Chapter 42: Arriving at the Guild
When he smiled at them, as if he could feel their gazes, their hearts beat faster. And something new—unsettling, intimate, dangerous—began to bloom inside them.
Something that, with time... would flourish.
The meal passed peacefully. The atmosphere seemed more fragrant and sweet, as if the scents mingled with the hidden thoughts of each of the women present. There were smiles, but also heavy silences. There was desire in the midst of breakfast, but it was subtle, pulsing like an underground current that refused to fade. Each of them—Astrid, Isis, Stella, Sylvia, Zia, and Sofia—was immersed in her own contemplation, trying to digest not just the food... but also the feelings growing in their hearts.
Desire. Longing. Attachment.
No matter how much they tried to maintain composure, the young man at the center of it all had become the new gravitational point of their lives. He had become... inevitable.
Finally, once everyone was satisfied—at least physically—it was time to begin the day. But this wasn’t just the start of another routine morning. It was a milestone. A turning point. An invisible transition that would leave emotional scars on everyone there.
Not only in Aziz’s life, but also in the life of each woman around him.
Today was the day he would finally become an adventurer. The day he would, for the first time, step beyond the limits of familial protection and into the vast, unpredictable outside world.
Aziz, leaning comfortably back in his chair, felt the firm presence of Astrid and Isis on either side of him—like two forces that had always been by his side, and now had become the hardest bonds to leave behind. And yet, a vibrant, electrifying excitement surged through his body. He couldn’t contain the gleam in his eyes, the restlessness in his hands, the faint smile that insisted on forming on his lips.
"So... now that we’re done eating, can we go to the guild?" he asked, his voice overflowing with youthful enthusiasm, but with a hint of mature resolve.
However, the moment those words left his mouth, the mood at the table changed.