The bells rang.
"How long have you been in Lord Cyran's service?" Noah asked.
Lisa didn't blink.
"Two years," she said. Calm. Collected. Impossibly composed.
"Lord Cyran has allowed me to defeat multiple world-ending threats. I have been able to deal with every single one."
She lifted her cup of tea with perfect grace, steam curling softly around her face.
"World-ending threats?" Noah asked.
Lisa exhaled through her nose, blowing on her tea.
"Liv. The ultimate evil. The most sinister man Lythen has ever seen."
Noah tilted his head. "…What even is your job?"
Lisa didn't hesitate.
"I am Lord Cyran's emergency defence force."
"Defence force?" Noah raised a brow. "How many of you are there?"
She finished her cup of tea, set it down gently.
"Just me.
And that is all there needs to be."
Noah stared.
Cold. Calm. Collected. Beautiful. Mature. Elegant.
Eyes sharp enough to slice his soul in half.
"That's scary," he muttered.
"Compared to what you are, I think I am quite normal," she said.
"You're an Astreion."
Noah sighed.
And then—
A spider the size of an ant crawled across the wooden table.
Noah didn't react.
He simply rested his chin on his hand, bored.
Then—
SCREAM.
Noah blinked.
Lisa was on the other side of the shop.
Not elegant.
Not composed.
Not collected.
She was shaking.
Her breathing rapid.
Hands trembling as she pressed herself against the wall.
Noah looked at the spider.
Then at her.
"Wait… are you scared of spi—"
"Of COURSE I am!" she shouted, voice cracking.
"They are vile creatures — ugly — gross — disgusting!"
She clutched her chest, trying desperately to control her heartbeat.
Noah started laughing — a real laugh, unexpected, rough, almost foreign to him.
"So you can fight world-ending threats," he said between breaths, "but you're afraid of… a spider?"
He picked it up casually as it crawled across his hand.
Lisa froze in horror.
"Noah — don't.
Don't you DARE—"
He took two steps toward her.
She screamed again, grabbed the nearest table, and threw it at him so hard the wood exploded on impact.
He didn't even react — just laughed harder.
"…You're not as scary as I thought," he muttered.
Lisa glared, humiliated, trembling, trying to stand straight and regain even a scrap of dignity.
Noah smiled softly.
For the first time, he felt warm.