Chapter 65: From Bait To Prey - Part 1

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Arezu muttered, confused as his face flushed with nervousness and unease. "Isn't it obvious?" Lynn said, wearing her usual playful, teasing smile. "Are you out of your mind, Lynn?!" "Just let me into your room already, Mr. Arezu!" As for what was happening between Lynn and Arezu, right in front of his room, going back a few hours would explain their current situation. An hour before the sixth bell, which rang at 9 in the evening, Lynn and Arezu had finally arrived at the Moon Pavilion, where Arezu was staying. As he had promised, Arezu convinced the diner's head chef at the Moon Pavilion, Mr. Dov, to make some puddings and cakes for Lynn to take home—even though those sweets weren't officially on sale yet. While waiting, Lynn and Arezu had a late dinner: a set of Burger Queen, pizza, fried chicken, and fries—meals Lynn had taken a liking to since last night's rank promotion celebration for Arezu. Their conversation during the meal didn't touch on the bounty-hunting quest or their plans for how to deal with Alex going rouge, but instead focused on the fact that it was Arezu who had provided the recipes for all the unfamiliar dishes currently being served at Moon Pavilion—not just for tenants, but for outside customers as well, and the place was quickly becoming popular in the capital of the Eileen Kingdom. "So your real identity is a chef adventurer, Mr. Arezu," Lynn said casually as she devoured the special double bacon egg cheese Burger Queen. "Pfft—" Once again, Lynn had no idea what Arezu found so funny about her remark. Feigning ignorance to Lynn's questioning glare, Arezu gave his response. "I'm not a chef or anything. The best I can do is fry things in a pan," he said, then promptly took a bite of the bacon and cheese pizza. Though it was a rather heavy meal for a late dinner—even for the two of them—Lynn and Arezu finished it, along with another order of strawberry and cream waffles that Lynn planned to eat by herself. "Are you sure you can finish that?" "Don't worry, Mr. Arezu. A lady always has room for more desserts." I'm not sure that's how the saying goes, Arezu thought, watching Lynn enjoy her dessert. After the meal, Lynn received her order of puddings and cakes. This time, she made sure to store all of them inside her enchanted bag to keep them safe. Then, as it was already late—just the right time to rest—Lynn followed Arezu toward the third floor of the Moon Pavilion, where his room was. This brings Lynn and Arezu to their current situation—Lynn trying to barge into his room, while Arezu held the door shut, struggling to keep her out. "Isn't it better for the two of us to stay together tonight, considering Alex is still out there?" Her reason was valid, but to Arezu, it would have been more convincing if Lynn didn't have her usual mischievous grin on her face. Whatever she was scheming—whatever trouble she planned to drag him into now—he wasn't about to let it happen. "Aren't there people waiting for you at home, Lynn?" "I'm an adventurer too, Mr. Arezu. My family understands that sometimes I have to spend the night somewhere else." "Then spend it somewhere else!" "It won't work if we're not together, obviously!" Amid the commotion between Lynn and Arezu—which had already attracted the attention of other tenants—Luna, the young daughter of the innkeeper and the head chef, approached Lynn from behind and spoke up. "Ms. Lynn... here's the key... to the room that... you requested..." Though she stammered from the shyness of interrupting, Luna managed to catch both Lynn's and Arezu's attention. "Thank you, Luna," Lynn said, turning her back to Arezu and taking the key from Luna as if the commotion hadn't concerned her at all. "Ehh?..." Arezu was left stunned and speechless, unsure of what was happening—until Lynn looked back at him again and tossed out another teasing remark. "My, my... Don't tell me you actually believed I was planning to spend the night in your room, Mr. Arezu?" Whether it was from his own assumptions about Lynn's intentions, or the way she said it in that sweet, teasing voice, Arezu couldn't help but feel embarrassed. "Would you just go to sleep in your room already, Lynn?!" "Pfft—Hahaha... Good night, Mr. Arezu." Their night ended with Arezu finally locking his door and relaxing in his room, while Lynn stayed in the room opposite his. By the next morning, even before the first bell, Arezu found Lynn already waiting at the diner. "Did you have a good sleep, Mr. Arezu?" Lynn's greeting was clearly laced with her usual teasing mischief. Arezu, on the other hand, didn't yet have the patience or energy to deal with her, having just woken up. "Good morning, Lynn." It was the bare minimum he could offer, hoping not to trigger one of her tantrums. Yet somehow, Lynn returned his greeting with a satisfied smile. After a light breakfast—croquettes and coffee for Arezu, and honey cream pancakes for Lynn—they took their leave, heading off to deal with the troublesome bounty-hunting quest. "So where exactly are we going, Lynn?" "You'll find out soon, Mr. Arezu. Just stay by my side and keep following me."