“Act natural,” Farem whispered, then shouted, “Oh my!”, pointing to a clothes stall, “Would you look at that! A radiant, violet-purple cloak is on sale. And from what I can see…” He pulled Aria over to the item, scanning its enchantments. “It’s got [Illusion], [Shadow Robe], and [Waterproof]!”

“Good eye, sir!” The stall merchant gave a thumbs-up. “The most legendary cloak of this region! Woven from the finest [Shadowsilk] and enchanted by our finest mages!”

As the guardsmen approached, Aria looked away, hoping the cloak’s hood had hidden her whole face. Then, the void queen put on the fakest, most singsongy voice she could make.

“Huh?! How did you find this?! I swear I’ve never seen these three enchantments together in one cloak! Whoaaaaa!!!”

She cringed internally at how weird her voice sounded. Even the guards cringed, too, wrinkling their noses while rubbing their eyes.

“Heh.” He tapped his sharp, blue eyes. “Level up your [Detection], darling…” His voice lowered. “...and your acting.”

“Jerk.” She turned away from him, crossing her arms, thankful that [Conceal] had hidden her embarrassed face. “It’s not like you have enough gold coins for it anyway…”

Farem whipped out a bulging bag of coins from his [Inventory], grinning widely from ear to ear.

She closed her eyes and pulled down her hood even further, trying hard to hide her blush. “Of course, I have expected this all along. You did not surprise me!”

“Sure,” he grinned even harder.

The guards scratched their heads, unsure if they should interrupt the romantic banter. The merchant glanced at the guards, smiling as he said, “Hello, there! Would you perhaps be interested in…?”

While they were distracted, the dark lady pulled her husband out of there. Relieved, she twirled around, adorning her new purple cloak in one flash that shimmered with shadows. She was really glad it had [Waterproof]—rain was annoying even to the former Dark Lord. “Thank you,” she said sheepishly, holding Farem’s hand in hers. 

“No prob.” Farem came to a stop. “And here we are. The Blue Lobster Guild!”

No one could mistake the Blue Lobster Guild, with its massive lobster logo above the entrance and a huge lobster statue next to the doors, blue paint peeling from its claws. When Farem still traversed the land as a bumbling E-Rank adventurer, he had thought it was a seafood tavern.

“Haven’t seen this place in ages!” Farem said, shielding his eyes from the sunlight as he gazed at the building.

“Have you been here before?” Aria asked.

“Of course! Their intel is always top-notch. From town gossip, powerful allies, and grand quests that lead you to mythical landmarks, the Lobster Guild can provide anything you want.”

A man opened the door and walked out. He looked like a normal swordsman. But when he glanced her way, Aria stiffened. Had he noticed her? She quickly pulled down her hood. The man raised his brow and kept walking. Phew. That was close. Scanning the crowd of people inside the Guild’s windows, Aria turned to Farem, shyly lifting the hood of her cloak, and asked, “How do I look?”

“Pretty.”

“No, idiot! I’m asking how I look under [Illusion]! I don’t want another situation like at the gates! That guard’s [Detection] was high enough to see through my [Conceal] enchanted cloak,” she said, recalling the guard’s comment on her paleness. “If he hadn’t accepted that bribe, we’d be surrounded right now!”

“You look fine.” He planted a kiss on her nose. “Brown hair. Normal-looking human skin. But I can’t mistake those pure-white eyes anywhere… even if [Illusion] had dyed them hazel.”

She studied the crowd behind them before responding. No suspicious stares yet. Finally, she gave up trying to hide her blush. “I hate you…” Aria muttered, playfully yanking his cape closer to her. Then she softly pressed her lips against his, tasting the faint traces of cream he’d stolen from earlier, while caressing his smooth, silky hair. When she was finished, Farem was flushing redder than she. “I said I’d punish you, didn’t I?” she cooed.

“Wow, uh, oh my god. Gosh, goodness me,” he said, hot smoke pouring out of his ears. His pupils swirled as Farem stumbled on his feet, nearly collapsing like a ragdoll in her arms. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” he whispered his last words.

She ran her hand along his stubbled chin, slowly turning worried. “Where is your [Illusion] enchanted cloak? Don’t you think people will recognize you, Mr. Hero?”

“They won’t,” Farem smiled. “I’ve got a few white hairs.”

Aria shook her head, unconvinced.

“It’s okay. It’s been a long while,” Farem patted her head reassuringly. “Many guys have blond hair and blue eyes, so I’ll blend in. Let’s go inside, love.”

Too reckless. But Aria had trusted him this far. She sighed and opened the doors. They marched into the Guild, not holding hands this time—the fewer eyes on them, the better. Aria began counting. Fifty-three adventurers in the lobby. Two of them exuded enough mana to worry her.

“Excuse me, miss,” Farem said to the receptionist. “Can you lead us to the Private Information Board?”

The girl adjusted her glasses, scanning the couple up and down, and replied, “Are you two in a party?”

“Yep.” Farem nodded. “My partner and I.”

“What rank are you two?” she asked, pulling out a list of names and ranks.

“E-Rank!” he said, beaming a charming smile.

“Uh, oh.” Aria sighed into her palm. Of course, Farem would make things up as he went along. Honestly, they had been married for five years now—she wasn’t new to his shtick. Aria tensed up, watching the receptionist’s eyes and hands like a hawk, ready to flee at any time.

“Well, it appears you two aren’t registered at our Guild,” said the receptionist, reading the list. “Furthermore, only S-Rankers can use our Private Info Board.”

“Oopsie! Should have thought of that.” Farem scratched his head, grinning brightly. The receptionist simply sighed. Another newbie.

“I thought you were registered here? Isn’t this your Guild?” Aria questioned, her eyes blazing with urgency.

“Nope.” His voice dropped to a mumble. “I only came across this Guild in my journey. I think they were so accommodating back then because I was the Hero. But since we’re in hiding, I don’t have that privilege.”

“Oh, dear… Where even is your Guild anyway?”

“It’s a bit far from here.” Farem shrugged apologetically. “And I can’t just saunter in there. I kinda got exiled…”

Exiled? Aria tilted her head all the way to the side. As in… “banished”?

What did he do?