Episode 2
Andel kind of understood why Jerel was being so strict. Lately, weird incidents have kept popping up all over. Still, Andel had a gut feeling: that girl really was just an ordinary person.
Normally, he wouldn’t step in, but if the Master (Jerel) really ordered her handled, Andel felt he had to stop it somehow.
The room was tense, but Enoch — who always had that laid-back air — spoke up casually.
“Leave her. Last month, Kalard read my fortune and said not to kill any women this year.”
“Are you actually trusting some guy who gambled away his whole fortune reading stars?” Jerel scoffed.
“Hey, he’s right like three times out of ten. Kinda creepy but true. Anyway, Andel — bring some drinks and snacks.”
“Right away. I had something nice come in two days ago and saved it.”
Enoch waved it off like it was nothing, and Jerel gave up arguing and sat down. The bar slowly went back to its usual noisy self.
Amid that bustle, the woman started to come out of her drunken daze. Normally, she could drink like a fish, but drinking strong liquor nonstop without food had her head spinning. Luckily, she didn’t cause a scene — just flailed a bit, which bothered Enoch.
Andel noticed Enoch getting annoyed and hurried over to move the woman upstairs. But before Andel could even get out from behind the counter, the woman lifted her upper body on her own.
Her wet platinum hair stuck out messily, her violet eyes foggy, her cheeks a little pink. She was pretty, but with that messy look and dazed stare, she seemed almost unhinged. Enoch flinched without meaning to.
Jerel noticed and mocked him.
“Enoch, really? Surprised now?”
Enoch muttered, “The most useful thing I’ve learned in life? Crazy people are more dangerous than someone with a knife. Look at those rotten fish eyes.” He edged back and whispered it with a sour face.
Part of why Enoch felt weird was that the girl’s gaze kept locking on him. Turn right, she followed. Turn left, she followed. Then her lips opened slowly, and a foul, alcohol-laced string of curses spilled out.
Most people in this alley grew up rough and could handle crude talk, but what she said was so obscene it even made the burliest guys close their mouths. Nobody tried to stop her — people only gasped or muttered.
She kept staring at Enoch, slurring and ranting, then finally collapsed again. The last thing she said sounded like a threat: “If you don’t turn your head, I’ll rip your neck out.” Or something along those lines.
Enoch stood there, cheek reddening, staring at the back of her head. “Wow…” he muttered.
Jerel, pinching his ears because the scene was corrupting his mind, shot Enoch a disgusted look. “Why is your face red?”
“It’s the first time someone swore at me like that since I was a kid,” Enoch answered. Then he smiled quietly, shifting from boredom to irritation to curiosity fast.
The guild members took that feeling as their cue. They stood up all at once, suddenly energetic.
“Oh! It’s already time. Let’s go to work!”
“Right — the rain’s stopped a bit, hurry up.”
“Andel, we’ll be back!”
They moved faster and cleaner than usual and left the bar without looking back. Whether there were jobs or not, whether the rain had let up more — none of that mattered. They were going out now.
Andel waved them off politely. Jerel didn’t press him either — everyone in this life had their little superstitions and routines. Enoch’s fortune-telling habit was one of his. Nobody questioned it.
But Enoch made no show of annoyance; he only toyed with the woman’s hair with his fingers. His attention was totally on her.
Andel’s stomach dropped. He’d saved the woman and was serving her, but Enoch was, at heart, a terrible person. Even if his tongue was cut out or nails ripped off while sober, he’d still be the same rotten guy. He worried how Enoch’s sudden interest might turn out — Enoch was unpredictable and quick to flip from charm to cruelty.
Andel, sweating nervously but keeping calm on the surface, said urgently, “We can’t leave her. Before something happens, we need to get her upstairs.”
“Mm, okay. I’ll carry her up.” Enoch offered.
“No, no— I can’t make the Master do that. I’ll go—” Andel started.
“You need to watch the place. If the guild guys come back and the store manager isn’t here, how awkward would that be?” Enoch said.
“Well, that’s true… haha. Still, I feel bad making the Master do my dirty work. Maybe Jerel should—” Andel trailed off.
“That’s harsh, Andel. You know Jerel’s weak physically, right?” Enoch teased, and Jerel’s expression shifted oddly.
Jerel wasn’t exactly weak, but he wasn’t built to carry people up stairs. He could, though, if needed. The hint of warning in Andel’s voice — don’t interfere or I’ll hurt you — made Jerel just nod and stay put.
“I’m mostly a desk guy. Carrying people up stairs isn’t really my job,” Jerel said dryly.
Enoch hopped up, humming, swung the woman over his shoulder in one smooth move, and started up the stairs before anyone could stop him.
Andel wiped his face with a handkerchief, watching him go. Jerel shrugged, bored. “I won’t kill her. At most, he’ll flirt a little and try his luck. Enoch’s best trick is the pretty-face method, right?”
It was true. Enoch — the guild’s master assassin — was dangerously handsome. He usually used magic to blur his features while working because he was too striking; he was better at charming people than killing them. He loved exploiting that.
But Enoch had a major flaw: no loyalty. If he got interested in someone, he’d seduce them, then ice over and treat them like trash. He’d been accused of dragging many into bed but never really going beyond holding hands or a light hug. That shallow affection was his signature move — people fell for him quickly, and he lost interest just as fast.
Many enemies had come to hate him for it, and some didn’t even know he was the guild master. But long term, people figured it was safer this way — he seduced rather than killed. The fewer bodies, the better.
Jerel’s shrug came from knowing all this. Andel knew it too, but he still couldn’t shake a nagging worry: what if Enoch got seriously interested? How would he behave?
Andel kept glancing up the stairs, thinking, Master, please just seduce her the usual way… He worried the girl would get hurt if things went sideways. He tried to let go and calm his mind.
Hours passed. Enoch didn’t come back down.
