Later, early in the morning, as they were eating breakfast—
Liebe said, "For dessert, how about I get a slice of Guinness cake?"
Gelda said, "Guinness cake sounds delicious. I want a few slices myself."
Eldrie said, "I don't want a slice myself."
Liebe said, "Let's order a whole cake then."
Alysa said, "I want a slice too!"
Mey said, "I wouldn't mind a slice either."
Liebe said, "Absolutely not. Alysa, you're a light drinker — one slice is more than enough to get you wasted. And Mey, you're underaged — a twelve-year-old shouldn't be taking alcohol, even indirectly."
Mey said, "Actually, I'm fifteen."
Liebe paused for a second and calculated. The incident happened twelve years ago… and she was three back then… ohhhhh yeahhhh — she's fifteen.
Then, after the cake arrived—
Liebe said, "You two don't eat it. I'm also ordering a mud cake."
Alysa said, "Okay."
After the cakes arrived, Liebe said, "Damn, this is a good Guinness cake."
Gelda said, "It's quite moist."
Eldrie said, "It's soft."
Liebe said, "Nothing beats a good Guinness cake after breakfast — that is, if you can hold your bottle."
Gelda said, "Yeah, it really does hit the spot."
Liebe said, "And Gelda, Eldrie — you two stop grabbing onto my legs! It's hard to walk when two grown-ass adults are holding onto them."
Gelda said, "No."
Eldrie said, "We're scared we might lose you again."
Liebe said, "Seriously, you two…"
Alysa said, "Any idea what happened to Licht?"
Mey said, "Now that you mention it, I haven't seen my brother since yesterday evening."
Gelda said, "Could it be that Warner is still—"
Alysa said, "Can't be. It's been more than sixteen hours. Licht can't seriously be running for sixteen hours."
Mey said, "True. Even a hundred laps take less than sixteen hours."
Liebe started sweating. "Now I'm scared… If it's really true, Licht will murder me. Wait—Alysa, what are you doing!?"
As Alysa ate a slice of the Guinness cake—
Liebe said, "Alysa! Spit it out! Otherwise, you'll be blackout drunk!"
Alysa's face turned red — she was clearly drunk.
Alysa said, "Hey Liebe… you love me too much, you know that, right?"
Liebe said, "Huh? What—?"
Then Mey also took a slice.
Liebe said, "No, you two—!"
Gelda said, "Two light drinkers drunk at once… what a view."
Mey said, "Hey Mr. Liebe… thank you… thank you for saving me…"
Liebe said, "Huh—?" as she rushed onto him.
Liebe said, "You two, get off me!"
Alysa said, "Kiss me, Liebe!"
Liebe said, "Stop, idiot!"
Then Mey said, "Don't worry, my wings can hold all three of us inside."
Liebe said, "You two, stop!"
Gelda said, "This is gold."
Then there was a knock at the door.
Liebe said, "Oh god, it's Licht."
Gelda said, "Well, after what you did, I believe that's a natural response."
Liebe said, "I'll hide with Alysa and Mey in the closet. You two check the door."
Gelda said, "Okay."
As Liebe, Mey, and Alysa hid in the closet, Licht entered.
Gelda said, "Licht, where were you all night?"
Licht said, "Running away. Let me in!"
As he entered, he said, "Get everything we need to barricade the door."
Gelda said, "What happened?"
Licht said, "The dude's been chasing me for sixteen hours. The dude's a psycho!"
Gelda said, "I'm sorry, what?"
Licht said, "Yeah! He's a nightmare! I somehow managed to escape so far."
Eldrie said, "I never thought I'd feel bad for you."
Gelda said, "Same."
Licht said, "Hide me somewhere!"
Gelda said, "Where?"
Eldrie said, "How about I freeze you? And if Warner somehow breaks through that barricade of tables and chairs—"
Licht said, "I tried to go underwater so his feathered wings couldn't reach me, but he dove in without a second thought! Even when I was above an active volcano, he still didn't stop! It was a nightmare!"
Then there was another knock at the door.
Licht said, "Don't open it. It's him."
Gelda said, "Who's there?"
Warner said, "It's me, Mrs. Gelda. Is Licht there?"
Gelda said, "No, he isn't."
Warner said, "Understood. And please tell the God of Darkness I'm grateful for his wisdom, and for actually being friends with my sister. It means more to me than he could know."
Then he walked away from the door.
Gelda said, "Good, he's gone. Licht, you can rest easy now."
Licht said, "No way! I thought the same thing when I went underwater, or above the volcano. I'm hiding in the closet!"
Liebe, seeing this from inside the closet, thought, How persistent is Warner to chase someone for sixteen hours over a joke?
Mey whispered, still drunk and barely awake, "Yes… he's like that. When brother believes in something, he'll do it for sure."
As Licht opened the closet door, he saw Liebe with Mey and Alysa.
After a long pause, Licht said, "Liebe… I'm running for my life, and you're f***ing around?!"
Liebe said, "Listen dude, there was a reason—"
Then suddenly, the wall beside them broke apart as Warner crashed into the room.
Liebe, seeing this, said, "What kind of dedication does he have?! He's a monster whose will surpasses everything I know!"