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Chapter 18 - A Chaotic Night and Training

Night settled quietly over the rental building.

Inside one room, Liza sat with Sara and Eris.

"And then Marcos unloaded all the boxes alone and put them in storage," Sara said.

Eris's eyes sparkled. "Oh? Sounds like Marcos is taking special care of you."

"No, he's not," Sara replied quickly.

"But after the Demon King incident, he has been different," Eris insisted.

"I think so too," Liza said calmly.

"You're both imagining things," Sara said, crossing her arms.

"Alright, alright," Liza smiled. "There's nothing between you and Marcos."

Eris leaned closer, grinning.

"But you didn't say no when Kai suggested you and Marcos sleep in the same room."

"Stop!" Sara shouted, her face burning red.

Liza laughed. "Enough teasing. I'm going to sleep. You two should too. Good night."

"Good night," Eris said.

"G-Good night," Sara muttered.

Liza left for her room.

Next door, Marcos and Kai lay awake.

"So," Kai whispered, "is there really nothing between you two?"

"Shut up," Marcos said. "I should tell them we can hear everything."

"No," Kai smirked. "This is interesting."

"Just sleep," Marcos muttered.

"Okay, okay."

Then—

"Hey, did you kiss Marcos today?" Eris's voice rang through the wall.

"NO!!!!" Sara screamed.

Kai burst out laughing. "Huh? So did you kiss Sara?"

"NO!" Marcos snapped, jumping to his feet.

He stormed out of the room.

Knock! Knock!

Marcos knocked sharply on the girls' door.

Sara opened it. "W-What is it?"

Liza stepped out of her room, half-asleep.

"We can hear everything from our room," Marcos said stiffly.

Then he turned and walked away.

Liza and Eris slowly looked at Sara.

"AHHHH!" Sara screamed. "This is all your fault!"

"Please keep your voices down!" an old man complained from the hallway.

"Sorry!" Liza said quickly, dragging Sara inside.

"It's your fault!" Sara cried.

"We're sorry," Liza said.

"Yes, we're sorry," Eris added.

"But you said all those embarrassing things!" Sara groaned.

"He heard everything!"

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

That was how their chaotic first night goes.

The Next Morning

Marcos and Kai stepped out of the building and immediately spotted Liza, Sara, and Eris waiting for them.

Before anyone could say a word, Kai suddenly leaped in front of Sara.

"Hey, Sara, I heard you and Marcos kissed—"

Smack!

Marcos's fist connected with Kai's face.

"Shut up, bastard."

"Snff—"

Sara turned away, sniffing hard as she struggled to hold back her tears.

"Don't cry, Sara," Liza said gently, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"I-I'm not crying!" Sara shouted.

"AHHHHHH!"

Liza quickly calmed her down, whispering softly until Sara finally relaxed. Soon after, the group began heading toward their jobs.

Eris tugged on Liza's sleeve and whispered, "Is it okay to let Sara go with Marcos?"

Liza glanced at Kai, her eyes sharp. "Yes. It's better than leaving her with this idiot."

"What?!" Kai protested.

"Let's go," Liza said firmly.

They split up, heading toward their destinations.

On the Other Side of the Market

Marcos and Sara walked through the bustling streets, scanning the shops for work.

"A-About last night…" Sara began hesitantly.

"I know," Marcos said calmly. "Your sisters were just teasing you. Kai teased me too."

"Y-Yeah…" Sara replied, her shoulders relaxing slightly.

They stopped in front of the same shop where Marcos had worked before.

The shopkeeper noticed them and waved. "Hey! I've got another job for you."

They stepped inside.

"These boxes arrived this morning," the man said, pointing toward the back. "Unload them and I'll pay you fifteen copper coins."

"Okay," Marcos agreed.

"Hnn—"

He started lifting the heavy boxes one by one.

"I want to help this time," Sara said.

"No," Marcos replied immediately. "They're heavy."

"I can lift this much," she insisted.

Before he could stop her, Sara bent down and lifted a box.

"See?"

"Sara—" Marcos turned sharply.

She took a step forward.

Skid!

Her foot slipped on a loose stone.

"Ah—!"

The box tilted dangerously.

Marcos moved without thinking.

Bam!

The box crashed to the ground as Marcos caught Sara before she could fall.

For a moment, the world seemed to freeze.

Sara clutched his sleeve, her breathing uneven.

"…Are you okay?" Marcos asked quietly.

"Y-Yes… I'm sorry," Sara said, her face turning red.

Marcos let out a soft breath. "Don't scare me like that."

He picked up the fallen box himself. "Leave the heavy things to me."

Sara looked away, embarrassed—but a small, warm smile appeared on her lips.

In the evening, they all gathered near the rental building at five o'clock.

"Alright, let's go train," Liza said.

"Yeah!" Kai replied enthusiastically.

They headed toward an open field on the outskirts of town.

"Okay," Kai said, stretching his arms. "First, Liza and Sara will train with me and Marcos. After that, Eris will practice her healing."

"Okay!" Liza and Sara replied together.

Kai smirked. "I feel like their master."

"Shut up and focus on training," Marcos said.

"Alright, alright." Kai drew his sword. "Liza, attack me. Sara, you train with Marcos."

"Hold back," Marcos warned Kai.

"Yeah," Kai replied casually.

The blade cut through the air—whoosh!

Liza attacked with full strength.

Kai dodged effortlessly.

"You missed," Kai said.

Liza kept attacking, but Kai avoided every strike with ease.

"Were you really trained in the elf village?" Kai teased. "Your attacks are weak."

He's getting on my nerves, Liza thought. Her movements suddenly sped up.

"Oh?" Kai grinned. "Did the elf get angry?"

He struck once—clang!

Liza's sword flew from her hand.

"You're too open," Kai said calmly. "I could've killed you ten times already."

"…Okay," Liza said, nodding instead of arguing. She carefully listened to his words.

Marcos watched from the side.

"She's listening to her mistakes instead of arguing," he said. "She's really serious about fighting."

"Yeah," Sara replied. "Back in our village, whenever she loses, she goes to the person who beat her and asks about her weaknesses."

Marcos nodded. "Alright, our turn. Shoot an arrow at me."

"Yes," Sara said.

Tchk.

She readied her bow and released the arrow.

Marcos caught it with his bare hand.

"When you aim, the enemy can read your direction," he said. "Try to hide it."

They continued training for hours.

"Ahh, that was fun," Kai said, stretching. "Now it's Eris's turn."

Suddenly—

Thud!

Kai slashed near his shoulder, cutting himself.

"What are you doing?!" Liza shouted.

"For practice," Kai replied calmly. "She needs to heal someone who's badly wounded."

"That doesn't mean you hurt yourself!" Liza snapped.

"Relax," Kai said. "Eris, heal me."

Eris stepped forward nervously and placed her hand over the wound.

"No, not like that," Kai said gently, lifting her hand slightly above the injury. "Now try."

"O-Okay."

A soft green light formed around her hand. The wound began to close—then reopened slightly.

"Concentrate more," Kai said.

Eris took a deep breath and focused again.

The green light grew steadier. This time, the wound closed completely.

"Yes!" Kai said with a grin. "You did it. You're amazing, little sister."

"Thank you!" Eris said happily.

Liza looked at the group and nodded.

"We'll be ready for the Hunter Guild exam in one week."

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