Before my face could betray me and before my chest could cave in completely, I forced myself to move. Smile on. Voice steady. Eunji mode. Functional.
"Dwargen," I said, clapping my hands once, louder than needed. "We prep today. Tomorrow we regroup here and teleport straight to the City of Dwargen."
Just like that.
No hesitation. No questions. No pushing.
They all nodded. Every single one of them. Like they always did. Like they trusted me enough not to dig when I clearly didn't want to be dug into.
And gods, I was grateful for that.
We split up into groups and went to the market. Business as usual. Supplies. Potions. Scrolls. Repair kits.
Things that said we were alive and planning for tomorrow. I laughed when I was supposed to.
Complained about prices. Smacked Kael's hand away when he tried to sneak extra snacks into my inventory.
Normal.
Or at least a convincing imitation of it.
