Jhed had fallen asleep. Morning had turned to evening without him noticing. Outside, lights were beginning to come on, and only a little time remained before full dark.
"Jhed... Jhed... wake up." Someone was calling to him.
Jhed opened his eyes slowly. Everything was blurry.
He sat up on the bed and rubbed his eyes.
"Oh — Shine, you're back." Through the blur, the figure looked like Shine.
"Shine's gone somewhere. It's just me you're seeing." The figure said.
Jhed stared until his vision cleared.
"Oh — Daichi. I thought you were Shine." Jhed said, getting to his feet.
"Where did Shine go?" Daichi asked.
"He stepped out for a few days." Jhed said, looking down.
"Alright. Have you been sleeping since last night?"
"Yes — I was really tired." Jhed said.
He was lying. Obviously he wasn't going to tell a stranger why he hadn't gone outside.
"You're our guest. If you need anything at all, just say so." Daichi said with a smile.
"I will." Jhed smiled back.
"Do you live alone?" Jhed asked.
"Not at all — my wife is staying at her sister's place for a few days." Daichi said. There was a smile on his face.
"Are you happy because your wife is away?" Jhed looked at him.
"How did you figure that out?" Daichi looked genuinely surprised.
"The way you were smiling — it seemed like you were happy she'd gone."
"Is my face really that easy to read?" Daichi pressed a hand to his cheek.
"No, no — it's not like that. I just made a guess." Jhed waved both hands quickly.
"Did he take that the wrong way?"
"I was joking." Daichi placed a hand on Jhed's shoulder.
"Food will be ready soon — come join me."
Daichi headed out to cook.
Jhed pressed a hand to his chest and sat back down on the bed.
"I got scared for nothing." He spread his hands out on the mattress. His heart had been pounding — convinced he'd said something wrong. But he hadn't. Everyone's a little afraid of their spouse after marriage — it's easy to guess why a husband might be smiling with his wife away.
Jhed had spent the entire day sleeping. Ever since Silia had left with the card that morning, his thoughts had been weighing him down.
"I didn't do anything wrong, but I'm still afraid. I keep overthinking everything. Is this what depression feels like?" Jhed said to himself.
The way Jhed kept flinching at small things showed something — he wasn't built for the power he carried. He was immortal. He would never die. The people around him would be gone one day, but he would remain, alone. So why be afraid — when eventually there would be no one left to even talk about him?
That was something Jhed still hadn't understood.
Sleep was pulling at him again. His eyes were slowly closing.
But then Daichi called him for dinner.
Jhed was on his feet instantly.
He opened the door, walked out, and sat down at the dining table.
"Come, sit."
Jhed sat down and began eating, starting with the soup.
"Keep that teleportation card safe. There are plenty of thieves around here."
"It's safe at the guild," Jhed said.
"Safe at the guild — what do you mean?" Daichi looked at him.
"Yes — Silia came this morning. She said the card would stay with the guild while we're here." Jhed finished the soup.
"No one asked her to do that. And she doesn't work at the guild. She only came yesterday because the regular counter girl was sick."
Jhed's eyes went wide. He stared at Daichi with that same frozen look.
"No — the card wasn't stolen." But Jhed's fear had turned out to be right.
Silia was a thief.