Rowan was stunned, her mocking face suddenly stiffening. She hurriedly looked back at Sable.

  Sable still looked dazed at Theo, then made a sound:

  "Yes."

  She admitted—she didn't like moving her neck too much because it still throbbed with pain.

  Theo nodded, appearance professional like a doctor. He reached to touch the faint purple bruise on Sable's neck. With just a few light touches, he'd identified the problem: ligaments were being compressed into the cervical joint causing mild swelling.

  He assessed: because Sable's physique was too good, symptoms weren't severe; perhaps after some time more serious problems would occur, or it would heal itself—anyway he wasn't yet clear how capable people of this world were.

  He had Sable sit down, went behind her, carefully adjusted position for a moment. His two hands grasped her jawbone and neck, then used gentle and decisive force.

  "Crack."

  A small, dry sound rang out as the cervical joint was released, freeing the compressed ligament.

  He released his hands and told Sable to try moving her neck. She was extremely surprised seeing the pain had completely vanished, neck moving smoothly as if never injured.

  Theo still maintained calm appearance, not wavering at all before Sable's surprise.

  He took out a small, transparent recovery essence bottle from his equipment bag. Gentle herbal scent spread.

  "You can gently apply this solution," Theo continued.

  He very naturally extended his hand to gently apply essence to Sable's bruised neck area quickly and gently. His action was gentle and nimble, everything as if very normal—making both Sable and Rowan stare blankly unable to react.

  The purple bruise on Sable's neck seemed to fade slightly right after the essence absorbed into skin.

  Sable had been dazed by Theo's decisive and effective intervention, but disciplined instinct made her quickly regain control.

  She took a deep breath, soundlessly, and jerked slightly away from Theo—just a small but clear movement, showing discomfort with the just-intimate contact. Her large blue eyes stared fixedly at Theo, no longer dazed, but a sharp focus mixed with suspicion.

  She raised her hand to lightly touch the just-treated neck area, then let it drop. Her voice was dry, only one single word uttered like confirmation:

  "...Thank you."

  Brief words, emotionless but enough to show reluctant recognition of his capability.

  Sable was somewhat at a loss before Theo's decisive silence and the unexpected relief spreading on her neck. Her personality didn't like owing anything, even to teammates.

  Precisely because of that, though neck pain still throbbed after Rowan treated it, she had cleverly used her face covering scarf to conceal it, not wanting to bother further.

  Currently, she felt extremely awkward looking at Theo, mind somewhat not knowing how to handle this situation.

  Rowan immediately understood that awkwardness of her friend. She stepped closer, placing hand on Sable's shoulder sympathetically, then completely shifted tone to teasing when turning to Theo:

  "Hey young man," Rowan said, "Sable wants to thank you, not just with words."

  Rowan winked, creating ambiguous atmosphere, but tone was full of joking and provocation:

  "Do you want anything? A kiss perhaps?"

  Theo frowned lightly—this was somewhat outside his expectations. Honestly speaking, he was somewhat at a loss what to want.

  If it were Rowan, everything would be easy—he could just request Rowan teach him how to use mental force probing. But Sable... he glanced at her once more, feeling an unusually vague sensation.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  A few seconds slow, when his silence made both Rowan and Sable wait expectantly, Theo suddenly caught a strange fragrance.

  It was a deep woody scent, warm and gently sweet, but carried a hint of passing mint, creating a gently refreshing feeling but not as strong as mint.

  This fragrance emanated from Sable—a somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar scent, the scent of wood essential oil seemingly sandalwood but with some difference; in his past life he really liked these fragrances.

  Very quickly, he noticed the wood piece Sable wore at her chest. It wasn't large, only about a thumb's size, but was the source of the fragrance.

  Decided, Theo immediately asked, voice gentle:

  "Would that wood piece be okay? If not, I can want something else."

  Sable was completely surprised. She had prepared mentally to respond to a request about gold, information, or some tactical promise—but not a personal item, especially the source of fragrance.

  She looked stunned at Theo, then bowed her head looking at the small wood piece on her chest. This wood piece was a crude memento she had taken from the forest after completing her first mission with Night Hawks. It carried more spiritual meaning than value.

  "Why?" Sable asked, her voice dry—not objection, but a question carrying purely analytical nature. She wanted to understand the unusual motive behind that request.

  However, before Theo's decisive silence, the principle of not owing debts won over personal hesitation and memorial value.

  She quickly removed the leather cord from her neck.

  "It's just a useless piece of wood," Sable said, voice somewhat low, as if defending the low value of the item to reduce this exchange.

  She placed the wood piece in Theo's palm. Her action was decisive, to resolve the debt as quickly as possible.

  Rowan burst out laughing. Her laughter echoed in the camp's silent air, carrying refreshment and a bit of cheerful teasing.

  "Oh the powers! The most foolish kid I've ever met!" Rowan laughed until she had to hold her stomach. Her voice was openly teasing:

  "He traded a condition from Sable just to get a trivial piece of wood! What a waste, young man!"

  She stepped forward to pat Theo's shoulder, eyes sparkling with curiosity at Theo's complexity:

  "Wonderful! Young man, you just exceeded all my speculation limits!"

  Theo still maintained absolute silence before Rowan's noisy teasing. He held the small wood piece in his palm, feeling its roughness.

  The distinctive fragrance—the combination of deep, gently sweet wood with a hint of passing mint and Sable's subtle body scent—had made him somewhat hesitant.

  He was an archer. Wearing anything fragrant would seriously affect his ability to conceal and smell during missions.

  But this fragrance... Theo really liked it very much. It evoked memories of past life, and he recognized it helped his mind relax more after exhausting and tense calculation moments. It was a rare and reasonable mental need.

  After a moment's calculation, Theo made the optimal decision: he would craft the wood piece into a small earring.

  This choice was very practical, because according to Oakhaven's evil-warding custom, boys wore a small wood piece piercing through the left ear, girls the right ear until age 10.

  The piercing hole already existed.

  With the ear hole already present, Theo didn't need to create additional wounds and could craft an earring with an easy-to-remove mechanism.

  This way, he could wear it during non-mission times or rest periods, and remove it immediately when absolute discretion was needed.

  Theo caressed the wood piece in his hand, corner of his lips curving into a rare genuine smile. This small wood piece wasn't just spoils from teasing, but also an invisible bridge bringing him back to old memories.

  Rowan was somewhat bored seeing Theo completely ignoring her, despite just being publicly teased by her. She snorted lightly, pulling Sable into the tent.

  "Leave that foolish kid standing there," Rowan said softly, voice full of dissatisfaction but sparkling eyes still full of teasing. "Let's go to sleep."

  Theo paid no attention to Rowan. He carefully stored the wood piece, then joined Liam who had just finished cleaning the dishes. Anyway, midnight would be his turn to guard—Theo needed to maximize time.

  Of course, both didn't skip the mandatory Mana absorption task. But because they didn't bring the necessary Endurance Incense and Tranquil Mint Cakes to prolong the state, Theo and Liam could only absorb Mana for about 30 minutes then immediately rest, needing to wake at midnight.

  The oak forest night had swallowed all sounds and light, leaving only the campfire flickering dimly in the camp. The veil of night thicker, carrying damp cold mist.

  Theo woke under Ryel's light, precise and professional shake. He didn't say a word, only nodded confirming the mission had been transferred.

  Theo gently crawled out of the tent, feeling somewhat stiff from the too-brief Mana absorption and rest time. He sat down beside the dying fire. Theo slowly added a few dry branches—the flame immediately flared larger, enough to illuminate the surroundings.

  When the camp had quieted again, Theo drew out a small hunting knife from the leather sheath. Then he took out Sable's small wood piece carefully stored. The warm and gently sweet fragrance of wood and mint faintly spread in the cold air.

  Firelight cast onto the rough wood piece. Theo began work. He carefully placed the wood piece on a flat rock, using the small hunting knife tip to carve, planning to divide the wood piece into two small earrings—one to use and one for backup.

  A faint rustling sound rang out behind Theo. Right after was familiar footsteps. Theo didn't need to turn around to know it was Liam. He continued carving wood concentratedly.

  Liam came beside Theo, not saying a word. He hugged his Zaravand short spear, sat down next to Theo then took out the oil flask at his side, slowly applying maintenance oil to the spear.

  The shadows of the two stretched long on the damp ground, swaying under flickering campfire light. The crackling sound of burning wood, gentle fragrance from the wood piece Theo was sculpting, and steady insect sounds ringing from the oak

  forest created a silent symphony of night.

  Tonight was full of stars.