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Chapter 162: The Hero’s Return
Her hand froze mid-adjustment.
Her cheeks puffed.
Her entire face bloomed red. "Meanie! Meanie!"
He laughed as she started playfully punching him on the shoulder with weak but rapid hits.
"Hey! Don’t assault your escort. I’m delicate."
"You’re the worst!" she huffed, crossing her arms and looking away like a pouting kitten.
"Also the best," Tobias added smugly.
Before she could retaliate with more slaps, the carriage suddenly lurched slightly as the driver called out. "We’re entering Timberstead now! Inn’s just ahead!"
Tobias peered out the window, eyes scanning the still streets.
There weren’t many people out yet, probably due to what happened last night, though neither he nor Celeste knew the details.
The town was too quiet — almost eerie.
Still, he exhaled.
Finally. Finally, he was going to see the party after a while.
The carriage came to a gentle stop outside the inn, and Tobias hopped off, stretching his back with an audible crack. "Ahh... I forgot how stiff traveling could get."
Celeste hopped down more gracefully, brushing herself off. "Do you think your party doesn’t like you? That’s why they didn’t come out?"
He paused mid-stretch.
"...Thanks, Celeste. That’s exactly what I needed to hear right now."
She giggled softly.
Tobias sighed and told the driver he could leave, then made his way to the front door with Celeste trailing behind.
The moment they opened the door, both their noses twitched.
"Is that..." Celeste’s eyes sparkled. "Food?"
"Yep," Tobias said, already marching toward the kitchen.
Inside, Elisse was standing over a steaming pot, wearing her apron, a hairpin in place, and an unmistakable look that could slice through steel.
When she turned to see them, her brows rose a bit.
She glanced at Celeste, her sharp eyes scanning the princess in one clean sweep, then looked at Tobias again.
Elisse exhaled, shrugged slightly, then nodded. "Welcome back."
"Good to see you too," Tobias said, already easing into a chair.
"Sorry we couldn’t come outside to see you," Elisse began, a slight sheepish smile tugging at her lips as she set a steaming pot on the table.
The kitchen was filled with the rich aroma of sautéed vegetables, smoked meat, and freshly cooked rice. The scent alone could make a dead man rise in hunger.
Tobias gave a tired chuckle, tugging off his cloak as he took in the cozy interior. "It’s fine. I think I preferred this to getting hugged to death by Bran again anyway."
"I wouldn’t be so sure," Celeste muttered under her breath, eyeing the empty hallway cautiously as if Bran might explode out of a cupboard with arms wide open and voice booming. "He’s the one with the axe, right?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Tobias nodded grimly, pulling out a chair.
Elisse chuckled, glancing toward the living room. "Zayn woke me up a bit earlier and said you were coming today. Asked me to cook something for you. He was really eager, actually... but well, I think he fell asleep again on the couch."
She shook her head as if both exasperated and fond.
Tobias raised a brow. "He’s asleep?"
Celeste leaned forward a little in her seat, curious. "He didn’t stay up for your arrival?"
"Exhaustion finally caught up with him," Elisse explained while dishing rice into the bowls.
"He’s been running around like a lunatic ever since the cultists attacked. You should’ve seen it — jumping out of windows, cutting through shadow monsters like they were vegetables... then collapsing like a baby by the time it was all done."
"Classic Zayn," Tobias muttered, a small smirk playing on his lips but his eyes widened, ’Wait Cultists? Have they already come here?’
Elisse set two bowls down in front of them. "Anyway, he fought hard, so I suppose he earned his nap."
She turned to Celeste, resting a gentle hand on the girl’s shoulder with a warm, genuine smile. "Welcome to the party, I wonder were you came from. I’m Elisse. I handle healing and cooking around here, so if you ever feel half-dead or full-hungry, I’m your girl."
Celeste blinked, a bit taken aback by how easily she was being accepted.
Then she smiled — small, but real — and nodded. "Thank you. It’s nice to meet you."
Elisse then began to recount everything that had happened the previous day, speaking animatedly as she walked around the kitchen with her apron slightly dusted in flour.
She explained it just like Zayn would... or at least she tried to.
"So, it started with Zayn dragging Seren back from the town square when some creepy cultists were going on about salvation and demon lords. Real dramatic stuff — robes, chants, the whole spooky mess. Then one of them appeared behind him like a horror movie and Zayn just carried the girl, and leapt over a building. Like a literal building."
Celeste’s spoon froze halfway to her mouth. "Wait, what?"
"Mm-hmm," Elisse nodded, pouring some tea like she hadn’t just described a scene from an action epic. "Then he bolted to the guild and burst through the front door like he was on fire. Didn’t even explain himself until I was already halfway out the door. And you’d think the Guild Master would be doing something important during all this? Nope."
Tobias frowned. "What do you mean, ’nope’?"
Elisse narrowed her eyes and lifted her hand to mimic a snoring face. "Out cold. Althea had to physically yank him up by the cheek. I swear I heard something snap."
"Guild Master snoozing through a cult invasion?" Celeste asked, a mix of disbelief and amusement in her voice. "You’re joking."
"I wish I was," Elisse groaned. "Anyway, after a bit of yelling, the old guy finally sat up and gave us the run-down. But this was after the battle, I’ll get in on the battle right now."
Tobias sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I’m glad all of you weren’t hurt"
Elisse snorted.
She launched into the battle description, mimicking the priest raising shadow tendrils like he was some twisted puppet master.
"Adventurers were deployed and after clearing through regular cultists, we found out a priest was amongst them so we split up, and I cast reinforcement and barrier spells. Zayn went full berserker on the priest. It was flashy, Tobias. I think he even parried an attack without touching his sword — like, the thing was already cut before anyone realized he’d moved. I don’t remember that much though, too many things were happening."
