Once they finished exchanging pleasantries, the natural next step was finding somewhere to eat.
They chose a small tavern beside the Adventurers' Guild.
Several rounds of drinks and dishes later, they were well into their meal.
Inside the bustling little tavern, the atmosphere had reached its peak.
Some adventuring parties explored at night, so any establishment open twenty-four hours would have customers at every hour of the day.
Cui Ciyou and Zoldat were two men whose backgrounds, personalities, and even paths through life were entirely different, yet at this moment, they found a strange rapport that belonged to friends.
Just then, Zoldat drained the last mouthful of sharp ale from his mug and let out a satisfied sigh.
With an exaggerated series of furtive glances around him, he leaned his head toward Cui Ciyou's ear.
"Hey, Ciyou..."
Zoldat lowered his voice to a mosquito's hum, but his eyes gleamed with mischievous intent, like the wolf trying to fool Little Red Riding Hood.
He looked thoroughly disreputable.
"Those two formidable wives of yours... Alice and Sylphy. They didn't come with you today, did they?"
As Zoldat asked, he even cast a couple of uneasy glances behind Cui Ciyou and under the table.
His guilty, furtive behavior was utterly ridiculous.
Cui Ciyou couldn't help smiling at the sight of Zoldat cowering like this.
Apparently, those occasions in the Basherant Principality when Alice and Sylphy had teamed up to beat him really had left a deep psychological scar on this otherwise fearless captain of an S-Rank adventuring party.
"Relax, Captain Zoldat."
Cui Ciyou set down his glass and answered calmly.
"They didn't come along. Sylphy is a special student at Ranoa University of Magic now, and she's been researching a new magical topic lately. She's very busy over there."
"As for Alice... you