Chapter 51: Your Poker Face or Your Life

Lukas woke before the sun was fully in the sky. The sky outside was slowly brightening as the sun rose over the horizon.

The room was still a bit dark, and the light outside the window was pale and thin.

Melody was asleep beside him, her white hair spread across the pillow.

He leaned over and pressed a quiet kiss to her temple, then slipped out of bed without disturbing her.

He moved to the bathroom, and after his activities there, put on fresh clothes.

He moved through the morning routine quickly and made his way to the kitchen, tying the apron around his waist and getting the stove going.

The aroma of his cooking quickly spread through the house gradually, building into something hard to ignore.

And just like he’d expected, it didn’t take long for Melody to appear in the kitchen doorway.

She yawned, her eyes still soft with sleep, and her hair loose around her shoulders. "What are you making?"

Instead of answering, Lukas gently turned her by the shoulders and steered her back to the hallway, smiling.

"Bath first," he said. "Then food."

She made a sound of mild protest but still allowed herself to be pushed out of the kitchen.

By the time he was plating the food, her footsteps came back down the hall.

She appeared in the doorway again, freshly washed and dressed, her hair neat.

She looked at the plates and sat down without a wide grin. "Good morning, Lukas."

"Finally awake, I see." Lukas returned the grin.

"Of course." She chuckled. "In what world am I ever going to skip breakfast?"

She said nothing else, digging into the food. She scooped the food into her mouth, and her eyes lit up in glee.

The sounds she made were not exactly subtle. Just small sounds of appreciation between bites, and the occasional closed-eye moment of genuine contentment.

And of course, there was always the soft noise of delight when she scooped a spoonful into her mouth after a drink of water.

Lukas ate across from her, a smile on his face.

There was something about watching a person eat food you had made, and genuinely enjoying it as if it was the best thing they’d ever eaten.

That feeling of joy never got old.

Melody set her spoon down when the bowl was empty and looked up. "Are we still hunting outside the city today?"

"That’s the plan," Lukas said. "Where do you think we should go?"

She answered without hesitation. "Not the Green Forest."

"Scorched Forest then?"

"The edge of it, yes. We’ll fight the C-rank beasts, and nothing higher." She folded her arms on the table.

"I know I’m A-rank now, but we can’t predict what we’ll meet. What if we walk into a pack of A-rank beasts this time?"

"We went into the Green Forest last time because the quest had a time limit and we had no choice. That’s not the situation today. So, there’s no need to be reckless."

Lukas was quiet for a moment, turning it over.

Then he shook his head.

Melody raised an eyebrow.

"If we’re hunting C-rank beasts," he said, "we might as well go on dungeon runs. We get the experience, plus money, and of course, the chance at [Item] drops."

He looked at her. "Hunting outside the city only makes sense when we’re going after beasts above our rank. That’s where the real experience comes from. C-ranks in the Scorched Forest aren’t going to move my bar fast enough to justify the time."

Melody was quiet for a moment, working through it. Then she nodded slowly. "You’re right."

"Dungeons give us both," he continued. "Experience and income. I’ll spend the day soloing C-rank dungeons, while you’ll find an independent A-rank team and clear dungeons with them. And we’ll meet back home at the end of the day with full pouches."

"Independent A-rank teams won’t be hard to find," she said. "I already have a few contacts for that now. I’ll just meet them, and they’ll be able to find me something. Teams are always in need of capable swords and I’m a capable sword."

"Exactly."

She tapped the table once, decision made. "Dungeons it is."

She stood to collect the bowls, then paused. "We still have to go to the realtor this morning."

Lukas looked up. "Right."

"First the realtor, then we split for our respective dungeons." She stacked the bowls. "We should leave soon if we want to get there early."

"Calm down." Lukas smiled as he untied his apron and hung it on its hook. "We’re not in any particular hurry."

Melody chuckled at her own actions. "I guess I’m excited."

They soon moved to the bedroom, helping each other strap on their equipment.

Lukas buckled his sword across his back, then turned to look at Melody.

"We should get you a proper defensive breastplate of your own," he said. "Now that we have the funds, there’s no reason not to."

Melody didn’t look up from fastening her sword strap. "Don’t bother."

"Melody—"

"I’m more experienced than you." She said it without arrogance, just as fact. "And my [Hex Shield] covers what armor would."

"Against opponents at my rank, the shield would be enough. Against anything above my rank," she finally looked at him, "armor won’t save me anyway."

He thought about it honestly. She wasn’t wrong.

He personally knew that the [Hex Shield] was effective against opponents of the same rank.

And against anything that could genuinely threaten an A-rank Awakener, they’d need an [Item] breastplate that was gotten from an S-rank dungeon. And the chances of finding that on the market was basically zero.

So he let it go. But that was not the only option he had.

He reached down and unstrapped the [Deathstalker Gauntlet] from his forearm.

"Take this," he said, holding it out.

Melody looked at it, then up at him. "That’s yours."

"It’s more useful on you." He kept his hand extended. "With or without the gauntlet, we both know I’m going to wreak havoc."

"But you might be going into an A-rank dungeon with a team you’ve never worked with before. Having something unexpected in your arsenal is an advantage."

"Lukas—"

"Take it."

She held his gaze for a moment, then she reached out and took it, strapping it onto her forearm without further argument.

They made sure they had everything they needed before locking the door behind them, and began making their way to the realtor’s office.

After a comfortable stretch of silence, Melody glanced at him. "After we sell the house, where do we stay? Do we find somewhere bigger to buy?"

"We rent," Lukas said.

She frowned slightly. "Why rent when we could own?"

Lukas was silent for a moment, then he spoke.

"Tell me the names of any Adepts in this city other than the City Lord."

Melody thought about it. The silence that followed was its own answer.

"Exactly," Lukas said. "Which means one of two things is true."

"Either Havenhart isn’t safe for Adepts, or the city physically can’t sustain more than one."

"This means if we plan on becoming Saints one day, which I’m sure we do, we’ll have to leave this city." He glanced at her. "There’s no point buying property in a city we won’t be staying in."

Melody was quiet for a moment, working through it, then she nodded. "Renting makes sense."

The realtor’s office soon came into view at the end of the street. It was a narrow building with a painted sign above the door.

Lukas stepped forward, reached for the handle, and stopped as a notification appeared directly in front of his face.

Ding!

[Quest: Your Poker Face or Your Life.]

[Objective: Survive the encounter in the realtor’s office with your life intact.]

[Reward: +300 Gacha Points]

[Penalty: Death (obviously)]

Lukas stared at it.

Then he looked at the door.

Then back at the notification.

He exhaled slowly through his nose, granting his wife permission to view the quest. "Melody."

"I see it," she said quietly beside him, her hand already moving to her sword.