Liam stood still for a moment, his red eyes closed as he took a deep, steadying breath. The air was thick with the scent of spilled broth and the smoky aftermath of the ruined stall. His pale skin prickled with the tension that hung in the air, a palpable force that seemed to press against him from all sides. He stepped carefully around the mess, his heavy boots crunching on the debris underfoot.

Liam stepped carefully around the puddle of soup, his heavy boots crunching on the debris. He approached the bear-man with the unhurried, measured pace of a man walking to his mailbox.

He reached out and placed a large, pale hand flat on the bear-man’s broad, armored shoulder.

The bear-man spun around, chest puffed out, a guttural roar ripping from his throat. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING YO—"

"Absorb."

Liam didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t even sound annoyed. He sounded like a guy turning off a loud television.

The bear-man didn’t get to finish his syllable. He simply ceased to exist in the three-dimensional plane. One moment, he was a towering, three-hundred-pound monument of guild arrogance; the next, he was compressed into a neat little packet of data and sucked directly into Liam’s gauntlet.

For a full two seconds, the plaza was a vacuum of sound. Then, absolute, screaming mayhem erupted.

Shouts filled the air, a screeching of fear and confusion that echoed off the stone walls of the dungeon entrance. But amidst it all, Liam stood still, an island of calm in a sea of chaos.

He tucked the entire six-foot structure under his arm like a rolled-up Sunday newspaper and turned to Elizabeth.

She was standing exactly where she’d been before. Sword half-drawn, knuckles white around the hilt, her pink hair slightly wind-tossed from the sheer displacement shockwave of a man being erased from reality. Her mouth was open. Not speaking. Just... a perfect, silent ’O’.

Liam tilted his head, his wolf ears flicking forward in mild confusion. "Alright. Time to go."

Elizabeth blinked, once, then twice. Her jaw worked soundlessly for a full second before she snapped it shut, rammed her sword back into its sheath with enough force to threaten the leather, and shook her head hard enough to scatter pink strands across her face.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Fine, great."

"And you just... Tupperware’d him," she whispered, casting a frantic glance around. "You sent him to the shadow realm because he broke a table and your soup?"

"He was standing on my ingredients," Liam said, his voice flat and entirely practical. He looked down at her, his red eyes narrowing slightly. "You okay? You’re flushed."

"I’m not flushed. It’s the dungeon lighting," she snapped, her cat ears pinning back in a way that always betrayed how flustered she actually was. "Whatever. Guy had it coming. You don’t mess with a man’s soup."

"Mm." Liam went quiet for a moment. Then, his voice dropped into that low, gravelly rumble that settled somewhere behind her ribs. "Thanks for staying."

Elizabeth’s boot caught on absolutely nothing. It was a completely flat piece of stone, but her foot snagged the air itself, and the stumble was undeniable.

"I wasn’t staying for you," she said, the words flying out of her mouth entirely too fast, her breath hitching.

The crowd went still. Every player within thirty meters stood frozen, staring at the empty space where a six-foot bear-man had been standing two seconds ago.

Then the noise hit, screaming, shouting, another player already recording for their stream highlight reel.

Liam didn’t look at any of them.

Liam looked down at her. That slight head tilt returned, his ears angled forward, the tiniest ghost of a crease at the corner of his mouth.

"I’ll make you the French toast?"

And Elizabeth, who was usually confident and direct, took no shit. Elizabeth felt her entire defence system dissolve like a sugar cube in boiling water.

"Fine," she muttered, pulling her hood down to hide her burning face. "But I want extra portions."

They started walking back to the main fountain in town, and Liam was holding her hand.

Liam navigated the bustling square, dodging elbows and whispers.

Ahead, Rogue brandished a battered tin cup, rattling it at indifferent passersby. Beside him, Fridge, the pint-sized frozen lich boss, wobbled on a rolling ball, dressed in a jester outfit.

"Rogue," Liam called, a dry smile tugging at his lips, "creative as always."

Elizabeth sighed, sinking onto a nearby bench, shaking her head.

Fridge, focused on balancing, glanced up and spotted Liam. Panic flared in its hollow eyes, and it toppled off the ball with a clatter.

"KEEP PERFORMING! RENT DOESN’T PAY ITSELF!" Rogue jabbed Fridge with a stick.

The fridge trembled behind Rogue’s legs. "H-h-he’ll eat me! Like he did the king!"

Liam crouched, eyeing Fridge with feigned consideration. "Relax. You’re safe. For now, unless we run low on snacks."

Elizabeth leaned forward, eyes glinting mischievously. "I’m not hungry. Unless you’re surprisingly tasty. Your king was... delicious, by the way."

The fridge quivered, and Rogue smacked the tin cup against his palm.

"No turning the fridge into a cocktail, and don’t feed the fridge the lich boss drink. Cannibalism isn’t profitable."

Liam raised an eyebrow, peering at the pitiful coins in Rogue’s cup before glancing at his HUD: 3,000 gold coins and counting. "How much are you short?"

Rogue’s eyes glittered with desperation. "About ughhh 2k gold." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

[TOOL TIP: THE LICH CIRCUS PROTOCOL]

Status: Rent Due in 24 Hours.

The "Rogue" Business Model: Forcing a tiny, frozen lich boss ([Fridge]) to balance on a rolling ball while wearing a jester costume is a Tier-1 [Desperate Hustle]. The system notes that the profit margin on high-tier boss humiliation is currently 3 coppers an hour.

Condition [Traumatized Frozen Asset]: Fridge is currently suffering from severe [Post-Traumatic King Disorder]. Seeing Liam—the man who literally butchered his master—causes an immediate 99% balance penalty and a localized shivering hazard.

The Cannibalism Clause: Elizabeth’s comment about the King being "delicious" has inflicted 400% Morale Damage to Fridge. The Lich Boss is now fully convinced he is next on the brunch menu.