The group stepped through the portal one after another, emerging once again inside the hollow interior of the enormous tree.

The small wooden room looked exactly as they had left it. Silent. Peaceful. Almost ridiculously normal after having caused a criminal uprising, a massive fire, and the partial collapse of a slave trafficking network.

Max was the first to step outside.

He pushed open the hidden door and was immediately greeted by the cool night air.

"...Ah," he murmured, taking a deep breath.

"Now this is quality oxygen."

Moonlight dimly illuminated the forest around them.

The treetops swayed gently with the night breeze, and the distant chirping of insects filled the air.

Very peaceful.

Far too peaceful considering how his day had ended.

Chloe stepped out behind him, staring up at the dark sky with a tired expression.

"It’s already night," she murmured.

She glanced toward the road leading to the Great City.

"I guess we spent longer down there than I thought."

Dorian came out third, still adjusting his clothes and wiping sweat from his neck.

"Yeah, well," he replied.

"Burning down criminal organisations takes time."

Neros emerged behind him, still carrying Seraphine over his shoulder.

The mage was supposedly still drunk, wearing a far too relaxed smile.

"I think I need to sleep for approximately three days," Max muttered.

Dorian raised a hand.

"Before that."

He looked at everyone.

"I’m going to do something for the general health of this group."

Max narrowed his eyes.

"...You’re going to heal us?"

"More important," Dorian replied.

"I’m going to remove everyone’s drunkenness."

Max’s eyes widened instantly.

"YOU CAN DO THAT?"

"Of course."

Dorian smiled with absolute pride.

"What did you think I did at noble parties?"

"Steal expensive drinks," Max answered without hesitation.

Dorian fell silent for a few seconds.

"...Well, that too."

He raised both hands.

Small green magic circles appeared around his fingers.

A warm light wrapped around Max first.

He immediately felt the heaviness in his head disappear. The dizziness. The uncomfortable warmth. The strange urge to hug trees. All of it vanished within seconds.

Max blinked several times.

"...Oh my god."

He placed both hands over his face.

"I’m back."

Chloe received the same treatment next.

Though honestly, it didn’t seem to make much difference.

"Confirmed," Max said, looking at her.

"Your skill really doesn’t let you get drunk."

Chloe sighed.

"What a tragedy."

Dorian moved on to Neros.

The cat-man let out a small sigh of relief as his mind returned fully to clarity.

"Much better," he muttered.

He adjusted Seraphine slightly on his shoulder.

And then Dorian placed a hand on the mage.

Green light enveloped her as well.

Silence.

Nothing changed.

Seraphine remained exactly the same.

Far too exactly the same.

Dorian blinked.

He frowned slightly.

Tried using a bit more magic.

Nothing.

Again.

Nothing.

Dorian slowly narrowed his eyes.

"...Interesting."

Seraphine opened one eye.

Just one.

Enough to stare directly at him.

Dorian smiled slowly.

"Oh."

He looked at Neros.

Then back at her.

And a huge grin began spreading across his face.

"You weren’t drunk," he said.

Neros froze completely.

Max’s eyes widened.

Chloe didn’t understand anything, but she sensed drama and immediately decided to watch.

Seraphine sighed, as if she had merely been caught doing something mildly inconvenient.

Then she opened both eyes and stepped down from Neros’s shoulder with perfect balance.

Completely sober.

She calmly adjusted her dress with flawless composure.

Neros remained frozen.

"...What?" he managed.

Seraphine avoided looking at him.

"I was simply a little tired," she replied.

Dorian started laughing.

First a small snort.

Then another.

And within seconds, he was doubled over laughing as if this was the greatest thing he had experienced in weeks.

"Oh, this is excellent!" he said between laughs.

"Seraphine, that was painfully transparent."

The mage shot him a murderous glare.

Quite literally. Her eyes faintly glowed red.

"Dorian," she said in a dangerously calm voice.

The elf immediately stopped laughing.

"If you say one more word about this..."

Small sparks began flickering around her fingers.

"...I will incinerate you and use your ashes as fertiliser."

Dorian raised both hands.

"Understood."

Brief pause.

"I won’t say anything."

He smiled.

"Ever."

Seraphine narrowed her eyes.

Clearly, she did not believe him in the slightest.

Neros was still processing everything.

His face had become a mixture of confusion, hope, and emotional crisis.

Max cleared his throat.

"...Well."

He clapped once.

"Excellent time to pretend none of this happened."

Chloe nodded, despite not understanding the language.

She simply decided to trust the overall tone.

Dorian finally regained some composure and looked at the group with a much more serious expression.

"Right," he said.

"Now then. We need to discuss something important."

He crossed his arms.

"We have two options."

He raised one finger.

"Find somewhere to sleep in the Great City."

Raised a second.

"Or cross the forest at night and probably die in some ridiculous manner."

Max shook his head immediately.

"No thanks."

He pointed toward the road.

"I know a fairly comfortable inn in the city."

Dorian raised a brow.

"You know an inn?"

Max tensed slightly.

"Uh... yes," he replied quickly.

"I have a good sense of direction."

Dorian stared at him for a few seconds.

Clearly unconvinced.

But he let it go.

"Perfect," he said.

"Lead the way, then."

The group began walking toward the Great City beneath the moonlight.

The journey was significantly calmer than the rest of the day.

Which was not a difficult achievement.

After some time, the city’s enormous walls came into view.

The gates remained open for night travellers, and several guards patrolled with relative normalcy.

Max confidently guided the group through several streets lit by magical lanterns.

They turned one corner.

Then another.

And finally arrived in front of a rather cosy inn.

A wooden sign hung above the entrance.

Sun Inn.

Warm light spilled through the windows.

Soft conversations could be heard from inside.

Max smiled faintly.

"Yeah," he murmured.

"This was the one."

They entered.

The interior was warm, comfortable, and smelled of freshly baked bread and spiced soup.

A dwarven woman behind the counter looked up as the door opened.

She had reddish hair tied in a thick braid and an energetic expression.

At first, she smiled professionally.

Then she recognised the group.

And her eyes widened dramatically.

"By the sacred mountains," she said.

Placing a hand over her chest.

"Is that... is that really you?"

She pointed at Seraphine.

"The famous Wand of Eldoria?"

Seraphine smiled faintly, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Yes. Good evening."

The dwarf turned to Dorian.

"And the Great Healer Dorian!"

Dorian placed a hand over his chest.

"Guilty."

Then she looked at Neros.

The dwarf nearly looked emotional.

"And Royal Knight Neros!"

Neros nodded with professional stiffness.

"Good evening."

The dwarf was clearly having the greatest work shift of her life.

Then she looked at Max and Chloe.

She frowned slightly.

"...I don’t know you two."

Max pointed at Chloe.

"She doesn’t understand you either, so she won’t be offended."

Chloe smiled politely without any idea what was happening.

The dwarf accepted this information with admirable flexibility.

"Well then," she said cheerfully.

"How many rooms?"

Dorian looked at the group.

"Two," he answered.

"One for the men and one for the women."

Seraphine nodded.

"I’ll look after Chloe."

She looked at Max.

"That way she’ll feel more comfortable."

Max sighed in relief.

"Yeah," he said.

"That honestly makes me feel much better."

Chloe didn’t understand the words, but she did gather that she would be sleeping with Seraphine.

That seemed fairly reasonable to her.

After paying for the rooms, the group received their keys and headed upstairs to the second floor.

They stopped in front of two adjacent doors.

"Good night," Seraphine said.

She gently took Chloe by the arm and entered their room with her.

Dorian, Max, and Neros entered the other.

The men’s room was simple but comfortable.

Three single beds.

A small wardrobe.

An open window letting in fresh night air.

Max dropped his backpack onto the floor.

"This is bliss," he murmured.

He sat heavily onto one of the beds.

Neros remained standing for a few moments, thoughtful.

Then he looked at both of them.

"...I want to ask something," he said with unusual seriousness.

Max and Dorian looked at him.

Neros crossed his arms.

"Do you think I should try getting back together with Seraphine?"

Silence.

One second.

Two.

And then Max and Dorian burst into laughter.

"Is that a real question?" Max asked.

Dorian nearly fell onto a bed from laughing so hard.

"Neros, please!"

He wiped a tear from his eye.

"It’s absurdly obvious."

Max nodded, still laughing.

"You’re both still in love."

"Very much so," Dorian added.

"She literally pretended to be drunk so you’d carry her."

Neros froze.

Processed that sentence slowly.

And then a small smile began forming on his face.

A genuine one.

Almost childlike.

"...I see," he murmured.

He looked absurdly happy.

"Thank you."

He immediately went to his bed and lay down as if he had just received fantastic news about his emotional future.

Max shook his head, amused.

"It is incredibly easy to make him happy."

"Indeed," Dorian replied.

Then he went quiet for a few moments.

He looked at Max.

His smile softened slightly.

"By the way," he said.

Max looked up.

Dorian sat down on his bed.

"I’m genuinely surprised by how much you know about this world."

Max tensed slightly.

Dorian continued.

"Routes, places, objects, creatures, customs..."

He smiled.

"It’s very useful."

Brief pause.

"And honestly."

His tone lowered slightly.

"Thank you for helping me enjoy adventure again."

Max blinked.

He hadn’t expected that.

He stayed quiet for a few seconds.

Then scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

A little embarrassed.

"...Thanks, I guess," he replied.

A faint blush coloured his face.

Dorian chuckled softly.

"Rest well, mysterious hero."

Max rolled his eyes.

"That sounded way too dramatic."

"I’m an elven healer," Dorian replied.

"It’s part of the contract."

Max let out a small laugh.

They turned off the room’s magical lights.

At last, exhaustion fell over all of them like a collective spell.

Within minutes, the room had fallen completely silent.