☀️ Arselia and Akonia

So, Beata, Guyon, and Raphael crossed over on Tuesday.

Beata lazily turned from side to side, yawned, and sat up in bed. Her head was a complete mess, as if she had been hit with something heavy for two days straight. She vaguely remembered the events of the day before yesterday – they were walking near the palace, and they saw some weirdo with a painting...
...stop. The painting. That damn strange painting that she considered cursed. Where is it?
Beata jumped up and frantically looked around. The painting was gone. But there was a suspiciously empty wallet and Guyon snoring loudly.
The adventurer, without hesitation, shook her companion hard by the shoulder.
– Hey! Wake up!
– Huh? – Guyon sleepily blinked.
– I have two questions. Where is the painting, and where is the money?!
– I have, – Guyon yawned, – one answer. It's with the owner of "The Tentacle," and we still owe him that much.
Beata took a deep breath and began to count slowly to ten, out loud. When she finished, she exhaled just as slowly through her teeth.
– So... Since you probably won't say much with a broken jaw and a concussion, give me the details right away.
– Can I at least write a will? I can't do it with broken hands.
– No, you can't. Everything that's left of you after our conversation will go to me as moral compensation.
– There wouldn't be much left, – Guyon sighed and began his story.
As he spoke, Beata's eyes widened, as if the new information, combined with the memories that flooded back, physically pushed them outward.
– ...and then I wrote you a note and went to work, but when I came back, you were still asleep, and I tore up the note. The rest you know, – Guyon finished in an innocent tone.
Beata was silent, snorting and flaring her nostrils. A heavy silence hung in the air.
– That painting. It fried my brain.
– Yeah.
– And you left your mistress at the mercy of that crap and ran away!
– Yeah.
– And you turned to the most suspicious guy in town for help!
– Yeah.
– And you let him stick some kind of worm in my head!
– Yeah.
– And you gave him all our money and still owe him!
– Yeah.
– Remind me, why are you still alive?
– Because I have a pretty face and a nice ass that you don't want to ruin?
With a furious cry, Beata grabbed a shoe and began chasing the laughing Guyon around the room.
***
The door to "Carnelian" burst open, letting in an enraged Beata. Smiling Guyon hurried after her, holding the back of his gauntlet to the bruise under his eye – his girlfriend had raised her hand to his pretty face after all.
Beata turned to Ayko and, possibly, to other characters standing next to her.
– WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP THIS IDIOT?! – she asked, very expressively, pointing at Guyon.
– Because they didn't know I was going to do it? – her companion sighed.
– WHY DIDN'T YOU PREDICT THAT THIS IDIOT WAS GOING TO DO SOMETHING STUPID AND AWFUL?! – Beata rephrased her complaint.
Guyon groaned and put his hand to his face.
Beata exhaled.
– Uh... Sorry. You know, anyone would be in a bad mood when they find out they almost became a victim of a cursed painting, and their idiot friend couldn't think of anything better than to stick a worm in their head and spend all our savings on it!
Guyon smiled sympathetically at Ayko, who had to endure this circus.
– Hey, but it worked, – he tried to reassure his partner.
– It worked, – she reluctantly admitted. – But next time, at least plan the budget better, okay?
– I'll try, – Guyon smiled.
Beata smiled back at him.
– Sorry again, – she said to Ayko, – this genius – she waved towards Guyon – asked for help from the owner of "The Tentacle." He got rid of the painting and cured me of the curse, but in return, he stuck a brain parasite in me and demanded eight hundred rems from us, and we only had half that much. We managed to negotiate an extension until today, and... – she sighed – it was very unusual to ask for money instead of just taking what we needed – can you lend us four hundred rems?
By the way, I was thinking that maybe the princess shouldn't be told all the details of the case.