Helen's house was a modest house much similar to Matthew's and Eric's. There was a small pool in the backyard and a big table. A propane barbecue rested under a waterproof cover on the side of the small shed that stored Helen's father's tools.

Helen's father, János, was a short brown haired man with a goatee. A bit shorter than his own daughter, muscular, but not burly. His eyes had the same hazel brown color as his daughter's. He was wearing light summer clothes and walked barefooted.

Helen's mother, Katalin, was a blonde haired woman with a bob cut. She was as tall as her husband and very thin. She had green eyes and was wearing a light summer dress with sandals. She was inside the house, in the kitchen, stirring a huge pot of goulash.

Helen herself was wearing jeans and a green sleeveless tank top that showed her arm muscles very well. She opened a wide smile when Faralynn and Matthew arrived together and hurriedly walked to them giving the elf a tight hug.

"I'm glad you two made it. Erin and Mia won't be coming. And Tina said she'll come by later if she can." Helen said welcoming both of them.

Helen introduced Matthew to her parents who were extremely friendly to him. Seeing Matthew and Faralynn arriving together, quickly made both of them think he was dating Faralynn. That did disappoint Helen's mother a bit, but that didn't stop her from asking a thousand questions to know her daughter's only male friend better.

A bit later, János and Katalin's friends arrived and were quick to start drinking. They were in 3, a couple who lived next door and another adventurer who János befriended in a dungeon one day.

Matthew looked at that man with a puzzled look. He was tall, very large and strong, blonde and had a beard. He came carrying his daughter on his shoulder.

"Uncle Matty!" The daughter screamed after seeing Matthew.

"Hey Katia. Hey Eric." Matthew laughed.

"Matt!" Eric laughed out loud. "Small world!"

Matthew then explained how he knew Eric and Katia to the others.

"So Helen is your classmate?" Eric asked Matthew making conversation.

"Yeah." Matthew answered not adding anything to it.

"And this beautiful elf is the Laufgraan girl?"

"I am." Faralynn answered with a smile on her face. Something about Eric's boisterous way made her feel comfortable.

"And how did you meet Helen's parents?" Matthew asked.

"János saved us one day in a raid that went wrong. I bought him a beer after that and now we're friends." Eric was succinct.

Matthew quickly understood that was the raid where Eric's guild lost a member and led Vanessa to become a full time adventurer earlier on that year.

After a while, Helen's mother finally served the goulash which was delicious. Katalin also served some tiny egg dumplings called nokedli that looked like pasta, some salad, baked potatoes and bread that she baked herself from scratch.

The food was so good, that they mostly ate in silence since they couldn't stop eating. The silence was only broken once in a while to say how good the food was out loud.

Katalin was the only one not eating. Instead, she was just standing by the side of the table with a huge proud smile on her face and serving anyone who emptied their plates of more food, urging them to eat more and more even if they refused.

In fact, the amount of food that was on the table could feed a whole battalion. When she saw that people were starting to get full, she brought out the dessert. Three different types of cakes and store bought ice cream.

By the end of the feast, Matthew was already sweating from how much he ate.

"That's some good food." Eric laughed picking his teeth with a toothpick. "Katalin, you could open your own restaurant." He complimented the hostess.

"Honestly, one of the best things I ever ate." Matthew also complimented her.

"Thank you two. But I wished I also made some rice, but I didn't have time." Helen's mother lamented while taking the dirty dishes inside.

After that, Katia went to play with Faralynn and Helen, and the couple next door were inside with the hosts helping wash the dishes. This left Eric and Matthew alone at the table, both too filled with food to move.

"Have you been talking to Ness recently?" Eric asked Matthew wile shifting on the chair to make himself more comfortable.

"No. She always says she's busy." Matthew gave him a half smile.

"She didn't tell you what she was doing, did she?" Eric asked while looking at Katia touching Faralynn's ears in curiosity.

"No. She just says she's working on something."

"You know our history with the Howling Spear guild, don't you?" Eric asked and continued after Matthew nodded affirmatively. "She found some evidence to shut them down during that whole Gnole incident. She's been searching for more ever since."

"Do you think she'll find something?" Matthew asked.

"I'm sure she will. But I'm a bit worried. She might get herself in trouble by the way she is now."

"What do you mean?"

"She's obsessed. She's barely sleeping. There are days she doesn't even come back home. I'm afraid she'll throw caution out of the window. And those people are dangerous, Matt. I'm worried what they'll do if they found out what she knows and what she's doing."

"You think she's in danger?" Matthew asked with wide eyes.

"Yes." Eric nodded and looked at Katia. "But I have my daughter to look after. I can't be there for Ness." He looked at Matthew clearly asking him to step up.

"But she's ignoring me. What can I do?"

"Force things. Go after her. I would do it myself, but Katia needs me. I can't leave her with friends or babysitters for too long. It's too soon since she lost her mother. I need to be here for her." Eric said looking at his daughter again.

"Are you sure? Won't Vanessa just send me away? Or refuse my help?" Matthew sighed.

"Please, Matt. She's not well. She needs help and I can't be there for her." Eric said putting a hand on his shoulder. "She cares about you like a little brother. She'll listen to you if you go to her."

Little brother? Was that what he was to her? He felt a bit hurt, but it was a bit obvious by the way she treated him. Calling he a kid all the time. Being overprotective. His romantic fantasies with her were just one sided.

"I'll try." Matthew said. Even if she had no romantic feelings for him, she had done too much for him. He cared a lot about her.

Not much later, Eric took Katia back home. Helen's parents and the couple next door were inside the house drinking wine and playing cards. The other three were sitting around the pool talking about nothing.

"Shame Tina didn't come." Helen said looking at the dying light on the sky.

"Her loss. Your mother cooking is great." Matthew smiled and patted his own belly.

"It was truly delicious." Faralynn agreed.

"Did you give any to Faynn?" Matthew asked Faralynn.

"She ate." Faralynn said not giving much more information.

"Why is she hiding, anyway?" Matthew asked trying to find the shadow the spy was lurking in.

"She doesn't want people to know she's protecting me. It gives her the edge if someone is to ambush us thinking I'm alone." Faralynn explained.

"But even here?" Helen asked pointing to her house.

"Yes. Specially since things aren't going great with my dad." Faralynn pressed her lips together.

"What's going on there?" Matthew asked.

"Well… My father and uncle couldn't reach a peaceful solution. Now the nobles under our house are rallying between them. Some are allying with dad and the others with my uncle. That's why Faynn is being overly cautious. My uncle needs me more than ever to rally the nobles under him." Faralynn explained.

"You know we're also here to help you." Helen said taking Faralynn hands on hers.

The elf thanked her friend for the words. Matthew, however, was now divided between Vanessa and Faralynn. Both of them could use his help. But going to help Vanessa, meant being away from Faralynn and staying with Faralynn meant he would leave Vanessa to fight alone if something dangerous happened.

He finally found Faynn's shadow. A dark circle on the floor that had no object casting it. Faralynn had Faynn, who was much stronger than him, to help her already. Shadow Form, the skill she was using to keep hiding inside a shadow like that, was only available for adventurers of level 40. A skill from the Shadow class. Even though Faynn most likely used mana without the system, like Farzan did, she should be at least as strong as an adventurer of 40 levels to be able to use that skill.

Meanwhile, Vanessa was actively searching for evidence against a corrupt guild with no backup. It was clear that Vanessa needed him more than Faralynn. Yet, looking at Faralynn's face while the red glow of the setting sun illuminated her visage made him want to stay by the self's side.

He decided to go to Vanessa and trust Faynn at the end. Despite how his heart was fluttering at that moment.

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