Late Nights In The Middle Of June

I didn't know the voice was such a poet. By this time, I was in a better state than before. And Bryan helped to get my soup closer for me to eat it. And it was delicious. It was even better than the soup I had at the Orphanage.

"Are you a chef? Because this is very good!" I complimented, taking another bite out of the chicken.

"Nah, I'm not a chef. I copied the recipe from Minwoo but most of the things I cooked were made by either him or Ashley," answered Bryan, shocked at my comment.

"It still means that you can cook. After all, the recipe is just words on paper. It won't cook itself. You've got to have the skills to do it. You may not be creative enough to invent your own but you are skilled enough to cook things to perfection," I added, giving a smile.

Bryan smiled as he mumbled a thank you under his breath. Looks like I managed to make this lonely man's night a wee bit better.

"I understand that you are getting tired, I'll leave you to rest for the night. And if you change your mind, I have another door over there for you to sneak out of," said Bryan, getting up from the edge of the bed.

I tilted my head to the side out of confusion. Either this guy is being hunted down by others so much to the point that he has an escape route in his bedroom. Or travelers tend to run away from him constantly.

"Why would I do that? Why would I run away in the middle night of god knows where instead of a cozy little hut over here? There's good food, nice bed unless you want me out of the bed..."

At that point, I realized I was a girl, in the middle of the forest on a young man's bed. Funny how I always miss the small yet important things.

"I don't mind if you are taking up the bed, I'll just sleep on the other bed, which is thinner than a normal bed. Usually, I use that bed to sit down and clean my blades but it's quite comfy. It's just that, I've got a habit of staying up very late."

He seemed kind of embarrassed at that confession. Is this a realm where everyone goes to sleep at nine o'clock. for some weird reason? Hang on, there aren't any clocks around either, so how do the people here tell time?

"Notice. In your previous life, the concept of time is measured by seconds, minutes, and hours. In this realm, seconds are known as Ticks. Minutes are knowns as Tocks and hours are called Chimes. Thus, their 'nine o'clock in the night' is known as the Ninth Chime at night."

Ah, that was interesting to note. So far, the novel doesn't say anything about how the characters refer to time. Sure, the author does write things like ' the spell took a few hours '... But it's for the reader to understand how time was passing, not the characters.

"What time do you sleep? It shouldn't be so bad..."

"I can stay up to the Fourth Chime... In the morning...." whispered Bryan, twiddling his fingers.

That's... Four... IN THE MORNING?! 4 a.m... I'll be in deep sleep by then. How, isn't he human?! My jaw dropped as I blinked rapidly. I guess insomnia does exist in this realm as well.

"Yea, that's why I'd rather leave you alone to get some rest."

I quickly leaned over, in an attempt to grab onto Bryan's arms. Luckily, he stopped before I could reach him. Or else, I would've spilled the soup.

"I'm a bit like you as well, not so bad but I do have trouble sleeping. I could only sleep when my baby brother has fallen asleep. Thus, my body clock is pretty bad. I can stay up late as well," I explained.

I was hoping for him to get the hint to not leave me alone. But in truth, I felt guilty because I planned to use him to gather more information before joining the Mages. I needed to know more about working for the Arks before deciding to join them.

So far, based on this fella's recount, the Arks are like the government for all Mages. So far, any being with Magecraft is allowed to join, even humans. But they aren't a very pure organization, making approaches to the Underworld first before the actual leaders.

The Founders of this organization knew what to do and how to control the masses. Even if it meant doing under-the-table deals or going onto a rocky path before a smooth road. I applaud them for doing that since humans fear the terrors of the Underworld most.