Aria recognized the look in Penny’s eyes and mouthed the word ’No’.
Adam was far less subtle.
"Just think of it as therapy you didn’t know you needed. Or in your case, desperately needed."
Both Leo and Penny turned their heads in his direction and in perfect sync said
Adam could only blink as the two he teased immediately cussed back at them.
He also didn’t know how he was supposed to feel when Leo and Penny clasped hands together as if they had found a long lost comrade.
Rachel had a smirk on her face as she remarked
"You have a knack for uniting people Horo.." her eyes then gleamed with mischief as she added "uniting them against you~."
With that, everyone began to chuckle or laugh, leaving Adam to cross his arms in annoyance.
"Finally someone on my wavelength! Let’s get along boss~!"
Penny had a bright wide smile on her face, her new fangs poking out from her naturally rosy lips.
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Boss?"
Penny grinned. "What? I like the sound of it."
Adam gave a smug nod. "Told you. It just fits."
Penny flashed him a fangy grin and gave him a casual salute. "Right, Uncle Horo?"
Adam paused. "Wait, did you just—?"
Before he could finish, Leo tilted his head slightly, his eyes flicking between the two of them.
"You know," he said aloud, calm and thoughtful, "you two really do act like family."
Leo kept going, completely sincere. "You fight, you sass each other, you talk trash, but when itcounts, you’re on the same side without even thinking about it."
There was a brief silence. Penny’s eyes darted away, her face turning red.
"I... shut up," she muttered, folding her arms and looking anywhere but at Leo.
Adam rubbed the back of his neck and tried to scoff, but it came out awkward and weak. "Tch. Don’t get sentimental on me now, Boss."
Rachel gasped with delight. "Oh my god. They really are related. That was the most uncle-niece thing I’ve ever seen."
Crystal giggled behind her hand. "And now they’re both embarrassed."
"Shut up," Penny and Adam snapped at the same time, faces burning.
Greg raised a brow. "I thought this was supposed to be a serious moment."
Aria sighed lightly but smiled despite herself. "It was. Somehow... it still is."
Adam groaned. "You’re all ridiculous."
"Nope," Rachel said, giving him a playful jab in the side. "You just don’t like being on the receiving end."
That joke made Lily nearly spit out her drink, which made Aria panic a bit as she leaped away from the potential splash zone.
Hiding behind Crystal was not the plan but how it turned out regardless. When Greg shot her a questionable look,Aria snapped back
"Have you ever tried to get a sugary drink out of feathers?"
"It’s a nightmare I don’t want to deal with!"
"Wait, how do you know if it’s a sugary drink?"
Aria’ brow furrowed as she stepped oht from behind Crystal with her own hands spread out.
"Have you met Lily?! Some of us are pretty sure she thinks water is poison!"
"If it tastes like nothing, it can’t be good for you!"
Lily quipped back, leaving Greg stunned.
Leo looked skyward, as if asking the gods why they cursed him with this group.
And above all the teasing, laughter, and sarcastic remarks, the atmosphere felt just a bit lighter. Closer. Like maybe... they really were starting to feel like a team.
Greg furrowed his brow and tapped the air in front of him, squinting at his interface.
"Uh... it’s not letting me join the party."
Penny blinked and pulled up her own menu. "Same. It’s saying ’party is full.’ Did someone mess something up?"
Leo opened his own interface and winced. "No... the system’s working fine. We just hit the cap."
Penny looked confused. "Cap?"
"Party limit," Leo said. "Maximum of six players per party."
There was a brief pause.
"...Wait," Greg said slowly, "we can’t all be in the same party?"
"Not at the same time unfortunately," Crystal said, arms folded. "Though since I joined, there hasn’t been a chance to go out on a quest together. Most of what we’ve done so far was individual quests. This is the first time we’ve all gathered technically to go levelling
"That’s dumb," Penny said flatly. "We’re a guild, not a band of interns."
"Yeah," Rachel added, "but it’s how the system works. Probably a balancing thing."
Leo sighed. "It’s manageable. We just need to split up into two groups. We will do 4 and 5 for now to keep things somewhat even."
Penny immediately put up her hand and declared
"Put me in the group of 5. My combat potential is near zero!"
Leo tilted his head in confusion but Penny continued before he could ask what she meant.
"My attack is like 5 and my defence is also no good either."
The others blinked in shock at hearing how someone at Level 9 could have only 5 attack power. Odds are Luna would have a higher attack power while using a twig!
Leo sighed, choosing to believe it was better to just accept it for now as he had learned that it was less headache inducing the less he asked questions.
"Why don’t we split it up for those who haven’t formed a permanent bond with Leo and someone else while the other 4 form another party."
Luna’s sudden suggestion was reasonable but Penny let out a short cry filled with petty annoyance and betrayal.
When everyone turned their heads, they noticed that at some point, Astra had snuck over unnoticed to Luna and was sitting in her lap, nibbling on sweets as if she belonged there.
"What the hell? Why does the adorable one end up in the scary big sisters lap like it’s no big deal"
Penny whined while Astra nibbled on a cookie. She almost fell to her knees and cried ’It should have been me!’
But her mouth was left agape when Astra said with a straight face
"I go where I please!"