"Well, someone is a little impatient," Freya teased.

Ryan felt a blush creeping up, but he didn't want to avert his gaze from Cicero.

"Relax, Freya, he's just inquiring about his own end of the deal," Sasha chipped in.

Ryan was grateful for the elf's input. As it was, he had enough problems keeping a straight face during his staring contest with Cicero.

"Yeah, it's Cicero's job to deliver on that part," Uro mocked, content to fan the flames between the two men.

Eventually, it was Ryan who folded; he averted his gaze, hoping that he'd at least made his case, or that the rest of the table had on his behalf. At least he hoped that the rest of the people at the table had.

"Look, Ryan," Cicero began with a sigh. "Information on the ring is sparse, plus I have to ask for it quietly, else I'll attract the wrong type of attention."

That definitely wasn't what Ryan wanted to hear at all. This wasn't part of their agreement, although Ryan could understand why it'd be best for Cicero to take his time finding the information. A ring like his would go for thousands of gold even deactivated as it was.

After all, it did belong to a legendary merchant and was one of the few things he always had on him. If word got out, Ryan had no doubt that people from the entirety of the realm would come for it. So better safe than sorry.

"Why did you request for me then?" Ryan asked, trying to mask his disappointment.

"To check back on you and tell you the latest information we had on ground," Cicero said calmly.

"Fat load of information yer gave the lad," Uro scoffed, immediately receiving a light jab from Sasha that made the dwarf wince.

Sasha looked around then cast her sound barrier magic before facing Ryan squarely.

"Here's the thing: what you have on your finger could be a blessing for you—heck, it could be a blessing to all of us, a wild card that we can use to fight against Looter's Heaven." Sasha paused, looking into Ryan's eyes. "But it could also mark you as a target if Cicero gets sloppy and asks the wrong person for information about the ring. Do you understand?"

"I understand what you mean. I just thought he'd figured out a way to get it to work," Ryan said, trying to keep his emotions in check so as not to appear weak.

"Fantastic. Cicero?" Sasha said, giving Cicero a pointed look.

"Sarinth's rings haven't been seen in over a hundred years. Most of the information on them is long buried, much like their owner," Cicero sighed.

"But—" Uro murmured, earning a glare from Cicero.

"But there are scholars who specialize or, dare I say, dedicated their lives to finding more about Sarinth, and his rings by extension," Cicero said, his eyeballs trying to drill holes through Uro's skull.

The dwarf looked entirely unbothered, taking swigs from his tankard. Ryan couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight. He hadn't been offered anything since he'd come to the tavern.

Not like they needed to. It was, after all, just a business meeting, yes—nothing but a business meeting.

"Poor hosts, the lot of yer, leaving yer friend to watch yer eat while he doesn't, and you all say that I'm the barbarian," Uro mused, causing the rest of the squad to cough or splutter, each of them finding their own way to hide their embarrassment. Meanwhile, Uro took another swig from his tankard, winking at Ryan as he did so.

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Ryan found it weird how the dwarf that was awfully moody and disinterested was very perceptive. He'd have to keep an eye on that one.

"Must you make every conversation awkward?" Sasha lamented.

"Must you and Cicero disturb the peace of the tavern with those awful sounds in the dead of the night?" Uro mocked.

"Tell me about it. Talk about trying to get a good night's sleep! I thought you had the sound-canceling skill, or did Cicero make you forget how to use it?" Freya purred, batting her eyelids at the last part.

The duo being accused turned red, with Cicero's trained eyes going from 'I want to drill holes through your skull' to 'I want it to explode.'

Sasha was another matter entirely, the elf suddenly finding her fingernails interesting. Ryan thought he'd managed to stifle a laugh at the situation, but judging by how Sasha glanced at him, he must not have done it well.

"...I thought I activated it," Sasha muttered abashedly, her fingers her sole focus at this point.

Cicero turned redder at the words, while Freya politely chuckled. Uro snickered as he took another swig of his mead.

He set it down on the table with a thud, startling the finger-looking Sasha before turning and motioning for an attendant.

"You short bastard," Cicero cursed, still trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Pfft, I've been called worse. Anyway, Ryan, what do you think about our leader and his midnight shenanigans?... Quite the scandal, aye lad?" Uro said as he winked at Ryan.

"Uro," Freya called.

"Yes, love?"

"Shut up," the fairy said. Uro looked around the table for help, and seeing as he'd get none, returned to nursing his mead.

Sasha mouthed a 'thank you' to the fairy, receiving a nod in return.

As things were starting to get awkward, the attendant reached their table.

"You called for me, sir. How can I be of help to you?" the attendant asked Uro.

"More jenkal and a refill for me, plus whatever he wants. Add it to their tab," Uro said, pointing toward the rest of the squad.

Ryan looked up to see the attendant waiting on him. "I'll have a tankard, please," Ryan said.

"What a humble lad. Well, the good news is that yer don't need to be humble today—it's their coin, and yer'll be insulting them by ordering that," Uro proclaimed. He then turned to face the attendant. "He'll also have the jenkal."

Ryan was flustered; he didn't know whether he was to decline or accept such an act, especially when it seemed like those who were paying were a little put off by the dwarf's attitude. Luckily or unluckily for him, he didn't have to make a decision as the attendant had already left with their order.

Within moments they had their order ready, and the dwarf began to dig into his. He tore at the jenkal with so much vigor that Ryan would've believed the dwarf was starving, except for the fact that he himself would count this as the third plate the dwarf was devouring.

Looks of disgust rippled through their table, and even some of the other tables gave Uro a once-over before returning to whatever they were doing.

The center of attraction was, however, totally unconcerned, ripping into the jenkal without a care in the world. It took a while before he pulled his face from the meat, the rest of the squad looking at the dwarf as though he was a savage.

"Does he really need to eat this much?" Ryan asked, perplexed.

"He doesn't. He just does it to spite us," Freya said with a scoff.

"He can hear yer guys, and he eats like this because jenkal's meat tastes exquisite, plus he wouldn't mind burning a hole in yer pouch," Uro cackled, much to the annoyance of Cicero.

"Okay, we get it. You won a bet—grow up, man," Cicero fired.

"Grow up? I thought we agreed that I was a child. Allow me to enjoy myself, please. By Veron's beards, this jenkal is amazing! Yer should try it, Ryan," Uro somehow managed to say through a mouthful of jenkal.

Ryan stared at his untouched plate and tankard, then he looked up to stare at the faces of the rest of the squad.

I might as well.

Ryan dug into the jenkal. It was his first time eating something as exquisite as that, so he wasn't prepared when the flavor exploded in his mouth. He'd never tasted something so, so—good.

He took a moment to savor the taste, not knowing when he let out a soft gasp, eliciting a chuckle from Uro and a smile from Freya.

The jenkal was too good for him to dwell on his embarrassment, and within moments he went back in for another bite, unconcerned about what anybody else thought.

That night, Ryan had one of the best days of his life. The squad joked around, mostly picking on Uro. The dwarf proved to have a thick skin or at least an intelligent brain, as his only response was to order more things.

For the first time in a while, Ryan felt... alive.