Saturday. 5:44 AM.

An orange sky reached from beyond the apartment's balcony to poke Kirin's cheeks. The sun was young and had just risen yet had already woken up not only the purring trap but also many of Bladewood's monsters now playing in chilly clouds.

Having gone home early the day before in his yet-to-be fully furnished room, Kirin had really nothing much to do except sleep after eating dinner and taking a quick dip in his bath. He had also quickly slipped himself into a long-sleeved shirt, and his reflection from the vanity mirror reminded him of that as they both checked out how tangled and stiff their hair had become overnight.

"Sigh. I really should keep earning money. After paying for rent next Wednesday, I'll make sure to have my hair treated." Kirin picked up his sack from the mirror's desk. "Thirty-four amalgium left. Had to pay for food yesterday. Aah! I seriously didn't think I'd be in such a tight spot. Maybe if Coral Crown hadn't poked their noses into that quest yesterday, I wouldn't need to be so worried right now."

"Knock knock!"

"Huh?"

A male's voice vibrated through the door. "Cleaning services!"

Cleaning services? At such an early time?

"Sorry, sir!" Kirin shouted. "I'm not quite ready yet. Can you come back later?"

Or may he? Kirin hasn't even subscribed to cleaning services of any kind. Was it the apartment's courtesy? Or was he being scammed?

"Sigh." Kirin murmured, "It's not like they'd be able to scam any money out of me anyway."

"Knock knock!"

"Yes?!"

"Still cleaning services! I demand to clean your room now!"

"Whaaaaat?" Kirin scratched his scalp. "Just a second!" He pulled a blanket from his bed and wrapped it around himself.

"Knock knock!"

"Coming!" Kirin rushed to open the door. "Sorry. I haven't--"

"Hi, Kirin!" Already in his armor, Faolan appeared somewhat too protected just for cleaning.

"O-Oh. I-I-It's you!" Kirin tightened the wrap around his body. "You work cleaning jobs part-time?"

"Not really. Sorry." Faolan laughed lightly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I just wanted to show off some sense of humor."

"Oh." Kirin let out a dismayed breath. "Wait. What are you doing here then?"

"Ha? Didn't we agree to meet at your apartment?"

Sudden heat tickled Kirin's ears. "W-Wait! What? W-W-When did I agree to that? Just so you know, even though I'm very vulnerable, I won't be giving myself to you that easily!"

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Faolan blinked twice and tilted his head. "Yesterday?"

Back at the master's office...

"We need a plan. This won't just be as simple as taking up more quests than we currently do." Faolan crossed his arms. "Even if we double our efforts, Coral Crown could triple theirs."

"Speaking of, do you think they already know?" Alia asked.

"Well, it is kind of suspicious they've done what they've done after what Onyx was told."

"Either way, we can't let them do us dirty like that again." Onyx leaned back. "There must be something we can do."

Faolan hummed to think.

"By the way." Alia wiped some sweat that was beginning to gloss her forehead. "Is it just me, or is it suddenly getting too warm in here?"

Onyx's eyes shot at a corner of the room. "No. It's not just you. It's definitely gotten more humid in here."

Faolan followed Onyx's stare and, seeming to catch on, shrugged coolly and looked at the fireplace. "It's probably just the hearth. Anyways, we should hold off on discussing any plans and give ourselves time to think, yeah?"

"Agreed," Onyx whispered, voice hoarse.

Alia nodded.

"Oh!" Faolan balled a fist and pounded his palm. "You rented at that apartment, right, Kirin? Can we visit? What's the number?"

"Okay...? That came up suddenly. Sure." ...was how Kirin agreed.

"Ahh. I remember." Kirin sighed again and stepped aside, giving Faolan permission to enter. "Didn't think you'd be coming this early, though."

"We had to come over while it was dark." Onyx appeared and followed into the room. "Otherwise, my Night Stalker spell wouldn't have worked."

"You're here too?!"

"He picked us up so we could travel undetected in the shadows," Faolan explained. "We couldn't risk leading a spy to the one place they wouldn't be able to figure out where."

"Us?"

Alia giggled, also walking into the room. "We've been downstairs since three o'clock. We didn't want to wake you up until morning."

"Oh."

Great! Everyone was present. All in their usual gear while Kirin sported sheets over a shirt and undergarment.

"I appreciate you letting me get the most of my sleep, guys." Kirin closed the door while maintaining a hand clasped to keep the blanket from falling. "Why didn't you just come with me when I went home yesterday?"

"We stayed at the guild to watch Coral Crown." Onyx leaned against a wall by the kitchen. "To make sure none of them was going to follow you home."

Made sense. Catching Kirin at a terrible time aside, the three of them had really thought that meeting out, huh?

"I get it. That's clear as air now." Kirin bobbed his head. "By the way, I only have one chair. You guys can sit on my bed if you're tired."

Alia nose-dived into Kirin's pillows.

"Hey! That's invading a little too much!"

"So then!" Faolan turned the chair so that it faced all of the party. He sat. "Let's begin our discussion."

Alia sat straight, and Kirin parked beside her. Onyx stayed where he was.

"Catching Wismer spy, I guess we can sadly confirm Coral Crown does indeed already know about our situation." Foalan cocked forwards and rested his elbows on his thighs. "Since they're already at the top, their objective is simply to maintain their position. They could either work at the same pace we do... or stop us from making progress altogether. After what happened yesterday... well, we might already be able to assume which option they ought to take."

Alia raised a hand slowly. "Do you really think Nebby would be so heartless?"

A scoff popped from Onyx's direction. "They've already done once, haven't they? Wasn't that heartless enough for you?"

"Well." Kirin pinched his chin. "I haven't really known those people for very long, but that shota did feel rather sinister."

"Let's suppose they do spend the next three weeks stalking our party." Faolan raised a knowledgeable finger. "At what lengths would they go? What difficulty of quests, distances of travel, and time spent would they draw the line?"

"Even though they're the jackasses that they are, they are still Coral Crown," Onyx responded. "There are no quests they'd refuse to do if it meant keeping them on top."

"I think that's true too." Alia looked down.

Faolan nodded. "Here we find our conundrum. If we can't move up the leaderboard while they're hindering our progress, then we'll have to think of something to force them to work."

Kirin nearly raised a hand too but remembered he needed it for the blanket. "I have an idea!"

"What is it?"

"This might sound like self-sabotage, but I think it'll work."