“There’s no way Asano called you tempting.”

  “I swear, the guy flirts with everyone, Dustin,” Thad lamented as he surveyed the books piled helter-skelter in the small guildhall shop.

  “How did you respond to that?” Neil asked, handing a book over to Thad. Who took it with a smile.

  “Perfect find, Neil! And, well, I called him out on the fact that he seems to have a burning desire to flirt with every Mercer. First my mother, then Cassandra, now me… I don’t think him making a pass at my dad will go over well, though.” Thad said, picking up a book, frowning, and then putting it back. “He’s very… not into the whole Asano thing at the moment.”

  “Your father found out about Cassandra and him?” Dustin asked, glancing over at Neil, who surprisingly didn’t appear to care.

  “Their concert hall date was all he could talk about at his last mentorship meeting. He called Asano ‘jumped-up commoner trash’ but then made me swear not to tell Cassandra he said that. It was kind of funny to see him so animated.”

  “You’re participating in those meetings again; I thought you hated those,” Neil said, looking at Thad, who just gave a big put-upon sigh.

  “Dad’s very adamant about reintegrating me into the family’s holdings. And when I refused, he just looked so… devastated. Thus, now I get to listen to him complain about Mercer politics in the storm kingdom that I know nothing about, other than they heard about me falling out of the brothel balcony and are threatening to remove me from Greenstone entirely, if I don’t get my act together.”

  “Wait, you're leaving?”

  “Don’t get too excited, Neil, you’re not released from the team yet. It’s just a threat, not a promise. Though I’m surprised that’s the straw that did it.”

  “You seem very nonchalant about this,” Dustin said, crossing his arms and glancing at Neil, who seemed more upset now than the comment about Cassandra.

  “And you seem like you missed the part about getting my act together. Which I am, or I’m trying to, I think I am…I’m doing ok, right?”

  Dustin and Neil looked at each other, then at Thad, holding an armful of books, looking intensely vulnerable.

  “Well, you haven’t fallen from a flophouse since,” Dustin said, patting Thad on the shoulder, who rolled his eyes, his aura noticeably calming.

  “It’s not like I would go anyway; they can’t just dictate what I do with my life,” Thad said as he trailed his hand across the books, pausing on one. “Oh, fuck yeah!”

  Neil watched Thad exuberantly grab a tome from the stack and place it with the others he was holding, humming happily to himself as he counted them.

  “Which one’s that?” Neil asked, deciding not to fixate on the thought of Thad moving away so suddenly or the fact that the young nobleman thought that he would get a choice in the matter.

  “Textile Rituals, and Alteration Arrays.”

  “Ahh, yes, riveting stuff,” Dustin said, glancing over at the shopkeeper, who looked pleased as punch to be getting rid of so many obscure tomes.

  “Doesn’t the Mercer Library have similar texts?” Neil asked, looking at the other books tucked in Thad’s arms. Most of them dealt with rituals and arrays in some fashion, though one appeared to be a beginner’s guide to piloting and maintaining vehicles.

  “They do… but nothing as specific and easy to integrate into my current practice as these. Besides, I love the look on the archive guardians’ faces when I tell them to add books to the collection,” Thad snickered.

  “Easy’s not the word I’d use,” Dustin said, watching Thad pay for the books and store them in his inventory.

  “It is, if you have basic ritual theory already mastered to a certain degree, which I do. Thank you very much. I mean, for the record, I definitely wouldn’t get my arm ripped off, no matter what Clive says.”

  “What!? Who’s Clive? Is he that guy from the magic society who got roped into the contract as well?”

  “Oh, now, you’ve gone and made Neil worried,” Dustin said as Thad laughed, looking up at Neil with a smirk.

  “Are you jealous that I got to talk about rituals with someone else? It wasn’t about healing, I promise.” Thad said, playfully bumping into Neil’s arm.

  “Why would I be jealous of you talking to some guy about magical theory? I’m worried about the fact that a magic society official thought you’d get your arm ripped off, that’s all!”

  “Well, as you can see, I’m intact, and the official in question told me he’d check over my work if I used the society’s ritual rooms for any future projects.”

  “Your estate has ritual rooms and instructors. Why go all the way there just for some official?” Dustin asked.

  Neil noticed the young nobleman frown for a split second before resuming an easy smile. The healer, not missing Thad running his hand through the left side of his hair in a tell he’d had since absorbing his first essence.

  “Well, it’s not every day you get the Adjunct Assistant to the Deputy Director of the Magic Society to look over your work,” Thad said with a small laugh.

  Neil grimaced, starting to pick up that Thad’s laughter tended to hide discomfort despite the easy smile the young lord presented. And with his aura control getting better with each passing day, Neil wondered how many more tells he would need to memorize to get an accurate read on his teammate during any given situation.

  Because, regardless of all the positive changes over the last month, Thad had grown a penchant for lying about the most trivial things. And if he wasn’t outright lying, he was talking in circles, answering questions with questions, changing topics, and worst of all, being distracting.

  A new development, Neil wasn’t a fan of at all. Nope, not one bit. Especially because Thad appeared to be doing it unintentionally. A touch, a smile, the way he hummed when he was pleased about something, and those eyes.

  How was he supposed to stay focused like this?

  “Neil?”

  “Hmm? What?” Neil glanced over at Thad, who had a perplexed smile on his face.

  “Where were you just now?”

  “I didn’t go anywhere.”

  “Yeah, yeah, well, what was the last thing Dustin asked you?” Thad inquired with a smirk, glancing over at the defender, who gave Neil an expectant look.

  Crap, he’d been distracted again. He gave an apologetic look.

  “Sorry, my mind was occupied with… other things.”

  “It’s fine, I got bored thinking about Thad’s nerdy reading list too.”

  “Hey!”

  “What? Tell me I’m wrong. Regardless, Neil, do you want to grab food before we head back?” Dustin asked, miming eating as he did so.

  “What you have in mind?” Neil asked.

  “Well, Thad’s no help, yet again, on this front, so I was hoping you had some ideas,” Dustin said, which got a frustrated huff from Thad.

  “Just because I don’t—”

  “You used to love going out to eat, and I watched you go green over jellied manta bat yesterday. So, I’m sorry, Thad, but you don’t get a vote anymore, or we’d be stuck eating spirit coins every time we're out, which is just wasteful, I might add.”

  -A new task list has been assigned [Get over it already] (Stop being a picky eater). Once the task is marked completed, the User will gain access to [Me not cutting off your ability to sate hunger via spirit coins]. –

  -A new sub-task list has been assigned for [Get over it already], subtask [dealer's choice] (have 10 people suggest a meal and finish it). Once the task is marked completed, the User will gain access to [Images Display Widget]. -

  Neil saw Thad open his mouth to retort before shutting it, his face going pale.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  What was that look about?

  Neil caught a moment of panic in Thad’s aura before it was closed off again.

  “Thad, are you ok?”

  “… Yes, why wouldn’t I be? I’m just so thrilled to be here.” Thad said, staring off in the distance. And there he went lying again.

  Well, if he didn’t want to open up, Neil would give him space.

  “Noodles?” Neil suggested looking towards Dustin, who beamed with excitement.

  “Oh, Phoebe showed me a spot!”

  Clive watched Jason happily chat with the noodle shop owner behind the counter.

  Clive found that Jason seemed to have transient enthusiasm. Flitting from one topic to the next with dizzying speed.

  However, where Clive had assumed Jason would lose the information he so quickly sought impulsively, the outworlder would surprise him with an astounding retention rate.

  He was quite clever, and Clive appreciated that; it made conversation worth having.

  He had asked Jason when they first entered the shop if he’d ever had noodles before, to which the outworlder had gone on and on about the variations in his world. It was fascinating.

  Especially when Jason started comparing different flavor profiles he’d found with ones from his home world, the comparative notes Clive had been able to take had been well worth the break for dinner Jason had forced on him.

  Thinking of the outworlder, Clive pulled out his notebook once again and flipped to a page titled the Mercer Hypothesis.

  Several reference texts had been jotted down, with other possible leads annotated for further research. But regardless of the supportive documents he’d found, Clive was still not 100% certain that his theory was correct. It would not be something to reveal lightly. Not with the Mercer family involved. No, he would need more substantial proof.

  However, that had turned out to be a bit trickier to obtain than he had initially anticipated, primarily due to the fact that he didn’t see Thad near the same amount as Jason.

  Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He did enjoy the affliction specialist’s presence after all. A bit more than he had initially predicted he would.

  But that didn’t allow him to compare the two men’s auras against each other. Nor any other factors, such as whether Thad had the signature outworlder smell. He would need to douse Thad in crystal wash at some point to check, as the young man seemed less impulsive about cleanliness than Jason.

  Clive jotted down ‘Buy crystal wash? Ask Jason for crystal wash?’ on the notepad, the latter thought causing him to scratch the secondary idea.

  The affliction specialist would never willingly give up crystal wash unless he knew what it was for, and Clive wasn’t sure he wanted to rile up the other outworlder unless he was sure about Thad.

  Because Jason, Clive had found out, had a penchant for escalating situations faster than he could mitigate, having been on the receiving end more than once.

  No, He would need to spend his own money for this experiment.

  Thinking of the man, however, led Clive to glance up and check on Jason, who was now behind the counter, exuberantly pulling noodles with the chef. It was surprisingly endearing. Clive noted, a small smile coming to his face.

  Though, was it endearing because he found the spontaneity nice, or was it outworlder charisma?

  There was speculation in the community about whether outworlders’ charisma came from a racial gift or if only successful outworlders had such traits. Thus, it had been recorded as a known fact for their race.

  Thad had appeared naturally charismatic to him, though that didn’t seem to have always been the case. Especially with the rumors Clive had heard before meeting the young man. However, this fact did add credence to his theory, specifically theory 12b.

  “I’m telling you, Thad, we should invite her to our team.”

  “A Geller on a Mercer team? I doubt that’s happened since my mother was on a team with Lady Geller.”

  “So, you’re saying there’s a chance.”

  “As long as it’s not Humphrey, I don’t care, but I doubt she’d join us,” Thad said, catching eyes with Clive. The young nobleman gave an enthusiastic wave and strolled over, the two men following behind, giving each other a look before walking up beside him.

  “Clive! This is a pleasant surprise.” Thad said, leaning on the table with a smile, the elf with him staring at him with an odd intensity.

  “Well, I wasn’t trying to surprise you.”

  This caused Thad to laugh and then look over at the two men with him, motioning to each.

  “Dustin, Neil, meet Clive Standish, the Adjunct Assistant to the Deputy Director of the Magic Society.”

  “Greenstone Branch.”

  “Oh yes, my mistake, Greenstone branch,” Thad added with a smirk.

  “That’s a mouthful,” Dustin said.

  “It’s accurate,” Clive said, crossing his arms.

  “Can we join you? Are you eating alone?” Thad asked as he took a seat at the table, not waiting for a response.

  “No, I’m here with… Where did he go?”

  “Right here,” Jason whispered into Thad’s ear, which startled the man into smacking Jason in the face, causing the affliction specialist to stumble into Neil, who looked less than enthused and lightly pushed him off.

  “Asano!” Thad gasped, holding his chest, still looking somewhat startled.

  “Why does he get Clive, and I still get Asano? It’s not fair, Thad.” Jason said, holding his nose, despite the damage being next to none.

  “Well, life’s not fair, Asano. And I’m definitely not calling you by your first name after that little stunt.”

  “I’ll get you to say my name tonight, one way or another.”

  “Ahh, you were right, he does flirt with everyone,” Dustin said, which caused Jason to reel on the defender.

  “What? I do not!” Jason said, putting his hands on his hips and looking up at Dustin, who stood a whole foot taller than the affliction specialist.

  “Well, I guess you haven’t flirted with me yet,” Dustin smirked.

  “The night's young, give him a minute,” Thad said, which made Asano turn back to him with a huff, only to receive a smug smile from the young nobleman.

  “Who said you could eat with us?” Jason asked with a scowl.

  “Clive said we could,” Thad said, motioning for his teammates to take seats themselves.

  “No, I did not?”

  Thad looked at Clive, then Jason, before an innocent smile came on his face.

  “Wait? Are we interrupting a date?”

  “What?! No. We’re not dating Thad.”

  “Oh. So, you wouldn’t mind the company then.”

  “Of course not!”

  “Ahh, never mind, Clive. Asano gave us the go-ahead; you’re off the hook.”

  “Wait… no, you— well damn. Fine, you got me.” Jason said, shaking his head. “So, what will it be?”

  “Hmmm?” Thad questioned as he watched Jason pull out a small notepad and pen, looking expectantly at Thad, who paled. “I guess… I can’t believe I’m saying this, whatever you suggest.” Thad said, grabbing chopsticks sitting in a small vase in the middle of the table, breaking them apart, and swiping them a few times to smooth them out.

  “Oh, I know exactly what your mouth needs.”

  “Ahh, I hear it now,” Neil said, which got an exasperated sigh from Jason as he continued taking orders.

  “It was so spicy,” Thad said, his face flush and his eyes slightly teary as he stared up at the night sky.

  “I offered to swap with you, Thad. But you kept stubbornly eating. Your pride’s not worth it.”

  “It wasn’t about pride, Neil,” Thad said, leaning against the alley wall of the shop, wishing once again that healing magic relieved spice, which it didn’t, a sad fact he’d found out from the healer.

  “Regardless, it’s what you get for letting Asano choose.”

  “You know, Dusty said, ‘The spice reminds you you’re alive!’ but I think Jason was trying to kill me for real this time,” Thad said with a pained laugh.

  “Well, what’s new with that?” Neil said, leaning against the wall beside Thad, who shuffled closer to the healer, their arms touching. Neil felt his heart rate elevate suddenly. Why did this keep happening?

  He hadn’t felt like this since…since— wait, no, that couldn’t be right.

  “I think I’m going to go back inside. Will you be ok out here by yourself?” Neil asked quickly, stepping away from the other young man, who looked up at him with big golden eyes, his face lightly flushed. The shop’s lights cast him in a soft glow.

  Yes, he needed to go back inside, immediately.

  “Oh, um yeah, I’m fine, I’ll be fine… of course, no worries, you’ve done enough. This is fine. I’m happy to be here. I mean, I knew it was going to be bad when it stained the chopsticks crimson.” Thad said with a small laugh. “I mean, you did say there’s no healing from this. Only time.”

  Neil watched as Thad gestured with his hands as he spoke, a note of loneliness hiding at the edge of his aura. It made him hesitate.

  “Um, Neil?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks for checking on me.”

  “It’s why I’m here. To protect you.”

  “Some job you did.” Thad said with a smirk, which received a light shove from Neil, who turned to walk back inside.

  “As a reminder, I offered to switch with you, Thad; I can’t always protect you from yourself. It would be impossible.” Neil said, with no edge to his words as he left, causing Thad to laugh despite the pain still clinging to him.

  Thad heard the door shut behind Neil and looked up at the stars peppering the sky, only slightly dimmed by the Island’s streetlights.

  It was peaceful. This night reminded him of his last night out with friends. It was bittersweet.

  You know I think I should get two meals from that one. One for the meal, and one for the spice.

  -You want me to add two meals to your counter. -

  You’re not funny.

  -Oh come on, it's pretty funny. -

  You like seeing me in pain?

  -You didn’t have to ask Jason; you could’ve asked anyone else. You did this one to yourself. -

  I didn’t have to ask Jason?!

  -The rules never said it had to be the first person who asked you. -

  Oh, um. Well, I still hate these new tasks. Why do I get such janky ones anyway? Jason has a whole quest system that seems way better!

  - It looks like you want to question the Great Astral Beings. Do you want me to place a work order request with the Great Astral Beings? -

  Clippy, why!

  -I’m pretty funny, right?-

  Pretty annoying.

  -That’s your opinion…. Wait, User, someone’s-

  Thad felt the fist make direct contact with his face before he even saw his assailant. He instantly went into a defensive stance, shielding his face from another hit, only to feel himself pushed up against a wall. As the thief, a woman, tried to pull off his Oasis jewelry.

  He was getting mugged.

  “I see it on the wind.”

  - Time till Window of Opportunity: [2 minutes] –

  The short time surprised him as he blocked a few more attacks, the bandit getting frustrated.

  Wait, the woman only had one essence. She wasn’t even Iron. Thad jumped away from her, but she persisted, her speed outpacing him.

  There was something familiar about this. Something he was forgetting.

  He dodged once again, swiping at the hood covering his attacker's face, catching it and revealing silver celestine hair and dark skin.

  “Sophie?!” His words stopped the robber dead in her tracks, silver eyes locking on gold.

  “What, how!?”

  The door of the shop opened, with the chime of a bell, snapping Sophie out of her stunned state. And without hesitation, she delivered a kick directly to Thad’s face, sending him to the ground, as she disappeared into the night.

  “Thad!”

  He could hear the pounding of boots on cobblestones as large hands grabbed him by the shoulders.

  Thad lifted his hand to his busted lip, blood coating it as he looked at the way Sophie had left. This had never been in the books.

  “Neil! Come here!” Dustin yelled into the shop.

  “I left him alone for 5 minutes, what could he have— Imbue with life!” Thad felt his lip and the black eye start healing with the normal sharp tingle of magic.

  “Who did this to you?” Neil asked, his eyes intense as he inspected his work.

  “I… I don’t know.” Thad said, which made Neil raise an eyebrow, unsure why he would lie about something like this.