Chapter 285 (Patreon)

Boris let out a slow, unrestrained yawn that stretched far longer than it needed to, his shoulders sagging as though the night itself was so heavy, before he blinked at the dimly lit street and muttered under his breath, “What am I even doing here?” in a tone that carried both confusion and quiet complaint, as if he suspected the answer would only irritate him further. Thorne though was relaxedly resting at the top of his head.

The commoner district at night felt like a different world entirely, its narrow paths wrapped in shadow and silence, broken only by the occasional flicker of enchanted lantern light that painted the cracked walls in uneven gold, giving the illusion of warmth without ever truly providing it, while the air itself seemed to carry whispers—conversations that stopped just before they could be heard, footsteps that vanished when you tried to follow them.

He barely remembered agreeing to come.

One moment, he had been half-asleep in his dorm, caught somewhere between comfort and unconsciousness, and the next, there had been knocking—firm, persistent, impossible to ignore—and when he opened the door, Kana and Suri had already been standing there, fully awake, fully prepared, as if the night had called them and they had simply answered without question.

And now—

He was here.

Walking through streets he would have avoided under normal circumstances, following a path that felt far too intentional to be accidental, yet far too quiet to be safe.

The trio moved deeper into the slum district until the surroundings became familiar in a way that wasn’t comforting but precise, like stepping into a place that existed specifically for those who knew how to find it, and as they passed through, something subtle shifted in the people around them.

It wasn’t obvious.

Not at first glance.

But it was there. Heads turned and lingering eyes.

So they know, Boris thought, his gaze narrowing just a fraction as he noticed the way the usual indifference had been replaced with quiet acknowledgment, the kind that spoke of information already exchanged in unseen corners of the city.

Their identities—or at least pieces of them—had already reached this place.

But that didn’t matter.

Here, appearances were irrelevant.

These people, dressed in worn cloaks and moving like shadows were among the most effective gatherers of information in the entire kingdom, their worth measured not in gold or status, but in the secrets they could obtain and the truths they could sell.

Inside the inn, they stopped before a wall. The kind of surface that invited no attention unless you already knew where to look.

And there—

A small opening.

Just large enough for a hand.

A voice emerged from the other side, low and steady, carrying the kind of calm that came from knowing you held something valuable.

“What is it that you’re seeking to know?”

Kana stepped forward without hesitation, her posture straight, her voice even as she spoke, each word placed carefully as if she understood the cost of asking the wrong way.

“We heard the guildmaster went on an expedition recently,” she said. “We want to know where.”

Silence followed.

Then—

A cough.

“That,” the voice replied slowly, as if weighing the importance of the request against the price it deserved, “is highly classified information. Gold-class level.”

A brief pause lingered in the air before the number came, firm and unapologetic.

“Fifty gold.”

Suri reacted immediately, her disbelief sharp and unfiltered as she stepped forward. “That’s robbery!”

Boris didn’t even bother hiding his agreement, already shifting his weight as if preparing to leave. “I agree. That’s not worth it. We should go.”

Kana didn’t move right away, her gaze lingering on the opening, her thoughts clearly turning as she measured the value of knowledge against the cost of obtaining it, before she finally straightened and shook her head slightly.

“I don’t have that much,” she said.

“Besides,” Boris added, glancing at her, “why not just ask the guildmaster himself?”

Kana frowned faintly, the memory of their last interaction flickering through her mind like an unwelcome reminder.

“I don’t think anyone would share something like that so easily,” she replied.

“I agree with Boris,” Suri said, folding her arms as she tilted her head thoughtfully. “I think the guildmaster is actually fond of you.”

Kana shook her head almost immediately, her expression tightening with quiet certainty, remembering the last strike of the guildmaster, “Uhm… I don’t think so.”

They turned to leave, their footsteps soft  as they stepped away from the wall, the conversation already dismissed in their minds—

“Wait!”

The voice came sharper this time, urgency breaking through its previous composure.

“Ten gold!” the man called out quickly, as if afraid the opportunity might vanish with them.

Suri didn’t even slow her pace, her response immediate and unyielding. “Still expensive.”

Another step.

Another—

“Five gold! And I’ll include the map!”

That stopped them.

The trio exchanged glances, silent understanding passing between them in a way that needed no words, before Kana stepped forward once more, already reaching for her pouch.

The coins clinked softly as she handed them through the opening, the sound small yet decisive.

“Let’s hear it,” she said, her voice steady, though her eyes carried expectation. “I hope it’s worth it.”

A rolled map slid back through the gap, its edges worn but intact, as the man’s voice lowered slightly, as if even now, caution lingered in every word he spoke.

“The guildmasters from different branches,” he began, “along with selected gold- and silver-class adventurers, formed an expedition.”

A pause.

“They went to a cursed island.”

Kana’s grip on the map tightened almost imperceptibly.

“I heard the locals from the eastern port city call it Besed Island,” he continued. “It’s marked there.”

“Over half of them died,” he said plainly. “Or vanished without a trace.”

Silence followed.

Then—

“There are rumors,” he added, his voice dropping lower, “that dungeon items can be found there in abundance. Dropping from nearly every monster.”

Kana’s eyes sharpened instantly, interest igniting like a spark catching dry wood.

“But,” he continued, and that single word carried a quiet warning, “there are also rumors that what they found wasn’t treasure.”

Another pause.

“Some say it’s a curse,” he said. “One that turns the body to ash.”

Suri’s expression changed, her brows drawing together as something in those words struck a chord she couldn’t quite place.

“I’ve heard even the plants have turned black,” the man finished. “That’s all we know.”

“That sounds… familiar,” Suri murmured, her voice softer now, threaded with thought.

Kana, however, nodded slowly, her earlier hesitation replaced with quiet satisfaction as she rolled the map in her hands.

“This is worth it,” she said, her tone certain. Then, without hesitation, “How do we get there?”

“By sea,” the man replied. “There’s no other way.”

A faint rustle followed, as if he shifted behind the wall.

“No one has tried since,” he added. “The Adventurer Guild had to build a specialized ship. It took years.”

Kana stood there for a moment, the map resting lightly in her grip as a grin slowly formed on her face—not careless, not reckless, but something more. As if she had already won in life.

Because in her mind, this wasn’t dangerous.

It was an opportunity.

A place where items dropped from nearly every monster.

It sounded less like a warning—

And more like an invitation.

If that’s true…

Her eyes narrowed slightly, her grin shifting, not fading but sharpening.

Then why did the guildmaster only bring back so few items?

…..

Morning did not arrive gently for Kana—it crashed into her senses with all the faintly of a slammed door, carried on a wave of perfume so strong and suffocating that it felt less like a scent and more like a presence, something invasive that wrapped around her thoughts and refused to let go, sharpening every breath into something she could not ignore no matter how much she wanted to.

She groaned as her eyes slowly opened, her hand dragging across her face in a futile attempt to ground herself, but the fragrance lingered stubbornly, amplified by her [High Awareness] in a way that made her quietly curse her own past decisions, because what once seemed like a useful skill now turned simple moments like this into something unbearable. 

Blinking away the remnants of sleep, Kana forced her gaze across the room—and stopped.

Suri was already awake.

Not just awake, but completely prepared, standing near the door with the kind of composure that suggested she had been ready for quite some time, as if the morning had arrived late rather than early.

Kana’s eyes narrowed,  her mind struggling to reconcile what she was seeing, because what Suri wore did not match the hour in the slightest.

A white skirt, layered with fine linen that caught the faint morning light and softened it, giving her an almost pristine appearance, paired with clothing that spoke of quiet expense—elegant, and unmistakably chosen with care rather than convenience.

Kana blinked once, then again, her confusion deepening as recognition settled in.

That was one of Suri’s expensive outfits.

One she never wore casually.

Curiosity pushed through her lingering drowsiness as she slowly sat up, her voice rough with sleep but edged with genuine confusion.

“Where are you going this early morning?”

Suri turned at the sound, her movements smooth and unhurried, as if she had expected the question, and when Kana got a clear look at her face, she paused.

Her lips were painted a vivid red, glossy under the soft light, carefully done in a way that made it impossible to dismiss as anything but intentional.

Kana stared.

That alone was enough to feel wrong.

“I’m going to church,” Suri said simply, her tone calm, almost casual, as though nothing about her current appearance contradicted those words.

Kana nearly choked.

“Why did you dress and prepare so much just to go to church?” Kana asked, her voice rising slightly as her confusion sharpened, her eyes sweeping over Suri once more as if the answer might reveal itself if she looked hard enough.

Then another thought struck her, causing her expression to tighten just slightly.

“And when did you even start going to church?”

Suri smiled then—not a simple smile, but one layered with amusement, as though she had been waiting for that exact question.

“Today,” she said lightly, the single word carrying more meaning than it should. “I met Sir Hen yesterday, and he invited us to the church in the central district.”

Kana listened, her expression flat, her mind already beginning to piece together something she wasn’t entirely sure she liked.

“I told him both of you were busy,” Suri continued, her smile widening just enough to feel intentional, “so we could have our little first date at the church.”

Kana froze.

The words settled slowly, like stones dropping into steady water, each one sending ripples through her thoughts as she tried to process what she had just heard, her mind catching on the first date as if it refused to move past it.

“…Uhmm…” Kana said, lifting a hand to scratch her head, her brows furrowing as she searched for the right way to respond, “I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to work.”

Suri sighed, soft but exaggerated, as though carrying the weight of someone else’s ignorance, before she shook her head and looked at Kana with an expression that bordered on pity.

“You’re too young for this, Lady Kana.”

Kana’s cheek twitched.

Because something about the way Suri said it—the ease, the certainty—irritated her more than it should have, stirring a reaction she didn’t immediately understand, but couldn’t ignore either.

Post note:Event island? 100% item drop rate!Suri now the dating expert? 😂5th chap of the week.Hope you enjoy the chap! 🙂

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