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When Mito tried to push up the trap, it wouldn't budge. Confused, he put a bit more strength behind it and it lifted up a little, something akin to a white embroidered curtain showing from the creak he opened. He immediately closes it back.

"!! Miss Betty! I'm terribly sorry, take your time... Mister Redwood is with me by the way." He adds for good measure. Whew, he thought the trap was jammed. Or that Cyrus broke it. If he did indeed come here…

They don't hear any footsteps, only the dull thud of some objects falling and rolling on the floor.

‘Oh, she must've come here to get the potatoes.’ Yohei thinks. ‘I'm sorry I left you alone with so many guests.’

Soon they both hear the door creaking and closing. Still no footsteps. Yohei waits a moment before pushing the trap door up and hauling himself into the storage. He then quietly leads Cyrus to one of the guestrooms.

⋅⋅⊱༻ GUESTROOM ༺⊰⋅⋅

The guest room is spacious, cozy, and clean. The fireplace is already housing a generous flame next to the queen size bed, and there are fresh robes neatly folded on it.

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"There are some clothes for you on the bed. We can discuss your belongings and the trip details later, we have time, I don't think we'll be departing tomorrow." He says while holding the door handle. It’s good that he started the fire earlier, its gotten colder outside, but thankfully the room is already warm by now.

"Thank you for the clothes." Cyrus steps inside the room, putting his bag down next to the bed. Why wouldn't they be leaving tomorrow though? "Because of the weather?"

“I mean, it’s not impossible but I'd prefer not to cross sea in a storm. It’s a short distance sure but the sea is still the sea. I'll try my best to finish preparations tonight in case the storm lets down... Anyway, I'll tell you when the bath is ready." With that, he leaves Cyrus to himself and closes the door.

Cyrus stays standing for some time, letting his ears get used to the silence. His body gradually relaxes until he plops on the bed. Gosh it's been such a long trip... So many things happened... They got robbed, one horse got eaten, the other one's fate is still unknown, bandits once again, passing by a village to stay the night just for it to be attacked by even more bandits, the muddy rivers they had to cross, the hunger, then realising they were awfully off track because Konran was using the small watch instead of the compass...

He had a lot to think back on. Like his strange travel partner, their suspicious encounter with Briony and how she ‘coincidentally’ happened to be heading to the cartographer's and also had been meaning to go to Enthralla , and how many secrets Mito is keeping... Analyzing things has always been fun, but not when your stomach is distracting you.

He doesn't move from the bed, laying on it face down as he fights against sleep... He's gotta take a bath first at least..

⋅⋅⊱༻ Bathroom ༺⊰⋅⋅

The bathroom is spacious, the door doesn't open to the main room but rather to a sink and hangers, adding an extra sense of privacy to whoever might be undressed inside, where there is a bathtub and a big bassin carved into the floor. The toilet has its own door next to the sink. Unlike the rest of the house that’s lined with wood, the bathroom floor is made of stone.

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As Yohei walks in to prepare the bath for Cyrus, he almost slips on a puddle of water —His prosthetic is getting slippery, he should remember to scratch the bottom of it a bit before they leave— But why’s there water everywhere?? It’s as if the rain was pouring inside instead of outside!

"Siiiigh."

Did Konran really have to soak everything? How could anyone be so messy... No no no, he should know better than to judge people so fast, maybe something startled her? It doesn't matter. He makes quick work of mopping the floor. There were some petals scattered here and there, Miss Betty must have thrown some flowers in the water for Konran, how sweet of her. His thoughts are interrupted when he empties the water in the tub and notes the soap bar on the bottom of it, there is a BITE mark on it?!!?? He stills as the gears in his head turn and he explodes into a fit of laughter.

"THAT'S SO DUUUMB AHAHAHAHAHA!!"

The soap bars he bought last time were particularly cute, molded into flat decorated rectangles, sure enough, with their shape and color, they almost looked like cookies.

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⋅⋅⊱༻ DINING ROOM ༺⊰⋅⋅

The room is empty save for a long wooden table and chairs, along with some paintings on the walls. It seems its sole purpose is eating, or maybe meetings.

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It’s a potato, onion, and chicken gratin, stocked full of cheese. The dish is accompanied with lemon and mint juice, refreshing and not too sweet. Everyone was seated around the table, a full plate each. Dimitri had been woken up from his short nap by the delicious smell of the gratin the moment it was out of the oven, he'd been drooling since.

Konran bops on her chair excitedly, ready to taste the food. After keeping an eye out for the thickest, juiciest serving so diligently, she finally got it! Now she's just gotta rinse off that bitter taste from what happened in the bath-

Cyrus, now dressed in clean and comfortable clothes after his bath, takes a seat next to Konran. The smell was welcomed by his starving stomach as he crosses his arms and secretly fights off sleep.

"You haven't told me exactly where in Enthralla you're heading." Yohei says before taking a bite of his food. He knows it will be his last proper meal, so he takes his time to enjoy it.

"yeah!! Where?" Konran asks as well.

"We're going to the house of Bavarda in the Tenul territories.” Cyrus says.

"You didn't know?!" It isn’t just Yohei that’s shocked at Konran, Clematia and Dimitri look like they would've asked too if their mouths weren't full.

"No uuh I think I forgot to ask I don't remember."

"....You weren't joking?" Cyrus looks just as shocked as the others. He did mention it to her even if the duke should’ve already provided her with such information, did she seriously forget?!

"...Alright… And are you in a hurry to get there? I mean is time such an important factor that we should take more dangerous shortcuts?" The food is delicious, he's going to miss it. God knows how long this journey will take... he hopes the village will be alright in his absence.

“It’s best to get there as soon as possible of course, but we’re in no such rush.” Cyrus resumes his eating, impressed by the food. Next to him, the beast was devouring and gripping the fork so hard her hand was shaking and sweating—

“…” As usual, Yohei notes the guest's reactions to the food so he can tell Miss Betty later. She's always overjoyed when they finish it or when they leave nice comments. He can't just lie to her, but her food is always so good that he doesn't need to anyway. "Mhm.. any past experiences? With travelling? Maybe something else?" He looks up at all three of them, including Clematia.

“I LIV-” Konran’s words are cut off by her hand that feeds her continuously.

“Konran is a traveler so it’s her way of living, as for me I’m only familiar with hunt trips.” Cyrus nudges Konran’s leg with his knee from under the table, making her sit straight and swallow quickly, a reminder to keep her table manners and dignity in check.

‘Nobles...’ The thought goes through Clematia and Dimitri at the same time when he mentions hunt trips.

"As for me I'd say my voyage from my home town to Imalnatir was enough experience.” Clematia says in turn, internally smiling at her own word choice and delivery. “And I did take some trips to neighbouring areas as part of my training, but never somewhere like Enthralla."

"Can I have seconds?" Dimitri was a bit embarrassed for asking during such an important conversation, but he's already waited enough.

"Yes yes of course!!" Yohei wastes no time to put a generous serving on his plate.

"MOAR—" Konran almost jumps from her seat but Cyrus pulls her back down from her shoulder while still eating peacefully, so she reaches out her arms again, much calmer this time. "Can I also have seconds?"

"And what about everyone's fighting capabilities?" Yohei's smiling as he serves Konran as much as her plate could take. She has a rather big sword for her stature, how well can she use it?

"I've been sword training for as long as I remember.” Cyrus says. “I'm pretty confident in my skills, but of course, it would be best to avoid any physical conflicts."

"That's good, that's good." Yohei nods then turns to Clematia.

"Hm? I've been training poison dart and knife throwing but I can't say I'm satisfied with my skills yet..."

"You were?" Dimitri looks a bit surprised at the revelation, she's seriously so cool.

"Woah that's awesome!!" The moment Konran finishes the last word she resumes her feasting once again, not leaving room for oxygen.

"And what about you?"

"Oh well I use my sword but I also like using my hands a lot! The sword makes me look cooler tho!"

Cyrus looks at her in a way only a concerned mother would.

"Oh it does haha!” Yohei agrees. “As for me I use a dagger."

"Do you fight a lot Mister Mito?" The question slips from Dimitri’s mouth. Although a bit rude, he couldn't help it, all of this has been spiking up his curiosity, and Yohei's scars make you wonder...

Yohei takes a moment to think about his answer, how much is a lot? "Well, yes, it depends on how dangerous the place I'm visiting is, although I’ve become much better at avoiding trouble than in my younger years eheh, most of these are quite old." He smiles brightly while pointing at his face, noticing Dimitri’s gaze.

"Oooh then we've got a pretty solid group!!!" Konran looks excited for their adventure as she fills her mouth again with yummy flaming hot food. "When are we leaving then?!"

"I'll try to prepare everything tonight, but ultimately it'll depend on the weather." The storm had let down a bit…

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They finish up their dinner, and Yohei leads them to the multiple guest rooms, where each has its own fireplace. The fire was on long before they walked in so the rooms were already warm and cozy, and they lulled themselves to sleep on the crackling of the dying fire and the pittering of the rain on the windows. The storm had let way to a gentler rain, and the wind was no longer howling but lightly swaying the tree leaves and creating a soothing rustling noise. Only one of the house's windows stayed lit in the dark, it was a long night of planning for the map maker.

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⋅⋅⊱༻To be continued༺⊰⋅⋅