After arriving back at his old shed on the outskirts, Krey began to pack his belongings. There wasn't much. Two spare sets of clothes, with the third currently on his back. He patted his pocket and felt the reassuring rectangle of his adventurer's card, which luckily hadn't fallen out during the chaos.
"I think that's everything." he said to the empty space.
...
"Yeah, I'm going to miss this place, too." he answered himself.
He glanced around the small, familiar shed, his eyes lingering on the few crates stacked against the wall. Memories surfaced—especially the moment his mentor gave his life to save him.
With a sigh, he carefully lifted his mentor's wrapped body onto his back and picked up his small crate of belongings. Once inside the castle gate, he scanned the sparse crowd until he spotted an elderly man.
"The shed's empty now. You can have it." Krey told him.
The old man, who had once spread the news of Mrull's death, accepted with a solemn nod. He gently adjusted the weight on Krey's back, then placed a small pouch of seeds on top of the crate.
"What's this?"
"It's... food."
Since Krey was in a hurry, he simply nodded in gratitude and turned back toward the main gate.
"Halt! Who are you?" a guard challenged.
"Come on, it's me, Krey. You know who—never mind. Just check my pocket. My adventurer card is in there."
Cautiously, the guard reached into Krey's pocket and pulled out the card.
"Band of Outliers… never heard of that party before." Looking over his shoulder, the guard called to another.
"Check the registry."
The second guard returned shortly with a ledger of parties registered within the Kingdom of Graswald. Flipping through, he eventually reached the very last page. His face paled as he recognized the names listed.
"Sorry for the delay, sir. You may proceed."
With a dissatisfied scowl, Krey spat.
"I told you I'm Krey. See?"
"...You're crazy, alright." the guard mumbled once Krey was out of earshot.
As he walked, Krey reflected on the times he and Nixsen had entered the gate. They always arrived in the morning, when the gates were opened for the day, and he remembered the loud rattling of chains when they were closed at night.
"But why was the gate already shut when she came out earlier? Shouldn't it have been open? Did she just… jump over it or something?"
Making his way through the city streets, he caught faint, audible mutters from passersby.
"…there goes the lunatic. …"
"It's the same here, too," he grumbled to himself. "What did I ever do to earn that title?"
He reached his new building and greeted the bored-looking receptionist.
"Hey."
"Heya." the receptionist replied, one eyebrow raised skeptically.
Holding the crate with one hand, Krey reached for the doorknob with the other—then paused.
"Wait. Did the owner ever give me keys?"
The door swung open before he could finish the thought. Inside, Nixsen sat perched on the corner of his bed, spinning a key ring around her finger.
"I knew you'd forget these. How foolish. No need to thank me—I'm already aware of how wonderful I am." A soft, smug smile graced her lips.
"Ugh, what are you doing here?" Krey groaned.
"Just returning your sword and that book you left behind."
Nixsen then placed them on Krey's bed.
"You've done that. Now you can leave."
"How rude, evicting a guest like that."
He set the crate down, carefully laid his mentor's body in another corner, then gently but firmly guided Nixsen out the door, prying the keys from her grasp.
"Alright, alright, I'm going." she relented.
"But you should thank Alison. She was the one who asked if you had your keys in the first place."
"...I will."
Once she was gone, he draped a blanket over his mentor and busied himself with unpacking.
"We're one step closer to having our own proper place..." he said quietly.
...
"This is just temporary residence before we buy a real house of our own."
...
"Do you need your diapers changed already?"
...
"I'm joking. Lighten up."
After finishing his chores, he left for the library, key and sword in hand.
Upon arrival, the portly librarian welcomed him warmly.
"Hoho! Great to see you again, boy. I've prepared a blanket and some dinner. I hope your stay will be a pleasant one."
He led Krey inside, where the two women were already dressed for bed.
"You can sleep on the floor over there. Don't worry—I've laid out some cushions."
Krey placed his sword beside him and sat down, finding the makeshift bedding surprisingly comfortable. Just then, Alison began heading upstairs.
"Where are you headed?" he asked.
"Curious, are we? Why don't you tag along?"
He promptly followed, glancing back at Nixsen with a questioning look. She answered with a subtle sideways shake of her head.
On the second floor, which had been converted into the main library, they stopped in an empty hallway.
Krey was about to ask what they were doing when Alison solved the mystery. She reached up, pulled a small, concealed cord, and a folded ladder unfolded smoothly from the ceiling.
The night sky poured through the open hatch, illuminating Alison and enhancing her already striking presence. She climbed up first, with Krey close behind.
"Don't you dare look up, you cheeky bastard." she warned without turning.
"I wasn't—"
"We're here." she interrupted.
Krey emerged and was immediately struck silent. Above him sprawled a breathtaking, glittering canopy of stars.
"It's surprising, isn't it?" Alison said softly.
"You see it every night, but when you actually stop and look… you begin to truly admire it."
She pulled a drape off a small table, lit a lantern, and continued.
"It was the same for me, once."
Krey looked at her and saw the starry sky reflected and dancing in her grey eyes.
"How is there a whole floor like this?" he asked, noticing that a portion of the roof had been leveled and enclosed.
"My father built it for my mother after they bought this house. Opening a library was his dream, so he wanted to give her a space for hers…" She guided him to the center of the room, where a strange, tube-like device stood on a tripod.
"…because my mother was a Stargazer."
She pointed to a small glass lens. Krey peered through it, and the stars snapped into even sharper, more brilliant focus.
Alison adjusted the device, swiveling it until the cracked, luminous surface of the moon filled the view.
"I know it sounds silly. But I want to be a Stargazer, too." she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
"...It's not."
"Pardon?" Alison tilted her head.
"It's not silly at all. It sounds like a nice dream."
He replied without thinking, his hands nearly touching Alison's as they stood beside each other.
"I have dreams of my own, and yours… yours is a good one."
Alison looked at him, the shimmering stars in her eyes now holding his own reflection.
"You have one to? What's your dream, then?" she asked.
"I want a big house and to be filthy rich." Krey stated bluntly.
"Come on, that can't possibly be all. That's more like a goal than a dream..!" She cheered, a pleasing voice of laughter resonating around them.
Krey took a moment. Deep in thought, searching for an answer.
"I… don't know." he finally admitted.
"Well, when you figure it out. You should tell me."
She smiled and gracefully sat on the floor. They spent a while longer in comfortable silence, gazing upward, until Alison eventually dozed off. Her father appeared soon after, greeting Krey with a polite nod. He carefully covered the stargazing instrument with its drape, then lifted his sleeping daughter onto his back. Krey followed them downstairs.
After Alison was gently tucked into bed, her father shut the door to her room and the hidden trapdoor to the roof. The two men exchanged a curt, understanding nod before parting ways—the librarian to his own room, and Krey back to the main floor.
There, he found Nixsen sleeping in what could only be described as a barbaric manner: one leg propped on a shelf, several books scattered across the floor around her.
His thoughts drifted back to the man with the red scarf. It was the one who had slaughtered three armed men with terrifying ease. He felt a pull to encounter him again.
Remembering the reading lessons, he fetched the book from the table and sat by a window to read in the moonlight. As he read, a shadow passed by, momentarily blotting out his light. But Krey was already fast asleep, his head resting against the window frame.
In the morning, they all sat around the table for breakfast. An awkward silence hung in the air until Nixsen excused herself to the kitchen, where the librarian was washing dishes in a room behind the shelves.
Alison broke the quiet as she chewed a piece of bread.
"So… want to go on a date?" she asked casually.
Krey choked violently on his drink.