The next couple of hours passed by rather quickly for Nick.
Since Nick had essentially just cleaned Horua, he didn't need to check up on him yet.
So, Nick just went back to his room.
However, after just a couple of minutes, he became very agitated and left again.
For the next couple of hours, Nick just walked around the marketplace of the Outer City, buying a couple of things he was interested in.
Nick met quite a few people and talked with them animatedly.
Usually, Nick didn't start conversations with random strangers, but today, things were a bit different.
Nick was in the mood to talk to strangers and to strike up conversations everywhere.
Of course, some of the people felt weirded out, but Nick just ended the conversation quickly when he noticed that they were not into it.
Nick ate some great food, bought some great stuff, and had many interesting conversations.
When it was close to the time he was supposed to go out drinking with Trevor, he walked back to the hotel.
Nick had to check up on Horua again.
When Nick entered the room, he did a double take when he looked at the ground.
For just a second, he felt like he had seen Pator's corpse lying there.
Yet, the next instant, it was gone.
Nick quickly shook his head to regain his bearings and looked at Horua.
When he did, Nick had to sigh.
"Right," he said helplessly. "I haven't checked up on you in six hours. That's quite a long time."
Horua had already gone to the toilet, and some of his muscles were slightly shaking, which was a sign of his muscles cramping and straining.
For the next 30 minutes, Nick kept cleaning Horua and giving him a bath.
When Nick heard Horua's stomach growling, he could only sigh.
A moment later, Nick went to the warehouse and canceled his outing with Trevor.
He couldn't go like this.
He couldn't just leave Horua like this.
Horua needed him.
Trevor said that Nick could just hire someone, but Nick said that it was too troublesome and that he didn't trust a random stranger with Horua's health.
Horua's well-being was Nick's responsibility, and he would never run from it again.
In the end, Trevor could only relent.
Being too pushy with Nick might result in some discord between them.
Eventually, Nick returned to Horua with a soup and fed him.
After that, Nick massaged Horua's strained muscles some more.
For the next two hours, Nick just helped Horua with various things.
And then, he just waited.
Horua was clean, fed, and relaxed.
But soon, there would be something to do again.
For the next couple of hours, Nick just kept watching over Horua, making sure that he always had clean clothing, food, and relaxation.
Eventually, it was time for Horua to sleep, and Nick tucked him in.
After that, Nick went to his own room and tried to sleep.
It was difficult.
For over two hours, Nick just stared at the ceiling of his room without being able to fall asleep.
Then, he stood up and checked on Horua.
After that, another two hours of staring at the ceiling followed.
Eventually, Nick gave up and just walked around outside.
There were not many people on the streets, and Nick felt quite relaxed.
It was interesting to look at the Outer City during nighttime.
When it was five a.m., Nick woke up Horua and gave him breakfast.
In the middle of breakfast, someone knocked on the door, and Nick opened it.
It was a girl about Nick's age, and she looked at Nick with a bright smile.
"Are you sir Nick?" she asked.
"I'm Nick," he answered in confusion.
"My name's Marie, and I'm Master Wyntor's new assistant! I'm looking forward to working with you!" Marie said with a chipper voice and a polite bow.
"Oh," Nick said in surprise. "Right. That makes sense."
"May I come in?" she asked.
"Sure," Nick said, letting her in.
Marie looked around and entered Horua's room. "This is Horua, correct?"
Nick nodded.
"May you teach me about taking care of him?"
"Eh, sure," Nick answered.
For the next hour, Nick instructed Marie about what to do, and she listened attentively.
After making a timetable, she read it to Nick and asked him if it was okay.
Nick nodded.
She checked up on Horua every two hours and perfectly did everything that needed to be done.
"Thank you, sir," Marie said with a sweet smile. "I will take care of things for now."
"Of course," Nick said with a smile. By now, he had gotten familiar with Marie, and he liked her quite a bit.
Nick left Horua's room and entered Dark Dream.
Nick could tell that Wyntor was already there since the big lock on his office had been opened.
Wyntor's working times were almost identical to Nick's.
If he didn't have a meeting, Wyntor was available from about six a.m. to four p.m.
He chose these times so that he would meet all of his employees at least once per day.
He would meet Nick and Trevor in the morning, and he would meet Nick and Jenny in the afternoon.
Nick didn't have anything to talk to Wyntor about right now, which was why he walked towards the Screaming Coffin.
'Oh, right!' Nick thought on his way. 'I forgot to feed the Screaming Coffin yesterday!'
Yet, when Nick entered the Containment Unit, he saw the coffin just lying there.
'Someone fed it already?'
That was when the image of Pator's body shot through Nick's mind.
'Right…'
'Not sure how long that will keep the coffin busy.'
'His body wasn't very big…'
Nevertheless, Nick left the Containment Unit and went to the Dreamer.
'Huh, seems like Trevor didn't take a day off,' Nick thought when he saw the sleeping Trevor in front of the Dreamer.
After a bit of talking, Trevor left, and Nick sat down.
Sleep didn't take long to arrive.
The Dreamer made sure of that.
