The door was pushed open from outside, and morning light flooded the shop, falling across a floor strewn with fabric scraps and loose threads.
Selina squeezed in sideways, the hilt of her Flame-Shaped Greatsword jutting over her shoulder. As she turned to close the door, it clipped the frame with a short, dull thud.
She entered casually, as though strolling into her own backyard. Her gaze settled first on Renato, then shifted to Shahualin behind the table, a trace of confusion quietly surfacing in her blue-green eyes.
Renato stood beside the table, his left hand clamped around Shahualin's wrist, pinning her entire arm firmly against the tabletop.
At the sight of the Sea Elf entering the shop, Shahualin abruptly stopped struggling. A moment earlier, she had looked terrified, her shoulders hunched, a scream seemingly about to escape her. Her hand gripped the edge of the table, nails digging into the grain. Her body went rigid, then suddenly relaxed, as though some deeper consciousness had taken control of her shell.
Her timid, cautious air of an ordinary civilian evaporated in an instant. The middle-aged seamstress seemed to vanish into thin air, and Renato felt that the person before him had become a ruthless, cold-blooded hunter.
Her spine straightened, her shoulder blades drew back, and her chin lifted slightly. Beneath the illusion, her eyes narrowed to slits.
Shahualin fixed an icy stare on the Sea Elf approaching Renato. Narrowing her eyes, she demanded harshly in somewhat stiff Elvish:
"Selina, how dare you betray the Hunting Guild?!"
The sudden accusation stunned the Sea Elf carrying the Flame-Shaped Greatsword. Selina casually closed the door behind her, her gaze dropping first to Shahualin's left hand, pinned helplessly against the table, before shifting to Renato beside her. Her blue-green eyes were full of bewilderment.
She clearly