Then—there was a knock on the door.
Inigo doesn’t have to know the person who had knocked from the other side of the door, as he already knew who it was.
"Inigo—You have a visitor!"
"Wait...it’s not Lyra?"
Inigo had expected the person to be Lyra, but it turns out he was wrong. Well—nothing to be sad about when the person you are expecting is already waiting in the reception hall.
Inigo quickly put WLSN in his inventory and made his way towards the door.
Upon exiting his room, the innkeeper greeted him with a pleasing smile.
"Good morning Inigo!" she said cheerily and then teasingly. "Jeez, you shouldn’t have kept your partner waiting for too long. She looked like she was ready to throw a knife into the ceiling."
Inigo raised an eyebrow. "She does that?"
"She looked like the type," the innkeeper winked, then gestured toward the stairwell. "She’s in the reception hall. Said she didn’t want to come up and startle you. Very polite... in a tense, quiet, ’I’ll break your fingers if you lie to me’ sort of way."
Inigo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yep. That’s Lyra."
He descended the steps quickly, his boots tapping against the polished wood floor until the hallway opened into the reception. And just as expected—there she was.
Lyra stood by the window, arms crossed, her silver hair catching the morning light. She wore a fresh set of leathers, a muted grey cloak draped loosely over her shoulders, and that usual calm-yet-sharp look on her face—the kind that made people step aside without needing to speak.
She turned at the sound of his approach. "Took you long enough."
"I had to get dressed," Inigo replied flatly. "Didn’t expect a surprise visit."
"I did say we’d look for a job today. Or did you forget already?"
"No, no," he waved his hand.
She eyed him for a second, clearly suspicious but not pushing it. "Well, now that you’re here and breathing, shall we?"
"Lead the way," he said, gesturing with a slight grin.
And just like that—they stepped out into the sunlit streets of Elandra once more.
"Anyways, did you have breakfast?" Inigo asked, casting a side glance on her, looking at her cute pointy ears that he was curious to touch.
"I already did. How about you?"
"I don’t but I will buy one in the adventurer’s guild. Anyways, about your share of gold—"
"Actually—" Lyra interrupted her. "I don’t think I deserve the half of it."
Inigo stopped in his tracks while Lyra kept going forward. But she soon noticed he stopped so she stopped and turned.
"Why don’t you want half of it?" Inigo asked curiously.
"Because—you were the one who killed it. And I don’t think it’s right that I would get a share for something I didn’t deal the final blow to," Lyra said, eyes meeting his evenly.
Inigo blinked. Of all the things he expected her to say, that wasn’t one of them.
"You do realize that without you, I wouldn’t have survived the first five minutes of that fight, right?" he said, folding his arms. "You kept the wyverns off me while I lined up my shots. You covered the flanks, tracked their patterns, and held your ground without flinching. That wasn’t charity. That was teamwork."
Lyra looked away briefly, as if thinking. "Still... that shot, that launcher—it was you.
"And yet, I wouldn’t trade you for any launcher," he said with a grin. "Besides, this isn’t about matching kills. This is a partnership. You and me. We take risks, we split the rewards. That’s the deal."
"...You’re really not going to let this go, are you?" she muttered, a small, reluctant smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"Nope," Inigo said smugly. "Now take your damn share and maybe buy yourself something nice. Or something lethal, either works."
"Okay—Still I can’t just accept it. Is there anything that you want me to do to repay you?"
"Like I said it’s partner—" Inigo paused as he thought of something. "Actually I do have one, and it’s a simple and weird request."
"Anything! I will do anything!" Lyra said eagerly, her pointy ears twitching.
Did she just say that she will do anything? This girl is too innocent and vulnerable.
"I just want to touch your ears if that’s okay," Inigo said simply.
Lyra blinked. Once. Twice.
Her face froze for a split second—expression unreadable—before a faint crimson hue began to spread from the base of her neck all the way up to the tips of her pointed ears.
"...You want to what?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Inigo rubbed the back of his neck, realizing how that must have sounded. "Just once. I’ve always been curious about elf ears. You know, the shape, the texture—uh, culturally, I mean."
Lyra’s eyes narrowed in a way that looked like she was about to throw a dagger at him... but then her gaze dropped to the side, avoiding his entirely.
"That’s... stupid," she muttered, her voice low.
"So is turning down a fair share of gold," he countered with a teasing grin.
She let out a small huff, crossing her arms again as she looked off toward the morning bustle of the city. For a few moments, she said nothing.
Then—without looking at him—she mumbled, "Fine. But just for a second."
Inigo blinked. "Wait, really?"
"Don’t make me repeat it," she growled softly, cheeks now fully flushed. "And don’t... make it weird."
He stepped closer, lifting a hand gently.
Her ears twitched as his fingers brushed the edge—soft and warm, like silk-covered cartilage. Lyra winced slightly at first, as if the sensation was strange or ticklish. Maybe both.
"Well?" she asked quietly, still refusing to look him in the eye.
"They’re... nice," Inigo said sincerely. "Softer than I expected."
"You’re such an idiot," she whispered, pulling away, face as red as a summer apple.
"I didn’t think you’d actually say something that stupid! Inigo you are stupid!"
"Next time, don’t say ’anything.’"
She glared up at him, clearly flustered—but there was no real heat in it. Just the quiet, embarrassed dignity of someone who had just let herself be vulnerable, even for a moment.
"Let’s just get to the guild," she grumbled, tugging her cloak tighter around her shoulders. "And if you ever bring this up again, I will poison your breakfast."
Inigo chuckled. "Noted."
And then he watched her walk towards the guild and seeing her embarrassed and throwing insults at him, made his heart skip a beat.
"Damn this girl is cute."