“Is this the place?”
Lea whispered the words as she stepped off a ship, her eyes drinking in the chaotic energy of the bustling port.
Having never ventured beyond the northern territories, everything here struck her as miraculous.
The massive ships themselves—iron sohow floating on water—defied all logic.
The sheer crush of humanity pressed into this single space left her breathless. And the rchants...
“My lady! Exotic spices for only a thousand silver!”
“Surely you need transportation? A woman of your obvious refinent deserves to travel in proper style!”
Even their boisterous calls felt like sothing from a fever dream.
Everything overwheld her senses—foreign, bewildering. One mont of lost focus and she’d disappear forever in this maze of unfamiliar streets and faces.
Crack!
Lea slapped her own cheek, the sharp sting clearing her mind.
She hadn’t co here for wonder or adventure. She’d co to find Louis Berg, her fiancé. That singular purpose had driven her across half the continent.
Drawing a steadying breath, Lea approached a nearby rchant.
Just as Louis had described in his letter, recent violence had scarred the area—fragnts of broken glass still caught the sunlight between cobblestones.
Yet despite the lingering damage, the rchants maintained an almost aggressive cheerfulness, their sales pitches never faltering.
“Welco, welco! What brings you to our humble— Oh.” The rchant paused, studying her face with knowing eyes. “First ti in port, isn’t it?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Might as well have painted it on your forehead, miss. Anyone gawking around like that’s clearly fresh off the boat.”
The rchant chuckled warmly, offering her a crisp red apple as his tone gentled.
“Here. You look like you could use sothing solid in your stomach. So what brings you to our little corner of the world?”
“I’m searching for soone.”
“Soone?” The rchant’s eyebrows rose with genuine interest.
After calling to his wife to mind the stall, he stepped closer to Lea. “Well then, who might that be? I’d be happy to help.”
“That’s... unusually kind of you. Shouldn’t you be focusing on your business?”
“Business?” He waved dismissively. “My wife’s got sharper eyes for profit than I do anyway. Don’t worry about that. Tell what you need.”
His casual abandonnt of potential custors puzzled Lea. The confusion must have shown on her face, because he laughed again.
“I can read your thoughts, miss. You’re wondering why I’d go to such trouble for a complete stranger.”
“Exactly.”
“Truth is, we weren’t always this accommodating. When you’re scraping together enough coin just to eat each day, generosity becos a luxury you can’t afford.”
The rchant’s gaze swept across the other vendors, his expression growing thoughtful.
“But we owe our lives to so outsiders who passed through recently. Now we try to show travelers the sa kindness they showed us.”
He gestured toward the bustling marketplace around them.
“Sa story for everyone here. All this peace we’re enjoying now—it exists because of those outsiders. Any one of us would move mountains to help them if they asked.”
Lea’s pulse quickened. “These outsiders... would one of them be a dark-haired man with wolfish features?”
“By the gods!” The rchant’s eyes widened. “Are you part of their company?”
Part of their company...
Lea hesitated for only a heartbeat before nodding.
“Yes. I believe so.”
Wonder transford the rchant’s weathered face.
“Well, I’ll be blessed and damned... Here I was about to treat one of our saviors’ companions like any other custor. Manny!” He called to another rchant, who approached with a scowl. “Get over here!”
“What now?!”
“This young lady travels with the heroes! But she doesn’t know where to find them.”
“What? You serious?” The previously irritated rchant—Manny—gaped at Lea as if she’d descended from the heavens.
His eyes were bright with surprise and gratitude. “My word… Almost did a discourtesy.”
“So you know where they are, right?”
“Of course I know! They’re staying at Master Martel’s tavern right now. I’ll escort her there personally.”
“What about your business? You don’t have a wife to cover for you like I do.”
“Business?” Manny laughed, the sound rich with disbelief. “What’s profit compared to serving a companion of the heroes who saved our entire nation?”
The rchants continued their animated discussion, but Lea found herself lost in thought.
Their overwhelming kindness defied everything she’d heard about this place. The old saying echoed in her mind: “Blink too long? Find your wallet gone!”
This was supposed to be a nation of ruthless rchants who’d fleece travelers without a second thought.
Yet here they stood, treating her like visiting royalty.
For the first ti, she truly grasped the magnitude of what Louis had accomplished here.
Changing an entire nation’s character... that’s just like him.
A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she nodded to her impromptu guides.
“Let’s take our ti. As long as we arrive before nightfall, I’m content.”
* * *
“That was absolutely brutal.”
I released a carefully controlled breath as I spoke.
Beside , Lancelot had collapsed onto the ground, gasping like a landed fish.
“Don’t... you... dare... complain,” he wheezed between ragged breaths. “You’re not the one sprawled in the dirt like a dying animal!”
“I can see you moving your mouth. Maybe I should fix those flapping lips permanently.”
“A-argh! Wait, my yes! What are you doing to my eyes!”
“My mistake.”
“Shit! Hell!”
I chuckled softly, unable to resist needling him further.
Lancelot made such an entertaining target, and his outrage was always completely genuine.
The problem was, his complaints had rit.
The training really is rciless.
Martel’s regin would have challenged the elite guards of House Artezia.
Every session pushed us beyond what we thought possible, but the results spoke for themselves—I could feel my skills sharpening with each grueling hour.
No wonder the man had earned his reputation as an educator.
“Ten-minute rest,” Martel announced quietly.
Hearing the words he’d been praying for, Lancelot imdiately spread himself flat across the ground.
“Hah… Am I actually going to die from this torture?”
“People are tougher than they think,” I said.
“Maybe you could get injured sohow? Preferably sothing that affects the mouth.”
“So cruel.” How could he wish injury on the innocent?
“Why do I live like this?”
“Such is life.”
“Shit. Bloody shit!”
Lancelot dragged his hands down his face with a theatrical groan.
Our familiar banter faded as I surveyed the rest of our unit.
Each mber focused on specialized training tailored to their unique abilities.
Kai practiced with the Longmoon boots—the divine artifact imbued with the Veilmaster’s power.
Roxen experinted with the Dark Relic we’d recently acquired, learning to fight while his consciousness wrestled with partial psychic corruption.
Lancelot naturally worked through the comprehensive process of advancing to Master rank.
And I...
I’m researching more efficient applications of my master’s techniques.
Five of my master’s abilities currently resided in my arsenal: Full Bloom, Lightning Bolt, Divine Beast Invocation, Heartstopper, and Clairvoyance.
Combined with the techniques I’d developed independently—Willbreaker and Buckshot—that totaled seven distinct abilities.
Quite an impressive collection.
This training aid to weave all these techniques together seamlessly, naturally, until they flowed like water.
I settled against the wall, drawing back my bowstring with practiced ease.
Click.
The bow reached full tension with its familiar whisper.
Now to activate Clairvoyance.
Whoosh—
My vision expanded exponentially, revealing targets miles in the distance. A pack of Longbears road the wilderness beyond the city—dangerous monsters that would serve as perfect practice subjects.
I aid at their alpha’s throat and released.
TWANG!
The arrow scread toward the Longbear pack with thunderous force, guided by supernatural precision toward their leader’s vulnerable neck.
Thwack!
Through Clairvoyance, I confird the creature’s death monts later. Instant, clean kill.
Others might have celebrated such marksmanship, but I scowled in dissatisfaction as I lowered the bow.
Slightly off target.
The arrow had struck a hair’s breadth from my intended mark.
Acceptable for a Longbear, but against Demonkin in genuine combat? Such imprecision could prove fatal.
Still, correcting even this minor flaw would constitute aningful progress for today’s session.
“Training resus. Everyone to positions.”
Martel’s voice cut through our brief respite. Lancelot and I reluctantly hauled ourselves upright.
But then, the tavern door groaned open on rusted hinges, and a familiar figure stepped inside.
“Lea?”
Lea Praha. My fiancée had arrived without warning or announcent.
As I stood frozen in surprise, Lea smiled with quiet satisfaction.
“So we et at last.”
* * *
Lea’s unexpected arrival brought our training to an imdiate halt.
We could have ignored her presence and continued our exercises, but we didn’t.
And for excellent reason.
“Haha. How fascinating,” Martel murmured, leaning forward with obvious delight.
“Sir Louis truly is remarkable,” Lea continued, warming to her subject. “When our family faced its greatest crisis—”
Our gruff instructor had taken an imdiate liking to her. He simply seed captivated by hearing stories about from her unique perspective.
“Indeed... hearing such accounts firsthand proves far more illuminating than re rumors and gossip.”
“…Why don’t we return to training instead?” I interjected.
“Haha, why such haste? When your fiancée travels so far to find you, proper hospitality becos a sacred duty.”
You just want to chat and gossip, don’t you?
I sighed and shook my head in resignation.
Still, if Lea had journeyed all this way, she undoubtedly sought training as well.
Such dedication matched perfectly with the future Grand Master she would eventually beco.
I addressed her with quiet formality. “Your commitnt is admirable. Traveling such distances to seek instruction demonstrates the dedication all knights should aspire to.”
“What?” Lea blinked in confusion before quickly catching my aning. “Ah, yes! Exactly right!”
“While I can’t personally instruct you, Master Martel possesses exceptional teaching abilities. I’m rooting for you.”
With that, I stood and retrieved my bow, moving to resu my interrupted practice.
Behind , I heard Lea declare her intention to begin training imdiately, followed by Martel’s stern warnings about the trials ahead.
Familiar experiences I had endured myself.
Thinking about the challenges awaiting Lea, I smiled despite myself.
Still... it’s nice to see her face again.
The knowledge that she would grow stronger through these upcoming ordeals motivated to push my own training even harder.
Strangely, her re presence seed to make everything flow more smoothly—my aim felt truer, my focus sharper.
I kept my face carefully averted, hiding the flush that ward my cheeks as I threw myself into practice.
I couldn’t look back. She might notice my expression.
I can’t let this distract .
I repeatedly commanded myself to focus, taking slow, deep breaths to steady my racing pulse.
This training session would prove particularly challenging, it seed.
* * *
Ti flowed like rushing water, and six months vanished in what felt like re heartbeats.
And just as I had predicted, the Grand Duke had gone missing in the Demonic Realm.
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