As if hearing Elizabeth's thoughts, Lombask turned his head in her direction.

Libby’s breath caught in her throat, and heat rushed through her body.

“If you want to ask something, please don’t hesitate,” Lombask said in a tone of complete indifference. “Otherwise, it’s inappropriate.”

“Oh, colleague!” Nomadum beamed, shaking his long dreadlocks. “Come join us.”

“Hello, my name is Elizabeth,” the guide said, stepping closer. Time was pressing – Sophia and Constantin were about to leave.

“I’m Alan,” Nomadum exclaimed warmly.

“Kiraz,” Lombask replied tersely, not looking up from his notebook.

“How long have you two been a duo?” Libby asked with a smirk, trying not to stare too intensely at Kiraz.

“Just made a comment too,” she thought.

“A couple of months-s,” Alan replied. “My stony friend and I are trying to combine the incompatible. To grant his charge a sens-se of sensuality that he lacks.”

“To give him communication skills with dreamy girls, to be precise. That’s far from sensuality, but it’s a good lesson in how not to lose your cool,” Lombask noted something in his notebook and snapped it shut.

“S-sorry, Mr. Stiff,” Nomadum laughed. “It doesn’t take much effort for your charge to lose his cool. Jus-st one unnoticed success at work, and suddenly papers are flying off the des-sk.”

“Apparently, the guy is more sensitive than you might think,” Libby laughed, addressing Alan, but she stopped when Kiraz shot her a reproachful look.

“Shouldn’t you be attending to your charge?” he asked in a parental tone.

“Of course. I just came over to say hello,” Elizabeth nodded.

“You shouldn’t leave him unattended for too long, even if he has an Ephor with him.”

“Aha, s-so that’s where I’ve s-seen that lady,” Alan chuckled. “Now it makes s-sense! You’re the Guide whose oddball started remembering everyt-thing?”

Libby felt uneasy at his words. Her cheeks betrayed her, turning a deep crimson.

“There’s a possibility,” she muttered.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Kiraz said, and even Alan opened his mouth in shock, sticking out his long tongue. “The Community cannot guarantee a hundred percent result. There are always unforeseen circumstances. Ultimately, our job is to solve problems as they arise.”

He looked at his charge, and Libby thought she saw him clench his teeth.

Maybe Lombasks aren’t as impenetrable as she thought.

“Well, it was nice to meet you. Maybe we’ll see each other again,” the Guide nodded kindly.

“That would be nice, Elizabeth,” Alan waved, once again propping his feet up on the table.

“The probability is extremely low,” Kiraz stated.

Libby took one last look at his perfect, textured face and made her way back to Constantin, swaying her hips. All she could do was hope that Lombask would appreciate her sensual, bare-footed walk.

Sophia lay on the bed, listening to the silence around her. Ever since she was assigned to Constantin, her thoughts had become her only companions in the dark. Ephors had no need for sleep or food to sustain themselves; human vices did not affect them. But she enjoyed simulating an ordinary human life, adjusting her daily routine to the schedule of mortals. There was a special atmosphere in this, even if everything seemed like a monochrome harmony of the mundane.

A mundanity in which guides added colorful hues, filling people’s lives with diverse meaning. But the Ephors saw this as a waste of energy.

“Although Libby seems to have gone overboard with the colors,” Sophia thought.

Through the partially open window, the distant rustle of passing dogs and the faint whisper of branches from the shrubs growing beneath it could be heard.