The Calm Before The Storm

The old headquarters of the Mercenary Guild had a space reserved for baths, similar to a mini hot spring. While Arya and Magdalena were busy washing each other's hair, the boys were at war.

"Come on, take off that mask already, you weirdo!"

"I refuse! It's part of me!"

They had managed to convince Reaper to get into the water with them, but he refused to take off his trademark . In truth, he was feeling cornered — his skinny body couldn't compare to the well-defined muscles of the two fighters. Edward and Peter, on the other hand, had been friends for a long time and had no shame in front of each other.

"Seriously, I should just leave and go see my Giulietta now—!" Edward threw a bucket of water in Reaper’s face.

"Don't even think about it, Arya is there too. Now stop being stingy and take that mask off already."

"Nooo!"

Meanwhile, in the girls' bath, Magdalena was pressing Arya for some infos.

"You seem like someone who understands love, necromancer girl."

"I-I understand?"

"Mi Romeo is afraid of my love... He says I don't understand how love works for humans."

"Why do you call him mi Romeo?"

"It's a pet name he came up with. Mi Romeo has some extravagant ideas."

"Makes sense. I didn't understand the questions he was asking the villagers either. 'Have you ever seen Mors in person?', 'What is magic to you?', 'Do you know what jeans are?' I mean, what even is that?"

"Just ignore him, his research is something even I don't fully understand." Magdalena took advantage of her position washing Arya’s hair to hide her embarrassment. "It's nice to have a female companion to talk to; it's been a while since I had that kind of connection. Good thing you already have the bone boy."

"Bone boy? Don't call Edward that!" Arya remembered the comment about pet names. "Edward… Ed?"

"You're on the right track. Now it's your turn, teach me everything you know about this enigma called love."

(...)

After the bath, the boys were waiting for the girls in the hallway.

"In the end, that maniac didn’t take off the mask…" Peter grumbled.

"You're way too focused on this! It's not like you guys haven’t already taken it off when I was unconscious. Honestly, it should be a crime how casually you revealed my identity!"

While Peter and Reaper kept exchanging insults and provocations, Edward watched as Arya returned. She was wearing a lighter dress, full of embroidery, a gift she had received from Belchior. Her beauty enchanted Edward, who stood there dumbfounded as she approached. She stopped in front of him, on the opposite side of the hallway.

"Arya, you look so beautiful..."

Arya didn't know how to react to the compliment, and her cheeks quickly flushed red. "T-Thank you..."

Magdalena walked right between the two of them, completely ignoring the mood that was forming. "Mio Romeo~," she said, throwing herself into Reaper's arms.

"Mia Giulietta~ Did you enjoy your bath?"

"Yes, I had a lovely conversation about romance with the necromancer girl."

Reaper's expression darkened, and with his head down, he walked over to Edward, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck."

"What was that about?" Edward asked, confused.

"I hope Mag didn't have a bad influence on your girlfriend."

"... Right."

"Actually, she was the one who told me something interesting..."

Even in the face of danger, human curiosity speaks louder. "… And what would that be?"

"Let's see, if I understood correctly, all I have to do is..." Magdalena gently lifted the bottom of Reaper’s mask, held him firmly under the ears, and pulled his face close to hers.

And then, Reaper's lips softly touched Magdalena's lips. The kiss was gentle, with a sweet taste and full of emo—

"Cut! Cut! Stop right now, this scene isn't ours! Isn't it obvious she's taking advantage of the situation?"

His protests were pointless and would lead nowhere, but Edward understood Reaper's predicament and, in a gesture of sympathy, gently held his shoulder. "Good luck."

The elderly mage couple appeared, guiding the young ones to the second floor. "We have several rooms available, feel free to choose."

"About that..." Reaper said. "Magdalena and I will sleep together. Mi Giulietta can't sleep without me. And besides, we are a couple."

"We are..."

"... A couple?"

Edward and Arya looked at each other; neither of them had considered the possibility of sleeping together. Their relationship had just started, and they hadn't had many chances to be alone. Still, embarrassment kept either of them from taking a step forward.

"How long are they going to be like this?"

"They barely managed to confess; don’t expect them to get that far anytime soon."

In the end, they ended up sleeping in separate rooms. It was still too soon for such revealing scenes.

“I’ll be in the room next door. If you need anything, just call me.”

“Alright! Good night, Edward.” said the girl with a smile.

(…)

The next morning, after breakfast, Magdalena and Reaper were waiting outside for the rest of the group. Magdalena stared coldly at Reaper's shadow, which stretched along the ground under the morning sun.

“What is it?”

“Your shadow…”

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous of my shadow now.”

“Your shadow went out for a bath last night. It’s a shame... I couldn’t pierce her heart when she had her guard down.”

“Haha, what are you even talking about…” Reaper laughed nervously.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“... Yesterday you were so friendly with Arya. Why can’t you act the same way with her?”

“It’s a completely different situation. Arya isn’t a rival. Besides, I’m still bothered by the fact that she copied my Black Parade ability.”

“She’s not your rival, she’s just a childhood friend. You know what that means? Childhood friends never win when it comes to love!”

“You’re saying that to trick me!”

“No, it’s true... A very sad truth in some cases. So stop looking for reasons to pick on her. You know my only Giulietta is you!” Reaper gently wrapped his arms around her waist.

“That’s not fair when you say it like that.” Magdalena rose up on her tiptoes, lifting her face so her eyes could meet his.

Just as another kiss was about to happen, the rest of the group came outside, ruining the moment. Reaper turned to greet them, while Magdalena lost her balance and fell to the ground with a soft, cute "Kyun~."

“There’s never a bad time for you two, is there?” Peter commented.

“My dear friend Peter, you’re the only one missing to make this trip a proper couples' getaway.”

“My situation’s a bit complicated… ”

“Anyway, we have bad news for you.”

The three young adventurers turned their attention to Reaper, while Magdalena stood up to join him. With a serious tone, she began to speak:

“Undertaker Jack is on our trail.”

“Who’s that?”

“As expected, they don’t even know who he is.”

Magdalena fell silent for a moment, organizing her thoughts, and then began her explanation:

“First of all, let me make something very clear: warning you about his arrival is my way of showing trust. I’m not obligated to warn you — it’s something that will happen sooner or later.
When we first met, I said I didn’t care about hunting necromancers, but that doesn’t mean Mother does nothing about them. She’s far too kind to hurt humans with her own hands, so she created Undertaker Jack.
Undertaker Jack is a hunter who travels the world chasing necromancers… No, to be precise, he is Mors’s true executioner.”

“Wait, are you saying Mors’s executioner is coming here, and you’re only telling us now? I knew you would betray us at some point!” Edward was furious.

“This isn’t betrayal. As a fragment of Mors, I can’t stop his will — after all, Jack was created for that purpose.”

“You can’t intervene on our behalf?”

“A trained dog obeys only its master. What makes you think the master’s daughter could command the dog, especially when it’s attacking the intruders it was trained to eliminate?”

“And what happens when the master’s daughter brings the intruders by the hand straight to the dog? You brought us right into this trap…”

“Believe what you want, bone boy.”

“I believe in you.” To everyone’s surprise, Arya stepped forward to defend Magdalena.

“Huh? Arya, what are you saying?”

“I… I want to believe. It’s just like when Reaper passed out in front of us, isn’t it? If they were against us, why didn’t they attack before? Why wait, and even warn us that Undertaker Jack is coming?”

“Arya, now’s not the time to be kind — this is about your safety.”

“I believe in them too.” Peter joined the conversation. “I don’t think they’re entirely trustworthy, but I also don’t think they’re lying — at least not now.”

Edward felt conflicted, but in the end, he gave in to the decision of the other two.
“Fine, we’ll trust you… So now what? What do we do?”

“Dealing with Undertaker Jack won’t be easy, but I know his weakness.” Magdalena smiled as the crimson glow of her eyes shone intensely. “Would you mind… trusting us a little longer?”