As Theo walked past the gate, his eyes landed on a small stone courtyard with several archery targets set up.
’Someone here uses a bow?’ he thought, raising an eyebrow. ’I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before...’
Before he could think any further about it, the middle-aged man opened the door in front of him.
As Theo stepped inside, he couldn’t help but glance around.
The interior was very simple, rough even.
A large wooden table sat in the center of the living room, surrounded by several chairs that’d clearly seen years of use.
Their kitchen was nothing beyond a few simple tools. Even their television looked like it was from years ago.
’Was Harold truly right about this?’ he thought, raising an eyebrow.
But only a second later, something caught his eye.
Several hand-drawn maps lined the walls, each depicting the area around Petra.
Routes had been drawn across them in different colors, while countless handwritten notes covered the edges in an unfamiliar language.
’He’s been doing this for years,’ Theo quickly realized.
Noticing Theo’s gaze, the middle-aged man smiled faintly.
’’It became a habit,’’ he said with a chuckle. ’’When you’ve guided people through the desert for decades, you start writing even the tiniest details down.’’
Theo nodded in understanding.
’’I can imagine,’’ he said, amazed.
Then, the man gestured toward the wooden table.
’’Come,’’ he said calmly. ’’All of you should sit down.’’
Everyone listened and sat down right away.
Only then did the middle-aged man speak up again.
’’My name is Yusuf,’’ he introduced himself. ’’And this troublesome girl is my daughter, Nadia.’’
’’Hmph.’’
Nadia simply folded her arms and looked away.
Theo ignored her completely and smiled politely.
He briefly introduced himself and the others before falling silent.
Yusuf kept nodding slowly the entire time.
’’It’s a pleasure,’’ he said. ’’But I will have to ask you to explain what exactly happened to you.’’
Silence fell through the room for a moment.
Finally, Theo let out a quiet sigh.
’’Well,’’ he said slowly. ’’I’ll briefly go over the important details.’’
One by one, all eyes landed on him, including Nadia.
’’First off, we took a private plane straight here,’’ he said slowly. ’’But unfortunately, a terrorist attack happened on board. This made our plane explode over Egypt.’’
He paused for a moment.
Before he could continue, though, a loud scoff echoed through the room.
’’Please,’’ Nadia said dismissively. ’’You’re telling me a bunch of silver cores survived a fall of several dozen miles?’’
She shook her head with a nasty expression. ’’If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable.’’
Just then, Yusuf snapped his fingers, staring at her with narrowed eyes.
Nadia glanced up before gritting her teeth and sinking deeper into her chair.
’’Continue,’’ Yusuf said, glancing back at Theo.
Theo cleared his throat and nodded slightly.
’’From there, we spent several days crossing the desert, during which one of us was seriously injured,’’ he said. ’’After finally reaching Cairo, we had to wait until he regained consciousness.’’
As Theo took a moment to swallow, Owen’s voice suddenly rang out proudly beside him.
’’Don’t forget about the B-rank you guys killed,’’ he said, staring at Nadia with anger in his eyes.
Nadia instantly reacted.
’’Bullshit!’’ she said, slamming her fist on the table. ’’You wouldn’t be able to do that even in your dreams!’’
Neither Theo nor Yusuf bothered glancing at either of them.
Instead, they simply continued their conversation amongst the bickering.
’’I’ve heard a lot about you from Harold,’’ Yusuf said. ’’And from your story, you seem to live up perfectly to those words.’’
’’Thank you,’’ Theo nodded politely.
Yusuf let out a sigh, his expression growing more serious.
’’I’d still have to warn you, though,’’ he said. ’’Now that the bounty has increased to five billion, a bloodbath is sure to happen inside.’’
Theo fell silent for a moment.
He hadn’t looked at the exact prize for a while, but he almost couldn’t believe that it’d grown fivefold already.
’’Once more, thanks for the warning,’’ he said, smiling. ’’But we’re still planning to go.’’
Meanwhile...
’’What exactly is your problem?’’ Owen scowled, finally losing his patience. ’’You keep saying we’re not good enough. You wanna take this outside or something?’’
Nadia raised an eyebrow.
Then she casually beckoned him over with a finger.
"Come on, let’s do it."
She walked toward the corner of the room before picking up a large bow that’d been leaning against the wall.
’’Though, I can’t guarantee your safety with a target that big,’’ she continued, pointing at his head.
Owen’s face instantly turned red.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING BIG-HEADED?!"
He immediately pushed himself up while cracking his knuckles.
Before he could take a single step, Lyra pinched him hard in the side.
’’Stay calm,’’ she whispered with a sweet smile. ’’Or I’ll beat you up alongside her.’’
Owen glanced back for a moment.
For several seconds, everyone could see him calculating whether it was worth continuing.
Finally, he quietly sat back down in his chair.
Jim lowered his head onto the table as his shoulders shook.
’’I can’t...’’ he muttered between laughs. ’’I seriously can’t.’’
Yusuf merely smiled helplessly before turning back to Theo, apparently long used to Nadia’s temperament.
Neither of them seemed to care much about the argument.
Instead, they happily continued with their own conversation.
’’You’re all welcome to stay here,’’ Yusuf said calmly. ’’We still have two free rooms.’’
Theo smiled gratefully.
’’Thank you,’’ he replied respectfully. ’’The hotels were simply too full by the time we got here.’’
Yusuf chuckled lightly.
For a moment, silence fell between them.
Theo hesitated for a brief moment before finally asking another question.
"I also heard you guide expeditions into Petra..." he started vaguely.
Yusuf couldn’t help but laugh.
He immediately lifted one of his crutches.
’’I used to,’’ he said, waving it around.
Theo’s brows furrowed slightly as he lowered his head.
’’My apologies,’’ he said respectfully.
Yusuf simply waved the apology away.
"As if I’d take offense to that," he chuckled.
Theo remained silent for a moment.
"Do you happen to know another guide?" he asked.
Without saying a word, Yusuf simply raised a hand toward Nadia.
"My daughter here is just as good as I ever was," he replied proudly.