A small handwritten sign had been hung outside the Golden Grand today.
Closed to the public today for a private gathering.
When Arthur pushed open the door, the sight inside made him pause.
In the main hall, Phainon was dressed in yellow and purple and standing on a ladder, trying to hang a string of colorful lights along the wall.
The lights came in every color imaginable, lending the place a distinctly festive air.
"Left, left! A little farther left!"
Cyrene stood below directing him, holding a whistle she had somehow dug up from somewhere.
"No, no! I meant your left!"
Phainon twisted around on the ladder, looking utterly confused. "My left or your left?"
"Mine, of course!"
"But I can't see where your left is!"
Just like that, the two of them started arguing.
Arthur stood in the doorway, watching the scene with an involuntary smile.
"Am I here too early?"
They both turned their heads at the same time.
Cyrene's eyes immediately lit up.
"Arthur!"
She hopped down from the step and hurried over to him.
"You're here!"
"Mm."
Arthur nodded.
"Didn't you say the gathering wouldn't start until tonight? Why are you here so early?"
"To decorate!"
Cyrene spoke as though the answer were obvious. "That idiot Phainon could never manage all this by himself."
She pointed at the string lights on the wall, then at the pile of decorations stacked in the corner.
There was also the tableware on the tables, which had yet to be arranged.
"Just look. There's so much to do."
Phainon poked his head out from the top of the ladder.
"Arthur! What are you doing here so early?"
He waved a hand. "The gathering doesn't start until tonight! Coming now just means we'll put you to work!"
Arthur smiled.
"Do you need any help?"
"No!"
Phainon immediately refused. "You're a guest. What kind of hosts make their guests work?"
The moment he finished speaking, Cyrene shot him a glare.
"Phainon."
"What?"
"Didn't you just say we were short-handed?"
"That still doesn't mean we can make Arthur…"
"He offered."
Phainon opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.
In the end, he let out a resigned sigh.
"Fine, fine."
He beckoned to Arthur. "Since Arthur wants to work so badly, come on, then.
Move that table over there, closer to the window."
Arthur smiled and walked over.
He moved tables, arranged chairs, adjusted the string lights, and hung each decoration where it belonged.
Phainon remained on the ladder, continuing his battle with the string of lights.
Cyrene kept directing everyone, except now she had one more person to order around.
"Arthur, move that a little to the left."
"Phainon, your right! I said your right!"
"Arthur, straighten the table. Yes, yes, just a tiny bit more this way."
"Phainon, how did you hang it crooked again?"
Now and then, laughter rang through the hall. At other times, the sound of playful bickering filled the room.
After more than an hour of work, the hall finally began to look presentable.
The string lights were in place, blinking on and off, and they actually looked rather nice.
The tables were neatly arranged and covered with clean tablecloths.
The tableware had also been set out in orderly rows, ready for the guests arriving that evening.
Phainon jumped down from the ladder and dusted off his hands, surveying the room with satisfaction.
"Not bad, not bad." He nodded. "Now it feels right."
Cyrene smiled in satisfaction as well.
She turned to Arthur.
"Thank you."
Arthur shook his head.
"It's nothing. I didn't have anything else to do anyway."
Phainon came over and threw an arm around Arthur's shoulders.
"Not bad, kid. You're pretty capable!"
He gave Arthur a heavy pat on the back. "Way more useful than that girl Cyrene! All she knows how to do is give orders!"
Cyrene glared at him.
"What's wrong with me giving orders?
Without me directing you, you couldn't even hang the lights straight!"
"I hung them perfectly straight!"
"You call the way they were crooked just now straight?"
"That was because you were talking about your left, not my left!"
The two of them launched into another round of bickering.
These old friends, these people Arthur had not seen in so long.
These companions who had once stayed up late with him to finish assignments and dreamed together about the future.
Although they had not seen each other for years, the moment they reunited, everything was just as it had always been.
They had not changed at all.
"Oh, right, Arthur."
Phainon suddenly remembered something and turned toward him. "I played your game!"
Arthur was slightly taken aback.
"You did?"
"Of course!"
Phainon spoke as though it were only natural. "Cyrene nagged me about it every single day.
She kept saying things like, 'Phainon, just try it. It's really fun, and the characters are so cool.'
She annoyed me so much that I finally gave it a try."
Phainon gave him a thumbs-up.
"It really is good!"
Cyrene's face reddened slightly.
"I-I did not nag you every day!"
"You did!"
"I did not!"
"You messaged me just yesterday to ask what chapter I'd reached!"
"That was… That was just a casual question!"
Arthur looked at the two of them and could not help laughing aloud.
"Thank you. I'm glad you liked it."
Phainon dusted off his hands again, then suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right. I should go check how things are going in the kitchen."
He looked at Arthur. "Do you want to go see Mydei and Castorice in the kitchen?
Castorice has really been wanting to see you."
Arthur paused.
Castorice.
The girl who had always been quiet at university, who spoke softly and blushed whenever she saw him.
She had since become the head chef at the Golden Grand, yet her shyness had kept her from meeting with him much.
"In a little while."
Arthur said, "Let's finish cleaning up here first."
Phainon nodded and did not press the matter. He turned and headed toward the kitchen.
After taking two steps, he looked back.
"Don't finish up and run off!"
He called out, "If Castorice finds out you came here without visiting her, she'll probably hide somewhere and cry again!"
The hall fell quiet.
Only Arthur and Cyrene remained.
"I'll help you finish the rest."
As Arthur spoke, he walked toward the few decorations still lying in the corner.
Cyrene followed behind him without saying anything, merely smiling as she watched him work.
After a while, Arthur spoke.
"How many people are coming to the gathering?"
Cyrene tilted her head and thought for a moment.
"Our friends from university, along with some of our teachers and professors."
She began counting them off on her fingers.
"Mydei, Castorice, Hyacine, Aglaea, Hysilens, Cerydra, Cipher, Stelle and March 7th, Professor Anaxa…"
She paused and blinked.
"As for the other professors, why don't you guess?"
Arthur's hands stopped moving for a moment.
After thinking it over, he asked tentatively,
"Don't tell me Professor Tripios is coming?"
Cyrene nodded, her smile deepening.
"And someone else."
Arthur looked at her, suddenly overcome by an uneasy premonition.
"Herta?"
Cyrene laughed.
"In any case, Phainon invited everyone he possibly could."
She winked at Arthur.
"You'll find out tonight."
Arthur fell silent for two seconds.
Professor Tripios.
The professor who had taught them classical literature and mythology at university.
Her lectures had always been filled with astonishing stories.
And then there was Herta, the woman hailed as a genius throughout academic circles and Stelle's nominal mentor.
She was said to be so eccentric that ordinary people had no hope of persuading her to do anything.
"How did Phainon manage it?"
Cyrene shrugged.
"Who knows? Maybe they were moved by his sincerity."