I didn’t know why I said sothing so stupid, but I had to tell her if I wanted to guarantee her safety. I didn’t know when exactly the Bloody Fang had fallen, but if we wanted to escape, we had to leave quickly. I might be able to hide, but Diana couldn’t do that the way I could.
Diana laughed softly before saying with a hint of sarcasm:
"Are you trying to trick so you can catch ?"
I waved both hands quickly.
"No! I’m serious, I swear to you."
"I’m just teasing you."
I sighed in frustration.
"Diana, this isn’t the ti for jokes. We need to leave this place imdiately before..."
She interrupted , shaking her head, her smile fading from her face.
"I’m not going anywhere."
"Why? Do you want to die? If you think I’m going to betray you, we can..."
She cut off again, this ti more seriously:
"No, that’s not the reason. I can’t leave, even if I wanted to. And I don’t think you can either."
"What do you an?"
"Before you joined us, you touched that crystal orb, right?"
"No, I didn’t. Does that an you’ll leave with now?"
"I appreciate the offer, but it’s not just stubbornness. Once you touch that orb, you’re bound to this restaurant. You can’t leave the district it’s in for more than a few hours or you’ll die."
"Is sothing like that even possible? And why would you agree to sothing like that?"
She suddenly lost her composure.
"Do you think everyone lives like you? In palaces? Do you think we can just get protection, money, and food so easily? People with weak abilities like ours can barely find a safe place to sleep! When an opportunity like this cos, you can’t refuse it!"
After saying that, she turned sharply and left without looking back. I stood there watching her go. Her words pulled back to reality. The situation for the weak ability users in the Lower District was awful you had to run and hide just to avoid catching the attention of the gangs, and if your ability was useless, you’d end up as a lab rat. I was extrely lucky to have t Verona, or I would’ve ended up in one of those labs too.
I ran after Diana, but I collided with the cook, who had just entered through the restaurant door at that exact mont.
He smiled mockingly when he saw .
"Looks like you ssed it up. How’d you manage to make her that mad?"
"You’re the reason for all this, you bastard."
He pointed at himself.
"? Are you trying to bla your failure on now?"
I shouted angrily:
"Yes, you’re the reason! Why did you run away and leave us alone?"
"Just tell , how did you screw it up so fast?"
"Are you seriously trying to change the subject right now?"
He didn’t answer, just kept staring at with that curious look that, for so reason, made start explaining everything from beginning to end. Once I finished, he burst out laughing loud, obnoxious laughter that echoed through the room.
Then he said, still laughing:
"So you really did screw it up, didn’t you, you spoiled little noble boy?"
"I don’t live in a palace!"
He smirked.
"But your leader does, doesn’t she?"
"Don’t change the subject."
He patted my back so hard I almost stumbled, then said:
"Don’t worry, my noble friend. Just give her a flower and apologize, and you’ll be fine. But you better hurry. Dying while you’re still fighting... that’d be a terrible way to go, don’t you think?"
I glared at him in disgust.
"You just love cracking jokes, don’t you?"
He shook his head.
"That wasn’t a joke, it’s just reality."
I replied with sarcasm:
"You’re a really pessimistic man."
"And you’re the only optimist here if you actually think you’ll survive."
"Isn’t all this your fault anyway? You’re the one who made them touch that crystal orb!"
"I didn’t force anyone. I even warned them this could happen."
I yelled in his face:
"You warned everyone the Bloody Fang might fall?"
"Yes."
"Then why the hell didn’t you warn ?!"
He smirked slyly.
"You didn’t touch the orb anyway, did you?"
"You knew... but that doesn’t change anything. You clearly didn’t expect to manage that. So why didn’t you warn ?"
He shrugged.
"You’re a spy, and I found you out. Did you really think I’d warn you?"
A faint annoyance showed on my face, but I knew he was completely right. I couldn’t argue with him, so in the end, I said:
"Isn’t there any way to break the orb’s curse?"
He looked away.
"If I knew, do you think I’d keep it to myself?"
"I don’t think you touched that orb, did you?"
He shook his head, the exhaustion in his eyes now clearly visible.
"No, I didn’t. But unfortunately, even so, my end is near just like yours."
"What are you talking about? I didn’t touch that damned crystal orb! I can leave anyti I want."
He winked at with a strange smile, his expression calm too calm to read.
"Then why haven’t you left yet?"
I couldn’t find an answer. I just looked at him in silence. He sighed, then placed his hand on my shoulder and said:
"Listen, it’s better if you make peace with her. I don’t think she ant to hurt you with her words. She just lost her younger sister... to the Guardians."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then rushed out of the restaurant, searching for her. Luckily, I didn’t have to go far. I found her standing at the corner of the street, leaning against the wall, her eyes fixed on the ground.
I approached and spoke softly.
"Diana... I’m sorry."
When she heard my voice, she turned toward . A hint of shyness appeared on her face. She bit her lip lightly, lifted her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, then said with clear embarrassnt:
"I’m the one who should apologize... I’m sorry. There’s just been too much pressure lately, and I guess I took it out on you. None of this is your fault."
I shook my head and said:
"I shouldn’t have pushed you."
Hearing that, her expression tightened before she said:
"Why do you treat like this?"
"I don’t understand what you an. Did I do sothing wrong?"
"Do you have any feelings for ?"
My tongue froze. My brain stopped working for a mont before I stamred like an idiot:
"? No... of course not."
When she heard that stupid answer, her frown deepened even more before she said:
"Those feelings aren’t yours."
"What do you an?"
She was about to say sothing else but seed to change her mind at the last mont. Then she turned her back to , letting out a long sigh before saying as she walked away toward the restaurant:
"Forget it."
I stood there, watching her go, trying to make sense of what she’d just said, but for so reason my mind wasn’t working. So I decided to just ignore it.
I shouted:
"So are we good now?"
She waved her hand without turning around and said:
"Yes."
As simple as her reply was, I felt an odd sense of relief. I smiled and headed back to my shop. I needed so rest. I only needed one hour of sleep a day, but if I skipped that hour, I’d feel more exhausted than a normal person who hadn’t slept for a week.
...
The next morning, I returned to the restaurant. The mont I stepped in, a strange feeling hit . Every mber I’d worked with over the past months was there at the sa ti. That had never happened before they usually ca and went at different hours throughout the day.
Diana and the cook exchanged strange looks ones they’d never shared before. Those looks made uneasy. They weren’t hostile exactly, but there was mutual disappointnt in them. I ignored it and sat in my usual seat.
As usual, I ordered my usual al. But the one who ca to take my order wasn’t Diana it was another waiter with a cold, unpleasant face. I spoke to him curtly, gave my order, and he returned a few minutes later with the dish, setting it down before leaving.
The whole ti I was eating, I kept watching everyone in the room. Their faces weren’t as cheerful as usual. Normally at this ti of day, the place would be loud and lively.
I could understand why. After the fall of the Bloody Fang, it was clear this squad that had served them was now exposed just prey waiting to be hunted. That alone was enough to terrify anyone. Add to that what the cook had said about the Claw sending people to eliminate what was left of the Bloody Fang... and the fact that these people couldn’t even leave the restaurant for more than a few hours each day. They were pitiful. I truly felt sorry for them.
I took a sip of the soup and could barely swallow it. Had it always been this bad? I took a piece of the steak, and it tasted even worse than the soup. The flavor was like burnt paper, nothing like at.
I sighed and pushed the plate away, preparing to stand and complain to the cook about the terrible food and demand my money back. But just as I stood up, the restaurant door burst open with a bang, the small bells above it clattering together.
Everyone in the restaurant turned toward the door as three n entered or rather, stord in. The first was tall, with grayish black hair and an emotionless smile. The second was slightly shorter but had massive arms with bulging veins and broad shoulders. The third, standing in the middle, had long black hair tied in braids, a black patch covering his right eye, and a scar running across his face.
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