The restaurant they ended up in was one he vaguely recognised.
A small place on a corner street, a few lanterns hanging outside, warm light spilling through the windows.
The kind of place students came to when they wanted decent food but didn't feel like dealing with crowds.
They took a table near the window.
The three of them sat in a row, Amelia near the aisle, Soren in the middle, Lilliana by the window.
They ordered quickly.
Nothing too fancy.
The food arrived steaming and fragrant.
The clink of cutlery and the quiet murmur of the other customers faded into the background as they ate at a relaxed pace.
"It's already pitch black," Soren muttered, glancing outside between bites.
The sky was completely dark now.
Lanterns lit the streets, and the reflection of the lights shimmered gently on the glass.
They had been shopping for a couple of hours, so it made sense, but still…
It felt like summer was truly over.
The long, bright evenings that had stretched lazily into night were gone.
In their place was the early autumn darkness, cool air, and the hint of chill creeping into the wind.
Soren rested his spoon against the side of the bowl and leaned back slightly in his seat.
He thought back over the past few hours.
Amelia teasing him in the bed section.
Lilliana tugging at his cloak.
The three of them arguing quietly over which wardrobe was less ugly.
Lilliana getting flustered over a coffee machine's price.
Amelia insisting on the biggest bed in the store "for practicality."
His lips curled upward.
Just being with the two of them like this made his chest feel strangely light.
Comfortable.
He was truly grateful to them.
And to everyone else waiting back in the clubroom.
They had dragged him out of the dark places without even realising it.
"Ren? Is something wrong?" Lilliana asked from his right.
He turned his head.
"No?"
"You're acting weird," Amelia added from the other side.
He let out a small laugh.
"No, I'm just happy," he admitted. "Am I not allowed to smile, or something?"
Amelia stared at him for a beat.
"Weirdo," she muttered, shoving a piece of meat into her mouth.
"Whatever," Soren said, rolling his eyes. "Just eat."
He picked up his spoon again.
The warmth of the food, the low light of the restaurant, the presence of the two people beside him…
For the first time in a long while, he felt relaxed.
Just a little.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
"We're back!" Soren called out as he pushed open the door to the clubroom.
Amelia and Lilliana walked in behind him.
"Took you long enough," Lev muttered from the dining table.
He was hunched over a stack of papers, quill still in hand, ink smudged faintly on his fingers.
"Did you get everything finished?" he asked, closing the door with his foot.
Lev leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh.
"It was a pain in the ass, but it's done."
"Where's Felix?"
"He left the moment we were done," Lev replied. "Said something about going to meet someone."
"And the rest?"
"Alex and Olivia are in the living room. Louise and Esper have already left."
"Great, thanks, Lev."
Lev clicked his tongue.
"If you're grateful, then find someone else to do this shit next time," he grumbled.
"It was written in the contract," Soren replied with a smile.
"This bastard…"
Soren took in Lev's slouched posture, the way he still hadn't put the quill down, the subtle dark circles under his eyes.
He thought for a second.
"By the way, you can use one of the spare rooms for whatever you need, as long as you take care of it."
Lev froze for a moment.
Then a slow grin spread across his face.
"Thanks, President."
"Materialistic bastard," Soren muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," Soren replied, still smiling. "Why are you still here anyway?"
"To give you these. I'm going now. Later," Lev said, shoving a small stack of papers into Soren's hands.
"Bye," Soren said absently as Lev walked past him.
He heard the faint click of one of the spare bedroom doors opening and closing a few seconds later.
Soren looked down at the papers.
They were the completed administrative forms Lev had filled out, budget requests, attendance forms, and the initial activity outline.
The handwriting was neat.
He put them in his inventory, then headed toward the living room.
Amelia and Lilliana followed.
Inside, Alex was sprawled on one of the sofas with his legs stretched out, and Olivia was sitting on the floor, leaning against the same couch with a cup of tea in her hands.
They both looked up when Soren entered.
"Did everything go well?" Soren asked.
"Yep," Olivia said, nodding. "We got everything. We picked up some extras too, like toiletries and stuff."
"That's great, thanks," he replied.
He made it to the nearest sofa and let himself drop onto it, lying down at once and stretching out as if gravity had suddenly doubled.
"What's up with you?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.
Soren yawned.
"Just feel tired…"
The shopping, the walking, the constant tension in his body, even if he hadn't shown it, it added up.
"Everything's sorted, so you can take a nap if you want," Olivia said.
"Mm… I'll do that then."
He closed his eyes.
The faint murmur of their voices blended with the distant sounds of footsteps in the spare bedroom.
Within moments, his breathing evened out.
He was asleep.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
"Wow, he fell asleep instantly…" Olivia muttered.
She stared at Soren's face for a moment, watching the way his chest rose and fell with slow, steady breaths.
"He always does," Lilliana said with a sigh. "He'll act fine, then the moment he thinks about sleep, he's out like a light."
Olivia smiled faintly.
"Well, a lot has happened lately," Alex commented from the other sofa.
He had his arms folded behind his head, eyes on the ceiling.
"I'm just glad he's doing alright," Olivia said.
She meant it.
She had seen him when he wasn't.
She had seen him sitting on the edge of the bed in that inn room, eyes empty, body present but spirit nowhere to be found; she had watched him stare out the window for hours without moving, only responding when she physically dragged him back to reality.
She had heard the way his voice had sounded back then.
Thin, hollow.
A step away from shattering entirely.
Seeing him now, sprawled out and asleep in a clubroom he had created himself, surrounded by people who cared about him…
It was like looking at a different person.
"He's still not okay, though," Amelia said suddenly.
Her eyes were closed and her arms folded, but Olivia could tell she was fully awake.
"What do you mean?"
"The other day, I caught him crying in his sleep," Amelia replied.
Olivia's heart clenched.
"Wait," she said, realising something. "Amelia, do you know what happened yet?"
They had all had that conversation, about the time Soren spent adventuring, about that night at the dungeon, about what those men had done to him; all of that was mentioned on the day of the group meeting.
But Amelia wasn't there.
"He told me himself," Amelia answered simply.
Olivia exchanged a look with Lilliana.
Lilliana's gaze was fixed on Soren.
"I think…" Lilliana said quietly. "That he's doing okay. That's what he told me, at least."
Her fingers twitched slightly, as if resisting the urge to brush his hair back.
"He still needs some time to heal," she continued. "But I don't think he's pretending."
"Duh," Amelia said.
Her tone was blunt, but there was no mockery in it.
"It would be obvious if he was lying."
Lilliana nodded.
"That's true."
They all fell silent for a moment.
The quiet was comfortable.
Then Alex suddenly sat up and stretched, bones cracking lightly.
"Well, I'm going to do some training, then go to bed."
He looked at Olivia.
"You coming, Liv?"
Olivia glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was already late.
"At this time? You should look after yourself better."
"You already know I'm fine," Alex said with an easy smile.
He always said that.
"...Fine, I'll come," Olivia sighed.
She turned toward the other two.
"I'll see you later."
"Goodbye," Lilliana said.
"Night," Amelia added.
Olivia and Alex left the living room and headed for the front door.
The hallway was quiet.
As they descended, Alex spoke again.
"Hey, Liv?"
"Hmm?" she replied.
"Why did you want to make a club? You know I was going to join the duelling club, right?"
Olivia exhaled through her nose.
"Alex, you need to take a break sometimes."
"I take plenty of rest when I sleep," he retorted.
She gave him a flat look.
"You know that's not what I meant."
"I know," Alex admitted.
He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes drifting away for a moment.
"But if I rest too much," he said quietly, "I'll never be strong enough."
Olivia's expression hardened.
There it was again.
That same line.
That same belief.
"If you keep going like this, you'll break one day."
"Then you can just heal me, can't you?" Alex replied with a faint smile.
He meant it as a joke.
Half, at least.
Olivia stopped walking for a moment.
Her hands clenched.
She didn't smile.
Her face remained bitter.
"Sorry," Alex said quickly, realising his mistake.
He gave her a sheepish smile.
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen, alright?"
"You better," Olivia replied.
She punched his side lightly.
He barely reacted; his body was sturdy enough that her fist didn't really hurt him.
But the gesture mattered.
Alex was the man she loved.
The man she had decided to follow, no matter how reckless he was, the same man whose back she had sworn to protect, even if he never looked over his own shoulder.
Sometimes she wished he would slow down.
Just a little.
Enough to look around him, to see the people walking beside him, to realise that if he fell, it wouldn't only hurt him.
But she knew that was impossible.
This was who he was.
Someone who ran forward without stopping.
Someone who carried burdens heavier than he should.
Someone who believed he had to keep going, or everything would fall apart.
So, instead of trying to change him, she chose something else.
She chose to walk with him.
To heal him when he stumbled, scold him when he was reckless, and to be there when he looked up and finally noticed he wasn't alone.
And she hoped, quietly, stubbornly, that the people around him would help too.
To make sure he never crashed.
To make sure he never broke.
That was her dearest wish.
————「❤︎」————