After walking Ava back, Lucien headed toward Edric’s house.
He still had business related to Seren’s purification treatment, which, honestly, he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about.
Lucien let out a quiet sigh and shook his head slightly, pushing those thoughts aside for now.
By the time he reached Coppergate Lane, the familiar ache in his ribs had dulled into something manageable. He quickly made his way toward the section where Edric lived before stopping in front of the building and knocking on the door.
“Lucien Mordren.”
A moment later, footsteps approached from inside before the door opened to reveal Edric.
“Lucien!” the merchant greeted warmly, stepping aside at once. “Come in, come in.”
“Excuse me.”
Lucien stepped inside and followed Edric toward the living room.
Seren was already sitting there waiting.
Despite her usually calm, expressionless demeanor, there was a faint trace of worry visible in her face the moment she looked at him. Relief quickly followed right after—only for her brows to knit slightly once she noticed the condition of his clothes.
“Lucien, are you alright?”
Lucien gave a faint smile.
“Just a few injuries from the earlier fight. I think I’m mostly fine now.”
Seren straightened slightly in her seat. “Could I at least check properly? You might’ve missed something.” After a brief pause, she gestured toward the drink sitting on the table. “Ah, and you can try this too. It’s supposed to help calm the nerves and reduce mental fatigue. I figured you might need it since your work as a scout is probably pretty stressful.”
Lucien glanced at the table.
Several glasses had already been prepared, clearly arranged with a third person in mind.
“Thanks for making one for me.”
He didn’t bother with ceremony and took a sip immediately.
The taste hit him strangely at first—bitter, herbal, and honestly unpleasant enough to make his expression twitch slightly. But the aftertaste spread warmth through his body immediately, easing some of the lingering tension in his muscles and clearing part of the exhaustion clouding his head.
“…What is this?”
A small smile appeared on Seren’s face.
“Moonmint infusion,” she replied. “Mixed with dried silverleaf and a few other things.”
“Huh…” Lucien glanced down at the drink again with mild interest. “I’ve always been curious about stuff like this, but I never really had the time to learn.”
“You could always ask me,” Seren said softly. “I’d be happy to share what I know.”
Lucien chuckled faintly.
“Heh. Aren’t you worried someone might use that knowledge to become your competitor?”
“To become an alchemist, simply knowing the formulas isn’t nearly enough for someone to truly be called one,” Seren replied calmly. “There’s ingredient handling, refinement control, heat regulation, contamination management, compatibility balancing… and most importantly, experience.”
“Hm.” Lucien leaned back slightly in his seat. “Yeah, those all sound difficult. But think you could teach me a few basic methods at least? As payment for helping with your Corruption, I mean. Even a little knowledge like that would probably help a lot in my line of work.”
“Of course.” Seren gave a small nod without hesitation. “I’d be happy to.”
She looked at him quietly for a few seconds after that, her pale eyes lingering on the exhaustion written across his face.
“You must be tired from work,” she said softly. “We don’t have to do it tonight.”
Lucien immediately understood what she meant.
“Although…” Seren continued after a brief pause, her expression remaining as straightforward as ever despite the words, “I am still curious what would happen if we simply slept naked beside each other without doing anything.”
Something about the combination of her empathy and blunt honesty made Lucien like her.
He let out a chuckle before giving her a grateful smile.
“Thanks for understanding. I’m particularly exhausted today, so… maybe tomorrow instead? Morning and night both, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind.”
From the side, Edric suddenly narrowed his eyes at Lucien’s damaged coat and torn clothes.
“…What exactly happened to you?” he asked. “You look like you fought multiple Stage 4 Hollows.”
His tone was clearly joking, which only made Lucien laugh.
“You’d be surprised,” he replied, shaking his head. “I actually did end up fighting two Stage 4 Hollows because of my terrible luck.”
Both Edric and Seren visibly froze for a second.
“…Excuse me?” Edric stared at him.
“Let me check your injuries immediately,” Seren said at almost the same time, already moving closer.
“How are you still alive?” Edric added.
Their reactions felt completely natural to him.
“Relax, I’m not that badly hurt,” Lucien said, raising a hand slightly to calm them down. “Mostly just my ribs. The pain already eased up after I used a Standard Healing Compound.” He sighed afterward, leaning deeper into the chair. “Though all my vials are gone now except for one Pain Suppression Tincture. And the Deflection Band’s probably dead too after I took a few hits from this massive Stage 4 Hollow Knight.”
“You’re lucky you’re still alive…” Edric muttered under his breath before letting out a long sigh. He rubbed at his forehead once, clearly still trying to process what he had just heard. “I’ll take you to my dwarf friend tomorrow and have the Deflection Band recharged for free.”
Lucien blinked once before giving a faint smile.
“I’d appreciate that.”
Meanwhile, Seren had already moved closer beside Lucien’s chair.
“May I?” she asked quietly, gesturing toward his coat.
Lucien gave a small nod before loosening the damaged outer layer enough for her to inspect the injuries underneath.
Seren’s expression tightened faintly the moment she saw the bruising spreading along the side of his ribs. Dark purple marks had formed beneath the skin, and several thinner scratches crossed his shoulder and thigh where the claws had torn through earlier.
“You call this ‘not badly hurt’?” she asked softly.
Lucien looked down briefly.
“…Compared to how it could’ve gone, yeah.”
Seren didn’t argue with that. Instead, she carefully pressed two fingers against the side of his ribs.
Lucien immediately hissed through his teeth.
“Still hurts?”
“A little.”
“That means it hurts a lot.”
Her tone remained calm and matter-of-fact as always, which made it more embarrassing.
Edric barked out a laugh from the side. “She’s got you figured out already.”
Lucien ignored him.
Seren continued checking carefully after that, her touch gentle but thorough as she inspected the worst of the bruising and the partially healed claw wound on his thigh. Her brows relaxed slightly once she finished.
“Nothing seems life-threatening anymore,” she said at last. “The compound did its job properly. You’ll still need rest, though.”
“Well, that’s the plan,” Lucien muttered.