Saturday.
Felix slept until nearly noon, and when he finally opened his eyes, he lay there for a few seconds before remembering what day it was.
"Saturday..." A smile spread across his face.
"No work." He rolled over and buried his face in the pillow. "This is what happiness feels like."
For the next several hours he did nothing productive, cooked a late lunch, played a few rounds of some game, tidied the apartment, then made a mess of it again looking for something he’d misplaced.
By late afternoon he decided to go outside, wanting to walk through the market.
Valemont City’s weekend market was always crowded, families wandering between shops, vendors shouting their offers, awakened heroes moving through the streets in plain clothes.
Felix walked with his hands in his pockets, stopping at one food stall, then another, working through a skewer and then something else. He looked down at the empty plate in his hand.
"Maybe I should stop eating." He glanced toward another stall. "...After this one."
He kept walking until he passed a bookstore and slowed. His eyes drifted to the window, to the rows of novels in the display, and a face came to mind. A quiet woman sitting in a cell. A stack of psychology books beside her.
I like reading.
He stood there a moment. "Seraphina..." The bookstore had reminded him of her. He looked through the glass again, then sighed.
"Fine."
He went inside.
The shopkeeper looked up. "Looking for something?"
"Not particularly."
Felix wandered the shelves, picked up a mystery novel, read the description, and put it back. A historical mystery caught his eye next, he remembered how fast Seraphina had picked apart the last historian’s bias, and smiled to himself. "She’d probably complain about this one too."
He bought it anyway.
A psychological thriller seemed appropriate enough to add to the stack, and on his way to the counter a philosophical novel caught his eye as well. Three books.
The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow as he rang them up. "Reading material for the weekend?"
"Something like that."
Felix paid and left, then he went home, cooked dinner, watched a movie, and fell asleep without much trouble.
Sunday was quieter. Felix woke up late again, spent the morning doing nothing in particular, and by afternoon was starting to feel restless.
He was halfway through deciding whether to order food when his phone rang — Cassian.
He answered immediately, and his older brother’s face appeared on the screen.
"Felix."
"Cassian."
"You look lazy."
Felix laughed. "How’s everything at home?"
Cassian sighed. "Loud."
"Loud?"
Before he could explain, a deep growl rumbled from somewhere behind him, followed by a crash loud enough to make Felix flinch.
"...What was that?"
Cassian didn’t even turn around. "Nothing."
Another growl echoed through the house.
Felix narrowed his eyes. "Cassian."
"Yes?"
"Is there a magical beast in your house?"
"Several."
A large, furry creature ambled past the doorway behind him, as if to confirm it. Felix watched it disappear from frame. "...Since when?"
"Elara brought them home."
"Of course she did."
His sister-in-law was an S-rank tamer, and her profession came with one predictable side effect: her house occasionally filled up with magical beasts. Something chirped strangely upstairs, and something else answered it with a low roar.
"Are they dangerous?"
Cassian laughed. "They’re fine. Elara has them under control."
As if summoned by the conversation, Elara’s voice carried in from another room.
"Cassian! Don’t let that one near the kitchen!"
His expression changed instantly. "Why?"
"Because it ate the table yesterday!"
Felix burst out laughing while Cassian rubbed his forehead. "You find this funny?"
A crash sounded from upstairs, followed by Elara shouting something unintelligible.
Cassian just sighed, and Felix shook his head, still grinning. The conversation drifted toward family after that.
"How’s the baby?"
Cassian smiled. "Growing."
"And you’re ready?"
"Anyone who says they’re ready to raise a child is lying."
Cassian laughed, and they talked a while longer before he finally asked, "So, how’s that rehabilitation program?"
Felix shrugged. "Interesting."
"Are you actually enjoying it?"
"Strangely...yes."
Cassian raised an eyebrow.
"That’s surprising."
"Yeah." Felix leaned back against the sofa. "I thought I’d hate it. Turns out, it’s not as boring as I expected."
Cassian studied him through the screen.
Before Cassian could push further, another beast growled somewhere in the house, and he glanced over his shoulder. "I have to go."
"Go save your furniture."
"Very funny."
The call ended, and Felix set his phone down on the table. For a moment he just sat there.
Monday morning came too quickly. Felix arrived at the Hero Association operations center and immediately noticed something unusual, the mission board wasn’t showing a gate assignment. Instead, a single operation notice filled the central screen.
SPECIAL CRIMINAL SUPPRESSION OPERATION
He raised an eyebrow. "Well, that’s different."
His team was already assembled, Aria at the front, Darius beside her, Kael looking half-asleep, Lena looking ready to yell at him, and Ryan, Mira, Orion, and the rest checking their equipment.
Aria turned to face them. "We’ve been assigned a suppression mission."
Kael’s eyes lit up. "So no gate?"
"No gate."
He smiled. "Excellent."
Lena stared at him. "You realize we’re fighting criminals, right?"
His smile vanished. "...Oh."
Felix chuckled as Aria pulled up the mission briefing. A map appeared. "Our target is an organized criminal syndicate operating across several eastern districts.
" The display shifted to show multiple locations. "They’ve been trafficking mana cores, illegal weapons, and restricted enhancement drugs."
Darius crossed his arms. "And recently, they’ve started kidnapping awakened children with promising talents."
Felix’s expression hardened. "That’s enough."
Aria nodded. "The Association’s been investigating them for months. We finally located their primary headquarters." The image changed to show a large underground facility.
"Our objective is to infiltrate the compound, subdue the syndicate members, rescue any captives, secure evidence, and capture the leadership alive."
Kael raised a hand.
"Yes?"
"What if they don’t cooperate?"
Darius answered before Aria could. "Then we convince them."
Felix glanced at him. "With what?"
"My fists."
"Ah." Diplomatic, as ever.
Aria continued. "Most of their combat personnel are awakened. Several are confirmed A-rank threats."
There was a difference, he thought, between fighting monsters and fighting people.
Monsters didn’t surrender, didn’t lie, didn’t hide behind civilians, didn’t beg for mercy after years of hurting others. People did all of that.
He picked up his gear.
"Move out," Aria said, and the team started toward the transport area, Felix falling in behind them.