"Then I'll go ahead now."

"Ah, Yuder. You should take this with you."

As Yuder stepped outside, Kanna handed over a bundle of papers she had been holding tightly. That ordinary bundle, tied with a string, was the list of those who had attended the auction that day.

In addition to the guests, this list, which included the names of those who had actually prepared the auction and related parties, would become the best evidence to prove and corner someone's unjust actions in the future.

"Please deliver it to the Commander. See you later!"

"Okay."

Yuder nodded and leaped into the air, soon becoming distant from the waving figures of Ever and Kanna.

Though the journey here seemed very short, the way back was strangely long and slow. No matter how much he sped up, jumping twice as high as before, Baron Wilhelm's mansion still seemed infinitely far away.

The reason was simple. It was his impatience to get back a little faster.

In his previous life, the journey back after completing a mission had never felt so slow and frustrating. There was no reason to return early, nor anyone he particularly wanted to see.

But now, Yuder was painfully regretful that he couldn't run a little faster.

Leaping off the wind, he bounded over a few roofs, his shadow momentarily grasping a giant branch and then soaring across the night sky of Tainu. His pace was so fast that an ordinary person might not even recognize him passing by. Finally, the entrance to Baron Wilhelm's mansion appeared in Yuder's view.

The two windows from which he had escaped a few hours ago were still wide open.

Without another thought, Yuder poured all his strength into his feet. The wind's force wrapped around his legs and then exploded, propelling him into the air. In the moment he jumped over the sharp, thorny iron fence without a scratch, like a bird, he noticed a pair of red eyes looking at him from the open window.

At the same time, the surrounding time slowed down infinitely. His sharpened senses dulled, and his unacknowledged impatience extinguished like a wet match.

Only those eyes felt like the only thing existing in this world.

Joy sparkled and shone in Kishiar's eyes as he stood in the window, opening his arms without hesitation.

Before he even realized what it meant, Yuder took one last leap off the wind and jumped through the window, where strong arms eagerly embraced him. The two bodies fell back into the room, collapsing together.

Yuder lay in Kishiar's arms, catching his breath. The warmth of the body beneath him enveloped him with every rise and fall of the chest.

"Did you have a good trip?"

As if savoring his scent, a smiling voice tickled his ear as he took a deep breath.

"Yes."

"Any injuries?"

"None."

As if to make sure, Kishiar felt Yuder's back, arms, and legs, and when his fingers reached the nape, pulling off the hood, tangled black hair and eyes still tinged with gold were revealed.

Caressing the clean and pale cheek without a single wound, Kishiar finally wore a satisfied smile.

"I see."

"First... please accept this."

Yuder firmly handed over the list to Kishiar, ensuring that he didn't drop it. Yuder knew better than anyone what it was, and how important it was, but Kishiar, seemingly unconcerned, did not even unfold it, casually laying it down beside him. It seemed as though embracing Yuder and indulging in the aroma of his body was more important, as the touch of his hands was endlessly gentle and affectionate.

With each touch, shivers ran down Yuder's spine, but he barely managed to recall where and when they were.

"Now, please let go. Isn't it heavy?"

"On the contrary, it's so light that it's a problem. Just a little longer like this"

In the past, Yuder would have immediately risen whether Kishiar said so or not, but not now. Yuder fell into silence for a moment, then slightly relaxed his body. Kishiar lightly kissed the tip of his nose, as if to say he had done well.

On the floor, not even a bed, daringly lying on the body of a duke, yet feeling as if he had returned to his rightful place, he was enveloped by this profound sense of security.

"But"

"Hmm?"

"Why are your clothes so disheveled? Has something happened?"

As Yuder's captivated mind began to return to normal and he regained his usual calm, he noticed something he hadn't before.

Beneath the dim lantern that faintly lit the darkness, Kishiar appeared almost undressed compared to when Yuder had left. He was so scantily clad that his body was more exposed than when they shared a bed to sleep.

Surely, Kishiar had planned to feign sharing a bed with Yuder here while waiting, but he had not said that he would be so undressed at that time. They were planning to infiltrate Baron Willhem's mansion, and Kishiar was supposed to deliver the final blow once all the intruders were dealt with. Could it be that he hadn't finished there yet?

Kishiar let out a suspicious and secretive smile, noticing Yuder's question.

"I've finished everything here according to plan. Though I did let Nahan escape. Did you know he came this way?"

"Ah, yes. I thought he might be, since he was missing from the security management team and not in the auction house. But you missed him... Is Nathan Zuckerman okay?"

If Nahan and his companions had come to Baron Willhem's mansion to kill Graham Willhem as Kishiar anticipated, it was Nathan Zuckerman's job to handle them. Kishiar had decided it, and Yuder, confident that he wouldn't easily be pushed back by Nahan or any other Awakeners, had been eagerly awaiting the result.

"It's fine. He seems to have taken a hit to his pride, though, since he caught Hosanna, one with teleportation ability, but still let him escape."

Even though Hosanna was caught first, he managed to escape alone against Nathan Zuckerman? Annoyingly, he was good at running away.

'But there are others who are really good at running away on our side, too.'

"Actually, I lost some southern merchants on my end. There was an additional passage I didn't know about."

Yuder confessed his failure, thinking of Kanna, and added one more thing.

"That's largely my fault, so if there needs to be a penalty, give it to me."

"Why would it be the assistant's fault?"

Kishiar finally sat up, his gaze deeply settling on Yuder's face as if searching for something. Yuder blinked, noticing only then that Kishiar was not only half-dressed but also without shoes. His appearance was so inexplicable that Yuder could not guess what had happened.

"Was there something else besides the passageway?"

The man who had casually perched on the chair, not minding his bare feet, opened his mouth to ask.

Yuder briefly reported on Kanna's fortuitous return, which could be seen as a variable but was rather a stroke of luck on their part, and the events that occurred during the mission. There were incidents, like Robel's injury when facing the Star of Nagran and Ershi that almost went berserk, or the Apeto family fugitives found among the guests, but still, Kishiar gave a small nod at the words that they were able to complete everything as planned.

"So it happened. Kanna returned at an opportune time."

"Yes."

"So, the reason you tried to blame the flight of the southern merchants on yourself was because of that?"

"..."

Silence was answer enough. The man who noticed Yuder's attempt to cover for Kanna and placed blame on himself concealed his eyes and burst into laughter.

"I thought you were hiding something serious when you suddenly blamed yourself, but I'm relieved that wasn't the case. It was merely the result of warm camaraderie."

Yuder was momentarily taken aback, having not anticipated that Kishiar would accept his words in that way.

"I didn't expect you to see it that way. I apologize."

"No, it's fine. It was a fine display of comradeship. I just find it amusing, so don't worry about it."

Kishiar laughed a little more and then reached out his hand to Yuder.

"Sit here. A lot has happened here too, in your absence. You must know what you need to know before you go out."

"Was there something else besides Nahan's escape? Oh, did some problem arise because I came back too late?"

"Um... if it's similar, then it's similar."

Yuder was about to say that he didn't care at all if rumors spread that he had been in a break room with Kishiar for several hours, but Kishiar was quicker to open his mouth.

"Well, the Duke of Peletta simply did what befits the Duke of Peletta. Finding some interesting characters in the process was just a bonus."

With a face that seemed both playful and genuinely refreshed, the man who had spoken as if in jest began to tell his story.

Yuder attentively listened, not wanting to miss a single word of what he was telling.

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