“Oh, there you are, Rook.”

“Scyla?” I raised an eyebrow as I entered the lodge lobby, Scyla seated on a nearby leather sofa. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, not happy to see me?” She pouted, her twinkling eyes of mischief betraying her feelings on the matter.

“Oh, cut it out.” I sighed before I sat down across from her, a small glass table in between us littered with random tabloid material. “You know I was at the academy anyway.”

“Sure.” She shrugged. “But the academy is one of the few places that people such as myself are rather…. Unwelcome.”

“Let me guess,” I smirked. “They don’t appreciate the thought of an important figure within an information-brokering family being around their loose-lipped children.”

“Wow, you are starting to learn to think like us.” Scyla mimed fake shock, raising a hand in front of her mouth, more so to stifle the giggle that escaped.

“Well, get to the point, Scyla. If this was specifically about me, you’d have shown up in my room or something.”

‘Hey, I already said sorry for that.” Scyla said defensively before sighing. “But you’re right. I’ve got a little something for you. I’m just the middleman here.”

Reaching into the interior of her rather well-fitted jacket -why she felt the need to wear one given how warm today was, I was unsure- she pulled out a single sealed envelope.

“Oh?” I questioned, looking between it and Scyla.

“Your letter you had me send out before, your response is here.” She tapped her middle finger against the letter before handing it over.

“Well, I appreciate going through the efforts.”

“Hah, well, you owe me.” She winked at me before turning to make her way back outdoors.

“And what exactly does that entail?”

“This weekend, we’re going sailing on my boat.” She called out over her shoulder before she was gone.

In hindsight, I probably should have figured she had a boat.

I sighed, more so in amused exasperation than any feelings of negativity. I’d come to expect Scyla’s behavior by now; the woman kept me on my toes, that was for sure. I was half-expecting something new every time I saw her, but it was a side matter for the time. Looking down at the letter in my hand, I examined it. Nothing exactly stood out about it; it wasn’t contained within some elaborate papyrus envelope or stamped with some royal crest or anything of note.

Which brought a smile to my face. It was entirely too normal for what my life had been of late.

Well, better not keep it waiting.

Slipping the envelope open, I pulled the letter out from within, written on cream-colored paper, my eyes quickly scanning over the page as my smile deepened.

Dear Rook,

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I received your letter in record time, given the send date and when I received it. That alone tells me you’ve risen up in the world, haven’t you? Of course, that much should be obvious, given the current situation you find yourself in. Given the delicacy of your case, though, unfortunately, I’m afraid I can’t help you-

My smile suddenly vanished, a light frown in its place, but I kept reading.

-is what I would say, at least through letter alone. Instead, by the time this letter arrives, I’ll be arriving in Akadia a day from now. My students will be rather disheartened to hear I’ll be gone for a week, but I’m confident they will manage. Gods above know I know how resilient you kids can be. Except, you’re no longer the kid I remember, do I? Either way, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow (as of when you should be receiving this letter)

My best regards,

Veronika

P.S.- You better have a place to set me up while I’m there, given you’re Mr. Well-Connected now.

“Hah. I’ll be damned.” I snorted, chuckling as I did.

She was coming here.

Tomorrow.

I hadn’t seen Veronika in… Well, since she’d been dying with what should have been a fatal stab wound. While I’d technically been the one to save her, it had been more luck than anything that I’d managed to pull off something I’d never done before.

“In hindsight.” I frowned; something occurring to me. “Maybe I should have visited her sooner.”

As much as I might regret it in hindsight, the past was the past, and there was no changing that. The bigger issue was that she was expecting me to have somewhere for her to stay, and I had doubts that my couch would cut it.

Well, when in doubt…

I stood up from where I had sat and headed to the reception desk. Standing behind it was the same man from my first day arriving here, his suit as impeccably pressed and wrinkle-free as ever.

“Ahh, Mr. Koor. Is there something I can assist you with?”

“Yes, actually.” I smiled the most convincing smile I could. “I will be having a guest visiting tomorrow. I was looking to inquire about the possibility of guest suites…?”

“Ahh, yes, we do indeed offer those.” The man smiled at me, a gentlemanly smile, before pulling out a thick-looking book and flipping it open before pointing at a picture. “For a long-term guest such as yourself, we also offer discounted rates. For how long will your guest be staying with us.”

“Uhm, a week,” I answered, the pit of my stomach dropping even before I’d heard to price.

“Ahh, yes, quite good. Give me a quick moment.”

The man glanced at several sheets behind his desk I couldn’t see before nodding to me once more.

“For a first-class suite, that will be eight Rost.”

I smiled, keeping my gaze level even as my mind screamed. It was considerably cheaper than what my own lodgings had cost, but considerably cheaper than horrifically expensive was still relatively expensive.

“Is that a problem, Sir?” The man questioned as if sensing my inner turmoil.

“No.” I sighed. “Not at all.”

Reaching into my coin pouch, with much reluctance, I drew out several coins, sliding them across the counter.

“Wonderful. Can you provide us with a name, or does this transaction need to be handled with discretion?”

Translation: Is your guest a figure who you shouldn’t be known that you are in association with?

“No, that’s fine. I’ll actually be the one retrieving her.”

“We offer services for retrieval from the docks and even the Ring Gate.”

“No, that’s fine,” I said with a shake of my head. “Besides, it has been some time since I’ve last seen them. I’d prefer to handle it myself.”

“If you insist, Sir.”

“Appreciate it,” I responded before turning around and making my way to my room.

As I made my way to the lift, I felt the bubbles of anticipation bubbling up inside me. Aside from my mother herself, Veronika had been the closest to a guardian figure to me. Sure, I’d had my master, but I never once believed that he’d had my best interest in mind; that much I was confident. I was an interesting kid, but the fact that he’d left me as quickly as he had told me that if it hadn’t been for my connection to the Sage Above All, he likely would have never bothered with me in the first place.

He told you that himself. The only reason he was ever in the area, to begin with, was because of her.

Veronika though… I’d only known her for a short while, but no other adult in my life had looked at me the way she had, looking out for me when she didn’t have to. When I became an adventurer, the older adventurers showed me the ropes at the beginning, sure. Still, it had only ever been out of courtesy, a courtesy that quickly dried up as I quickly overtook them.

Thoughts of my time as an adventurer quickly bittered my mood. It was impossible to think of the times with fondness without memories of how it came to an end returning to me.

Speaking of which. I haven’t seen Pips in some time, either.

Since I’d been effectively exiled and banned from Dunehold, I’d had no way to visit her. I missed her, missed her dearly, but there wasn’t a feasible way to see her again. Visiting me would have been difficult as well; even with the assistance of the Ring Gate network, there was no direct connection between the Ring Gate nearest Dunehold and Akadia. She would be forced to travel through the desert for a portion of her journey, considering what had happened last time….

No.

The thought made me shiver. By all rights, no one alive knew of her…condition, but still, it was something that even thinking of unnerved me.

No, that’s not true.

Two people knew of her condition. Tez, who had a similar condition, albeit from artificial means and thus unable to fulfill the same role as her, and Dion Heavenward.

Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild. Father of Iris Steel-Haze, the former gold rank one adventurer, the woman I’d been forced to kill in a duel for the rights to the first dungeon in over thirty years. The man hated me and had made no attempt to hide the fact, but we’d come to an understanding. He wouldn’t bother me, or my few loved ones, as long as I kept myself removed from my former life, my former identity.

Which was easy enough. Now that I’d grown older, I questioned why I’d ever wanted to be an adventurer. It was dangerous work. The pay, while good, only grew in proportion to the danger. I’d have likely been a Nizeium rank adventurer by now, but it would only have brought more trouble. Creatures such as the Hollow, which had killed dozens of adventurers right before my eyes, would have been expected to have been my specialty at that point.

And I wasn’t sure I wanted to relive that again.

But that’s not the real issue here, is it?

The real issue was Dion. Perhaps he wouldn’t have taken active measures against me, but that wasn’t to say he couldn’t attempt to have me sent on a quest I would not return from.

And if that failed, what was to say he wouldn’t target Pips?

No. Not worth it.

I’d made the right decision years ago; I was sure of it. Out of sight, out of mind, he had no reason to think of me any longer, and with that, Pips was safer.

Or maybe I should just kill him.

The thought surprised me as I entered the lift I’d been waiting on.

That’s not me.

I wasn’t a murderer.

Am I?

Sure I’d killed before, but my hand had always been forced.

What about Maeya?

My breath caught in my throat as the memory of what happened replayed through my mind.

“Accident.” I hissed under my breath.

I hadn’t meant to kill her. My emotions had been a mess, my fight instincts still in play after the last bout. She’d pushed me, and my anger toward her had unexpectedly exploded. Like I forgot she was a purely vanilla human, I struck out as I would any other.

And it had been fatal.

You know, karma says you’ll be paid back one day for that.

Growing tired of my bitter and self-deprecating thoughts, I forced them away, focusing my thoughts back on the subject of Veronika.

Just think, tomorrow, you’ll be talking with her again.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Slowing my breathing, I forced myself to smile.

“Yeah. Yeah. The past is the past.” I whispered to myself. “So, let’s focus on enjoying time with those who matter.”

The dark cloud hanging over my mind was finally broken. I let out one final sigh as the doors opened onto my floor.

Besides, I still have things to do besides lingering in my dark thoughts.

--------------------------------------

“Isn’t she supposed to be here by now?” I murmured to myself for the umpteenth time as the Gate Operator frowned at me, annoyed by my quiet comments.

I’d been waiting inside the Ring Gate lobby for some time; I’d ensured that I’d arrived as early as I feasibly could, looking to be here when Veronika came through.

Except, she still hadn’t. According to the Gate Operator, the scheduled gate transference was supposed to have happened nearly half an hour ago.

C’mon, c’mon. Don’t do this to me.

My nerves grew tenser by the minute. I was about ready to wring the Gate Operator’s neck for information when I heard a warbling noise from the Gate, as a portal briefly opened before, at last, spitting someone out.

“Damn, I hate those things.” The figure shook her head, rather vexed, as she looked around before her eyes locked on me.

“Veronika.” I all but leaped across the room before quickly throwing my arms around her in a tight hug.

“Oh, Rook? I wasn’t sure, but that’s you?”

I stepped back, taking a more thorough look at Veronika. She looked much as I remembered, save for the early signs of wrinkles forming, laughs lines being worn into her skin even further by the glaring sun she’d spent many years traveling under. Her hair was likewise beginning to show the early signs of her increasing age, gray streaks where none had been before.

Aside from the early signs of aging and the cane she rested her weight upon, Veronika was the same woman I remembered from my teenage years. The corners of her mouth pulled back as she tapped a finger on her cane.

“You’ve grown.” She finally said after a moment of silence.

“I have.” I laughed. “I’m fifty percent older, after all.”

“I forgot how much of a kid you were.” Veronika chuckled before patting my arm. “Well, not anymore. You’re a fine young man now.”

“A lot has happened since then. I’d hope I wasn’t the same kid you remember.”

“Well, you’ll have to tell me some of these stories. We’ve certainly got time.” Veronika began to make her way toward the exit, her arm linked around mine as her cane tapped the ground.

“You’ve got some stories to share as well,” I responded.

“Trust me, they aren’t nearly as interesting as what you’ve gone through.”

“You say that like you’re already aware.”

“Hah, I’ve heard a thing or two from Tez.” Veronika laughed before casting a stink eye in my direction. “Including the fact that you crushed my poor girl’s heart.”

“I, uh, wait, it’s, uh-”

“Relax.” She laughed, patting my arm once more. “I was only teasing you. If it wasn’t for you, she would never have become so close with Elsmere. Sweet girl, I’ll tell you that.”

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Are they-”

“For nearly three years now,” Veronika answered my question. “Turns out shared trauma is good for that sort of thing.”

“Hah, well, I’m glad I was good for something,” I said with more mirth than I expected.

“Mhmm. Then there is Zet. Not long ago, he got married and-”

“I know,” I said as I opened the door for us.

“You do?”

“Mhmm. He was here, actually, not too long ago. He introduced me to his wife, whom I work with.”

“You do now?” Veronika rubbed at her chin as if deep in thought. “Small world.”

“You could say that.” I laughed.

“Well, what about you?”

“Excuse me?” I raised an eyebrow once more at her.

“Surely you have someone. Strapping young man, intelligent and doing well for himself. Have you found anyone?”

“You sound like my mother.” I laughed again before pausing. “Actually, my mother didn’t even ask that.”

“Well, call me old fashion.” Veronika snorted.

“How about this.” I gestured toward the steps where the boat back to Akadia was moored. “I’ll tell you on the ride back. Sound good? It’s already getting late. You’ll probably want to rest after that by the time we get in.”

“Hm… I think I’ll take you up on that.” Veronika agreed. “Now then, lead the way.”

“I’m beginning to think you have a pension for attracting problems.”

“What gave that away,” I said with a snort as I led Veronika to the front doors of the lodge.

“Well, given that you can’t even find a relationship that isn’t several levels of headache-inducing,” Veronika said with a grin as I folded my arms over my chest.

“Now, listen, it isn’t a relationship; it’s just-”

“It’s just a thing you have admitted to wanting to see how far it goes with a girl who seems to feel similar to those thoughts. Really, do I have to spell it out for you? Trust me, I once gave this same speech to Zet.”

“I’m good.” I shook my head before opening the doors for her. “And here we are.”

Veronika took only three steps inside before she looked around, eyes widening.

“Well… This is something now, isn’t it?”

“Tell me about it,” I muttered.

“Ahh, Master Koor.” The woman working the front desk, one I’d seen only a few times before, nodded as I made my way with Veronika. “I take it this is the guest we were alerted about?”

“Indeed.” I smiled as pleasantly as I could.

“Well then, you will be needing these.” Reaching under the front desk, the woman pulled out a card and slid it over. “For the guest room.”

“Gratitude.” I gave her a quick nod before turning to face Veronika again, ushering her to follow me.

“Master Koor?” Veronika questioned on our way to the lift after we were well out of earshot.

“It’s uh, a -”

“A wealthy person thing, got it,” Veronika answered, an amused twinkle in her eyes.

“I’m really not that wealthy.”

“You’re living in a place that most people couldn’t afford with their life savings.”

“I… well, uh-”

“It’s fine.” Veronika laughed. “You should be happy you’re well off, all things considered. Given your experience with the dungeon, I’m not surprised you’ve managed to leverage yourself a cushy life now.”

I was silent as I let her think she had it figured out.

What? Not like I was going to explain that the reality of the situation was that I’d managed to come by my not-so-small fortune by scamming a don family in the country’s capital, murdering the daughter of said family, and then fleeing to start a new life.

“So, this guest room…?”

“I’ll show you to it,” I said.

“Good, because I didn’t feel like wandering around here at night.”

“Oh, is the former adventurer frightened at the prospect of running into others?”

“No.” Veronika scoffed. “I’m frightened at the possibility of encountering a former student as unlikely as it might be.”

“You tutored some noble kids years ago back in Songhold, right?”

“I’m impressed you remembered that as well as you did.” Veronika snorted. “Yes, in fact, some of those kids might have kids of their own by now.”

“Well, what are the chances of us running into a former student?” I laughed, the idea ridiculous.

Let me tell you something. If you say the words ‘what are the chances,’ fate is about to inform you the chances are one hundred percent.

“Mrs. Ronika?”

Oh, you have got to be kidding me.

We had been walking down the hall of the floor where Veronika’s guest room was stationed when a voice called out from behind us, the two of us turning in synch to investigate who had just called out to Veronika.

“Oh, uh… wait... Ryan? Ryan Helsting?”

Huh. That sorta sounds familiar.

“Mrs. Ronika, I didn’t expect to ever run into you here of all places.” Briskly walking toward us was a man with copper-colored hair and a rather expensive-looking coat. He was clearly about to head out when he spotted us. “And you are…?”

The man was staring at me as if I had done something offensive by interrupting his reunion with Veronika, a scowl across his face that seemed to come naturally to him.

“Now, Ryan, It’s been something like thirty years, but I’m pretty sure I taught you to mind your manners with others.”

I glanced at Veronika before eyeing the man, who looked like he had been scolded by his favorite teacher.

That’s it, isn’t it? A former student. Well, I’ll be damned.

The man looked no older than a day over forty, so for Veronika to have referred to him the way she had, he must have been a student of hers back when she first became a tutor in Songhold, even before her time enlisted in the continental army.

“My apologies.” The man nodded at me, suddenly taking a formal tone of voice with me. “Perhaps if I may somehow-”

“It’s fine.” I waved the pleasantry off, not feeling tempted to indulge in faked friendliness. “Not a big deal anyway. Koor-” I stretched my hand out, waiting for him to reciprocate the gesture. “Professor Koor. I’m an educator at Parisian.”

“Koor… Oh, the magic professor.” The man smiled bitterly for a moment, but it was gone almost too soon to tell if it had ever been there. “Well then, perhaps that makes sense why you’re here with Mrs. Ronika. My son told me about you, said you had a rather…. Atypical class.”

“Son?” I raised an eyebrow at him, my mind scrambling before the neurons began to stitch together what I should have picked up from the beginning.

Wait. Helsting. Helsting, as in the Helsting family.

Otherwise known as staunch anti-magic advocates within the circle of advisors for the crown, they’d risen to importance several hundred years ago when it was discovered the land they owned contained a massive deposit of ore. After three hundred years of mining, they were the country’s largest source of iron ore. They also supplied a non-negligible percentage of all nizeium ore whenever their mining operations uncovered trace deposits of the rare metal.

And the youngest heir of the Helsting family was in my class I’d had just earlier today. I’d simply overlooked them, too focused on the Regent who had dominated my attention simply through the fact that while the Helsting and other such families were amongst the top echelon of important nobles, it didn’t change the fact that the Regent was, well, the Regent.

“So, what can we help you with at this time of night, Ryan?”

“Oh, nothing in particular.” The man laughed cheerily, his demeanor switching instantly from socially enforced geniality to genuine fondness as he turned his attention back to Veronika. “I was actually on my way out to meet with an associate. Recently, there has been a surge in demand for ores from the likes of the central region, so I was on my way out to discuss such boring matters.”

Wonder what that’s about? Probably some construction project, but I’m not a civil engineer. What do I know?

“What about you? As I said earlier, it’s quite a surprise to see you here, Mrs. Ronika.”

“Now, Ryan, you don’t have to refer to me so formally. I’m not your tutor anymore, and I’ve barely have ten years on you.”

“Apologies, but I could never.” The man shook his head vigorously. “If it wasn’t for you, for your lessons, I would have never received the favor of my father when I was younger and never would have become the next head of our family.”

Gods, is this what every wealthy family is like? Internal politics and nothing else?

“Well, if such an important man insists, then I shall relent.” Veronika smiled fondly, waving a hand gently at him. “As for what we were up to, Professor Koor invited me to Akadia, partially as a treat and to seek advice.”

“I can’t deny you made a good choice there, Mr. Koor.” The Helsting family head nodded to me as if formally relenting a point in a debate. “When I was young, I was going to originally be nothing more than third in line for the title of heir of our family, but with everything Mrs. Ronika here taught me, I received the blessing over my older brother and sister. That aside, how exactly do you know Mrs. Ronika?”

“Happenstance.” I smiled easily, never faltering. Image was everything with the upper class, after all. “When she was an adventurer, she visited a village where I lived at the time. If not for her, I would have never begun my pursuit of academics.”

A lie, but I said it as easily as if it were the truth; Veronika herself never batted an eye.

“Ahh, well then, that does make sense. It’s a shame you chose the academic pursuit of something as… interesting as magic.”

Translation: You wasted your graces bestowed by Veronika by doing something as lowly as magic.

Rather than confront the man on his coded message, I inclined my head, taking the statement as a compliment.

“Well, it is my belief, a belief that Veronika herself helped instill into me, that there is no academic pursuit that is too small, too outrageous, or too abstract as to be worthless. At the end of the day, we all simply want what is best for our country, do we not?”

Translation: Talk shit again, and you’ll besmirch Veronika’s integrity.

“Perhaps I can see your point.” The man nodded once more, again behaving as if relenting on a hard-fought point.

The man glanced down at a watch on his wrist before glancing back at us, smiling briefly, genuinely at Veronika, then a forced smile at me.

“While I’ve enjoyed this chance encounter, I cannot afford to jeopardize the image of my family and our interests by risking being late, so apologies, but I must be going.”

“It was nice to see you again, Ryan.” Veronika inclined her head.

“Likewise.” The Helsting head gave her a deep bow of his head. “Koor.”

“Helsting.”

And then, just like that, the man briskly made his way toward the lift, disappearing behind the doors only a moment later.

“Well, that was… fun.” I sighed.

“Ryan Helsting…” Veronika mused for a moment before shaking her head. “I tutored him in my second year as a tutor when I was still trying to find a patron into the academy in Songhold. While I never found a patron, at the very least I made a good enough impression on enough relatively important families that they could do me the favor of helping me at the very least be admitted. Given I was a nobody, you can understand why that was a rather high hurdle.”

“Yes, trust me, I think I can understand that.” I sighed again, now knowing all the behind-the-scenes considerations at an academy meant chiefly for the privileged.

“I was in my early twenties at the time, and Ryan was… sixteen, I think? I’m fairly positive he had a crush on me at the time, so he was one of the few kids who actually listened to what I was trying to teach. It’s probably a good thing I was admitted to the academy shortly after and stopped tutoring. Otherwise, I don’t doubt the kid would have tried something as outlandish as asking for my hand or perhaps to be a concubine. I can guarantee you that had he had the chance, this encounter would have been much less congenial.”

“Because you would have turned him down?”

“Like a rock thrown down a well.” Veronika laughed heartily. “So, that lie was-”

“Can’t have people knowing my history,” I said with a quick shake of my head. “Too complicated. Too many things that could become points of contention. After all, I am the only current living dungeon holder. That alone would put me on equal footing with most of these blowhards.”

It was something I hadn’t been educated on at the time, an education I’d only refined after being effectively booted from being an adventurer, and I needed something to spend my time doing. As it turned out, being a dungeon holder was a rather profitable position. A dungeon was a resource like few others. Only capable of being formed upon geographical locations of massive concentrations of mana, dungeons were areas of mana concentration dozens if not hundreds of times greater than usual. Mages looking to reach greater highs could see rapid progress in core refinement and development in a dungeon, reaching levels that should have been genetically impossible for them. In doing so, said mages would pay boatloads simply for the right to step foot into a dungeon. Still, more important than that was that any sort of heavily mana dependent process could be achieved considerably more efficiently in a dungeon. That ranged from mana-enrichment of metals like silver, weaving of mana threads, threads imbued with mana and strong as steel, blowing of mana-glass, super hard glass that could resist corrosive elements, which was helpful when creating specialty elixirs. The list went on and on. Even with the literal treasures of a dungeon already obtained, the dungeon itself was a treasure trove of potential resources just waiting to be utilized. I could attest to it myself, I’d once ordered three mana-tempered silver swords, and it had set me back several nizeium alone. A master smith could set up shop in a dungeon and produce such valuable items at a record pace.

As I said, a treasure trove.

The guild master, for as much as he hated my guts, had done younger me a service by offering me the deal he had. Everyone had been satisfied by trading partial rights to the dungeon to the guild. Without those partial rights, the dungeon would have reacted as hostilely to anyone entering as it originally had.

And given the… history of the dungeon, I was relatively sure that had I not relented such rights, it would have been nigh impossible for any to hope to conquer it a second time, much less set up any sort of semi-permanent outpost within its depths. With such an untapped resource presenting itself but unable to be utilized, it would have spurred many on to find the owner of the dungeon and attempt to wrestle control of the dungeon from them.

Meaning they would try to kill me.

With my existence effectively disappearing off the face of the world, the status quo was maintained. Still, if it was discovered that Professor Koor was one and the same as the adventurer Zero, it would spur on those who would see it as a chance to earn a pretty pench.

“Koor?”

“Ah, what- oh, sorry.” I jumped, startled, as Veronika waved a hand in front of my face. “Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

“Right, so, Koor, because former… activities, if you will, we don’t want people to know?”

“Exactly,” I said with a beaming smile.

“Easy enough.” Veronika stretched her arms overhead. It was clear that while she wasn’t an active adventurer anymore, she still maintained some form of physical training, her arms retaining much of the strength I’d seen in them when I was a teenager.

Walking only a short bit longer, we came to a stop in front of a door, which with a quick glance at the keycard mana-attuned to open their selective door, I confirmed it was her room.

“Here we are,” I said, handing the card to Veronika, who snatched it was surprising speed.

“What?” Veronika raised an eyebrow at me as if reading my thoughts. “Just because I can’t walk like I used to doesn’t mean I just laze around all day. Hell, I might be able to give you a run for your money.”

I smiled at the woman as she chuckled at her own joke.

“If there is anything you need, there should be a buzzer in your room for the front desk. Otherwise, you can come give a knock at my door.” I pulled a slip of paper from my pocket, my floor and room number written upon it. “Is there anything else you need?”

“No,” Veronika said with a content look, unlocking the door before opening it up, her eyes widening. “I think I’ll be fine.”

“Well then, goodnight Veronika. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Koo-” Veronika stopped, glancing around as if making sure no one was around before whispering. “Rook.”

I waved at her as she closed the door, leaving me alone in the hall.

Phew.

Taking my own turn to glance around the hall, I sagged against the wall, exhaustion hitting me like a brick to the face.

Long day.

I’d spent most of the day on a riverboat to and from the Ring Gate, and then, of course, I just had to be confronted with some rich asshole who had made it abundantly clear what he thought of me.

If only more could be like Scyla.

I smiled briefly at the thought before the deeper implication of it hit me, a shudder passing through me.

“On second thought, one Scyla is perfect,” I murmured.

Amused, I stood up before sauntering my way to the lift, intending to go straight to bed.

After all, I’ve got a full day of brain-picking tomorrow.