Before Arteria could leave, something caught her leg and stopped her.

  "Hmm?" Upon looking back, she found the cat grabbing her leg. "He's sleeping, Mr. Cat. We'll have to come back later."

  She might as well go apologise to Ely for making her prepare so much food for her during a busy morning.

  She'll have to ask Azell to give her a bonus, and maybe treat her to a meal or a drink.

  "Meow," the cat shook his head then went and scratched at the door.

  "You want me to go in right now?"

  "Mew," the cat nodded.

  The cat was rather smart. Then again, it was not just a mere cat but the familiar of the best witch of this town.

  "What happened?" Neia asked as she looked back at the two.

  "The cat wants me to go in right now."

  "What?"

  "Yeah."

  "Now might not be the best time to apologise to him."

  They still remembered the time when they had huddled up together while Samur and Noelle were arguing.

  Arteria looked back at the cat. "You heard her. We'll come back later."

  The cat vigorously shook his head and scratched at the door again.

  "…Maybe he brought us here for a different reason," Vafferan narrowed her eyes.

  "What could it be?"

  "Hmm…. You said that Samur left the room last night, right? Where did he go?" Neia asked.

  "Well, he just flew out the window."

  "What?"

  "What?"

  Both Arteria and Vafferan raised their eyebrows. Samur just flew out the window? Where did he sleep then?

  Under the starry night sky?

  "Maybe something happened last night?" Neia cupped her chin.

  "Meow," the cat nodded enthusiastically, as if happy that his words were finally getting through.

  "That idiot…" Arteria's eyes widened.

  She immediately started imagining the worst-case scenarios.

  What if after leaving, Samur met some unsavoury wankers last night, got into a fight with them and was hurt?

  Or what if after learning of his survival, his family had sent assassins after him and he got into a scuffle with them, only to narrowly escape with his life?

  And what if to not make them worry, he had decided to hide it and treat his wounds himself.

  It was possible that he was unable to heal himself completely, and while they were wasting their time dillydallying, Samur was still trying to handle everything alone and fighting for his life.

  Is that why he sent Clementine to get her out of the room? To hide his injuries from her?

  But why would he do that? So that they won't worry?

  'That stupid idiot!'

  It was a bit of a stretch, but was still possible for someone like him.

  Before Arteria could stop herself, her hand went and obliterated the door, thus clearing the passage to his room.

  "Arteria!?" Neia exclaimed.

  However, heeding her no mind, Arteria entered the room, only to abruptly stop after taking two steps.

  "Oh my God," Neia's eyes widened to their extreme as the strong scent of blood permeated her nose.

  Vafferan noticed the smell as well and immediately entered the room, followed closely by Neia and finally the cat.

  And together, they stopped where Arteria had and stupidly stared at the bed in front of them.

  Correction- they gawked at the bloodied bed.

  The white sheets had been dyed the crimson of blood, creating a beautiful yet surreal pattern on them.

  Beneath that sheet was a large bump, suggesting that someone was lying under it.

  'No, no, no,' frantically praying her heart, Arteria dashed towards the bed and clutched the sheet.

  Right, Samur was way too capable to have something like this happen to him; he created a fucking World Record for the fastest dungeon clearing time.

  Maybe this was another one of his pranks; maybe he had bribed the cat with fish to get his help.

  With that fragile hope in her heart, Arteria pulled the sheet away.

  However, as with most fragile things being handled by a UPS deliveryman, her hope was cruelly shattered; what she saw on the bed was the bloodied figure of Samur.

  He was lying still, as if in a deep, eternal sleep (seems like he had finally realised his wish).

  His signature white shirt had been dyed a deep red, while splashes of blood ruthlessly sullied his once pretty face.

  "…" Arteria gasped as the sheet in her hands fell down.

  With wide, bloodshot eyes, she continued staring at the still figure of Samur. The sounds around her started vanishing as the world around her darkened, until the only source of light within this never-ending darkness was the unmoving Samur.

  Before she knew, her vision turned hazy. Mindlessly, she tried wiping her eyes to see Samur clearly, only to feel something wet.

  She was crying.

  As the reality of the situation dawned on her, she fell to her knees.

  How could this happen? No, how could SHE let this happen?

  It was her fault that Samur left his room last night. In hindsight, letting a 12-year-old child roam around the city during night wasn't the most tactical decision on her part.

  She should have stopped him

  Why did she not stop him?

  Because she was still angry at him?

  As if her anger was worth the life of a 12-year-old boy!

  This was all her fault.

  "I… I'm sorry," she softly eked out that apology that she had been meaning to say as she buried her face on the bed and started sobbing. "I'm really, really sorry."

  However, her apology was simply far too late.

  Well, that's what she thought, at least.

  "What the fuck is going on here?" The dead man asked.

  "Ah, I'm truly sorry," Arteria continued weeping.

  "…What for?" The dead man asked with a yawn.

  "F-for letting you die!"

  "Huh?"

  "It's all my fault that this happened to you! Oh my God, why didn't I stop you!?"

  "…" The dead man, boy, actually, pinched the bridge of his nose. "Arteria, I know it's tempting, but you should never drink right in the morning. Next time, hold on until the afternoon."

  "I'm not drunk- eh?" Arteria stupidly grunted and looked up, only to see a pair of black eyes staring back at her.

  "If you're not drunk, why would you think I'm dead, hmm?" Samur asked.