The room fell silent for a moment. Ten minutes later, the two of them finally arrived, entering the meeting room breathlessly.
Syne was still in her female form, changing her clothes into a dress because her chest had grown larger, unlike before.
Kyle looked at her in surprise. Meanwhile, Havio looked away in embarrassment, as he often did whenever Syne transformed into a woman. This was in contrast to Ren and Finn, who saw her as a man.
They sat side by side—Finn on the left end of the sofa, Havio on his right. Meanwhile, Kyle was still standing behind them, leaning casually against the cupboard behind Finn's sofa.
Syne turned to the right, looking at Kyle's questioning face.
"So... do you agree to work with us?" she asked again, because she didn't know the definite answer yet.
Kyle crossed his arms, covering his mouth as he thought about the cooperation.
'I think that person is reliable. But I also won't trust that sudden invitation, and on the other hand, I just met him.' He thought to himself.
He was silent, thinking about it carefully. A few seconds later, he nodded to them, accepting the cooperation but with one condition.
"There's a condition! How about it, can you do it?" he asked with a serious face.
Seeing the change in Kyle's face, Syne paused for a moment, looking at his three friends who nodded at him.
Syne nodded before speaking. "All right, tell me what the condition is," he asked softly.
Kyle's body suddenly stiffened, and those who saw it were a little surprised. He lowered his hat and said with a pleading look on his face.
"Can you lend me some money?"
Their mouths opened wide after hearing this, and the previously serious and quiet atmosphere was filled with laughter.
That afternoon, they were looking for Kyle in the city centre. When they first arrived there, they were surprised by two men and women who approached the four of them.
They came and accused them of destroying valuable items belonging to one of the residents standing behind them.
Syne responded to the accusation casually, while Havio and Ren took it seriously, listening to their explanation until it was finished.
However, the argument went on for a long time, causing several passers-by to gather around them. Feeling uncomfortable, Havio and Ren, who felt they had caused the commotion, ended up paying about two hundred sen to the pale-faced old man.
Syne did not expect that such a large sum of money would be given to the two of them just like that. He did not accept it, but the two men provoked the other residents, cheering them on to pay up and leave the place immediately.
Ren held Syne back so he would not do anything strange. In the end, the four of them left the previous location, choosing to return south to Shrie.
Meanwhile, the man and woman Kyle had met earlier were laughing heartily, along with all their companions.
Kyle was silent after being told that their money had been taken by the two people who had come to see him earlier. At that time, he had been mistaken, thinking that the man was Finn.
He glanced at his face carefully, making sure that what he saw was just an illusion. On the other hand, he also knew that he had been tricked and given counterfeit money so that they would stop robbing things that were not theirs.
He was a little annoyed as he remembered that, giving another suggestion, or more precisely, a condition for accepting the cooperation.
"I intend to catch that group of bandits? I think there have been many victims because of their lowly modus operandi, which is to pressure their targets mentally," said Kyle as he put his hat back on.
Syne, who heard that, immediately agreed. Previously, he had intended to beat them up, but was stopped by Ren. Without thinking twice, he stood up and left the room, telling the other three to stay there. Meanwhile, he only asked Kyle to go with him.
Their moods were not good, and they wanted to take it out on the bandit group. They had left the room, heading towards the centre of Shrie, the haunted house street.
Meanwhile, the three of them shook their heads simultaneously and sighed afterwards. They didn't know what to say and were also too lazy to respond to his strange behaviour.
Ren stood up, took off his jacket, and draped it over his shoulder. He walked towards the door, went outside, wanting to go to his room because he was sleepy and also wanted to rest.
They both glanced at him. Then Finn stood up, choosing to sleep on the long sofa. Meanwhile, Havio brought a pillow, placed it on the long chair in the right corner, and slept on it.
Not long after that, the drowsiness finally began to overtake him, his eyelids could no longer stay open, and eventually they fell into a deep sleep.
Ren was in his dark and very quiet room, where the sound of his heartbeat and breathing could be heard clearly in his ears.
He was still thinking about what he had actually seen when he entered the house, something that could not be explained in words, and when he wanted to tell someone else about it, he couldn't remember it, as if someone had manipulated his mind.
"Ahh.... Damn it. What the hell is going on!" he shouted angrily.
His body tilted to the left, recalling the beautiful memories of eight years ago. His mood grew calmer as he remembered that comfort. The longer he thought about it, the sleepier he became, and eventually his mouth opened, and he fell asleep.
Half an hour had passed, and the two of them had arrived at the haunted house road, waiting for the bandits to strike in the morning.
But, unbeknownst to Syne, Kyle had disappeared from her sight. She looked around but couldn't find him. Meanwhile, Kyle had gone home to sleep.
As he walked towards this place, he had mentioned how angry he was that so much money had vanished without a trace. Those words were in vain, as no one heard them except himself.
He growled in frustration, choosing to stay awake in the empty tent, staring at the road, waiting for dawn to arrive. The vigil made his eyes grow heavy, and five minutes later, Syne finally fell asleep with his head resting on his thigh.