Sophia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose like she was already regretting whatever was about to happen. "Fine," she muttered, "but I'm coming with you—"
Nyxar's voice suddenly cut through from the kitchen, flat and emotionless as ever. "No."
Everyone turned. He was holding a tray of brownies.
He walked out, handed one to Belos (who took it like he'd just been blessed by the dessert gods), and handed the rest to Ember. She took a bite—and immediately melted into her chair like butter in sunlight.
Then, without skipping a beat, Nyxar sat down, looked directly at Sophia, and said, "You're too weak, too loud, and dead weight."
The entire room went dead silent.
Even the brownies looked offended.
Spirit coughed awkwardly and whispered, "Ember, I think we forgot to teach him what being polite means."
Nyxar blinked. "Anyway, how's the brownie?"
Ember, still recovering from emotional whiplash, blinked back. "Oh—uh—yeah, it's good."
Belos, cheeks puffed full of chocolate, added cheerfully, "It's delicious!"
Nyxar nodded. "Good." Then, as if nothing had happened, he asked, "What are we talking about?"
Sophia, staring at him like he'd personally stolen her brain cells, said, "Did you just call me useless without hearing anything we said?"
Nyxar nodded once. "Yes."
Ember sighed. "Somehow… that fits him too well."
Trying to redirect before Sophia actually combusted, Ember said, "Anyway, quick recap—basically, we're going to escort Sebastian and Belos to the next kingdom to reunite them with Belos' parents."
Nyxar tilted his head. "Who's Sebastian?"
Ember pointed to the butler. "That guy."
Nyxar looked at him for a moment, said absolutely nothing, then stood up and walked off.
Spirit frowned. "Where's he going?"
Bug shrugged. "No clue. He hasn't given his usual 'tell,' so I got nothin'."
The narrator—sounding nervous—added, Oh God, even Bug doesn't know. What could he possibly be doing?
Then, about thirty seconds later, Nyxar returned… fully geared up. Backpack strapped on, dagger, sword, and spear in tow.
Bug blinked. "Well, that was fast."
Ember frowned. "Wait—I don't get it. Why do you have all that stuff and… weapons?"
Bug sighed. "He's ready to leave. That's his 'I'm set' loadout."
Then Nyxar froze. "Wait a minute. I forgot something."
He disappeared into the kitchen.
Everyone waited.
He came back out—arms completely full—with plates, knives, bowls, spoons, forks, a pot, a stove, and the recipe book he'd been trying to decode like it was the Rosetta Stone.
Bug facepalmed. "Oh right… your hobby of extreme cooking."
Ember's jaw dropped. "You seriously aren't bringing all that."
Spirit deadpanned, "Yeah, why not just bring the whole kitchen while you're at it?"
Sebastian, who'd been standing silently in the corner this entire time, leaned toward Sophia and whispered, "Am I the only one who thinks they're weird… or am I the weird one here?"
Sophia sighed, "No. You're fine. They're weird."
Then, channeling her inner tired babysitter, she clapped her hands together. "Alright, listen up, idiots—"
Everyone looked at her.
"I'll prepare a carriage for you all to leave tomorrow morning. And here's what's going to happen:
Ember, you're going to organize—and I mean actually organize—this house. One, it's currently in chaos. Two, you're leaving tomorrow, so at least make it look clean."
Ember saluted halfheartedly with a mouthful of brownie.
Sophia continued, "Belos and Sebastian—you two, go get some sleep."
They nodded immediately. It was probably the safest order in the room.
"Spirit, Bug—you're helping Ember clean up this disaster zone."
Spirit raised a hand. "What about Nyxar?"
Sophia glanced at him. He was standing perfectly still, staring at her with that emotionless, unblinking look that could probably curdle milk.
The narrator chimed in nervously, Yup, still creepy.
Sophia cleared her throat. "…Nothing about him. Just—ignore him."
Nyxar blinked once. "Okay."
"Great," Sophia said, already walking to the door. "Then it's settled. I'll get the carriage ready. You all—try not to burn down the house in the next twelve hours."
As she left, Ember sighed, "Well, you heard her, let's start cleaning."
Bug groaned, "I still don't get why we have to do it."
Spirit grabbed a broom. "Because if we don't, Ember will actually drag us down to hell."
The narrator whispered, And considering the last time they cleaned, it ended in a mild explosion, I'm already nervous…
And meanwhile, in the background, Nyxar quietly went back to his kitchen corner, rearranging his portable cooking arsenal like some kind of culinary warlord.