The next morning, Milishion's weather was as warm and humid as ever.
Yet in the dining hall of the inn where the Saviors were staying, the atmosphere was rather awkward.
Everyone sat around the table, silently working through their porridge and fried eggs.
Alice and Sylphy both kept their heads down, like two children who had done something wrong, afraid to meet Cui Ciyou's eyes.
The misunderstanding last night that had nearly brought the room crashing down, followed by Cui Ciyou's stern reprimand, had clearly left a deep impression on them.
"So... could you please keep it down at night?"
In the end, Kishirika Nucadia broke the suffocating silence with a yawn.
With heavy dark circles under his eyes, his face was full of grievances:
"Do you have any idea how annoying it is to get dragged out of a warm bed in the middle of the night to pay for a kicked-in door and a floor blasted through with magic?"
"The money I earned isn't there for you to throw away like that!"
As he spoke, his shrewd, monkeylike eyes flicked pointedly toward Alice and Sylphy.
"S-sorry..." Sylphy lowered her head even further, her voice barely a whisper.
Alice gave a defiant harrumph and muttered, "That old woman started it..."
But there was an unmistakable hint of guilt in her voice, too.
Seeing this, Cui Ciyou offered a word in their defense. "Keith, you won that money gambling anyway."
"Besides, you're holding all our money now, so I had to wake you. See? I didn't wake Rujierd or Talhand."
Keith grinned. "Feeling protective already, Duke Ciyou? What a tenderhearted young nobleman you are."
He had expected the teasing to embarrass Cui Ciyou, but instead, Cui Ciyou merely glanced at him.
Then he said calmly, "Keith, have you forgotten you