you like some help to close the shop early?" I offered eventually as she continued to cry.

"N-No... I can..." she struggled to tell me as her body quaked and trembled.

"I came here with someone else, Liadanann. You take a moment to calm down and relax and I'll try and get my friend out there to help look after the shop for the time being, okay?" I told her after I had gotten up, and, with a caring touch, I tried to at least soothe her.

"If you wouldn't mind..." she let out after a moment of quiet.

"I'll also snatch a few cakes for myself as I am starving!" I joked as I left her alone, as I had hoped it would at least help if only a little.

"I have experience paying helpers in sweets..." she tearfully admitted as the waterworks came back in force.

"Don't come out front until it is all out of your system." I sternly told her before I quickly opened and closed the door once again. Then, I went and grabbed an apron and then a spare one for Lorreabry.

"Why are you giving me an apron?" my partner-to-be asked after she had been staring at it as I approached.

"Whilst Liadanann calms down, we'll be working here for the moment." I whispered as I encouraged her to put it on.

"Okay, okay." she let out repeatedly before I made my way to the counter.

"Sorry for any delays, how can I help?" I asked the bewildered man closest to it as I got myself acquainted with everything here.

"Is everything alright back there?" he asked as he kept his gaze on the door like almost everyone else present.

"It will be fine, so, how can I help?" I told him as I tried to at least get things moving.

"Right, I'll have a, uh... A dozen jam squares, then." he told me as he brought out a pile of money without even checking it. And well, I chose to believe him as there had been more than enough time to figure out what he might've wanted and the costs of it.

"Dozen jam squares." I repeated as I pulled out a bag and carefully filled it out with them.