"Why did you come out here with me, too?"
The moment the door closed, Talaya turned around and put Greg on the spot.
Greg spread his hands. "Because those two clearly had something serious to discuss. It wouldn't be appropriate for an outsider like me to stay, would it?"
"An outsider?"
Talaya looked him up and down, the corners of her lips curving into a faint, ambiguous smile.
"Heh, I thought you were particularly close to that girl. Turns out that's all there is to it."
Greg said, "I didn't expect you to be such a gossip."
"Who's gossiping? I'm just making a routine check of the relationships between visitors."
Talaya snorted and turned her head away, refusing to look at him again.
The two stood in the corridor, falling into a brief silence.
The oil lamps on either side of the corridor cast a dim yellow glow, stretching their shadows across the flagstone floor.
Greg leaned against the wall, his gaze seemingly wandering casually around his surroundings, while in reality he was trying to figure out how to see Wendy.
Given Wendy's current situation, she certainly couldn't appear openly for the time being, and he had no idea where she was hiding.
If he wanted information, perhaps his only option was to gradually draw it out of Talaya beside him.
To lower her guard, Greg asked as though making idle conversation, "By the way, how long have you been in the Night Church?"
Talaya glanced at him. "Why are you asking?"
"Just making conversation. We're stuck waiting anyway."
Greg kept his tone light. "You seem pretty familiar with how things work here. That probably isn't something you could manage in a short time."
Talaya fell silent for a moment, but decided these things hardly mattered and finally answered, "Almost