Published: February 1, 2026
Morning came early in Malcaid.
Adventurers rose early, but merchants were hardly any later.
They went out to auctions before opening to stock up on goods, refilled shelves before customers arrived, and the eateries had to take what they’d prepped the previous night and finish cooking and heating it up.
Lively bustle seeped into the dim streets before dawn; this really was a restless country, Gill thought as he pushed his upper body up and looked toward the other bed.
From the slightly distant bed came the sound of gentle breathing. Naturally, Lizel was still asleep.
Last night, he had spent the whole time reading the books he’d already bought in Malcaid, using only the moonlight.
It wasn’t that Gill needed absolute silence to sleep, but, as far as he could remember, he’d almost never had the experience of sleeping in the same room as someone else.
He’d wondered if he might be unable to sleep with another person’s presence nearby, but it turned out not to be a problem at all.
Whether that was because it was Lizel, or whether he could do it with anyone, he didn’t know.
After confirming that Lizel was completely asleep, Gill adjusted the blanket to cover the tips of his feet that were faintly peeking out.
The fact that he was doing something like this himself felt horribly out of character, but if something bothered him, he couldn’t help it.
To blow away the churn of self-disgust, he thought about wandering outside and quietly cracked open the wooden window.
“…….”
He immediately felt someone’s gaze. It wasn’t just like being watched; he was sure they really were monitoring him from outside.
He had pushed through something reckless with the lord yesterday; he’d expected surveillance, but the speed of their response was impressive.
He decided going out wasn’t the best idea, and looked back at the still-sleeping Lizel.
For Gill, forming a party with Lizel had been the natural thing to do.
Lizel was going to keep working as an adventurer, and if Gill was going to stay with him, then of course they would be in the same party.
Since he wasn’t being hired as a bodyguard, he had no formal duty to protect Lizel’s life.
As a party member, worrying about the other’s safety was only natural, but if someone asked him whether there was any difference from before they officially formed a party, he would answer: no.
So what had changed?
Something in Gill had definitely and clearly changed, but it was hard to explain.
If he had to put it into words, his awareness had shifted. And when awareness changed, the way he existed changed with it.
The person he was now was probably a different person from who he’d been before meeting Lizel—and only he understood that change.
“…nn.”
He’d opened the window so silently that it made no sound at all, so Lizel shouldn’t be waking up.
Still, perhaps he’d sensed someone moving nearby; his body stirred faintly.
Lizel claimed he couldn’t sense presences, but humans unconsciously did just that. Gill simply trained that sense up for combat.
Sometimes he wondered if you might actually be more sensitive to presences while asleep; hiding his faint smile, he walked over to Lizel’s bed.
He picked up one of the few books stacked on the bedside board.
Lizel often took a few books he’d finished and thought would suit Gill, and left them out.
Everything on the bedside board was probably in that category. Without choosing too carefully, Gill dragged a chair over to the slightly open window and started reading.
Now then, could he finish one book before Lizel woke up?
It was while they were eating breakfast that it happened.
They were sitting together at a table in a bustling common dining hall, eating bread, when a man in a crisp black tailcoat walked in and started handing something out to the seated customers.
He blinked rapidly at the combination of Lizel (refined man) and Gill (rough-looking man), but still approached them with a bright smile.
“An auction, is it?”
“Well, this is that sort of city. There are events practically every day.”