SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant-Chapter 471: Before the Visitors Arrive [II]

Arden lowered the paper the rest of the way and looked at Trafalgar properly. The surprise on his face lasted only a second before it turned into something warmer. "Trafalgar! It’s been a while since you came by." His eyes moved over him quickly, as if checking for damage without making it obvious. "How’ve you been, boy? Nothing happened to you, I hope."

Trafalgar stopped in front of him. "I’m fine." His gaze shifted for a moment, then returned to Arden. "I should apologize for what happened to Garrika."

The older man’s expression changed at once. Not anger, but something heavier. Garrika was as close to a daughter as he had, and that much was obvious in the way the silence sat between them for a brief second. "It was her decision to follow you," Arden said at last. "She’s not a child anymore, Trafalgar. Even if I’ll keep worrying about her anyway." He let out a quiet breath through his nose. "She made it back alive. That’s what matters. She’s doing better now." He tilted his head toward the inside. "She’s in the back helping Marella in the kitchen."

Trafalgar nodded once. "I’m glad things are alright here."

"They are." Arden looked at him a little more carefully. "You need something?"

"Yeah. I need an empty room for a while. I have to meet some important people today."

That was enough for Arden to straighten slightly. He had seen that look in Trafalgar’s eyes before. "Of course," he said. "Go in first. Greet Marella and the others. I’ll get a room ready."

"Thanks."

Rhosyn, who had stayed quiet until then, gave Arden a polite nod. "Hello."

Arden blinked once, then nodded back with surprising ease. "Welcome."

The two of them stepped inside, and Trafalgar headed toward the back without slowing. The familiar warmth of the interior reached him quickly, along with the smell of food and the sound of activity coming from behind.

Marella was where Arden said she would be, focused on the cooking with her grey hair tied back neatly. Garrika stood beside her wearing an apron, her wolf ears and tail drawing the eye immediately. Nearby, Ronan and Sylven were handling other things, but all of them looked up the moment Trafalgar entered.

The reaction was immediate. Ronan and Sylven came over first, both smiling as they greeted him with firm handshakes. Marella turned fully, her face brightening at once before she pulled him into a warm embrace. "How have you been, boy?"

"Fine," Trafalgar answered, and for once his voice came out lighter than usual.

Only Garrika stayed where she was. She looked at him, clearly surprised, but didn’t approach like the others had. The distance wasn’t large, but it was there, enough to notice.

Rhosyn took all of it in quietly. These people were different. Trafalgar’s expression around them was not the same one he wore among nobles, merchants, and all the others who kept trying to circle around him. There was still restraint in him, still that natural coldness, but here it softened at the edges.

’So that’s how he is,’ she thought. ’Warm with those he considers his own. Cold with everyone else.’

A moment later, Arden appeared again by the doorway. "Follow me, Trafalgar."

Arden led them down a quieter part of the building, away from the main noise of the kitchen and the front of the shop. The room he opened for them was simple but private. As soon as they stepped inside, Trafalgar looked at him. "If someone arrives looking for me, send them here immediately."

Arden waited.

"Long hair, violet eyes, and... a peculiar presence. You’ll notice."

That was enough. Arden straightened slightly and stepped out, closing the door behind him.

For a short while the room remained quiet. Rhosyn took in the space with one glance before settling near one side of the table. Trafalgar stayed standing, his mind split between the place he was in and the person he was waiting for. Even now he could not fully predict what kind of presence would walk through that door.

A knock came sooner than expected. When the door opened, it was Garrika. She carried drinks for them, one in each hand, and stepped inside with a quieter energy than the one Trafalgar remembered from before. The apron was still on her, and her wolf ears twitched slightly as she entered. "I brought something while you wait."

Trafalgar looked at her properly. "How are you?"

Garrika paused, then set the drinks down. Instead of answering immediately, she lifted the edge of her shirt just enough to show him the scar. It cut across part of her side, already healed but still too fresh-looking to ignore.

Silence settled. "I’m fine," she said. "But it left that."

Trafalgar kept looking at the scar a moment longer than he probably should have. Not because of anything else, but because seeing the proof of it there on her body made the memory of the war feel more direct than before. When Garrika noticed his gaze lingering, she grew visibly more self-conscious. Before, she would have teased him the moment she caught him looking. Now there was none of that. Just a small stiffness in her shoulders and a hesitation that had not been there before.

"I can still move well," she said, a little too quickly. "So it’s not a big problem."

Trafalgar finally looked back at her face. "You should still be resting. It hasn’t been that long."

Garrika lowered her shirt again. "My bloodline helps. I recover faster than humans do." Then, after a small pause, she glanced toward Rhosyn. "Can I sit?"

"Go ahead."

She sat down, then seemed to realize she had not said anything to the other woman yet. "I’m Garrika," she said, a little awkwardly. "Nice to meet you."

Rhosyn accepted the offered hand without issue. "Rhosyn. I’m a friend of Trafalgar."

The two women released hands, and a small silence followed, careful rather than uncomfortable. Trafalgar let it sit for a moment, his eyes shifting once toward the door.

The person he was actually waiting for had still not arrived.