Chapter 267: Narrowing Distance
Maeve laughs softly.
"Relax, Claudia. It is only temporary."
Claudia continues to pout.
"Temporary until when? Rhaenas is still in the news right now. If we are trending, we should be doing sothing. Like clearing a dungeon. You know, our actual job? We need to keep the montum going."
Maeve nods, her hands still busy whisking batter.
"I know. I understand."
She pours the mixture carefully into the pan before continuing.
"But everyone moves at their own pace, Claude. You have to understand that St. Lucas was not easy for any of us."
She exhales quietly.
"Even as of last night, I was still having nightmares about it."
Claudia’s pout disappears, replaced by curiosity.
"Really? That bad? Tell . What was so bad about it?" She raises both hands slightly. "This is a genuine question. I am not mocking you."
She has always been curious about what truly happened inside that dungeon. But she respects boundaries. More than anything, she does not want to reopen wounds that have barely begun to close.
Maeve’s hands freeze mid-motion.
The whisk hangs suspended above the bowl.
Her eyes lose focus.
For several seconds, she stands perfectly still.
Then she shudders.
"There were not many haelions," she begins slowly. "Only one."
Her voice lowers.
"But that one could tamper with your mind. It could distort reality. You would not know what was real and what was not."
She shudders again, the mory still lingering too vividly.
"Really? What did it use? Hypnosis or sothing? And what did the monster look like, Maeve? I know haelions resemble animals from our world, but they always have sothing... wrong about them." Claudia cannot hide her curiosity.
Maeve nods slowly.
"This one took the form of a giant eight-legged spider." She pauses, choosing her words carefully. "And when I say giant, I an giant. Its head alone had a diater about the sa as my height."
Claudia gasps loudly.
She does not like spiders. Not at all. Though she does not have a full-blown phobia like Thea.
"Ew. I hate spiders. Eight legs? Well, I guess spiders are supposed to have eight legs, but still." She scrunches her nose in disgust.
Maeve nods in confirmation, her hands resuming their steady work.
"I am sure Arthur knows what he is doing, Claude. He would not abandon us. Not like this." Maeve reassures her again, voice gentle but firm.
"And the first pancake is ready. Do you want it, Claudia?" Maeve asks as she flips the golden stack onto a plate.
Claudia straightens instantly.
"Yes. I absolutely do."
"I was not here the other day, and I like your pancakes," she says as she takes a seat at the kitchen counter.
Maeve raises a brow.
"But yesterday I made pancakes as well. And you ate them too. That makes today the second day in a row. You are not bored?"
She sets the plate in front of Claudia.
Claudia squeals lightly in delight and mutters a quick thank you. She hops off the counter stool and heads straight to the fridge.
She opens the freezer compartnt and retrieves a tub of chocolate chip ice cream.
Turning back, she places it beside her plate and replies cheekily, "But I have not had them with ice cream yet, have I?"
She winks at Maeve.
"What is this I am hearing about pancakes and ice cream?" a voice calls from the other side of the apartnt.
Both won turn.
Theo is walking toward them, smiling brightly.
"Good morning, ladies."
They return the greeting.
"I take it you also want pancakes?" Maeve asks.
"Of course," Theo replies, sliding into a seat.
"How is Captain Chambers?" Maeve asks imdiately.
"Good news. He is awake. Still disoriented, though. He said he will co out once he feels strong enough." Theo settles into his chair. "But Maeve, I think we should bring him so food."
Maeve nods.
"I have egg porridge ready. I will bring a bowl to him after I finish your pancake."
"Oh, I can bring it to him," Theo offers quickly. "Do not worry."
"No, it is alright. Pancakes are best when eaten hot," Maeve replies.
Theo smiles warmly.
"Thank you, Maeve. Truly. You are the best."
He gives her a thumbs-up.
Maeve laughs softly.
"It is the least I can do. And you are welco."
Claudia, anwhile, is focused entirely on her pancake drowned in lting ice cream. She appears uninterested in the conversation.
But after swallowing a large bite, she speaks up.
"Maeve is right. It is the least she can do."
She looks at Theo with genuine concern.
"And I would also like to know if there is sothing I can do. You have been watching over those two without proper rest, Thea. That is not healthy."
Theo smiles and pours maple syrup generously over his pancake.
"Thank you for the concern, Claudia. I am fine. It is not as if I have been watching over them without sleep." He pauses briefly. "It is just... those two need to wake up on their own terms. And I want to be there when it happens. I do not want them to wake up alone."
He cuts a piece of pancake, drags it slowly through the syrup, and lifts it to his mouth.
After swallowing, he exhales in pure satisfaction.
"This is the best," he says, slightly muffled.
Maeve shakes her head fondly.
Claudia snorts.
And the three of them burst into laughter.
-------------------------------
"Only five people? And she wants to et us first?" Ethan asks.
"Yes," Isabelle’s voice cos through the phone. "That is her condition. She did not commit to teaching you. She wants to et five of you first before deciding."
Ethan falls silent.
Isabelle continues, "If I may offer my opinion, I believe you should accept. This is an opportunity. You can evaluate her yourself. See whether she truly possesses the power to help you grow stronger."
She may dislike the Baroness personally, but she is not foolish. If Maristella Voss can sharpen the Hunters further, then pride should not interfere.
"And right now," Isabelle adds, "she may be your best option."
"I will discuss it with my team, Teacher," Ethan replies politely. "And I will share your opinion with them."
But he has already decided.
He will not go.
Sothing about the arrangent irritates him.
It feels as though the Baroness is positioning herself above him.
Isabelle is his teacher. She has always been. That hierarchy he accepts.
But he will not take another teacher.
Not soone without battlefield experience.
Not soone who has never cleared high-level dungeons herself.
In his mind, he is already stronger than a Baroness who learned through instinct rather than combat.
"Good," Isabelle says. "Discuss it with them first. And inform them that if they agree, the five of you will need to travel to her."
Ethan asks, almost absentmindedly, "Is she in Valestria?"
"No," Isabelle replies.
"She is in Solarys. Concordia."
A pause.
"Where Rhaenas is."
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