Thunk—

Verduke sat slouched at the long table, spooning garlic soup into his mouth with a hollow look on his face. For someone who could drink the whole company under the table and still show up the next morning perfectly fine, this kind of sight was enough to make the other mercenaries worried.

“Boss, you haven’t been sleeping well lately, have you?”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

“You’ve been stuck at your desk six hours a day planning this expedition. Between bookkeeping and logistics, it’s gotta be driving you nuts.”

“Hah! I swear, even now, just looking at a ledger gives me a migraine!”

No. That’s not it.