The tavern turned quiet after the shocking declaration was made.

None of them dared to make a sound as they stared at Ann wide-eyed.

Noah and Oliver were the only ones snickering with their tails wagging mischievously behind them. Aside from them, everybody else had their eyes wide and mouths open in shock.

*clunk*

Suddenly they heard the sound of glass breaking behind them.

"Are you alright young man?" Mrs.Wilbert asked with a flustered face.

In the table behind them, the tall guy wearing a dark robe had pieces of shards falling out of his hands. He seemed to have held the glass in his hand with enough strength to snap it into pieces.

'Isn't he the guy I saw by the counter earlier?' Ann tilted her head.

Red wine was dripping from his fingertips and splashed everywhere on the table. Yet he was still clenching his hand into a tight fist.

"Sir! You hand!" The man in the brown robe sitting next to him exclaimed.

"I'm fine" The dark-robed man answered in a deep and frustrated voice.

"Everything is fine"

"Really?" Mrs.Wilbert asked, concerned after seeing the sharp pieces of glass. She called Liam to clean the table and bring the customer a fresh drink.

"Here you go sir" Liam placed a fresh jug of beer on the table.

"Its spice beer, an original creation of our tavern"

"Thank you" The dark-robed man answered and took a sip of the beer.

For some inexplicable reason, the atmosphere around him turned cold causing the people around him to scurry away.

"So were you telling the truth?"

Ann turned to Jerome's serious voice, who was patting a depressed Kobe's back. It was not only him, but the rest of the people at their table and in the tables surrounding them were waiting for her to explain with bated breaths.

"Chillax... I was just joking"

"Phew..." A few relaxed sighs were heard in unison.

'Wow. The amount of faith these people have in me...' Ann rolled her eyes at the sight.

"Why are you guys so serious?"

"Although I would have loved to kick his ass. I didn't. Took the high road if I have to say..." Ann shook her head in disapproval.

"He's probably at the heights of his life with his new pink-haired girlfriend. Not that I care"

She felt Noah and Oliver staring at her with questionable gazes from above her head. She could hear the questions in their head being transmitted through their gazes.

It was as if to ask, 'Really? A petty person like you, doesn't care?'

Annoyed by their mocking stare, Ann jabbed her arms into their stomachs making them cringe in pain.

"Ooof!" The twins clenched their stomachs and turned away from the table.

"Hahaha... I'm a good person you know" Ann continued her story with a laugh.

"And even if I did 'kill' him. He deserved it anyway"

Ann shrugged. She could feel herself getting tipsier by the second.

"I can practically sing a song as to why he deserves it. Wanna hear?"

"Sir the glass is going to break again!" The guy in the brown robe on the table behind them shouted.

'Why are these people constantly creating commotions today?' Ann frowned, totally disregarding the upheaval she created mere minutes ago and the one she was about to start.

"We'd be delighted if you did"

Ignoring the scene behind, Jerome said with the last bit of his soberness gone.

"Sure" Ann replied and chugged down one last jug of beer.

*thud*

"Gimme my mike"

The twins watched her climb on top of the table in a completely drunken state and search for something.

"Where's my bloody microphone?!"

Thinking that she was in a karaoke bar in Korea instead of the tavern, she started searching for a microphone.

'What is that wiggling thing on his head' With unfocused eyes, she zoomed on Noah's ears twitching left and right in front of her. At that moment, she felt the urge to catch.

"Gotcha!"

Ann pounced and caught Noah's ears with both of her hands and started rotating his head in a circular motion.

"I know you took it, stupid fox. Give it to me!"

"Let go, you drunk!" Noah panicked. He did expect to be caught in her drunk clutches when he was distracted for only a second.

"Here you go" Oliver placed a thick stick he found nearby on Ann's line of sight.

"My mike!" Ann let go of Noah's head and took the stick in her hand with a satisfied smile.

"You're welcome"

Oliver patted his brother's shoulder with a triumphant smirk. Noah was slumped on the floor holding his head with a fast-beating heart.

"What's a mike?" Asked one of the Wayward merchants to Oliver.

"Sounds like a new gnome species. Is it a new gnome species?" Commented another guy.

"Apparently it is some kind of device used for singing. Kind of like the announcer they use in tournaments. Ah... there she goes " Oliver said looking at Ann about to sing with the stick in her hand.

"Hey everybody!" Ann began her performance.

"Here's to everyone with a sh*tty husband that likes to screw other people's lives!"

"Haah" Jade signed and shook his head fed up with the constant commotions his colleagues were creating.

"She's crazy" Eugene commented, but still eagerly watched the performance.

"Sing with meeee!"

Ann began to sing.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger! Stand a little taller! Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone!...."

"This is fun" Noah and Oliver watched Ann sing from a safe distance away.

"She's a good singer"

"Only when drunk"

"Doesn't she look like she's about fall"

"She is"

They clinked their glasses and continued to watch the performance without noticing the shadow lurking closer and closer over their heads.

Suddenly they heard a familiar voice from behind that sent a chill down their spines.

"You guys seem to be enjoying yourselves"

The twins felt the hair on their tails stand up in fear.

They slowly turned their heads behind them to find the leader of their pack, who was supposed to be at the guild headquarters looking down on them with a fierce glare.

"I was gone for half a day and everything goes to... tsk" Readen clicked his tongue looking at the scene unfolding in front of him.

"Umm... Raeden. It's not like you think" Oliver tried to do damage control to no avail.

"Then what is happening here?" Raden glared at them with a low growl, making the duo flinch.

"Haha... Raeden why are you back so soon?" Noah tried to change the subject.

"Why? So you three can scam and rob more people?"

"I will deal with this later"

Noah and Oliver gulped. They walked back quietly to the table Eugene and Jade were sitting with drooping ears and tails.

"All the single ladies! Put your hands up"

"Woah!" The crowd cheered and raised their hands in the air.

"This is the most entertaining tavern. I have ever been to"

"True that, Woah!"

"If you like it then you should have put a ring on! If you like it then you should have put a ring on! Don't be mad once you see that he wants it!"

Ann, indulged by the fierceness of her own singing, did not notice the alcohol spilled on the table she was about to set on. With her unfocused eyes still fixed on the crowd up front, she slipped her foot.

"Put a riiiinnnnnggg........."

The sober and athletic Ann, and the drunk singer Ann were two different people.

Confident that she will not make a safe landing in her current state, Ann closed her eyes as she started to fall backward while bracing for impact.

*catch*

'I didn't fall?'

Ann peeked her eyes open to find a pair of strong hands holding her on both sides of her shoulder. And the person those arms belonged to was none other than the guy in the dark robe.

"Woah! Thank you man" Ann exclaimed and peered into the man's face.

"Have we met before?"

"Today is the first time I have seen you with my eyes" The dark-robed man replied, the corners of his lips curved into a thin smile.

"Hmm..." Ann frowned and squinted her eyes, "Then why do you feel... oddly familiar?"

"....."

The man did not respond but continued to hold her while looking into her emerald eyes, regardless of the time that passed.

"I will take her from here"

Ann turned towards the sound of the familiar commanding voice.

"Raedennnn *hiccup*..... You're back *hiccup*" Ann held out her arms towards Raeden, getting ready to jump.

"..."

But instead of letting go, she felt the hands holding her shoulder tighten.

The dark-robed man looked into Ann's face for a long moment before letting her go into Raeden's arms.

"Yaay" Ann smiled widely and hooked her arms around Raeden's neck comfortably.

"So fluffy" She buried her face in his firm shoulder, his black hair tickling her face.

"Thank you for your help" Raeden said and carried her away without looking back.

After Raeden left with Ann, the crowd having lost their host dispersed leaving only the robed men behind.

"We should come here again"

"Let's go, Kobe. First loves are meant to fail"

The Wayward merchants carried the unconscious Jerome to his room on the first floor of the tavern with Kobe tagging behind them.

Raeden walked to the table where the other Nero mercenaries were sitting, with a sleeping Ann in his arms.

'No different from a newborn baby' He thought while looking at her dozing off within his arms.

She had fallen asleep within the short time it took for Raeden to walk to his colleague's table.

"We're going home" Raden said over his shoulder in a monotonous tone and walked out through the door. The rest of the gang followed their pack's leader without any qualms.

Noah and Oliver quickly paid the tabs including Ann's with their loot money before following Raeden.

'We're screwed' They gulped.

Judging from Raeden's expression they knew that when the sun rises in the morning, the three of them are in for a huge lecture.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the tavern, the pair of red eyes inside the dark robe curved watching Ann being carried away.

The red eyes focused deeply on Ann's arms tightly encircling Raeden's neck. He lowered his arm that had unconsciously reached out as if it was the most natural thing to do.

He did not take his eyes off of the duo till they left the tavern while clenching his fists as if to resist the urge to take her back.