After some further convincing, Glyea finally retook a seat and listened to what Zephyr had to say. Keeping his true identity still a secret, he only revealed how he and Valentine were related, not as husband and wife but as cooperators in their business as traveling merchants. The lie was sold further by Valentine's acting, but even then, one question remained.

"What were you doing with the zombies, and what about the people whom you killed?" Her question rang in Valentine's mind, but she simply looked to Zephyr to explain.

"Aura and I… well," leaning forward, he looked straight into Glyea's eyes. "We didn't just move here to set up shop. That dungeon of the fiend, I'm sure you've heard of it–we're trying to conduct some surveys inside that place, and Valentine was supposed to be our foot on the ground before we found that the hero lived here."

Visibly confused, Glyea narrowed her eyes.

"What does that have anything to do with what she did?"

"We lost contact with her a couple of weeks before that attack." Turning his eyes to Valentine, he placed a hand over hers. "Then we found out that she was being mind controlled, that's why we had the hero and him specifically do a search for the army."

Snapping her hand away from Zephyr, Valentine clicked her tongue in frustration.

"Don't remind me," glaring at Glyea, she added. "As if I would lose to someone like her if it weren't for that stupid spirit of the dungeon controlling me."

"That still–"

"You remember you asked me how I knew about the enemy? Had the weapons been ready to defeat them? Even slipped your ring right before you fought Valentine, so that you could use her weakness to light magic to your advantage? Now, really think, how would I know? How would I have prepared beforehand for what we were about to face?"

In its own twisted way and by making her overthink, Zephyr was making sense inside Glyea's head. But even then, she couldn't help but wonder why a vampire was even working for a devil and if the two were truly as neutral as they claimed.

"You," turning to Valentine, Glyea narrowed her gaze again. "You won't hurt anyone, right? I need some time to figure this out, but if you do something crazy in the meantime…"

Glancing at Zephyr, then back at Valentine, Glyea heaved a sigh.

"Then I will have to tell my superiors about you guys, plain and simple–even a dead mouse, and you will no longer have the benefit of the doubt."

"Whatever~." Valentine scoffed, not exactly thrilled by the prospect of a human trying to control her actions.

"Now that that's settled, we can talk about this trip to the capital." Still unsure about Valentine, Glyea kept staring at her even though Zephyr was already trying to move on from the topic. "What do you think they want from us? You, I understand, since you're a student, but why the hero's entire party and us?"

"I…" Slowly turning her head, Glyea tried to come up with a reason but couldn't. "I don't know. Possibly they just wanna jerk you around, or maybe your documents had some issues, and now they wanna see you in person before taking the whole shop away."

Folding her hands and resting them on the table, Glyea took a deep breath and looked around.

"I would suggest sending your stuff somewhere else before they seize it, just in case. For all we know, while you are with me in the capital, they will send someone to demolish this place and empty your inventory."

"So you're saying that they don't want retaliation and that's why they're calling us with you?" Aura chimed in, genuinely curious about what Glyea thought could be the sage's intentions.

Nodding in response, the magic knight asserted her theory further.

"Then again, you guys might have drawn their attention with those special weapons and potions, and who knows, they might want you to work for them instead."

"Hmm, that's something I didn't consider." Thinking on it, Zephyr felt that it was entirely plausible that the sages wanted their expertise to be put to better use at the capital. "Still, I'd say we should be cautious about this invite–rarely good things come from a sudden summons from a higher authority."

Tired of waiting, Valentine rose from her chair and offered Glyea a hand.

"Are we done here? Because I'd like you to leave–there's a lot of reporting that needs doing. That was the whole plan before I got mind-controlled, remember?" Faking a smile, she waited for the knight to take her hand. However, standing on her own, Glyea talked to Zephyr one last time before taking her leave.

"Please don't make me regret trusting you. Keep her in check, and nobody has to know what we talked about here." With an affirming nod from Zephyr, Glyea left without another word shared between anyone.

Left in silence for but a moment, Valentine took advantage and sat on Zephyr's lap. Crossing her legs with her arms around his neck, she leaned into the nape of his neck and rubbed her face all over.

"You should've told me the moment you woke up, and none of this would've happened," she whispered, her voice tinged with a nostalgic tone.

"I didn't wanna bother you," Zephyr responded, running his hand across the back of her head.

Taking a deep whiff of her man's odor, Valentine glanced over at the succubus staring at them head-on.

"Leave us alone for a day, will you? You've had him to yourself for long enough!" She complained, and although Aura's cheeks were puffed with frustration, she rolled her eyes and did as she was asked.

Resting her head against Zephyr's chest, Valentine simply sat in his lap for a while. Enjoying warmth against her cold skin was like warming hands in a fire in the dead of winter. Alas, that warmth alone wouldn't be enough, and so with her head raised, she caressed his face and pressed their lips together.

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